NRHA Germany: No more age limit for horses at the Breeders Derby

The NRHA Germany is the first reining association worldwide to abolish the maximum age limit of the Derby. The request was unanimously approved by the board of the NRHA Germany on Saturday. In addition, an alternative to the current SSP transitional arrangement for descendants of not paid in stallions has been adopted.

Dizzying spins, full-gallop sliding stops, jumped rollbacks, gallop circles with flying lead changes, all with the highest precision and finesse. The demands on reining horses are high, the training is intense, but the window of time to present them at top tournaments only lasts a few years. And this is where the board of the NRHA Germany started at the last meeting on Saturday. "We want to enable horses and riders to have a long, joint career in our sport," says Joachim Zangerle, President of the NRHA Germany. "That's why we unanimously decided to abolish the maximum age limit for horses at the Breeders Derby. We have had several requests from different members and we agree as a board that now is the right time to make such changes." Originally, only horses aged five to six were allowed to compete in the Breeders Derby. In the past, the NRHA Germany has already shown intensive efforts to make the sport more attractive for older horses. Four years ago the age limit for the Breeders Derby was raised from six to eight years. Now the board has unanimously decided to abolish the maximum age restriction for horses altogether. This means that horses from the age of five can now start indefinitely in the NRHA Germany Breeders Derby classes. The new regulation already has its first supporters: Top coach and NRHA Germany rider spokesperson Grischa Ludwig: "I strongly support the decision of the board. It gives us trainers the opportunity to give the horses more time and is an incentive to keep the horses in the sport for longer." But the new regulation also has advantages for horse owners and breeders. It is foreseeable that the value of the horses will remain more constant, Ludwig added.

Together with the abolishment of the age limit, the Executive Board has decided on an alternative to the current SSP transitional arrangement. So far, descendants of not paid in stallions, born in 2018 or earlier, have only been admitted to the Breeders Futurity or Breeders Derby for a post-nomination fee of 1,000 euros per start. The board of the NRHA Germany has now approved another option: owners can pay a one-time lump sum of 3,000 euros. In this case, the horse is considered to have been paid in NRHA Germany and is allowed to participate in all Breeders tournaments without further fees. Post-nomination fees paid so far will be taken into account. For example, horse owners who have already paid the post-nomination fee at past tournaments do not have to pay the full 3,000 euros, but only the difference. For example, if the horse was presented as a three-year-old at the Breeders Futurity and the owners paid the 1,000 Euro post-nomination fee in addition to the starting fee, only 2,000 euros will have to be paid for this horse to be consideres paid in. The possibility to pay a one-time nomination fee of 1,000 euros per start remains.