I remember reading a post on COTH a while ago talking about the decision to change the birthday cutoff for juniors from Jan 1 (or whatever it used to be) to Dec 1. There was some mention of a trainer who lobbied for the change because of her son being born late December?
Does anybody know the story? When did the change occur, and what was the logic? Curious because I have some half-baked book idea and that particular event is somewhat tangential.
If it changed, it changed more than 12 years ago. I have known it to be Dec 1 since we moved here. I always assumed it coincided with start of new show season which is December 1:
Q: What is the definition of a Junior?
A: Per USEF rule GR127, an individual who has not reached their 18th birthday as of December 1st of the current competition year. If you were 17 on December 1 you will remain 17 through the entire competition year even if you turn 18 on December 5. However, if your birthday is on December 1st you will assume the greater age on that day.
I’m pretty sure it’s always been Dec 1st.
Well, it’s possible parent of kid with a Dec birthday was on the board and changing it to match the horse show year dates does have logic and consistency.
No idea when that was decided but it certainly was not recently. Started showing late 60s, AHSA rateds in early 70s as an Amateur, don’t remember it being any other way but could be mistaken going so far back. Know it was Dec 1 when I switched to rated Hunters, that was 1993.
I never understood what was wrong with Jan 1 for show year or rider age but nobody asked me.
I seem to recall some confusion, possibly some of the non AHSA breeds might have calculated differently, maybe still do, no idea.
[QUOTE=AmmyByNature;8617931]
I’m pretty sure it’s always been Dec 1st.[/QUOTE]
No it wasn’t, I was a junior in the 1960s and January 1 was the date through at least the early 70s. I took a break from riding in 1978 and I think it probably changed after that time. My birthday is January 3 so I got an entire year when I was actually 18 but my show age was 17.
When I was showing in the late 80s and early 90s, it was December 1. I think it was Kelley Farmer’s bad fortune to have an early December birthday, so she lost a junior year.
That makes sense, that’s about when I started doing the rateds and I do remember some confusion way back then but I was clearly over 20 and in the younger Ammies so largely unaffected, and didn’t care… Mid 70s is a great guess as far as AHSA/USEF but it could have been a little later.
Thanks all! I must have stitched together a couple half-remembered posts. Early 70s makes sense!
When I showed in the late 1970’s it was December. Lost a year 
Luckily my kid has a January birthday so she gains a year
[QUOTE=BAC;8617943]
No it wasn’t, I was a junior in the 1960s and January 1 was the date through at least the early 70s. I took a break from riding in 1978 and I think it probably changed after that time. My birthday is January 3 so I got an entire year when I was actually 18 but my show age was 17.[/QUOTE]
Sorry - I should have defined “always.” I’m 35 - it’s always been Dec 1st for me. So at least from the 80s.
It changed in the very late 70s/early 80s. A couple of friends of mine with December birthdays got an extra junior year. 
I agree it was sometime in the late 70s.
I think it was related to the rise of the Florida circuit. Before that, there were practically no shows after MSG (early November) until well into January, so it didn’t really matter when the new season started, and there was plenty of time to count points for the HOTY.
But once the Florida circuit got big, it was really difficult to get all the December show results processed in time for the Annual Meeting/Awards.
So they changed the competition year from “Jan 1 - Jan 1” to “Dec 1 to Dec 1”. That way the December results from Florida didn’t need to be processed until later, and they had all of December to get the HOTY points counted. (Remember, this was being done by hand, not on computers)
Once they changed the competition year, they pretty much had to change the age definition too. Otherwise you would have riders who competed a Juniors for December, and as Seniors for the rest of the year.
I have always known it to be December 1st. This was the only time having a Christmas birthday was helpful as I had a whole competition year of being 18, got to defer from college, work as an assistant barn manager and still show in the children’s jumpers for that year, 10/10 would recommend :lol:
As usual, Janet knows the answer. But that makes sense about the growth of the Florida circuit being a factor in bringing about the change in dates.
It was January 1 through my last junior year, which was 1973. My birthday is Dec 6 so I never got to show older than I was as a junior.
By by the time I started riding again as an amateur, in 1982, it was Dec 1.
Like Janet I suspect it coincided with changing the start of the show season to Dec 1.
[QUOTE=Darkwave;8617948]
When I was showing in the late 80s and early 90s, it was December 1. I think it was Kelley Farmer’s bad fortune to have an early December birthday, so she lost a junior year.[/QUOTE]
Wouldn’t that have given her an extra year?
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
