Show Rules

Grass Roots Cutters is an organization of volunteers with a common interest in the sport of cutting. This organization prides itself on the integrity and honesty of each of its members. All the rules in the would will only be as good as those honorable enough to follow them. We, as a group, cannot possibly police every aspect of the competition of cutting within our group. It is on our honor and the hard work of those unsung heroes that Grass Roots Cutters shall enjoy success. We cannot make a set of show rules that will cover every situation. We expect the members to see what is equitable and fair, abide by their conscience and follow these basic rules.

•  All contestants, exhibitors and owners must have membership applications signed and dues paid prior to showing.

•  No training device will be allowed on any contestant's horse in the warm up or arena/show area. It is the responsibility of the contestant to remove such devices prior to entering the show arena. Failure to do so shall be grounds for disqualification from the class that the contestant is participating at the time. The following devices on any horse are prohibited in the show arena: running martingale, tie downs, side pulls, and twisted wire snaffles.

•  Abuse of any animal in the arena, warm up area or any portion of the grounds where a show is being held is prohibited. In accordance with AQHA's Code of Ethics, “ensure that the welfare of the American Quarter Horse is paramount and that every American Quarter Horse shall at all times be treated humanely, with dignity, respect and compassion”. It is the duty of all members to report any violations in writing to AQHA as well as Grass Root Cutters L.L.C. Violators may be warned, depending on gravity of offense, prior to suspension or membership revocation from Grass Root Cutters, L.L.C.

•  All contestants and turn back help must wear appropriate western attire while in the show arena. (For example: Western hat, western cut long sleeve shirt, western cut denim pants.) Certain weather/wind conditions may cause the judge to waive the hat requirement.

•  It is the responsibility of all riders/contestants to know when it is their turn in the show to ride/complete. When a rider/contestant has not responded after their third call they shall lose their ride and forfeit their entry fee for that ride. The only exception to forfeiting their entry fee shall be that the rider or a duly authorized representative has notified the show secretary prior to the rider's name being called.

•  Show management reserves the right to disqualify, refuse entry, or eject from the premises any person for misconduct or harassment of the judge(s), show management, employees, contestants, or spectators.

•  Any exhibitor, owner or rider may enter more than one horse in any class.

•  The judge's decision in final.

•  Any person issuing an NSF or check returned by the bank it is drawn upon will pay a penalty fee of $25.00 to Grass Root Cutters L.L.C. A member shall be considered to be not in good standing until the $25.00 penalty fee is paid to the treasurer. Upon a second NSF or returned check issued by a member, the member shall be placed on a cash only basis.

•  The board of directors shall determine the show classes prior to the start of each show year. Show classes determined by the board of directors shall be subject to approval by a majority vote from the membership.

•  Horses or contestants are required to show in a minimum of three shows to be eligible for year end awards.

•  Ties shall be broken at the last show with a ride off, time and circumstance permitting. If circumstances do not permit a ride off then a coin toss will determine the winner of that particular tie.

•  A rookie award shall be awarded to any member that meets the following criteria:

•  Must be a member in good standing

•  An adult, as described in the operating rules, for the adult rookie of the year award.

•  A youth, as described in the operating rules, for the youth rookie of the year award.

•  Must have shown in a minimum of three shows for the considered year.

•  Must be a true rookie. (This is one of those on your honor considerations.)

•  Any person that did not show in more that two show with Grass Roots Cutters L.L.C. in the prior year to the year being considered is eligible for the rookie of the year award.

•  Must be nominated by a member in good standing.

•  Must receive a majority of votes when voted upon by the general membership.

•  Classes:

Open – Open to any rider and any horse.

Non-pro – Open to any non pro rider and any horse they own.

3000 Novice – Open to any rider and any horse with less than $3000 in winnings.

2000 Novice – Open to any rider with less than $2,000 in personal winnings

Riding any horse. Rider shall not be allowed to enter more than once in this class per show.

1000 Novice – Open to any rider with less than $1,000 in winnings on the horse they are riding.

500 Limited Rider – Open to any rider with less than $500.00 in personal winnings riding any horse. Rider shall not be allowed to enter more than once in this class per show.

500 Novice Novice – Open to any rider with less than $500.00 in personal winnings riding a horse with less than $500.00 in winnings.

Youth – Open to any youth who will not be 18 years old in the current show season year. The contestant may ride any horse.

Open Ranch – Open to any horse and any rider. One or tow hands are allowed and reining is permissible. However, once a rider decides to cut he or she will be penalized by the judge when they later decide to pick up and use their reins. A rider who starts reigning and switched to cutting will likewise not gain any pointes. A rider must ride the way they initially intended to maximize the amount of points they can earn.

250 Horse – Two Handed – Open to any rider. The horse may not have winnings of more than $250.00 in any cutting event. Rider must show horse using two hands, if rider has both of them.

250 Novice Novice – Open to any rider with winnings less than $250.00 in any cutting event riding a horse with winnings less than $250.00 in any cutting event. Rider must hshow the horse using two hands if the rider has both of them.

•  Horse and riders are not required to be relegated or moved up from the Youth, Open or non-pro classes. Horses and riders that win the year end award for all other classes not mentioned in the above statement are not eligible to compete in that same class the following year. This gives others an opportunity to win those classes and challenges those that have already won. This also eliminates the temptation of sandbagging. Another one of those on your honor considerations.

•  All riders shall use their horse's registered name for all GRC L.L.C. show entries.

•  All riders and horses must be members or owned by members to be shown. An owner must be a member to have his/her horse shown when the horse is being ridden by someone other than his or herself.

•  Should the same rider an any horse enter the same class more than once at the same show points earned may not be combined with other points as a result of the multiple entries. Points earned shall be exclusive to only that particular horse and rider. Points are accumulated from separate show to separate show only.

•  The number of entries per class may be limited by the board of directors to a specific number due to the availability of cattle.

•  The cost for show registration must be pre-approved by the board of directors in the amount is other than the amount set for the show season.

•  The SHOW RULES shall be posted in a conspicuous location at all sanctioned Grass Roots Cutters, L.L.C. events.