National Barrel Horse Association

1. To earn and maintain points, a competitor must be a member in good standing of the NBHA. Members who fail to renew their membership within 30 days of their expiration date will forfeit any accumulated points previously earned during the competition year.

NBHA policy allows for a 30-day administrative grace period beyond the expiration date before the membership is officially marked as lapsed. This is to avoid penalizing the member with loss of NBHA points due to time it takes for the mail to arrive at Headquarters, or due to time taken by a director in forwarding memberships to Headquarters. It is also to allow the member the convenience of renewing at an NBHA sanctioned show, even if the next show is several days after the expiration date. It is not intended to give members an additional 30 days of membership privileges.

Members who are in their administrative grace period should therefore not be credited with NBHA points unless they renew at the show before competing. Members past the expiration date are also liable for non‑member permit fees. Members may not use the administrative grace period to compete in shows restricted to members, such as NBHA State Championships, Super Shows, National Championship Series, or World Championships.

2. NBHA members may accumulate points in only one district at a time during the competition year. Members will be assigned to the district where they live unless Headquarters is notified in writing that they wish to compete in another district. Members lose accumulated points in a district when they start competing for NBHA points in another district during the competition year.

3. NBHA members who compete in sanctioned events within their district may earn NBHA points in more than one class. The Open 4D, Youth 4D, and Senior 4D classes will have four divisions. All points earned by a member must be credited to that member. Members may not elect to waive or drop points earned at an NBHA sanctioned event. District Directors must report and record, on the District Point Sheets, all points earned by members.

4. Divisions are determined by time brackets, not by order of finish. In the Open, Youth, and Senior, the fastest time of a contestant in the class, WHETHER OR NOT A MEMBER OF THE NBHA, will determine the time brackets as follows:

1st division - Fastest time in the class and those who place in this division.

2nd division - Fastest time in the class plus one‑half second and those who place in this division.

3rd division - Fastest time in the class plus one second and those who place in this division.

4th division ‑ Fastest time in the class plus two seconds and those who place in this division. Note: The 4th division is not limited to a one‑second interval from two to three seconds off the fastest time; However, riders must make a good faith effort to run the pattern as fast as their ability will allow.

5. NBHA points will be awarded in all classes and divisions on a 5,4,3,2,1 basis for 1st place through 5th place among NBHA members in that competition district only, regardless of the number of entries or paying places. If two or more riders tie, the points for the tied positions should be added together and divided equally among the riders who tied.

Example of the time brackets (Note: This is only an example)

1st division .......... 2nd division ..... 3rd division ...... 4th division

1. 15.201- 5 pts .... 15.713- 5 pts .... 16.205- 5 pts .... 17.201- 5 pts

2. 15.272- 4 pts .... 15.772- 4 pts .... 16.322- 4 pts .... 17.243- 4 pts

3. 15.314- 3 pts .... 15.816- 3 pts .... 16.475- 3 pts .... 17.386- 3 pts

4. 15.357- 2 pts .... 15.993- 2 pts .... 16.528- 2 pts .... 18.025- 2 pts

5. 15.448- 1 pt ..... 16.116- 1 pt ..... 16.580- 1 pt ..... 18.567- 1 pt

6. 15.639- 0 pts .... 16.145- 0 pts .... 16.622- 0 pts .... 19.133- 0 pts

6. Should fewer than five horses place in a division, NBHA points will be awarded beginning with five points for 1st place.

7. NBHA points will not be awarded for any run during which a contestant knocks over a barrel.

8. Competitors may enter more than one class. For example, competitors in the Youth 4D or Senior 4D classes may also qualify in the Open 4D class.

9. Competitors may ride as many horses as they wish in each class. However, the competitor with multiple entries will receive points only for the highest placing horse in each division.

10. At a co-sanctioned show, each district's members are given their points separately. That is, the highest placing 1-D rider from each district gets 5 points, and so on.

11. A competitor may qualify only one entry for the NBHA World Championships in each of the Open 4D divisions, the Youth 4D divisions, or the Senior 4D divisions, based on accumulated points.

12. NBHA Points, in all classes and divisions are awarded to the rider.

13. A horse may be entered only once in each class at the NBHA World Championships and National Championship Series, with the exception of immediate family members, as defined in Section A Paragraph 8 above, who qualify in the same class. In no case will the same horse be entered more than twice in the same class.

14. At the end of the NBHA competition year, the top five point earners, plus ties for fifth place, in all classes and divisions from each district, will be determined. These finalists will be invited to compete in the NBHA World Championships. Note: Should the number of contestants cause the length of the show to be extended for an unreasonable period of time, entries may be limited at the discretion of Show Management.