Amateur Rules Relaxed
17th December 2024
The Showing Council recently facilitated a meeting for those organisations which hold qualifying classes & finals, for Amateur classes at The Royal International Horse Show; they are:
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British Piebald & Skewbald Association
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British Show Horse Association
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British Show Pony Society
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Sport Horse Breeding of Great Britain
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UK Ponies & Horses
This is the fourth time the group has met with the sole aim of standardising the “Amateur” rule across the five societies.
Notably, the main changes agreed for 2025 are as follows:
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Professional Producers will no longer be able to compete a “Novice” horse, on behalf of an Amateur Rider, without the Rider losing their “Amateur Status”.
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Racing and Riding Schools have been removed from the list of restrictions, which should allow more people to compete in Amateur classes.
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Breeding has also been removed from the list of restrictions, with the exception of owning/standing a stallion at stud, which will not be permitted for Amateur’s.
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It was also agreed to change the wording from “On the day when an Exhibit is competing in Amateur classes” to “On the Showground where an Exhibit is competing …….”.
It is hoped by relaxing the “Amateur Rules”, with the removal of various restrictions, these classes will be opened up to a wider audience and therefore be of benefit to the Societies, the Shows and the wider Showing Community.
For a complete set of the Amateur Rules, please click the link below: