SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. – The 2011 WHTA Riders’ Cup sold its final two sponsorships and will have a full allotment of 10 sponsors in 2011. The total amount of sponsorship monies for 2011 is $25,000. Keith and Lorraine Rosbury and Don Diego sponsored the Two-Year Old Mare & Gelding division and Bill and Karen Bean and Horse'n Around Ranch sponsored the Aged Mare & Gelding division.
The final list of sponsors is as follows:
Two-Year-Old Mares & Geldings - Keith & Lorraine Rosbury & Don Diego
Two-Year-Old Stallions - Andrew Waites Family
Three-Year-Old Mares & Geldings - East TN Fall Classic
Three-Year-Old Stallions - Delta Fall Classic
Four-Year-Old Mares & Geldings - Molly Walters Family
Four-Year-Old Stallions - Molly Walters Family
15.2 & Under - Quality Exteriors
Aged Mares & Geldings - Bill & Karen Bean/Just Horse'n Around Ranch
Open Specialty - Western Sky Walking Horses & Phyllis Langley
Walking Horse Stake - The Celebration
This year will mark the first time all 10 divisions have been sponsored. The program has received much greater interest as trainers and horse shows from different areas have started to take part. In 2010 over $55,000 was distributed to the top 25 trainers in the program. In 2010 92 horse shows participated in the program with 85 trainers signed up in the Riders’ Cup program. There were 3,644 entries in Riders’ Cup classes in 2010.
All WHTA members are eligible to enroll in the program and just like in 2010, there is no fee for a trainer to join the program. Also in 2011, horse shows will only pay a $100 Riders’ Cup affiliation fee and $10 per entry in the Riders’ Cup class. There is no required prize money in the class over and above the non-Riders’ Cup class and all horse shows are eligible to participate regardless of HIO affiliation.
The standings for the Riders’ Cup are online at www.walkinghorsereport.com and can also be found each week in the print edition of the Walking Horse Report.