RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE FUTURITY

 

Stallions are nominated by their owners at a fee of only R1 000.

 

By nominating a stallion, the owner authorizes ASF to auction one service by the stallion.  The proceeds will go towards ASF.

 

If the service is sold during the stallion auction, a “buyer’s option” will be obtained.  This means that the buyer will have a mare of his choice serviced by the nominated stallion and once the mare has been certified as being in foal, the mare is then nominated for the Weanling Futurity.

 

Should the service of the nominated stallion not be sold, the owner of the stallion will have the right to, at no additional costs, nominate a mare that is already in foal to the nominated stallion, to participate in the competition.

 

The stallion owner also has a “donor option” if the stallion’s service is sold.  For an additional nominal fee of R1 000 the owner can nominate a mare that is in foal to the nominated stallion.  The owner can also sell this option to someone else for at least R1 000 if he chooses not to nominate a mare that is already in foal.  The total proceeds of this transaction must however go to ASF.  

Consequently there will always be one, but not more than two foals of a nominated stallion participating in the annual Weanling Futurity class.

 

The service of a stallion will only be auctioned if both the nomination fee of R1 000 and the nomination form have been received by ASF by the closing date.  No EXCEPTIONS will be made.

 

The buyer of the service will be expected to pay the service fee to ASF directly after the auction or within 24 hours thereof.    Failing to do so will result in the bid being invalid.   

 

It is envisaged that, when these foals reach the age of three years, they participate in a performance futurity.  Only foals, born from the original nominated mares, will qualify for participation.  If the horses were not shown in the Weanling Futurity they will still be able to compete.  The owner will, when the horses are two year old, nominate them for the Fine Harness, Three Gaited and Five Gaited class.  No cross nominations will be accepted and no changes between the divisions will be allowed if the horse is shown in the three year old division.  The nomination fee is yet to be determined.

 

The judging will be conducted by five judges.  They will utilize score sheets to ensure that the judging is transparent.  Provision is being made for preliminary judging and a final. 

 

The foals will be judged individually and they will not enter the show ring in a group.  The sequence, in which they will enter, will be decided on.  It may happen that three preliminary classes, with ten foals in each class, take place.  The final will be conducted on the Saturday of the show.  No one, except the tabulator will know the sequence in which the final group has been placed.  Consequently there will be no front line and the final will be a class on its own.

 

Should a stallion die before the mare is certified in foal, the buyer of the service will be re-imbursed with the amount that he paid for the service at the stallion auction.

 

Should a foal be still born or die at a later stage, it will be viewed as an “act of God”.  There could however be an arrangement between the owners of the stallion and the mare if another service by the nominated stallion will be made available.  The buyer of the service and the owner of the stallion will sign a contract with one another wherein eventualities are defined.   In this case the next foal will however not qualify for the Weanling Futurity or future performance futurities of that specific year.

 

Proof of DNA of the foals must be submitted by all competitors before the show.  DNA testing will be conducted on the first eight placings as confirmation.  The costs of the test will be borne by ASF.  Drug tests will be conducted on a random basis.  ASF will also carry the costs of such tests.

 

The rules and regulations may be reviewed from time to time and be adjusted if necessary on a year to year basis.   The latest rules and regulations will however always be available on the website of ASF( www.africasaddlehorsefuturity.net)

© Ross Millin & ASF

June 2010