Rider Descriptions
An AMATEUR EXHIBITOR is one whom has a) turned 19 on or before January 1st of the current year and b) has not shown or trained a horse (QH or otherwise) with compensation (money or another form). Amateur exhibitors may not have judged a horse show or be elligible to do so. An Amateur's spouse may train or show horses for compensation, but the amateur may not have helped in the training process nor have shown the horse for which their spouse receives compensation.
A NON-PRO EXHIBITOR is one who qualifies as either an amateur or a youth. See descriptions of these specific classifications of riders for more information about their qualifications.
A YOUTH EXHIBITOR is one who has not reached their 19th birthday before January 1st of the current year. Youth exhibitors may not receive compensation for training or showing of any horse (QH or otherwise). Horses shown by youth in youth divisions must be owned by a member of the youth's family. Youth exhibitors may not show Iand may not have previously shown) in the open divisions of an HLQHA sponsored show. Once a youth does so, they may no longer show in the youth division.
An OPEN class is based on rider rather than horse. Open classes are open to any classification of rider, however it may exclude said rider from other classes based on rider ability. For instance, if a rider who qualifies as a youth shows in an open class, he or she no longer is elligible to compete as a youth in ANY DISCIPLINE.
A PRO EXHIBITOR is one who does not fall into the category of either amateur or youth exhibitor. Pro exhibitors traditionally earn money for either showing or training horses, however this is not a prerequisite for falling into the pro-exhibitor category.