How AQHA is Governed

AQHA Governance

AQHA is governed by a board of directors with oversight by a five-member volunteer AQHA Executive Committee. The board of directors and the Executive Committee are elected each year at the AQHA Convention.

The board of directors represents the state, province or country in which they live. There is a mathematical formula to determine the number of directors allowed in each state, province or country based on the registered American Quarter Horse population in the respective areas. Elected directors are capped at 150 according to the bylaws. There are also members who are bestowed the honor of being on the board based on their contributions to the industry.

AQHA Convention

Rule-change proposals are submitted by AQHA members, and those recommendations are evaluated and voted on by standing committees at the annual AQHA Convention.

All AQHA members are welcome to attend the annual AQHA Convention, and most committee meetings are open to the public and allow time for member comments. 

The committee decides if recommendations should move forward. Those approved at the committee level are presented to the members in attendance at the annual meeting. The members then vote to pass, modify or reject the committee’s recommendations. Once the members vote on the recommendations, those approved then move forward to the board of directors for consideration. The board of directors then votes to pass, modify or reject the proposals.

Once the board votes, its decision is final for bylaw changes and rules of registration. All other rule-change recommendations approved by the board of directors will be evaluated and voted on by the Executive Committee in a future meeting, where they will consider the impact and feasibility of the proposed changes.

Visit www.aqha.com/convention to learn more about the annual event. And mark your calendar for December 31 – that’s the deadline every year for rule-change proposal submissions. To learn more about how rules are made and changed at AQHA, watch this video.

Member Feedback and Rule Changes

Have questions or comments? Use our online comment form.

To submit a rule-change proposal for the upcoming year, visit www.aqha.com/rulebook.