About ASHBA Registry Services

The American Saddlebred Horse and Breeders Association (ASHBA) shall guarantee the purity of the breed through the establishment, maintenance and publication of an accurate register for the recording of pedigrees and the transfers of ownership of the American Saddlebred Horse. The Registry shall, in addition, administer the recognition and prize programs associated with the breed.

About Registry Services

The American Saddlebred Horse and Breeders Association (ASHBA) registers approximately 1,300 horses a year and documents approximately 3,000 transfers of ownership annually. Pedigree information is readily available to owners and breeders. Our microfilm archives hold over 80 years of Saddlebred history and records.

• Registry Related Forms and Fees
• ASHBA Registry Services Rules & Regulations
• Half American Saddlebred Registry of America

Home for Life Network

The American Saddlebred Horse and Breeders Association has launched the Home for Life Network. The program, formerly known as the My Meadows program, encourages members to volunteer to provide a “safety net” for horses they bred or own/owned.  This free program allows anyone who is either the breeder or a previous or current owner of registered American Saddlebreds to record their name and contact information with the American Saddlebred Horse and Breeders Association. If a horse ever becomes unwanted, the individual with custody of the horse may visit the horse’s page on the ASHBA website, by searching registered American Saddlebreds, to see if Home for Life Network enrollment has been indicated. 

• Home for Life Network Recording Form

Microchip Recording

The Registry of the American Saddlebred Horse and Breeders Association (ASHBA) will record microchip numbers in the database upon receipt of this properly completed form. Once recorded in the database, the microchip number will automatically appear on the horse’s registration certificate at the time of printing.

Awards and Recognition

Saddlebred Record:  CH, CH-EQ, CH-SH and CH-HS

Saddlebred Record is designed to provide a reference source of current and accurate information concerning the breeding records of Saddlebred stallions and mares, to identify successful breeding combinations, to identify and honor the outstanding performers of the show ring, and to keep the history of the breed. Upon earning enough points at USEF-licensed Saddlebred competitions, USEF Lite and American Saddlebred Horse and Breeders Association (ASHBA) Star Shows and being approved as a Champion, a horse will be awarded the permanent "CH" prefix to its name on the Registry of the ASHBA records. Saddlebred Record Champions are acknowledged each year in the Journal of the American Saddlebred.

Prize Program: American Saddlebred Futurities

A futurity is a prize program for young horses, which awards purses made up of entry fees paid over a period of time by participants.  Futurities are held to encourage the breeding and showing of American Saddlebred horses.  Showing a foal in a futurity enhances its value and increases its earning potential; the value of the sire and dam may also be enhanced through the success of their progeny shown in futurities.  Amateurs and juveniles, as well as professionals, have the opportunity to show young horses in futurities.  The experience should be entertaining to both audience and participants, and should present the American Saddlebred at its best, providing an opportunity for fun, competition and good sportsmanship.

Prize Program: American Saddlebred Sweepstakes

The American Saddlebred Sweepstakes Program is designed to perpetuate the breeding, training and showing of the American Saddlebred horse.  They are a great benefit in promoting the breed and bringing new people into the industry.  Entries in the Three- and Four-Year-Old Sweepstakes compete in the following classes: Three-Gaited, Five-Gaited, Fine Harness and Three-Gaited Park Pleasure.  Entries in the Two-Year-Old Sweepstakes will compete in the following classes: Three-Gaited Park and Fine Harness.  Horses are nominated in the yearling year to the Two- and Three-Year-Old Sweepstakes and in the three-year-old year to the Four-Year-Old Sweepstakes.  A horse does not have to be nominated for the Two-Year-Old Sweepstakes in order to be nominated for the Three-Year-Old Sweepstakes.  Horses do not have to be nominated for the Three-Year-Old Sweepstakes in order to be nominated for the Four-Year-Old Sweepstakes.

Broodmare Hall of Fame

The Broodmare Hall of Fame (BHF) was established in 1972 as a project of the Southeastern Futurity. ASHA accepted responsibility for the BHF in 1981 and established a committee, consisting of Jim Aikman, Mae Condon, Carl Fischer, Don Stafford, Lynn Weatherman, Linda Graham Leonard, and Judy Werner. Criteria for inclusion in this group of elite mares were established; some of the qualities desired included: having produced champion show horses and/or sons or daughters important in the breeding world; being prolific; and having representatives in the breed today.

The current requirements for Broodmare Hall of Fame is as follows:

A mare must have produced a minimum of three offspring that have earned a combination of the following titles at the World’s Championship Horse Show: three World’s Champions; OR two World’s Champions and one Reserve World’s Champion; OR one World’s Champion and two Reserve World’s Champions. In any combination, the mare must have produced three different offspring, each of which must have won one of these titles in the following divisions: Five-Gaited, Three-Gaited, Fine Harness, Five-Gaited Pony, Three-Gaited Pony, Show Pleasure, Country Pleasure, Park or Park Pleasure.

One World’s Champion or one Reserve World’s Champion requirement is allowed to be replaced with one of the following: The mare produced one producer (dam) of a World’s Champion OR one sire of five World’s Champions. (The World’s Champion producing daughter or son cannot be the same horse whose win is counted toward Broodmare Hall of Fame status.) The mare produced an offspring with a World’s Champion of Champions or a Reserve World’s Champion of Champions in the Junior Equitation or Senior Equitation divisions OR a Champion in an Equitation Triple Crown Finals OR a World’s Champion or a Reserve World’s Champion in the In Hand division.

At least six horses must have shown in a qualifying class and four horses in a championship class.  Kentucky County Fair classes do not count toward Broodmare Hall Of Fame status.

Please submit this form to apply for Broodmare Hall of Fame.

Breeders' Award

The Breeders' Award program recognizes the breeder of the Champion and Reserve Champion in designated classes at the World's Championship Horse Show.  Breeders of designated Champions receive a commemorative silver medallion; a bronze medallion is awarded to breeders of Reserve Champions in those classes.  The breeder is defined as the owner or lessee of the dam at the time of breeding and appears on the registration certificate in the "Bred By" section.  The only eligibility requirement is the breeder's active membership with the American Saddlebred Horse and Breeders Association.  The Breeders' Award Medallions are presented by Equidae Insurance.

Heritage Horses

Heritage Horses are from a time when neither blood typing nor DNA testing was available. Horses will be designated as Heritage with the Registry of the American Saddlebred Horse and Breeders Association subject to the guidelines below.

Guidelines for Heritage Horse Designation

1. Horses will be registered with the designation Heritage.
2. Only horses born prior to 1980 are eligible. This is when contemporary rules became available.
3. Horses do not need DNA or blood typing for proof of parentage. Members can submit a body of proof substantiating the horse’s background.
4. Horses shall be qualified based on the Registry Rules that were in place at that time (see table below). Early rules accommodated acceptance of horses based on gaits, however, that would be impossible to verify at this date.
5. Should a horse be verified as to half of the equation, that horse shall be recorded as a Half Saddlebred Heritage Horse.
6. Heritage Horses shall be eligible for award programs upon substantiation (e.g., CH, CH-SH, CH-EQ, etc.)

Gallery of Heritage Horses

Mass Of Gold

Parading Lady