1.  To be sanctioned, a show, association, saddle club or arena must be a  member in good standing of the NBHA.  NBHA members in saddle clubs or associations may use their individual membership to meet this requirement.  Sanctioned shows may pay out on either the 3-D or 4-D format, although points will be awarded on a 4-D format.  For further clarification, see the sections below on earned points and payout.
 2.  For a show to be sanctioned by the NBHA, a written request must be  made to the District Director on an NBHA Sanctioned Show Request  Form.  A $25 sanctioning fee must accompany this request.  If the show is  to be published in the Barrel Horse News, the request form must be  received by NBHA Headquarters 60 days prior to the show.  To be approved as a sanctioned show, the request form and fee must be received at NBHA Headquarters at least 14 days prior to the requested  show date.  State Directors will have final approval for all sanctioned  shows.  NBHA points will not be awarded for shows that are not properly  sanctioned.
*3.  The NBHA will sanction only one show on a given date within a district, except that two separate NBHA runs may be sanctioned on the same day at  the same arena.  No sanctioned NBHA point shows will be approved for dates that would interfere with members from attending their State Championships, the World Championships, the Youth World Championships or a National Championship Series Show held within the same region.  For the year 2002, this means no shows should be sanctioned for July 27-August 4, or October 26- November 3, unless no one from your district is attending the conflicting World Show.
 4.  Shows will be sanctioned on a first-come, first-serve basis.  The NBHA  reserves the right to refuse sanctioning for a particular date or show if it is  determined not to be in the best interest of the NBHA or its members. 
 5.  A district shall have no fewer than six (6) nor more than eighteen (18)  sanctioned shows per competition year. 
 6.  To be sanctioned, a show must offer all NBHA members in good  standing, regardless of age or sex, the opportunity to compete.  NBHA  members may not be required to enter any other class, or join any other  association or club, or pay any non-member fee or permit fee to any  association or club, as a condition of riding in an NBHA sanctioned class. 
 7.  There will be three classes of competition as follows:
  Open 
  Youth (18 years of age and under)
  Senior (50 years of age and over)
  Proof of age may be required at the discretion of Show   Management.
  a.  NBHA sanctioned district shows must offer the three NBHA classes. 
  b. Show management may allow eligible contestants to count their time in the Open class for the Youth or Senior class. A contestant wishing to so carry an Open time to Youth or Seniors must declare their intent at the time of entry. Any contestant carrying time must pay the applicable fee for the Youth or Senior class, and is eligible to win prize money and NBHA points just as if the time was run in the Youth or Senior class. If this is done, the three NBHA classes must be run consecutively. The pattern for the Open, Youth and Senior must be exactly the same and must not be changed in any manner.
  c. If there are not sufficient entries to hold a Senior class or a   Youth class, riders eligible for these classes should be given   Senior or Youth points based on their times in the Open class.  If a   Senior or Youth class is not held, riders eligible for these classes   may be charged an additional entry fee and/or district/state awards   fees.  If an entry fee is charged then a jackpot must be paid out   according to NBHA rules.  
  d. The NBHA points, and payout, if any, will be determined based   only on those riders who qualify for that particular class (Youth or   Seniors).  
8.  a) A competitor's age in the Youth class will be determined as of the first day of the NBHA competition year. For the 2002 competition year, that date is January 1, 2002.
      b)  A competitor may ride in the Senior class at any time on or after   his/her 50th birthday
 9.  All sanctioned shows must have an electronic timing system and  conform to the NBHA rules.  (Note:  NBHA events will be timed to  thousandths of seconds if the clock being used displays three decimal places.)
10.  The District Director must submit show results of all NBHA classes (Open, Youth, and Senior) to NBHA Headquarters and to their State Director WITHIN SEVEN DAYS after the show.   Please note that results must be reported in the 4-D format, regardless of whether the show used the 3-D or 4-D payout formula.  POINT STANDINGS MUST BE POSTED IN A PUBLIC LOCATION BY THE DISTRICT DIRECTOR AT EVERY SHOW FOR MEMBERS TO SEE.  When a member disagrees with points awarded on the DISTRICT POINT SHEETS, that member will have 14 days, from the date points are posted, to bring any discrepancies to the attention of the District Director and, if necessary, to file a written protest in accordance with SECTION 10 of this Rule Book.
If points are not posted in a public location at a show, members should notify their State Director.  If that fails to resolve the problem, notify Headquarters in writing.
11.   An NBHA show may be sanctioned for more than one district.  Such co-sanctioning may be done only with districts which border the district where the show is being held.  (Directors must use good judgment in order not to create a travel distance hardship on members and risk revocation of sanction.)  State Directors will have final approval authority for all co-sanctioned shows. 
 12. The sanction fee for a co-sanctioned show is still $25, no matter  how many districts participate. However, each district director must sign  off on  the show for their district, either by signing the same form or by  submitting their own form. A co-sanctioned show must be sanctioned for  the district in which it actually takes place, unless specific permission has  been given by Headquarters. 
 13.    If a show is co-sanctioned, and the host district later decides to  cancel the sanction, the show may continue as sanctioned for any or all of  the visiting districts which decide to keep the sanction.  The original host  district may not sanction another show within that district on the same  day.  
 14.  A contestant's current NBHA membership card or a copy of current  membership application must be presented to the show secretary prior to  entering an NBHA sanctioned show.
 15.  Non-members may compete for prize money at an NBHA sanctioned  show only upon payment of a non-member permit fee.  A non-member  permit fee, in the amount of ten dollars ($10.00) will be collected from  each non member seeking to enter each NBHA sanctioned show.  The fee collected will permit non-members to enter one NBHA show and  compete in all classes for which they are qualified.  Non-member permit  fees collected will be deposited in the district account for year end awards.  District Directors may waive the non-member permit fee for members of other approved clubs and associations only during a co-sanctioned event with the non-member's club or association.
 The NBHA reserves the right to refuse co-sanctioning for a particular date or show if it is determined not to be in the best interest of the NBHA or its members.
 16.  Organizations and individuals requesting NBHA sanctioned shows  must use the official NBHA logo in all show bills and display advertising.   Classified advertising and show listings must contain the words "NBHA  Sanctioned".  Camera-ready copies of the NBHA logo are available  through your District Director.
 17.  As a condition of sanction, shows may be asked to display  promotional items provided by select NBHA national sponsors.

* - These items are new or have been changed or revised with this edition of the NBHA RULES. (Changes are shown in bold)