Exhibitors at the recent Sport Horse National (SHN) Championships were pleasantly surprised by the news that they won some unexpected cash at the show. Where did their windfall come from?

Less than one year ago, the SHN Payback Program was born by a group of longtime Arabian breeders and riders. By offering cash rewards, the group hopes to encourage interest and enthusiasm in the Sport Horse Nationals show, as well as the breeding of Arabians specifically for the sport-type disciplines of dressage, hunter/jumper, and carriage driving.

“The backbone of this program is the stallion owners’ support,” said Laura Wood, the director of the program. “They each donate a breeding in order to enroll their stallion and thereby make ALL of his offspring eligible for life to win the prize money. There is no out-of-pocket expense for them whatsoever.”

These donated breedings are listed on the Payback website for sale at 50% off their advertised fee and are sold on a first-come, first-served basis, thereby saving mare owners significant money when breeding their mares, as well as providing a go-to source for proven stallions. The mare owners also save money by having their foals automatically enrolled in the program as there are no nomination fees.

Stallion owners are also eligible for cash themselves each year, as 5% of the total prize money is awarded to the two Payback sires whose progeny win the most at Sport Horse Nationals. This amount was over $2,300 each for the 2008 winners, AM Good Oldboy+ and Bey Oro.

The balance of the over $46,000 was paid out in 18 classes, ranging from sport horse, jumpers and working hunters to dressage and carriage driving. If a designated class had no Payback eligible horses placing, the money was divided equally among the other classes.

“We had one horse win close to $6,000 for his two Top Tens,” said Trish Nelson, of Nelson Farms in Arizona and the trainer for NF Do The Dew. “This is proof positive of how effective this Payback program is, even in its first year. His owner was ecstatic!”

Trainer Ricci Desiderio said, ”The SHN Payback Program is proving to be a great incentive for our clients to make the trip to Nationals each year. If they know they can win some money, that benefits everyone.”

“I will only consider buying a horse that is Payback-sired and only breed to Payback stallions now,” explained breeder and National Champion exhibitor Alexis Starer-Doughty. “The fact that they can win money every year also makes my sale horses more marketable.”

Another side benefit for enrolled stallions is the promotion and marketing Payback does for the stallions and their progeny. “As a stallion owner, the attention we get through Payback is incredible,” said Joann Messersmith, owner of National Champion Le Imbrie+. “The traffic on our website has increased significantly since we became involved.”

With such a successful beginning, SHN Payback shows great promise for the future.

For more information, visit www.shnpayback.com.