Regional clubs help AjPHA members become involved in local activities and programs. All Youth clubs are connected to an APHA regional club. This relationship offers junior members the opportunity to learn from and network with a variety of APHA members.
AjPHA clubs are as diverse as the Paint Horse, but they share common goals of educating the public about APHA, encouraging Youth, providing an opportunity to show Paints, and hosting social events and other activities to build local camaraderie.
If you want to get involved with an AjPHA regional club, but there isn’t one near you, you can start one!
The first step to starting an AjPHA regional club is to locate a volunteer to become the Youth advisor. The Youth advisor is an adult who is willing to work with the Youth to oversee the junior club. The Youth advisor should contact the APHA Director of Youth Activities and let them know the club’s intent to form. The director will then forward an application and other pertinent info to the Youth advisor for the next steps.
All junior clubs must be affiliated with an APHA regional club, referred to as the “parent club.”
The Youth advisor should attend a meeting of the parent club and ask for approval to form a junior club. This approval must be confirmed by, and included, in the official minutes of the meeting.
At this meeting, the Youth advisor should also discuss membership dues and funding of the junior club. Often, the parent club already offers a junior membership or a family membership that includes Youth members. These funds may be appropriated to the junior club for activities; using a set budget or a separate fund may need to be established.
Once approval has been granted to organize the junior club, the Youth advisor should help the Youth members determine a meeting place and time for the first organizational meeting. This meeting might take place at a horse show or in conjunction with the parent club’s meetings.
Next, the Youth advisor and interested Youth members should send out notices of the meeting to your proposed membership. The director of Youth activities may be able to provide a list of Youth within the proposed boundaries of your club to help promote the new club. A notice of the meeting should be placed in the APHA regional club’s newsletter or in any local or regional horse publications.
Prior to the meeting, a temporary chairperson and a temporary secretary should be appointed. The temporary chairperson should be capable of speaking to the group and keeping the meeting in order. The temporary secretary should take detailed minutes of the meeting.
At the appointed time and place, the temporary chairperson should call the meeting to order, express appreciation to those attending, and explain the reasons the club should be formed. The temporary chairperson should then call for a discussion from the floor (to get people involved immediately), asking for thoughts on the needs and goals of the club. It is important that whoever conducts the initial meeting keeps the meeting in order; however, they should be responsive to the audience, getting them involved and listening carefully to all ideas.
Once an open discussion has been held and there is a general consensus that the club is needed, we suggest you call for a vote on the name of the organization. Try to hold the nominations for a name to no more than three choices. Most clubs use the format “X” Junior Paint Horse Club or “X” Youth Paint Horse Club.
After a name has been decided, the club should vote on officers. First, the club must agree to the positions that will be offered, and then the actual positions should be filled.
We suggest that the Youth president ask for the authority to appoint an executive committee, consisting of the officers above and at least two other individuals. This should be a group that can meet often with the Youth advisor to set policy and give direction to the club.
The executive committee should meet after the organizational meeting to draw up a proposed set of by-laws.
Dues should be voted on and set at the initial meeting. There are various ways that membership dues can be set, and parent regional clubs often have Youth memberships available for a starting point. The junior club may receive their membership dues directly from the parent club, but the Youth advisor should determine this before the meeting.
A minimum of 10 club members (who are also AjPHA members) are necessary to form a junior club. The age limit for the junior club is 18 years of age as of January 1 of the current calendar year. Each junior club must follow the rules of the APHA and AjPHA. The club by-laws must also coincide with the APHA and AjPHA By-Laws (found in the APHA Rule Book).
After you have organized the club, obtained the required number of members, and held your organizational meeting, you may complete an application for affiliation.
The following information must be submitted with the application:
All information must be submitted to:
American Paint Horse Association
Attn: Director of Youth Activities
122 E. Exchange Ave, Suite 420
Fort Worth, TX 76164
Once this information have been received in the APHA Office, it will be presented to the APHA Regional Engagement Committee and the APHA Board of Directors for approval. The APHA Regional Engagement Committee has quarterly calls and meets at the APHA Leadership Gathering in March.