Futurity
POT OF GOLD
Participate in our 4YO Alumni Program
The Michigan Morgan Horse Breeders’ Futurity is the oldest continuing Morgan breeders’ incentive program in the country, founded in 1955. In 2001, the MMHBF looked to the future and organized their first Stallion Service Auction and Gala as a way to enhance the prize money in their futurity classes, giving breeders significant rewards for their efforts. To participate, you must be an MMHBF member.
We fully support Morgan breeders and their resulting foals from weanling through their 4YO years with programs that add value to their horses year after year, like our Breeder’s Award and the Alumni program.
We invite your participation by stallion nominations and foal nominations and by attending our MMHBF Fall Horse Show!
1. Futurity membership is required to nominate horses into the Futurity. To meet the membership requirement, each owner, as listed on the registration papers, must include annual membership dues with the Futurity Nomination Form. Current dues are $30 for individual membership, $40 for family membership, and $40 for corporate or syndicate membership. (Owners of sires nominated as part of a Weanling nomination are exempt from the membership requirement.)
2. Persons who are not nominating horses may become Futurity members by completing the top portion of the Nomination Form and sending it with membership dues to the address on the form. Membership forms will also be available at the show office during the show and are always available on the MMHBF Website.
3. Memberships are in effect from July 1 to June 30 of the following year. Membership questions may be referred to any Futurity Board Member.
1. Futurity Nomination is required of all horses entered in Morgan “Futurity” designated classes. This nomination can be made on the Nomination Form which is separate from the show entry form. A Nomination Form is enclosed in the Prize List and may also be downloaded from the MMHBF Web site.
2. To keep horses Futurity eligible, horses must be nominated (not necessarily shown) annually from their weanling year through their 4-year-old year.
3. All nominations must be postmarked by August 1, 2024 unless a 50%-added late nomination fee is paid and the nomination is postmarked by August 15, 2024; or a 100%-added late nomination fee is paid and the nomination is completed one hour before the session in which the horse’s Futurity class is scheduled.
4. Yearling through 4-yr-olds whose nominations have lapsed or who have not been previously nominated may be back-nominated for the missed years by paying all applicable missed nomination fees PLUS a back-nomination fee of either $100 per year for each missed year for breeder-owned horses or $50 per year for each missed year for purchased horses. Purchasers who wish to back-nominate should enclose a copy of registration papers verifying new ownership with their Nomination Forms. After back-nomination is complete, horses may then be nominated for 2024 per Rule 3 above.
5. All nominations and back-nominations must be completed by the end of the show on September 8, 2024. The only exception is purchased weanlings as described in Rule 6 below.
6. Weanlings purchased after the end of the show (i.e., after September 10, 2024), may be nominated until December 31, 2024 upon paying a $25 late fee plus all applicable nomination and membership fees. Failing that, the back-nomination fees and procedures in Rule 4 will apply.
1. Weanling Nominations
To nominate a weanling, three conditions must be met:
(a) The weanling’s SIRE must be nominated. The sire must be registered with the AMHA or an organization having registry reciprocity. A $50 Sire Nomination Fee must be paid. The Sire’s owner has the first privilege of paying the sire nomination fee; however, he may pass the privilege to another. To avoid duplications, please discuss this with the stallion owner before nominating. Management is not obligated to return duplicate funds.
Please Note: The sire nomination described here is a required part of the weanling’s Futurity nomination process and is not the same as the “nomination” of a stallion to the 2024 Appointments USA Weanling Spectacular, which occurred automatically when the stallion’s service was sold in the 2023 MMHBF Stallion Service Auction.
(b) The weanling’s DAM must be nominated. The dam must be registered with the AMHA or an organization having registry reciprocity. A $40 Dam Nomination Fee must be paid.
(c) The WEANLING must be nominated. The weanling must be eligible for AMHA registration. A $40 Weanling Nomination Fee must be paid. The weanling’s nomination is complete once the Sire, Dam and Weanling fees have been received by MMHBF.
Please Note: Foals born after the nomination due date may be nominated in the weanling section. Please designate “unborn” instead of the weanling’s name. When foal is born, please forward name, sex, and foaling date to MMHBF for MMHBF records.
2. Yearling Nominations
To be eligible to be nominated as a yearling, a colt, filly, or gelding must have been nominated (not necessarily shown) as a weanling. A $40 nomination fee must be paid.
3. Two-Year-Old Nominations
To be eligible to be nominated as a two-year-old, a colt, filly, or gelding must have been nominated (not necessarily shown) as a yearling. A $40 nomination fee must be paid.
4. Three-Year-Old Nominations
To be eligible to be nominated as a three-year-old, a colt, filly, or gelding must have been nominated (not necessarily shown) as a two-year-old. A $40 nomination fee must be paid.
5. Four-Year-Old Nominations
To be eligible to be nominated as a four-year-old, a colt, filly, or gelding must have been nominated (not necessarily shown) as a three-year-old. A $40 nomination fee must be paid.
6. Futurity Alumni
Alumni are horses 5 years old or over that were nominated each year through their 4-yr-old year. No further nomination fees are required. Any Alumni horse receiving a first-place ribbon in one the double-asterisked (**) classes will be awarded a Futurity Alumni plate.
FUTURITY NOMINATION INFORMATION
1. ONLY Futurity-Nominated horses are eligible to be entered and shown in Morgan “Futurity” designated classes. Horses shown in Morgan Futurity classes must meet the same registration requirements as horses shown in the Morgan Horse Division of this competition.
2. Morgan “Futurity” performance classes will be conducted and judged according to the applicable rules and specifications of Chapter MO of the current USEF Rule Book. All other Morgan “Futurity” classes will be judged according to specifications of MMHBF, USEF and the current AMHA Judging Standards as applicable.
3. Morgan “Futurity” amateur classes are limited to horses trained and shown by an amateur as defined by GR 1306-1307 of the current USEF Rule Book. The horse must have received no professional training after June 1 of the current year. Horses placing 1st and 2nd in their amateur qualifying class are eligible for the respective championship class and for the Amateur In-Hand Grand Championship class, but must be shown in those championship classes by an amateur. All trailers must be amateurs also. For safety purposes all participants in these classes must be 14 years of age or over as of the first day of the show. USEF Amateur certification cards are not required for participants in Morgan “Futurity” amateur classes.
4. There will be NO CROSS ENTERING OF THE SAME HORSE between the AMATEUR and OPEN “Futurity” in-hand qualifying classes.