United States Dressage Federation

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Adequan/USDF Breeder of the Year – Dressage Sport Horse Breeding Awards

Designed to recognize breeders of dressage sport horses, these awards are given to breeders of horses who have achieved DSHB HOY awards.

General Rules

• Points will be assigned to all horses that are ranked in the USDF DSHB HOY list in any DSHB category.
• Horse ranking within each level will be determined using the current USDF DSHB HOY criteria.  If a horse has met all eligibility criteria to be ranked for DSHB HOY awards in the current competition year, it will receive breeder award points.  (This means that the horse has earned a minimum number of scores from a minimum number of shows and judges.  The ranked score is the median score.)
• Points will be assigned to each DSHB and material HOY award category.
• If a horse earns points in both DSHB and materiale, all points will be counted.
• A breeder must have at least two and a maximum of five horses to qualify for a breeder award.
• If a breeder has more than five horses ranked in the DSHB HOY awards (any category), only the points from the top five will be counted.
• The horses will be ranked in each category and points will be assigned based on a point system to be determined by the USDF Sport Horse Committee.  The total ranking for each breeder will be determined by adding the points earned by the horses with the most points (up to five horses maximum per breeder).

General HOY Rules that will apply to the Dressage Sport Horse Breeder Awards

• Minimum of three scores (in the same DSHB category)
  • From at least two different judges
  • From at least three different competitions
  • Median score same as DSHB HOY for each category (three-year-old filly, stallion, etc.)

Eligibility (all same as HOY except for the breeder)

• Horse must have a USDF Lifetime Horse Registration (LHR) when scores are earned.
• Owner must have a USDF Participating Membership (PM) or Business Membership (BM) when scores are earned. 
• Breeder must be a USDF PM or BM by the end of the competition year (September 30).
• Rider (materiale) must be a USDF PM when scores are earned.
• Handlers in DSHB classes are not required to be USDF members.
• Memberships and horse registrations begin when all application forms and fees are received by USDF.  If joining USDF (including changing memberships to participating status) or if registering a horse at a competition, membership and registration begins the date of application.
• “Breeder” is the person or entity listed on a horse’s registration papers.  A change in the name or recorded breeder can only be authorized or performed as an official entry on the registration paper by the registry that issued the paper.

Recorded Points

Points will count from USDF DSHB HOY and material HOY categories.

Awards

• Five awards will be presented to breeders of DSHB horses.
• Commemorative plaques are presented to the top two breeders at the Adequan®/USDF Annual Convention.
• The Adequan®/USDF DSHB Breeder of the Year’s name will be engraved on a perpetual trophy donated by StallionExpo.com, a stallion directory.  This will be presented at the Adequan®/USDF Annual Convention and will be on permanent display in the Roemer Foundation/USDF Hall of Fame.
• A complete breeder ranking list for both dressage and DSHB is available.

Other Information

• USDF Breeder of the Year FAQ
• Number of DSHB award categories
• Eleven DSHB categories
• Four materiale categories
• Fifteen total categories count for the DSHB breeder award

Return to Year-End Awards