Each Zone is to determine where and when it would like to hold the Challenge. In most cases, this will be the Provincial/Zone Championship horse show. The Zone Director is asked to forward information about the Challenge to the CMHA office and the Youth Chairperson, Sandra Sanche at sancheperformance@hotmail.ca

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The CMHA encourages all of its members to continue to learn about horses and to participate in events. This is a great opportunity for our Youth to show and test what they have learned. 

There are also prizes to be won. The winner of each Challenge will win a cooler, provided by the CMHA. There will be ribbons to eighth place in each of the three divisions of the contest, as well as for overall placing. 

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The Committee which is organizing the Zone Youth Challenge is asked to set and publish a closing date and address for where entries are to be sent. There is no cost to enter, but you must show your current CMHA membership card or a copy of it in order to participate. 

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What does the Zone need to do in order to offer a Youth Challenge?  

1. Choose a time and a place and verify it with the CMHA office and Youth 

Chairperson 

2. Put together a committee to help run the event 

3. Choose a judge for each division 

4. Ask for four volunteers to show their horses for the judging contest 

5. Designate a coordinator to oversee the Challenge and to count the points 

6. Publish information so your local Youth members will know about the 

Challenge 

7. Talk it up!!! the more you say, the more important it will become 

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How does it work? 

The Youth Challenge is comprised of three parts. A judge needs to be appointed for each division, but this may be any person or people the Zone members feel would be able to do the job well. In many cases it may be the horse show judge, if he/she has been consulted about it ahead of time, a schoolteacher, a knowledgeable horseperson or club member. Try, whenever possible, to have someone who the Youth would not believe has a bias toward any one participant, i.e. the parent of a participant.

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The Speech Contest gives each participant an opportunity to speak on the given topic for approximately 2-3 minutes. The topic for 2021 Youth Challenge speech TBA.

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Each participant may use cue cards and props when speaking. Speeches may be published in the Canadian Morgan Magazine if the youth wishes. Participants will be judged on the following:    

a) quality, organization and presentation of ideas /15 
b) use of voice and eye contact /5

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The Judging Contest is an opportunity for the Youth to explain what they know about conformation and judging. All participants will have the opportunity to judge four horses on conformation and way of going. The organizing committee is asked to arrange to hold a separate “In-Hand” class for the Challenge. Volunteers are asked to show their horses as if it were an In-Hand class, yet horses need not be those who are regularly shown in this division. Participants are given the opportunity to examine each horse, as though they were the horse show judge. They are given a few moments to record notes about that particular horse and then the next horse is presented, and so on, until each horse has been examined. After the horses have been excused and the handlers thanked, participants will have approximately ten to fifteen minutes to record their placings for the four horses and reasons for the placing. Participants may not talk to each other or anyone else while doing this. Judging cards will be collected and then the division judge will listen to each participant, individually. Participants will be evaluated as follows:     

a) judging card complete /5 
b) reasons for placement /15

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The Riding Contest will be run like an Equitation class and participants will be asked to Walk, Trot/Jog and Canter/Lope, both directions of the ring. Additional tests may be requested at the judge’s discretion. Horses ridden for the contest must be registered Purebred or Part Bred Morgans. The participants will be placed by the judge and points will be awarded as follows: 

1 st = 20 points 
2 nd = 18 points 
3 rd = 16 points
4 th = 14 points 
5 th = 12 points 
6 th = 10 points  
7 th = 8 points 
8 th = 6 points

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The Overall Awards will be determined by adding together the scores each participant has earned in each division. A participant need not have taken part in all three divisions in order to be eligible for the overall awards. In the event of a tie, placing in the Riding Contest division of the Challenge will be the deciding factor. If a tie still stands, placing in the judging contest will be the next deciding factor. The participant with the highest score will be declared the Challenge winner and will be presented with the first place ribbon and the cooler. Those placing second through eighth will be awarded the corresponding ribbon.