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Again this year, $5 from preliminary and championship entry fees will go toward payback.  Payback money will stay in the specific class meaning that classes with more entries resulted in a larger payback.

“Five dollars from each entry in the preliminary class was added to five dollars from each entry from the championship class,” added Melvin Snethern, MFTHBA Secretary/Treasurer.  “We will then use a percentage calculation based on the number of entries to determine the payback amount.”

Thanks to a special donation from Gene Donley, in memory of his late wife and avid performance exhibitor Patty Donley, will add $500 to the Amateur Owned 5 years and Older World Grand Championship class.

For model and performance classes the following breakdown will be utilized.

In versatility and ranch horse classes, $5 from each entry in each class will be put toward payback for the World Grand Champion winners.  Money will be maintained in the appropriate division (i.e. money generated from open classes was paid back in the open division).  Three will be paid back in versatility and ranch horse.

Attendees bringing horses to the World Show and Celebration are reminded that ALL horses entering the grounds must present a negative Coggins test and a valid Certificate of Veterinary Inspection.

The Board also recommends that exhibitors work with their veterinarian to determine appropriate booster vaccinations needed before attending the show, including Eastern Equine Encephalitis, Equine Influenza, and Equine Herpesvirus.

All Horses Checked Upon Entry

Horses must enter through the equine entry gate to have their paperwork checked and be visually inspected.  There is a $10 per horse inspection fee. The equine entry gate will be staffed starting Friday, September 3.

Equine Entry Gate Hours:

Friday, September 3, and Saturday, September 4: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Sunday, September 5- Saturday, September 11: 8 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

For horses arriving earlier than Friday or outside equine entry gate hours, an individual will be available Friday, September 3, and Saturday, September 4 to check in horses at their stalls.  This will occur between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. each day.  To have horses checked during this time, owners must sign up in the MFTHBA office.

Monitor Your Horses

Before, during, and following the show, all horses should be closely monitored for any signs of illness.  Horses exhibiting any symptoms of illness should not be brought to the show.  If symptoms are noticed during the show, horses owners should contact the on-call veterinarian and the MFTHBA office immediately.

Practice Biosecurity

Horse owners should practice good biosecurity before, during, and following the event.  Below are some suggestions for preventing disease in your horses. These recommendations were adapted from the United States Department of Agriculture brochure “Biosecurity—The Key to Keeping your Horse’s Health.”

At the show or trail ride:

• Don’t share equipment (e.g., buckets, brushes, etc.) with other horses. Diseases, fungus, and bacteria can be spread through shared equipment.
• Wash your hands, especially after you help other people with their horses.
• When you arrive at the show grounds or trail riding facility, clean and disinfect the stalls you will be using. This is especially important in locations where another horse recently occupied the stalls.
• When you arrive home, shower and put on clean clothes and shoes before going near your other horses. Clothing can carry disease from one location to the next.

Visiting farms, horse shows, and auctions:

• Have a pair of boots or shoes that you save for visiting. These shoes or boots should not be worn around your own horses. Plastic boot covers are another option. Manure and soil collected on your boots can carry disease from one location to the next.
• Change clothes when you arrive home, prior to working with your own animals.

Bringing a horse home from a show or trail ride:

• If even one of your horses travels, all of your horses need to be vaccinated. Horses can bring disease home with them to your operation. Work with your local veterinarian to determine an appropriate vaccination program. Be sure to tell the veterinarian where you plan to travel as different areas of the country have different disease concerns.
• When you return from a trip with your horses, isolate the horse from the rest of your herd for at least 2 weeks. Returning horses should not be allowed to have nose-to-nose contact with other horses.
• Work, feed, and care for quarantine horses last to prevent spreading diseases among your herd.
• Don’t share equipment (e.g. buckets, brushes, etc.) with other horses. Diseases, fungus, and bacteria can be spread through shared equipment.
• Wash your hands and change your clothes after you work with quarantined horses.

Exhibitors are encouraged to work with their local veterinarian to determine other ways they can prevent the spread of disease.

“We want all the equine visitors to the World Show and Celebration to arrive and leave healthy,” shared Mark Mackie, MFTHBA President.  “If the health status of your equine partner is in question, we ask that you consider all the other horses attending the event when making your decision to bring the horse to the showgrounds.”

The following Special Events will be held in conjunction with the 2021 World Show and Celebration

All Week Events

Membership Drive Special

Wednesday, September 1 through Saturday, September 4 (pre-show event)

National Trail Ride, North Fork River Ranch, West Plains, Missouri

Friday, September 4 (pre-show event)

National Trail Ride Participant Dinner, North Fork River Ranch, West Plains, Missouri

Saturday, September 4 (pre-show events)

10 a.m. New Attendee Welcome Session, Hall of Fame Room

6 p.m.  MFTHBA Membership Dinner, Versatility Arena, RSVP requested

Cornhole Tournament Sign-ups during Membership Dinner

Monday, September 6

2 p.m. Tack/Show Clothes Swap:  Members are invited to bring your tack, show clothes, and other items.

Following the Show:  The Baker Family presented by Crawford Auction Service

Wednesday, September 8 

Cancer Awareness and Cure Day.  Special class offered with entry fees going to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Friday, September 10

Military Appreciation Night.  Active military and veterans get in free to the show

5 p.m. Military Honor Reception, Roy Williams Pavillion

Military and veterans in attendance are asked to participate in the opening ceremonies for the show

Award-winning bluegrass band, The Baker Family, will perform Tuesday night at the 2021 World Show and Celebration.  Their performance is sponsored by the Crawford Auction Service.  There is no additional charge for the performance.

The Versatility World Grand Champion competition is not a specific class, but rather a grouping of classes that make up a hi-point competition the results in the awarding of a World Grand Champion title.  In addition, there are sub-competitions that award Hi-Point awards in the specific grouping of classes.

Hi-Point Competition

There are three categories of versatility competition outlined in the MFTHBA Rule Book:  Versatility Pleasure Horse, Versatility Work Horse, and Versatility Speed Horse.  These three areas have their own set of classes that feed into their Hi-point award.

Versatility Pleasure Horse includes Showmanship, Western Pleasure, and English Pleasure.  Versatility Working Horse includes Reining, Western Horsemanship, and Trail.

Versatility Speed Horse includes Barrel Race, Stake Race, and Pole Bending.

In each area, hi-point awards are presented for Open, Open Amateur, and Youth.  These three competition areas feed into the overall Versatility World Grand Championship.

Based on this year’s schedule, the following classes will apply to the hi-point competitions:

Versatility Pleasure Horse

Showmanship:  Classes 1, 2, and 3

Western Pleasure:  Classes 5, 6, and 7

English Pleasure:  Classes 8, 9, and 10

Versatility Working Horse

Reining:  Class 33, 34, and 35

Western Horsemanship:  Class 30,31, and 32

Trail:  Classes 27, 28, and 29

Versatility Speed Horse

Barrel Race:  Classes 51, 52, and 53

Pole Bending:  Classes 54, 55, and 56

Stake Race: 57, 58, and 59

Versatility World Grand Championship

To be eligible for the Versatility World Grand Championship title, a horse must place in the top 10 in at least one three gait class in the Pleasure Horse division (i.e. either Western Pleasure or English Pleasure).  In addition, the horse must compete in at least one class in all three divisions (Pleasure Horse, Working Horse, and Speed).  Exhibitors should note that the Stake Race does not apply to the Versatility World Grand Champion title.

The point system for the scoring is an escalating scale with the more horses in the class making the available points awarded higher.

At the March 2020 meeting, the MFTHBA Board of Directors approved a proposal submitted by Secretary/Treasurer Melvin Snethern to increase the entry fee costs at MFTHBA sponsored shows.  “The MFTHBA has not adjusted its fee structure is ten years,” shared Melvin.  Entry fees for classes with a championship class were increased by $10.  All other classes were increased by $5.

Five dollars of the increase was used to support the expenses associated with the show. The additional five dollars for preliminary and championship classes was set aside for payback.  Payback money stayed in the specific class meaning that classes with more entries resulted in a larger payback.

“Five dollars from each entry in the preliminary class was added to five dollars from each entry from the championship class,” added Melvin.  “We then used a percentage calculation based on the number of entries to determine the payback amount.”

For model and performance World Grand Champion classes the following breakdown was utilized.

In versatility and ranch horse classes, $5 from each entry in each class was put toward payback for the World Grand Champion winners.  Money was maintained in the appropriate division (i.e. money generated from open classes was paid back in the open division).  Three places were paid back in versatility and ranch horse.

Checks were recently mailed to horse owners.  “While some checks were small, it is a start to looking at providing payback at our World Show,” shared Melvin.  Payback in individual classes ranged from $5 to $225.  A total of $3,710 was paid back to horse owners.

Interested in a new show jacket, saddle pad, ribbons, etc.?  Have some items like this that need a new home?  Join the Membership Committee on Saturday, September 5th, for a “Show Tack” Swap on Vendor Row.

MFTHBA member Melody Nagel started the idea, and it quickly took off with many members sharing that they had things that they were looking to buy or sell.  The Membership Committee was happy to help set something up a little more formal for this informal event as it was apparent that this was something many members were interested in.  It has been suggested that this should become an annual event.

The event will take place on Vendor Row.  Set-up will begin around 1 on Saturday, September 5th.  Everyone is welcome to stop by to shop from 3 to 6, when the Membership Dinner begins.  

For more information please contact Melody Nagel at (573) 619-2273.

Dr. Peters from the Animal Clinic of Ava will be set up in the farrier shed outside the practice arena on Saturday, September 12 from 10 a.m. until noon to inspect horses and issue certificates of veterinary inspection for anyone needing them in order to return to their home state following the World Show and Celebration.

Due to the Vesicular Stomatitis outbreak, horse owners should contact their state’s animal health agency to determine the requirements for their return.  Owners should also keep in mind that these requirements may change during the show depending on if new cases are identified in Missouri.

Is this your first time visiting the MFTHBA World Show and Celebration?  Are you exhibiting for the first time?  Have you been here before but have a few questions?  Stop by the Hall of Fame Room at 10 a.m. on Saturday, September 5^th.  Members of the Membership Committee will be available to answer your questions, assist you with selecting classes, entering, and anything else you might need.  This is an informal event, so stop by even if it is just to meet new people and make new friends.

Each year attendees to the World Show and Celebration love attending the organized trail rides hosted by the Missouri Fox Trotting Horse Breed Association (MFTHBA) Trail Committee.  The MFTHBA World Show and Celebration is focused on celebrating all the Association’s members and their interest.  “This is event is the only breed World Show I am aware of that includes trail rides,” shared President Mark Mackie. “This reflects the importance of our trail riding members to our association and our desire to make our event inclusive of all our members.”

Recently, the Trail Committee approached the MFTHBA Board of Directors with their intent to cancel the trail rides schedule for the 2020 World Show and Celebration.  Their request reflected concerns regarding the current Vesicular Stomatitis virus outbreak faced by several states this year, including Missouri.

While the Board understood the concerns by committee members, they challenged the committee to come up with a unique solution that would allow the breed’s trail riding members to be engaged in the event.  “The health of our equine participants is very important,” added Mackie. “One concern about holding rides off the grounds was ensuring the appropriate health paperwork was checked on all horses participating.”

To address this concern, this year’s trail rides will be held on the MFTHBA grounds and the adjacent areas.

Each morning, Monday through Friday, a member of the MFTHBA Board of Directors will be available in the Roy Williams pavilion between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m.  Trail riders may come by to complete the days required paperwork before heading out on the 130 acres on the grounds.  Longtime attendees familiar with the local roads and adjacent trails are encouraged to lead rides for those less familiar.

Attendees should review the MFTHBA showgrounds entry requirements.  Each day while completing paperwork, riders will be asked to present Coggins papers with their MFTHBA sticker on the back indicating their horse has completed the horse check-in process.

“This year has brought us many challenges.  We know this solution is far from ideal for our trail riders who love the beautiful rides hosted each year by our Trail Committee,” added Mackie.  “The Association remains committed to ensuring that trail riding is always part of the Celebration.”