The Provincial Championship is a prestigious event for Non-Pro exhibitors. There is no cost to qualify, but you must attend at least one Area Promotional Club show throughout the season to have a chance to make the Finals. See full details below.
The OAQHA Provincial Championship brings together the top Non-Pros across all age divisions (Youth/Amateur/Select) to face-off on a highly challenging arena style pattern. The Championship Finals offers meaningful awards to recognize the success, hard work, and dedication of our exhibitors.
The events offered are Showmanship, Horsemanship, and Hunt Seat Equitation. Your opportunity to qualify runs concurrently with your Youth, Amateur, or Select class at the Area Promotional Club shows in Ontario throughout the season. Top scoring exhibitors receive an invitation to the Provincial Finals per the qualifying criteria outlined below.
The Provincial Championship was built with several objectives in mind, key goals as follows:
Support Affiliates/Regional Weekend Shows
Encourage Goal Setting Among Non-Pros
Prepare Canadian Exhibitors for the Fall Majors
One of the key goals of the Provincial Championship is to promote participation at the regional (Area Promotional Club) shows throughout the province of Ontario. Each regional show will serve as a qualifying event.
6 qualifiers will receive an invitation to the Provincial Championship Finals from the 4 Qualifying Events listed below. Of these 6 spots, 3 will be awarded to the High Scoring Youth (1), High Scoring Amateur (1) and High Scoring Select (1). The remaining three spots will be awarded to the next 3 highest scoring Level 3 exhibitors (across Youth/Amateur/Select). In the event qualifiers are unable to attend the Finals, additional spots will be filled from the Standby List. See further Standby List details below.
Once a horse/rider combination has qualified, they are in. This means that if a qualified exhibitor earns another top score at a later show in the season, the next highest scoring non-qualified exhibitor at that show will receive an invitation. etc.
A standby list will be kept of the next highest scores of horse/rider combinations not currently qualified. If a qualifier is unable to attend the Summer Finale to compete in the Finals, the next highest score on the standby list may be qualified.
The standby list will be updated after each qualifying event and sorted from highest average score to lowest. Your score on the standby list will be your best weekend score of the season on a per-qualifying event basis.
While we will tabulate all the scores from each show for the standby list we will only post scores of 70 or above.
To ensure a level playing-field exhibitors must show in the Level 3 class in their division (ie. Amateur, Select, Youth) to qualify for the Provincial Championship. Scores will be tabulated using the judge’s scores from the Level 3 at each of the qualifying circuits.
For circuits with 3 or more judges, scores will be tabulated by taking the average of the exhibitor’s scores over the course of the circuit. The exhibitor’s lowest score will be dropped from the tabulation.
For circuits with 2 or less judges scores will be tabulated by taking the average of the exhibitor’s scores. The lowest score will not be dropped.
In the event of a tie for a qualification spot, both (or all) tied exhibitors will receive an invitation to the finals. This means that in some cases, more than 6 exhibitors will receive an invitation from a Qualifying Event.
Once an exhibitor has qualified they will be sent a qualifier packet which will include the entry form for the Provincial Championship Finals, an overview of the event (rules etc.) as well as the stall booking link for the Summer Finale. This will also include information about the Provincial Championship Merch program and allow qualifiers an opportunity to purchase a clothing item to commemorate their achievement.
Entry deadlines will be firm so as to leave enough time to invite competitors from the Standby List.
The intent of the Provincial Championship is to encourage our exhibitors to step up their game and compete on patterns more challenging than typically seen at an Ontario show.
To select the patterns in an unbiased fashion an AQHA professional horseperson who is not a stakeholder in Ontario will be asked to create and provide the pattern.
The person selecting the patterns will be given the following parameters:
The Provincial Championship is scheduled to run throughout the schedule of the OQHA Summer Finale Show in Ancaster, Ontario at the following times:
Showmanship: Friday August 29, after halter classes and before lunch break
Horsemanship: Friday August 29, evening feature - last class of the day
Hunt Seat Equitation: Saturday August 30, evening feature - last class of the day
We will be taking a 30 minute break prior to each Provincial Championship class. This will give exhibitors ample time to prepare their horses after showing in regular AQHA classes.
One of our key goals is to promote participation at regional (Area Promotional Club) shows throughout the season. For this reason, you are not required to compete at all qualifying events to earn a spot in the Finals but the only way to get in is through competing and earning a top score at one of the qualifying events. Don't forget that we also keep a Standby List of next highest scores!
While the Finals are non-sanctioned, AQHA rules will be followed. For this reason, you can only show one horse in the Finals. If an exhibitor qualifies multiple horses, you may choose which one you would like to show in the Finals. An additional horse/rider combination will be invited from the Standby List to fill the spot.
While the Finals are non-sanctioned, AQHA rules will be followed. For this reason, only one exhibitor can show a horse in the Finals. If a horse qualifies with multiple exhibitors, you may choose which exhibitor will show in the Finals. An additional horse/rider combination will be invited from the Standby List to fill the spot.
All qualification invitations will be on a one horse/one rider basis. You must compete in the Finals on the horse with which you qualified.
Absolutely! We encourage exhibitors from surrounding provinces and states to come to Ontario and show. Ontario has great facilities, competition, and shows and would love to share this with exhibitors from elsewhere.
No. While OAQHA encourages you to consider a membership, the goal is to ensure that those who qualify and earn a spot in the Finals are eligible to compete, attracting the best of the best to the Summer Finale show. There is no requirement nor fee to be eligible to qualify, as long as you show at one of the qualifying events. Note that the Finals registration fee will be discounted for OQHA members, so if it’s something you’re considering the value should outweigh the cost!
No, however we do thoroughly encourage Level 1 eligible exhibitors to step up and work toward competing in the Provincial Championship Finals. There will be special awards and recognition for the high placing Level 1 exhibitors in the Finals.
The reason that Level 1 scores will not be included in the qualification averages are twofold:
Once you’re in, you’re in! If you qualify a second time, we will move down the list and invite the next high score. All qualifiers will be spotlighted via the OAQHA Social Media and website throughout the season after each qualifying event. A key goal is to increase exposure and recognition for exhibitors and their horses.
The registration link will be sent to all qualifiers. There will be a deadline to register such that individuals from the standby list can be invited based on registrations received.
We do encourage all qualifiers to book their stall at the Summer Finale ASAP to avoid disappointment.
Several exhibitors from the Standby List typically receive an invitation, so be sure to keep a close eye on where you stand!
Absolutely! We had many spectators last year, and hope to see more in 2023. The Championship Finals will showcase the best of the best in their respective events. It’s a great opportunity to watch, learn, and set goals.
There will be no fee to spectate. Finals are scheduled throughout the showbill of the OQHA Summer Finale Show in Ancaster, Ontario at the following times:
Show management reserves the right to amend the show schedule as required.
To stay up to date on the latest Ontario Amateur QHA news, follow us on Facebook
