NCDCTA Horse of the Year Awards will be offered in the following divisions, which may be combined as warranted by number of participants:

GUIDELINES

1. First place HOY winners are ineligible to win the same division for the following three consecutive years. Exceptions: FEI Grand Prix Dressage, Musical Freestyle Dressage, Preliminary and above eventing, and if horse ownership / lease has changed.
2. Both rider and owner/lessee must be current NCDCTA members, and horse must be registered. Points are earned by the horse/rider combination. Points accrue in divisions determined by rider’s status. Adult Amateurs and Junior/Young Riders must avow their status on the NCDCTA membership application. If no status is stated, application is considered incomplete. A change in status must be sent directly to the NCDCTA membership secretary in writing, and points will accrue in the new division from that date forward.
3. Junior/Young Riders are members who are 21 years of age or younger as of December 1 of the award year. Jr/Yrs must state birthdate on membership application and horse registration.
4. Points are based on placings reported by recognized competitions for the award year November 15 - November 15.
5. Points will be posted on the website throughout the year, and the top ten rankings in each division will be publicized. The top six in each division will be honored at the annual banquet in January.

1. Horses must be registered, or registration renewed, with the NCDCTA Membership Secretary on or before January 31 of the current awards year for retro-active (from Nov. 16) points to be recorded. Registrations received after Jan. 31 will accumulate points from date of receipt.
2. Horse registration forms, available online, must be accompanied by a full day volunteer card, two half-day cards, or $50 fee payable to NCDCTA. Current form must be used.
3. After the initial horse registration has been filed, only the volunteer card(s) indicating the horse to be credited (or $50 fee in lieu of volunteer card) must be submitted for subsequent years. If ownership/lease changes, a new registration form, with volunteer card or fee, is required.
4. It is the responsibility of the owner/lessee to verify that their horses have been registered. Registration and membership numbers should be included on all entry forms, and show managers are required to submit these numbers, as stated by entrants, in final results. A current list of members, registered horses, and their numbers will be posted and updated quarterly on the website. Members assume responsibility for including numbers on entry forms.

1. EARN:
1. Volunteer cards may be earned at any NCDCTA recognized competition or NCDCTA sponsored educational activity. Persons willing to volunteer should contact the indivudual competition / activity manager. Upon submission of competition results to NCDCTA, show manager will be mailed 5 cards per day of competition (dressage and combined tests) or 10 cards per day of competition (horse trials). It is the competition manager's responsibility to distribute the cards to individuals who have earned them.
2. For NCDCTA sponsored competitions and activities, there is no cap on card limits. Manager / Organizer will contact Steve Nelles (ncdctamembers@nc.rr.com) with specific card requests within 10 days after the competition / activity. Volunteers who have not received their cards in a timely manner should contact the show manager, and / or Steve Nelles (as above).
3. Persons serving on the NCDCTA Executive Board are entitled to 5 volunteer cards per year.
4. Persons submitting articles for the newsletter, pre-assigned by the editor (currently Wendy Cracovia - NCDCTAnews@mac.com), are entitled to a full day volunteer card.
5. Volunteer cards are fully transferable, except in 2.2 below.
2. USE:
1. NCDCTA Volunteer Cards may be used to register a member’s horse for the Horse of the Year awards program. One full day volunteer card per horse must be submitted annually for renewal. Horse to be credited must be marked on the card when submitted to Membership/HOY Secretary (currently Steve Nelles, 5701 Rockport Place, Knightdale NC 27545.
2. Scholarship applications must be accompanied by one full day volunteer card per $100 request. Card must be earned by applicant.
3. Volunteer cards may be used in lieu of full or partial audit fee at NCDCTA sponsored educational activities.

Note:
Per executive board decision 4/19/07, all expiration dates on volunteer cards are null and void.

1. To qualify for HOY awards in a dressage division, a minimum of 14 points must be earned (Musical Freestyles and FEI Divisions exempt). Dressage show points accumulate in the Dressage division, Horse Trials and Combined Test points accumulate in the Eventing Division. In the eventing division, horses must complete at least USEA Recognized event at the level during the year to qualify for HOY. The NCDCTA eventing chairman is responsible for checking compliance at season’s end.
2. Points will be halved in all classes with fewer than 6 participants.
3. In case of a Dressage class or test of choice with only one participant, the following table will apply (points will be halved as noted above):
   
   

   60% + = 1st

   58-59% = 2nd

   56-57% = 3rd

   54-55% = 4th

   52-53% = 5th

   Below 52% = 6th



4. Points will be tabulated using the following table:
   
   

   	USEF/USDF DRESSAGE SHOWS and USEF/USEA RECOGNIZED HORSE TRIALS AND COMBINED TESTS:	NCDCTA RECOGNIZED SCHOOLING DRESSAGE SHOWS, HORSE TRIALS, AND COMBINED TESTS:	FEI RECOGNIZED DRESSAGE SHOWS AND EVENTS:
   1st	12 points	6 points	20 points
   2nd	8 points	4 points	16 points
   3rd	6 points	3 points	14 points
   4th	4 points	2 points	12 points
   5th	2 points	1 points	10 points
   6th	1 point		8 points
   7th			6 points
   8th			4 points



5. DOUBLE points will be awarded in the championship classes at the annual NCDCTA Dressage Championships, and in all classes/divisions at the NCDCTA Eventing Championships. Double rankings in special classes in CDI-Raleigh and Capital Dressage Classic do not earn double points.

It is the competitor’s responsibility to verify accuracy by checking website throughout the year. Please Note: Eventers are encouraged to submit out-of-state results report forms (email form available by clicking HERE) within 10 days of competition. If a USEA recognized event in NC fails to submit results, the competitor is responsible for reporting horse’s individual results on an out-of-state event results form. Results submission of NCDCTA recognized schooling competitions are the sole responsibility of the show manager. Failure to submit complete results or any infractions of the guidelines may result in recognition denial for current or future competitions. NCDCTA offers no warranties or guarantees as to the quality of competition or suitability of venues at recognized schooling shows, and reserves the right to deny recognition to competitions the executive board deems sub-standard, for policy infractions such as late results, or for any reasons forthwith. Any questions regarding points should be directed to the NCDCTA membership secretary.

For NCDCTA Compeition Recognition Requirements, please click HERE.