General Guidelines & Requirements

• Competition/Membership year runs from December 1 through November 30, annually.

• All memberships/registrations are for one year only and end on November 30, regardless of the date membership was purchased.

• Rider must be an active member of NCDCTA at the time points are earned

• Owner/Lessee (if other than rider) must be an an active member of NCDCTA at the time points are earned

• Horse must be registered with NCDCTA for the competition year at the time points are earned

• Horses registered by January 31 (with active NCDCTA membership) will be awarded points from the beginning of the competition year. Horses registered after January 31 (with an active NCDCTA membership) will accumulate points from the date of receipt.

• All NCDCTA HOY points must be earned at NCDCTA-recognized competitions and events. Exceptions:

  • Out-of-state Eventing results for USEA/USEF/FEI recognized events (horse trials only)

  • Out-of-state Dressage CHAMPIONSHIP results (e.g., Regional, National & CBLM championships)

  • Out-of-state results must be reported within 10 days from the end of competition

  • Out-of-state results earned after November 1 must be reported within 3 days of the end of competition

  • Report out-of-state results online at NCDCTA.org

• First place HOY winners are ineligible to win the same division for the following three consecutive years. Exceptions:

  • FEI Grand Prix Dressage

  • Musical Freestyle Dressage

  • Junior/Young Rider FEI Dressage

  • Preliminary and Above Eventing

  • Level 5 Western Dressage

  • If horse ownership/lease has changed

• Rider status (Junior/Young Rider, Adult Amateur, Open) determines the division in which points are accrued. Rider status must be stated as part of the membership application. A change in status must be sent directly to the membership secretary in writing. Points will accrue in the new division from that date forward. If a status correction is necessary for any reason, all points earned will be placed into the corrected division. Status Corrections must be approved by the HOY Committee.

• Junior/Young Riders are members who are 21 years of age or younger as of December 1 of the award year. Junior/Young Rider birthday must be stated as part of the membership application.

• Points will be posted periodically throughout the competition year on the NCDCTA website (NCDCTA.org).

• Awards and Prizes will be awarded at the annual Horse of the Year (HOY) banquet.

  • Ribbons: 1 through 6 in each division

  • Prizes: 1 through 3 in each division

• Verification and Accuracy: It is the competitor’s responsibility to verify the accuracy of their points by checking the NCDCTA website throughout the year

• Submission of results is the sole responsibility of the competition manager. Failure to submit completed results or any infractions of the guidelines may result in recognition denial for current or future competitions. NCDCTA offers no warranties or guarantees as to the quality of competition or suitability of venues at recognized schooling shows, and reserves the right to deny recognition to competitions the executive board deems sub-standard, for policy infractions such as late results, or for any reasons forthwith. Any questions regarding points should be directed to the NCDCTA Membership Secretary.

• Minimum Test Requirements – Dressage:

  • Introductory through First Level – 60%

  • Second Level through Fourth Level – 58%

  • FEI Levels – 55%

  • Musical Freestyle – 55%

• Minimum Test Requirements – Western Dressage

  • Intro, Basic and Level 1 – 60%

  • Level 2 through Level 5 – 58%

  • Freestyle – 55%

• Maximum Requirements – Eventing

  • Green as Grass and Starter (formerly Maiden) – 50 penalty points

  • Beginner Novice through Modified – 55 penalty points

  • Preliminary and above – 65 penalty points

• Team is one rider and one horse

• Dressage, Western Dressage & Eventing competitions within North Carolina must seek NCDCTA recognition to participate

• Dressage & Western Dressage competitions and Eventing schooling competitions outside NC must seek NCDCTA recognition

• Competition organizers seeking recognition must be NCDCTA members

• USEF/USEA CT results are not accepted

• Virtual Tests are not accepted

• Out-of-State Eventing Horse Trial results accepted via the online form within 10 days of competition

• Out-of-State Dressage Championship (only) results accepted via online form within 10 days of competition

NCDCTA HOY Awards Tracks

NCDCTA is a USDF General Membership Organization, and as such, our primary purpose is to assist our members in competing in USDF/USEF/USEA recognized competitions. NCDCTA supports and recognizes schooling competitions as a means of preparing members to compete at recognized competitions.

1. Competitors may only win one award per Level. Competitors may not win both Recognized and Schooling track at the same level.

2. The Recognized Track will always supersede the Schooling Track, regardless of placement.

   1. Example 1: If a competitor meets the minimum requirements at Training Level in both tracks and places 2nd in schooling and 5th in recognized, the 5th place recognized will be awarded and no award will be given in the schooling track.

   2. Example 2: If a competitor meets the minimum requirements at Training Level in the Schooling Track and ranks 2nd, and does not meet the minimum requirements in the Recognized Track, no award will be given in the Recognized Track and 2nd place will be awarded in the schooling track.