There is no longer a cap on how much Derby/Special Class money counts toward the rating of the competition.  For Premier and National Competitions, the total amount of all the “special” rated hunter classes in GR312 will count and for Regional Competitions the total amount of all hunter classes will count, regardless of whether they are rated and listed in GR312.

The competition must guarantee at least the minimum amount of required money for the rating.  Management may choose to guarantee a higher amount of money than the minimum for the rating in order to entice exhibitors to attend their competition.  However, if management guarantees more than the minimum required for the rating, that guaranteed amount then becomes the minimum that is required to be paid.

Yes, the rules in GR1010 regarding which sections a ‘r’ hunter judge may officiate for have been adjusted to provide exceptions for the sections that were previously “C” rated sections. For example, a 'r' Hunter judge may officiate alone for a Children's Hunter section at a Premier or National rated Hunter competition.

Zone specifications will still apply to the respective sections (i.e. Children’s Hunter, Adult Amateur Jumper, etc.) as they always have, even though there will now be a National HOTY award for those categories.  The zone specifications for the zone that the competition is held in will apply for each respective section and the points will count for both the Zone HOTY ranking and the National HOTY ranking for that section.

Under the new system, the rating for each hunter section matches the rating of the competition.  This means that at a Premier competition, all of the rated hunter sections will be Premier (“AA”) rated.  All points from rated hunter sections at Premier and National rated competitions will count toward Channel I HOTY lists and all points from rated hunter sections at Regional rated competitions will count toward Channel II HOTY lists.

For Jumper sections, all points earned at standalone Jumper Level 4-6 competitions and Jumper Level 1-6 held in conjunction with a Premier or National rated hunter competition will count toward Channel I HOTY rankings.  All points earned at standalone Jumper Level 1-3 competitions or Jumper Level 1-3 competitions held in conjunction with a Regional hunter competition will count toward Channel II HOTY rankings.

The Channel system changes for 2023 do not apply to Equitation or Hunter Breeding sections or classes.

Each individual program will set qualifying criteria for that program and can be found on the respective program’s website.  Qualifying points may be accepted from one or both Channels at the discretion of the organization responsible for the respective program.

• Any qualifying period that began prior to December 1, 2022, will utilize both Channels I and II starting on December 1, 2022, throughout the remainder of the qualifying period for the 2023 competition. A Presidential Modification has been granted for those competitions (Devon, Pennsylvania National Horse Show, Washington International Horse Show, National Horse Show) taking place in the 2023 Competition Year but have a qualifying period that started prior to December 1, 2022

• Qualifying periods that begin on or after December 1, 2022, will utilize the new Channel system going forward. 

Yes, Channel 1 - Premier and National hunter/Levels 4-6 jumper and Channel 2 – Regional hunter/Levels 1-3 jumper

Yes, Channel 1 - Premier and National hunter/Levels 4-6 jumper and Channel 2 – Regional hunter/Levels 1-3 jumper

Yes, the key is that the Zone Finals are defined as a program. As the owner of the USHJA Zone Finals program, USHJA can decide the qualification criteria. Channel 1, Channel 2 or a combination of Channel 1 and Channel 2.

Example 1: Zone 2 Final/Championship could accept the top 20 horses in each section who have the highest point totals from their top 15 competitions in either Channel 1 or Channel 2.

Example 2: Zone 8 Final/Championship could accept all horses with points earned in either Channel to participate in the Zone 8 Finals.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes, Any program or class owned by an organization can determine the qualification criteria for their program or class.

Qualification for any USEF competitions based on competition results (i.e. Qualifying Competitions such as Devon, Indoors, etc) must come from competitions in the same Channel as the Qualifying Competition.

• Example: Qualification for Devon must come from Channel 1, except that for Devon 2023, since qualification began prior to December 1, 2022, qualification will come from results in both Channel 1 and Channel 2.

USEF values accessibility to competitions in local areas, and by allowing competitions in both channels to exist close to one another without mileage restrictions, this allows for greater accessibility by keeping costs down. The miscellaneous prize money restriction for Regional competitions helps to protect National and Premier rated competitions by not permitting a Regional competition to offer a high amount of miscellaneous prize money next to a National or Premier rated competition.

You can find simplified information regarding the updated combining and dividing rules on the main Hunter webpage, which is linked below.  USEF has created a current “cheat sheet”, and flow charts for each section will also be available soon.

https://www.usef.org/compete/disciplines/hunter

Offered – total amount of all hunter prize money offered (regardless of the amount paid)

• Only rated hunter sections at Premier & National; rated and miscellaneous sections at Regional

Guaranteed – total amount of hunter prize money the competition is guaranteeing to pay out, regardless of whether sections fill or not

• Only rated hunter sections at Premier & National; rated and miscellaneous sections at Regional
• If the guaranteed amount is higher than the minimum required for the rating, the guaranteed amount becomes the required payout for the competition

Paid Out – total amount of hunter prize money paid to exhibitors after any reallocation or redistribution

• Only rated hunter sections at Premier & National; rated and miscellaneous sections at Regional