AWPA RULES & REGULATIONS

Class eliminations will be run as a standard Western Pleasure Junior Horse class.

• Elimination cuts will not ask for horses to be stripped of tack, and the lineup will have all horses face one rail, side by side.

• Fourteen (14) horses total will advance to the final.

The Final will be run as a standard Western Pleasure Junior Horse class. Upon completion of the rail portion, horses will be called to line up head to tail.

• Two attendants per horse will be allowed into the arena to assist with removing saddles and pads. They are allowed to bring a saddle rack, towel, and brush.

Prize Money

The $100,000 AWPA Arabian Horse Times Purebred Futurity and $75,000 AWPA Equine Athlete Half-Arabian Futurity at U.S. Nationals will be paid out as follows:

Futurity Half-Arabian Futurity

• Riders are to stand up their horse to be assessed for conformational suitability to Western Pleasure by the judges.

• Once the judging panel has completed their examination of a horse, it should be resaddled.

• After all horses have retacked, riders will be asked to remount and attendants will be excused from the ring.

• The Top Ten will be called out in numerical order.

• The Reserve Champion and then the Champion will be placed and given their awards. The horses will leave the arena in reverse order of their placings (10th place first and Champion last).

The $15,000 AWPA Arabian Horse Times Maturity and $15,000 Equine Athlete Half-Arabian Maturity at Mid Summer Nationals will be paid out as follows:

Maturities

*If less than 10 horses show, the payouts will remain the same for each placing.

Any Top 14 Finalist who was the result of a breeding purchased in the AWPA Stallion Service Auction, will be eligible for additional payback prize money.

Limited Open Bonus

In addition to the class prize money at U.S. Nationals, a $2,500 bonus will be awarded to the highest placing Limited Open rider in the Finals.

This applies to both the AWPA Purebred and Half-Arabian Futurity Finals classes.

There will not be any Limited Open monies paid out in the sections or semi-finals classes.

Limited Open Eligibility

Riders who have won five (5) or more National Champion or Reserve Champion titles at Canadian, Mid Summer and/or U.S. Nationals will not be eligible for the Limited Open added money.

Classes that count towards eligibility:

Arabian Western Pleasure

Half-Arabian Western Pleasure

Open Open

Junior Horse

Junior Horse

Futurity Futurity

AWPA Futurity AWPA Futurity

All entries with eligible riders will automatically be entered in the Limited Open division. No additional payment is required to be eligible for the added Limited Open prize money.

RIDERS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THE 2023 AWPA FUTURITIES LIMITED OPEN DIVISION:

Brett Becker Elizabeth Bentley Rob Bick

Abe Cotton Chris Culbreth Thomas Garland

Rick Gault Greg Harris Bob Hart, Jr.

J.T. Keller Bill Porcher Gordon Potts

Colby Powell Josh Quintus Joe Reser

Jody Strand Stanley White, Jr. Stanley White, III

Rider eligibility is based on AHA rider records beginning in 2001. Any national titles won prior to 2001 will not be counted toward eligibility.

Amateur and Youth riders are not eligible for the Limited Open Bonus.

From Show Ring Superstar To Dam Of Excellence

by COLLEEN SCOTT

When a horse can carry multiple amateur, junior and open riders to national titles, well, that horse is something pretty special. When that same horse is also named a Dam of Excellence with just six offspring, she’s even more special. And so it is with Kheanne (Khadraj NA x TN Katiki, by Versace), bred by Julia Neufeld.

Brett Becker, who has had the mare since the end of her 3-year-old year (Gordon Potts started Kheanne and showed her to a U.S. National Top Ten in the Arabian Western Pleasure Futurity in 2011), says the fact that multiple people have been able to win national titles on Kheanne speaks to her talent and personality. “Everyone I’ve ever had ride her has won on her. She’s a horse that can win no matter who is sitting on her. That says a lot.”

Retiring after the 2022 U.S. Nationals, the beautiful bay mare went out on top, taking owner Nancy Maximuck to the Reserve Champion title in the Arabian Western Pleasure AAOTR 60 & Over class in a highly competitive field of 31 horses. It was a thrilling end to the pair’s 2022 show season, having also claimed two top ten awards at the Youth & Mid Summer National Championship Show and a Champion at Region 2. But it was their national ride in Tulsa that Nancy is particularly proud of.

“I still get choked up and have goosebumps when I think about it,” she says. “I don’t think that is something that will ever go away. It was just about a perfect class. I understood her. She understood what I wanted, and we just clicked.”

Nancy attributes much of her success in the ring to Brett. “He really looks at the way you ride and tailors what he is saying to every individual. Not every rider is the same, and he understands that. He also knows his horses really well. As long as you follow his directions, you’re going to do well.”

And do well they did, ever since 2017 when Nancy bought Kheanne. With a successful show career and the mare approaching 15, Nancy and Brett had discussed retiring her following the 2022 show season. Although Kheanne was still at the top of her game, they decided to stick with their original decision and focus on breeding.

“She’s already had some really beautiful babies,” says Nancy. “We’re expecting one this year by Sundance Kid V that we’re pretty excited about.”

Those beautiful babies have since led to Kheanne’s next achievement, this one outside of the show ring. Recently named an Arabian Horse Times 2022 Dam of Excellence by meeting four requirements: one, that she herself is a national champion, and the remaining three, producing one or more national champions (three), as well as two or more reserve national champions (three) among just six babies, proves herself to be an incredible dam.

Kheanne’s first offspring were the result of twin embryos that Brett flushed the same day. Both are by Sundance Kid V.

Pictured top to bottom:

Bentayga+ (by Sundance Kid V)

Jasmine And Magnolia (by Sundance Kid V)

On Demand (by Onyx A)

Kheanne’s first filly, Jasmine and Magnolia was born in 2016 and quickly followed in her dam’s show ring hoofprints, capturing three national championship titles in 2021. At U.S. Nationals, she was champion in both the purebred performance halter class and in the Western Pleasure Maturity out of a field of 38. At the Mid Summer National Championships, she earned champion in the AWPA $15,000 Maturity class. She followed that up at the 2022 U.S. Nationals with a reserve championship in performance halter and a top ten in the Arabian Western Pleasure AAOTR 19-39 class.

The second embryo, Bentayga, a stallion, arrived five days later, and has also had a successful show career. In 2021 he was named U.S. National Champion Western Pleasure Junior Horse out of 40, after earning reserve champion in the same class at Mid Summer Nationals. Prior to that, he proved his abilities with two national top ten titles as a Futurity horse.

The stallion On Demand (by Onyx A), born in 2018, took home the 2022 U.S. National top ten title in the Arabian Western Pleasure Maturity after winning the championship at Mid Summer Nationals in the Arabian Western Pleasure Junior Horse class.

“How many mares can you say have produced three national champions out of just six babies—not very many,” says Brett.

Kheanne’s other offspring include the mare Trulianna (by Trussardi), a regional winner in the Western Pleasure Junior Horse division; the stallion Just Mac (by Justin Mac V); and Khameroon (by Rodan LTD), a 2021 colt.

All but Just Mac, who is with Greg Harris, reside at Becker Stables, something Brett is excited about. “They are owned by different people but having them here and being able to watch them mature has been very rewarding.”

What’s next for Kheanne? Nancy says that besides continuing to use frozen embryos with recipient mares, they also hope the mare can carry a foal during her next cycle.

“We’re just thrilled she had such a tremendous go for her final show ring appearance and we are so excited about her future. She is truly one of a kind,” Nancy says.

Brett concurs, and not just because of her successful show career and highly-performing offspring. “Kheanne has a great personality and is really a wonderful horse to be around.”

Kheanne+// ~ 2022 U.S. National Reserve Champion Western Pleasure AAOTR 60 & Over with Nancy Maximuck in her final show ring appearance.

FOR A LUXURY RIDE ...

CONTINUING HIS CONTRIBUTION TO THE BREED AS A LEADING SIRE FOR ALMOST A DECADE

By Khadraj NA+++/ x Aphrodite FA, by Fame VF

AWPA Enrolled | Sweepstakes Nominated Sire Scottsdale Signature Stallion

Proudly owned by the Pitassi Family

Kharismatic PGA+// Ladys Dance+//

Khadraj NA+++/ Aphrodite FA

Sundance Kid V SDA Lady Jabask

Ponomarev

Khatreena NA

Fame VF

ANW Simplicity

Desperado V

Sweet Shalimar V

GG Jabask+/ SDA Bey Elegance

2021 & 2022

Scottsdale Champion Western Pleasure

2021 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPION AWPA $100,000 WESTERN PLEASURE FUTURITY

2022 U.S. NATIONAL RESERVE CHAMPION WESTERN PLEASURE JUNIOR HORSE

2022 SCOTTSDALE UNANIMOUS CHAMPION WESTERN PLEASURE JUNIOR HORSE

Khadraj NA+++/

Khash PGA

RA Kela

Kaiyoum++

PGN Kailicia

PGN Solitaire

AWPA Enrolled Sweepstakes Nominated Sire

Scottsdale Signature Stallion

Proudly owned by Laurie Martin Show Horses

Laurie Martin: 480-236-6382

Becker Stables: 530.477.5588

Brett’s cell: 530.392.0699

2020 U.S. NATIONAL TOP TEN WESTERN PLEASURE JUNIOR HORSE

2021 YOUTH NATIONAL TOP TEN WESTERN PLEASURE JOTR 15-18

Becker Stables: 530.477.5588

Brett’s cell: 530.392.0699 info@beckerstables.com

All things western ... Becker Stables is the number one source for the bloodstock it takes to win National Championships. Why? Because we’ve lined our pastures with the highest quality, consistent breeding horses who produce the best, time and time again. Because of this, we have been pairing winning horse and rider combinations for decades.

2022 SCOTTSDALE CHAMPION

HALF-ARABIAN WESTERN PLEASURE AATR

2022 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPION

HALF-ARABIAN WESTERN PLEASURE

AAOTR 60 & OVER WITH KATIE RUSSELL

HEADING TO FRESNO STATE! DIVISION I EQUESTRIAN TEAM SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

2022 AHTIMES YOUTH NATIONAL HIGH POINT RIDER (TIED)