The American Quarter Horse Journal, August 24, 2009 – In the face of a tough U.S. economy, total qualifiers for the Bank of America Amateur Week and the FedEx Open Week at the 2009 AQHA World Championship Show are up from 2008.

Total 2009 World Show qualifiers are at 6,222; the 2008 total was 5,886. The qualifying period for the World Show began August 1, 2008, and ended July 31, 2009. The qualifying points for all but five classes remained the same for 2009 as they were in 2008.

The largest increase is in the amateur division: Total amateur qualifiers are at 2,873, up from 2,551 in 2008. Amateur team penning had the biggest increase with 158, up from 118. Other classes with big increases include reining with 141 qualifiers and all-around classes such as trail, horsemanship and western pleasure. All amateur over fences classes saw increased qualifier numbers.

The open division total in 2008 was 3,335; it is at 3,349 for 2009. As in amateur competition, open team penning showed the biggest increase with 162, up from 122. Other classes with significant gains include performance halter geldings with 126 qualifiers, up from 100, and senior working cow horse, up to 111 from 88.

The world’s best American Quarter Horses will gather to compete in the 2009 World Show November 6-21 at the Oklahoma State Fair Park in Oklahoma City. More than $2.7 million in cash and awards are up for grabs, including more than 80 world championship titles and honors such as the Featherlite All-Around Amateur and Featherlite Superhorse. The show pumps more than $31 million into the Oklahoma City-area economy.

Entry deadline for the 2009 World Show is September 15. No need to wait on the postal service to send in your entry – save time and the cost of a stamp by using the new online entry form at https://services2.aqha.com/worldshowentry/login.aspx. The secure online entry form will even be partially filled out for you when you enter your customer ID and password. Don’t have a password? Contact one of AQHA’s friendly customer service representatives at (806) 376-4811.

AQHA news and information is a service of AQHA publications. For more information on The American Quarter Horse Journal, The American Quarter Horse Racing Journal or America’s Horse, visit  www.aqha.com/magazines.