USWRCA Shows, Rules, and Events

For the specific breakdown of each event, its rules, and a video of the event for visual aid.

The three USWRCA shows are the District show, then the Region show, and lastly the State show.

District

The District show is run by District 3, where we compete against Dirty Dozen, South Jordan, and Straight Shooters; the top five contestants or teams in each event move on to the Region show from District, meaning there is a certain amount of competition to move on to Region. Each club may enter three contestants or teams per event, but only two of those three may move forward. If there were not enough teams who completed the event (such as in the roping events, for example), then it goes to a draw.

The District show starts Friday, August 18 in the afternoon with the Timer and Steward meeting at TBD, and Grand Entry strting at TBD. Saturday, August 19 starts with Parade and Drill at 9:00 am. For 2023, the District 3 show will be held at the Herriman arena (W&M Butterfield Arena).

Region

The Region showNorth Region, specifically—adds four other Districts to the competition, for a total of five Districts competing, a total possible of twenty-five contestants and teams per event, except Parade and Drill. The top nine contestants or teams in each event move on to the State show; in Parade and Drill, only five teams move on.

The Region show starts Friday, August 25 in the morning with the Timer and Steward meeting at TBD, and Ladies Pleasure beginning at TBD. Saturday, August 26 starts with Cutting at 9:00 am. For 2023, the North Region show will be held at the Logan Fairgrounds.

State

Lastly, the State show combines both North and South Regions for one final, no-holds-barred competition to determine the best in the State. There's nowhere else to go after this, so leave it all on the table: give this one everything you've got! The North Region show usually runs exactly the same as the State show. Friday, September 8 starts with the Timer and Steward meeting at TBD, and Ladies Pleasure begins at TBD. Saturday, September 9 starts with Cutting at 9:00 am. For 2023, the State show will be at the Duchesne arena.

High Point

Not only can you win awards by placing first in the events, you can also win awards by taking High Point! High Point awards go to the man, woman, horse, and club with the highest accumulation of points through the show. Even if you don't take first in every event, you could still win High Point by having the most points. District, Region, and State are calculated separately, so you could win High Point at any individual show or combination of shows.

To calculate your points at the District show, add the points from each placing you were in together to get your total score:

1st place = 5 points

2nd place = 4 points

3rd place = 3 points

4th place = 2 points

5th place = 1 point

To calculate your points at the Region show:

1st place = 9 points

2nd place = 8 points

3rd place = 7 points

4th place = 6 points

5th place = 5 points

6th place = 4 points

7th place = 3 points

8th place = 2 points

9th place = 1 point


To calculate your points at the State show:

1st place = 6 points

2nd place = 5 points

3rd place = 4 points

4th place = 3 points

5th place = 2 points

6th place = 1 point


General USWRCA Rules

All of these are from the USWRCA Rulebook, but condensed down as much as possible.

1. All club members must be 15 before or on June 1, 2022 in order to ride and compete with USWRCA and South Oquirrh Hills. (Page 6 of rulebook)

2. Any horse used at a USWRCA show must be 100% owned by a member of South Oquirrh Hills. This means leasing will not count! However, the horse does not need to be owned by a riding member, so the owner of the horse can be on the roster as a non-riding member. (Page 6)

3. Riders must qualify themselves at each show the ride in by competing in Parade, or riding in at least one Grand Entry. Once, competitors had to qualify each horse, but now you are only qualifying yourself, the rider. (Page 7)

3a. When riding in Grand Entry, you may not ride bareback, double, or leading a horse! (Page 9)

4. If you plan on timing or stewarding for a show, please attend the Timer and Steward meeting before the show. If you cannot make the meeting, please talk to the President about what was discussed and to clear your stopwatch/timer. (Page 10, rule 5)

4a. If you are not confident you know how to time or steward for an event and there are multiple calls for help, please coordinate with a more knowledgeable teammate to possibly hold a horse or help in some other manner. (Club rule)

5. USWRCA requires all contestants to wear a button-down or snap-down shirt (long or short sleeve but not sleeveless!) with a collar or collar stand, long pants, and any riding boot with a heel. Men must wear a Western hat at all times; ladies must only wear a hat during judged events, such as Ladies Pleasure. Absolutely no ball caps are allowed! (Except for whoever rides the hide in Hide Race.) (Pages 10 and 11, rule 8)

5a. However, if you are on foot in the arena to help and not a contestant at the shows, the only requirement to help in the arena is to wear long pants and close-toed shoes, for safety reasons; but a button down shirt and a Western hat aren't required when helping. (District rule)

6. During the shows, at least one team member must be wearing their club number. We have our club numbers on our club vests, so as long as one person is wearing their club vest per team, that should be good. However, for individual events, you must wear your club vest. The exceptions are Parade and Drill, where teams won't be penalized for not having their club number, and single Show events such as Western Pleasure or Cutting, where a contestant is issued a separate number. (Page 11, rule 9)

7. Like many organizations, USWRCA requires a certain level of conduct: unsportsmanlike conduct can see you removed from the shows. This could be showing up to the shows drunk or high, cheating, or using unnecessarily harsh equipment on your horse and causing injury. Not only will this conduct see you removed from USWRCA shows, you may also be removed from USWRCA overall, and South Oquirrh as well. (USWRCA Bylaws; USWRCA Rulebook page 11, rules 10 and 11; club rule)

8. In team events, a club can substitute up to 50% of the team. However, if the event is a Singles event or Pairs Pleasure, the horses may not be substituted, though the riders may be. (Page 13, rule 19)