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Canadian Performance Futurity for the 2008 Season

$40,000 in Young Horse Prize Money Best Kept Secret?

April 25, 2008

Aurora, ON --- The Canadian Performance Futurity is heading into its third competition year. Once again it has secured funding and will be offering over $40,000 in prize money in Hunter, Jumper and Dressage classes for 4 and 5-year-old horses. The primary sponsor to date has been the Equine Canada Breeders Initiative Fund, a program spearheaded by Tim Millard.

“The program is a natural candidate under this fund”, says Millard. “It is in support of Canadian-bred horses of all registrations and it has a multi-disciplined approach.” The awareness derived from the program is a big component of the funds’ criteria. “This program has done a great job of getting the word out. Regular press releases citing rider, owner and breeder, as well as horse and pedigree, have been circulated across Canada. It has achieved very good traction internationally as well.”

So the question remains, with all the elements in place – great prize money plus excellent promotion – is the program still off the radar for many horse owners and riders?

“Entries would suggest this,” states Barbara Daley who manages the marketing for the program. “The numbers are not nearly as robust as they could be which means it’s ripe for the picking. There are a handful of breeders who are right on the money. They make doubly sure their nominations are up to date, and they connect with people who have purchased horses from them to let them know about the program. Why wouldn’t they? Breeders get a cut of the prize money too!”

“We connect with our owners”, states Augustin Walch of W Charlot Farms, four-time winner of USEF Hunter Breeder of the Year award. “We also make a point of preparing and entering horses we currently have for sale. It’s a great way to promote them and it gives us a true performance standard to work toward.”

Nomination is a requirement to enter the classes. It would seem this is not as great a hurdle as one might imagine.

“All Canadian Warmbloods are nominated when they are first registered,” points out Jennette Coote, Chair of the program. “If anyone has a 4 or 5-year-old that is ready to compete this summer, and they want to know if it is nominated, they simply check out the list of horses found on the program’s website.”

There are over 2,000 horses from more than 9 registries on the list of nominated horses, including Canadian Sport Horse, Canadian Warmblood, Hanoverian, Thoroughbred, Dutch Warmblood, Oldenburg, Selle Francais, Swiss Warmblood and Westphalian. “If the horse isn’t there, nominations continue to be accepted up until a few weeks before the classes are held”, elaborated Coote.

Let’s do the math. There is good prize money but there is also the expense of nomination fees. It worked out in the case of Porsha K, who won the Pacific Zone 5-Year-Old Hunters and still cleared more than twice the amount in prize money for her owner, relative to the cost of the nomination fees.

“Porsha K had a whole team behind her”, said Norah Ross, trainer of Foxstone Stable in Duncan B.C. “Jack Hammond showed her over fences, and Georgia Hunt, co-trainer, showed her on the flat. She was already scheduled to compete at Thunderbird Show Park. Giving her owner, Pam Metal, a chance for more prize money, and getting extra promotion for the team that contributed to her development, was certainly an added benefit.” Expressing a commitment to the program, Ross continued, “We now look forward to showing horses by our own breeding stallion in the Futurity classes.”

To date, classes in Hunter, Jumper and Dressage have been confirmed at show venues across the country including, Alberta Hunter Horse Society, Amberlea Meadows, Cornerstone Farms and Thunderbird Show Park.

Final dates with links to prize list will be published on the program’s website at

www.CanadianPerformanceFuturity.com.

So what about all that prize money? It would seem that good genetics, plus great ability, combined with solid training and planning equals a shot at the pot. It’s a simple formula really, and one that won’t remain a secret for long.

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