NOMINATION RULES
If your horse is sired by one of the Ruby Buckle Stallions, your horse is eligible for nomination. The stallion has to be enrolled in the program the year the foal is conceived to be eligible for nomination.

Only ONE nomination payment is due per calendar year per horse. Nomination payments are non-transferrable (meaning you cannot transfer payment to another horse) and non-refundable.

All horses need to be nominated every year to remain eligible to compete at the Ruby Buckle Barrel Races.

NOMINATION SCHEDULE:
Due at time of entry OR Aug 1, whichever comes first for $200 OR Dec 1 for $300
If you do not pay your foal in by the Dec 1 deadline of the year they are born, they will only be eligible for nomination into the Ruby Buckle by utilizing the missed nomination payment option if they are under 5 (see below).

HOW THE NOMINATION PROCESS WORKS

For the entire life of your horse, if you wish to run at the Ruby Buckle Barrel Races, they will need to be paid in yearly. (Example: Weanling $200 + Yearling $200 + 2 yr old $200 + 3 yr old $200 + 4 yr old $200 + 5 yr old $200 = $1200 + Entry Fee for the Ruby Buckle Barrel Race)

Any horse nominated into the Ruby Buckle will need to pay $200 yearly to remain eligible to run at the Ruby Buckle Barrel Races for future years.

$200 nomination for all horses are due by Aug 1 or at time of entry, whichever comes first.  If you miss this deadline the fee will be $300 due by Dec 1. AQHA registration papers are not needed at the time of nomination, but we require that you email a copy of the papers to [email protected] when you get them.

In the case of stallions leaving the program or dying –> Within any given year, if you have nominated your horse and continue to pay your nominations yearly, your horse will always be eligible to run in the Ruby Buckle Barrel Races.

Example — > ‘Stallion X’ sired horses are eligible to run at the Ruby Buckle Barrel Races as long as they are nominated into the program each year starting in 2020 or each year of their life. If ‘Stallion X’ drops out of the Ruby Buckle Stallions list, your foal will be eligible to run at the Ruby Buckle Barrel Races as long as ‘Stallion X’ was Ruby Buckle eligible the year your foal was conceived. Foal must be nominated based on schedule outlined above.

OTHER NOMINATION OPTIONS

MISSED NOMINATION PAYMENT OPTION

There is a missed/late payment nomination option for horses that were not nominated the first year of eligibility or have missed a nomination payment. Horses must be late paid before the start of their futurity year & must have never competed in any barrel race. Yearly nomination payments will be due to maintain your horse’s eligibility to run at the Ruby Buckle Barrel Race.

2023 Deadlines:
$2,000 / due by Nov 1 (of their 3 yr old year)
$3,000 / due by Nov 1 (of their 4 yr old year)

RACETRACK SPECIAL NOMINATION DETAILS

If not previously nominated to the Ruby Buckle, horses that have had an official 'start' on the track or are a sale graduate of Heritage Place, Ruidoso, or Los Alamitos sales are eligible for nomination the year of purchase at a discounted rate as listed below:

$600 due for yearling

$900 due for 2-yr-olds

$1200 due for 3-yr-olds

$1500 due for 4-yr-olds

*Nomination must be received by Dec 1 in the year of purchase from sale. Please note that you will need to continue nominating yearly to remain eligible to compete for Ruby Buckle Barrel Race payouts in future years.

BREAKAWAY ONLY SPECIAL NOMINATION DETAILS

If not previously nominated to the Pink Buckle OR Ruby Buckle, horse is under 5, and you would like to compete in ONLY our breakaway events you can pay the following special nomination at a discounted rate as listed below:

$300 due for yearling

$600 due for 2-yr-olds

$900 due for 3-yr-olds

$1200 due for 4-yr-olds

*Nomination must be received by Dec 1.  Please note that you will need to continue nominating yearly to remain eligible to compete for Pink or Ruby Breakaway payouts in future years.

If your horse is sired by a new stallion that has been added to the Ruby Buckle, you will be able to nominate horses of any age sired by these ‘new’ stallions within the year they are added to the program ONLY. $200 Nomination Fee is due Aug 1 or $300 by Dec 1.

UNREGISTERED HORSES

In the case where a horse is not/cannot be registered: a DNA test will need to be provided by the horse owner with nomination/entry form(s) & the stallion owner will be contacted by the Ruby Buckle office to verify parentage and confirm that all breeding payments have been made to the stallion owner.

REBREEDS

If you are wanting to nominate a foal that is the result of a rebreed to a stallion who is no longer enrolled in Ruby Buckle you will need to provide a copy of the breeding contract and a letter from the stallion owner verifying that the foal was a result of a rebreed from the year the stallion was enrolled in Ruby Buckle.

FROZEN EMBRYOS

Frozen embryo eligibility is based on year of conception not year of transfer (implantation to recipient mare).  Proof of date of conception will need to be sent in with nomination form.

All decisions made by the Ruby Buckle are final – we reserve the right to refuse entry to any horse or individual. Any rules herewith can be changed, added to, or denied at the discretion of Ruby Buckle LLC.  Ruby Buckle LLC will have the final word in interpreting or supplementing the rules and conditions of the Futurity if the need arises.

If you have any nomination questions, please email [email protected]