Frequently Asked Questions

Below are the frequently asked questions we received.  These will be updated on occasion.

BREED REGISTRATION:

Question: Does the horse have to be registered?

Question: What if it is a foal conceived offshore and the dam was brought over with foal in utero and papers do not reflect that it was born in Canada?

Answer:     We will accept an affidavit from a Canadian vet that the foal was born in Canada.


Question: If a horse cannot be registered, would an affidavit from a vet also be acceptable if it verified the date and origin of foaling?

Answer:   One of the long term goals of the Canadian Performance Futurity is to encourage the registration of Canadian bred horses. This is to ensure support is given to the Canadian breeding industry as a whole and is necessary if we are to succeed on an international basis. Awareness on the benefits of registration, and encouraging responsible breeding, will enable us to move toward this objective of international success. Given that, we believe it is imperative that registration is a stated requirement and that it is upheld without exception.


Question: I know that the Canadian Performance Futurity will be limited to Canadian bred horses, and I think that is great. I am hoping however, that it is/will not be limited to horses registered with Canadian registries. The Jockey Club is based in Kentucky of course. Will Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society papers suffice?

Answer:    Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society papers are Canadian registration papers and do suffice. Horses born 2002 to 2006 inclusive must be born in Canada and may be registered anywhere. Registration papers must indicate breeder, country of origin, and birth date. Commencing with horses born in 2007, they must be born in Canada and registered with a Canadian registry. So, a horse born in Canada in 2007 with only Jockey Club papers would not be eligible, but a horse with Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society papers will be eligible.

Question: What about Canadian-bred horses that do not have Canadian-based registries available to them? Some specific examples off the top of my head, which are often seen in these disciplines, are Quarter Horses, (including Appendix Quarter Horses) and Saddlebreds. (There are quite a few Saddlebreds out there competing in the Sport Horse world, particularly in Dressage.) If the program is extended to Eventing any time in the future, you would probably also run into RIDs and Irish Sport Horses. I hate to see these horses left out in the cold.

Answer:    We understand the barriers that currently exist for some breeds which may otherwise participate in this program, and that is why we developed a phased-in approach. The second phase requiring participating horses to be registered with a Canadian association will only affect horses born in 2007 and beyond, that is, four year olds competing in the 2011 classes.
In the meantime, we encourage dedicated breeders of these horses to consider working together to establish incorporation as a distinct breed under Canada’s Animal Pedigree Act. Appreciating this process can be extremely time consuming, we may be willing to review some breeds on an exception basis, if documentation is provided demonstrating these efforts are underway, or are not possible.

AGE:

Question: The classes are divided by age, for instance, in 2006 you are offering four year old classes only, which would imply only foals born in the year 2002 are eligible. If I had a horse that was born late very late in 2001, say in the months of November or December, would it also be eligible to participate in this same four year old class?

Answer:    Age is determined by the year of birth, which means January to December inclusive. To use the example of a four year old competing in 2006, that horse would have to be born between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2002.

NOMINATIONS:

Question: I have a four year old that I would like to enter. That horse has not been nominated yet. I’m having a hard time understanding the fee schedule. Can you tell me how much it would cost me to nominate this horse now?

Answer:    A four year old horse nominated in the year of the 2009 class will pay a $105 nomination fee plus the $50 late fee and $40 administration fee.

Ideally nominations occur in the year the foal is born and continues to be kept up in the years leading up to the competitions. Those nominating in this fashion pay a preferred rate. The simplified late fee for 4 or 5 year old horses was introduced for the 2009 competitions.


Question: I see that there is a herd rate. That seems like a good thing, but I don’t quite understand it. Can you show me how that works.

Answer:    Let’s say in 2005 you had 12 new Canadian bred foals on the ground. Assuming you nominated these foals as weanlings, your total calculation would look like this: 5x5 = $35 for all 12 weanlings.

Question: What is the cutoff for nominating horses which will participate in the 2009 classes?

Answer:    Nomination fees must be paid in full to the program administrator before the horse is eligible to compete. Nomination fees will not be accepted by show management. Therefore, you must have nominations paid and in order before the competitions. In order to ensure this, they must be received at the program administration office in Calgary by June 30, 2009.

Question: What is the benefit of nominating a horse as a weanling.

Answer:   There is a significant financial saving when nominating your horse early.  For instance, a four year old nominated according to the program would pay:

$5 + $10 + $20 + $30 + $40 = $105 + $40 administrative fee = $145

Whereas a four year old nominated late would pay:

The same $145 as the nominated early entry + $50 late fee = $195

Question:  I am very interested in this program and am contemplating it for my 4-year-old. It appears that it will cost quite a quite a bit to get her in.

Answer:    While the cost to nominate does increase as time passes, it has been our experience that horses who have good ability and training have the opportunity to surpass their expenses with the prize money won. This improves if you are both the owner and the breeder. That said, there is value beyond the prize money, including a chance to showcase your young horse at a specified standard and the awareness around the success of that effort.

PRIZE MONEY & BONUS:

Question:  Why do I need to wait until the end of the season before receiving prize money?

Answer:     CPF Prize Money awards are paid out once per year after all the competition results are in from across the country. In 2009, the last competition runs until September 13, and they will submit results by September 20. Prize payouts will be calculated promptly and mailed in the first week of October. The reasons for the single payout are many, but essentially it comes down to the fact that we want to ensure that we manage the fund and pay out the prize amounts in the most equitable and fair manner we can devise. All the factors that affect the calculation of the payout are not known until the results from all the competitions are considered. These factors include the following:

• Payout of prize funds is based on the number of entries that compete and qualify for prize money. All zones and classes may not have placings to 5th place.
• The CPF is a national program and managed such that the prize fund is divided equally across the zones and divisions. Remember that any horse may compete in any or all zones and divisions.
• Late nominations can be made as long as they are received and processed by the CPF before the competition. The cutoff is receipt of nominations by the CPF office one week prior to competition date.

We don't know the final balance of fees paid until late nomination cutoff one week prior to the last show, and we don't know how many horses qualified for prizes until results are in from all the shows. Only then do we have all the information for the payout calculation. In addition, the CPF program wishes to maximize prize money and minimize administration overhead, which is met through the single payout.

Question: The only breed specific bonus is for Canadian Warmblood, not my horse’s breed registry, so there is no extra money in prizes for me?

Answer:    Every year the Canadian Performance Committee invites other breed associations to participate in the breed bonus. This participation requires good effort on their part, so it is important that they know it is important to their membership. This can be done by sending emails and letters to your breed association's executive and making the request at meetings open to the membership.

New in 2009, is a Bonus for Quebec Bred sponsored by the Quebec Equestrian Federation.

FORMAT:

Question: Will this be strictly performance based or will there be provisions for line classes for the under 4 year old crowd, or is that not the ultimate goal of these Futurities?

Answer:    The emphasis for this program is purely performance.

Question: The program indicates it is for Hunters, Jumpers and Dressage. What about Eventers?

Answer:    The decision to start with Hunters, Jumpers and Dressage was made several years ago when this program was first formulated and put into place. Since then, we've had requests to expand to include Eventing. It is our hope that we meet the required level of growth and participation which will enable us to offer Eventing classes in future years.

A Young Horse Eventing Division for 5-year-olds will be added in 2010.

Question:  It appears that mostly professionals ride in the Futurity classes, and not amateurs. This puts me as an amateur rider at a disadvantage.

Answer:     While we have seen a good cross section of both amateur and professional riders, in the end, the focus on these classes is to profile Canadian-bred horses. If the owners of that horse believe that is done with the help of a professional, that is their decision. A talented amateur can do this equally well as has been borne out in the results to date.

Have a question?  Contact us.