The International Hunter Futurity program has ended as of Oct. 12. The IHF Board of Directors voted unanimously to shut down the program, effective immediately. President Ernie Shook posted a statement to the IHF website explaining that the program is unable to continue due to financial reasons.
Shook declined to provide a comment at this time.
For more than 30 years, the IHF has provided awards to participants competing in the program on both the East and West Coasts. The original goal of IHF was to spark interest in hunter breeding and increase hunter popularity while also providing a financial incentive. This year the East Coast Regionals were held Sept. 4 in Warrenton, Va., and the West Coast Regionals in Del Mar, Calif., Aug. 26-27.
The source of the prize money stemmed from the stallion and foal nominations and IHF competition fees, the numbers of which have been declining in recent years, explained the letter posted on the IHF website. While they received funding from an anonymous donor the last three years, it was not enough to sustain the program.
“Please note that all the IHF participants have signed the nomination form agreeing to the following special condition found under item number eighteen: ‘The IHF reserves the right to cancel, postpone, or change the conditions of all or any part of the IHF, including limiting the number competing in the IHF, without liability,’ ” stated the letter from Shook.
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“It’s too bad,” said Sue Lightner, a frequent competitor in the IHF classes and regional finals.
“I think it was good,” she continued. “I think [the IHF program] provided the ability to enjoy the process for the young horses. It was a great place to be able to take them and do stuff; it was fun.”
Lightner, of Modesto, Calif., liked to take her young horses to the IHF competitions so they could gain experience and acclimate to the environment.
“It was so nice to be able to have [those classes],” she said. “I wish we could have the classes incorporated into all the horse shows because it’s so nice for the babies to compete against their peers. [IHF] provided some kind of a platform where it was like for like; they were all on the same page.”
In addition to Shook’s online statement, the board sent out letters to all members in the IHF program informing them of the decision.
