Welcome to ACE Group Inc!

We are proud to be a member of World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH).
The ACE Passport has been added to the list of “FEI approved national identification documents” available on the FEI website as well as on the FEI Database.
This means that this Passport can now be used as a national identification document for FEI horses.

2018 Assessment Tour Futurity Plan

December 19, 2017

Futurity Open to all foals entered into the ACE Assessment Tour 2018
Conditions of Entry:

Competition runs for 3 years
Must enter as a foal in their first year. Entries are open from start of tour 2018 until June 2018.
$50 to enter as a Foal.
Then $100 payable each year – for the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd year.
Total entry cost is $350 paid over 3 years.

In the 3^rd year, each horse or pony eligible for futurity will require assessment on the 2021 tour, 3 sections Conformation, Movement and Free Jumping.

There will be a State prize for a winning three year old in each State – approx $1500 – $2000 prize (depending on entries)
Each State winner will be presented with a trophy and garland.
Highest scoring horse or pony will win the overall National award. – Extra Cash prize and trophy/rug.

Rules – the horse or pony owner must be financially paid up before their 3^rd year. If they do not pay up annually, a late fee will be applied (amount to be determined) or the entry will be deemed not valid and forfeit all entry fees paid to date.

To be eligible for the Futurity the foal must be registered with ACE.
The Futurity Assessment takes place as a 3yo. You have until June 2018 to nominate for the futurity and get your foal registered with ACE.
The 3 year old Assessment including the free jumping is in hand and not under saddle.

Minimum State Numbers.

10 in each State. If not 10, then the winning prize money will be pro-rated or combined one State with another.
Assessment fee for futurity in its final year will be charged as normal.
All 3yo’s must also jump – this cannot just be a dressage award. It’s an overall award for the best of the best really. A good dressage horse should be able to jump and a good jumper should be able to move.

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What is ACE Assessment?

ACE Assessment is an opportunity to receive feedback, an instrument of quality control against the breeding goal and a chance to benchmark against other breeders/owners nationally as well as internationally.

ACE Group Inc. has successfully offered Assessment by an independent expert from overseas for ACE registered and unregistered Performance Horses for over ten years providing the Australian Equestrian industry with valuable feedback regarding their breeding decisions.

When looking at the meaning of the word Assessment there are numerous synonyms: Evaluation, Estimation, Measurement, Judgement, Review, Consideration and Opinion.

All of these words with their particular meaning play an important role during the assessment. However, the assessment also implies that there is a state of perfection, a dream to achieve an overall breeding goal, which has been outlined below.

Without this goal – assessment and all of its functionalities will fade.

Estimation – Breeding or not breeding – keep him colt or geld him – keep or sell

Neither the assessor nor ACE Group Inc. will be able to answer these questions fully, but with the assessment, you will get a snapshot of where your horse is at that particular point in time. It may give you a tool to make a decision.

Measurement – depending on what type of Performance Horse you would like to breed, there are clear rules to e.g. heights.

Do you intend to breed a pony, small performance horse or Warmblood? Especially important for the assessment of older horses – mares that are considered to enter the breeding program as well as stallions.

Judgement – nobody likes to be judged – but to improve we need to be aware of possible faults and open to constructive criticism.

The ACE Group Inc. expert has seen thousands of horses in his career as a judge and will give you an honest impression of where you are according to the breeding goal and its implication.

Marks = words:

10 excellent

9 very good

8 good

7 fairly good

6 satisfactory

5 sufficient

4 deficient

3 quite poor

2 poor

1 very poor

0 not evaluated

Review – you might have set your own goal within the overall breeding goal.

The assessment gives you an outstanding opportunity to review this goal by receiving your own assessments but also be able to compare and review the assessments around you. E.g. the foal next door always seems to score 0.5% higher … why … the answers may be visible in your assessment sheet.

Consideration – keep in mind, the assessment is a snapshot of one day a few minutes out of your horse’s life.

A foal might have had a growth spurt the week before and turning from an extraordinary conformation to a rather average conformation. Or your 2.5-year-old stallion is so excited about the environment around him, that he just would not walk at the time of assessment.

However, the assessment has to represent those minutes and can only estimate, measure and judge what the horse is presenting then and there.

If in doubt, please never hesitate to re-present your horse at a later date.

Opinion – how does that horse perform against the breeding goal out of the expert’s perspective?

There is no right or wrong – there may be praise and happy faces but there may also be some constructive criticism to what you may improve to enable you to achieve your dream. ... See MoreSee Less

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Bookings still open for all States. This is the preliminary NSW itinerary. ... See MoreSee Less

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ACE Group Assessment Tour bookings are still open for all States.
The 2 section assessment procedure is as follows:

ACE Assessment Tour Presentation requirements:

Horse handlers to be dressed neatly with suitable footwear.

Riders are required to wear neat riding clothes, safety footwear & a safety approved helmet at all times.

Horses to be presented in a neat and tidy manner. Manes to be pulled or trimmed short, plaits are not essential.

Unbroken horses and mares can be presented in a halter (ensure that halter and lead are in good condition, for safety and presentation).

Geldings and riding horses can be presented in bridles or halters. Stallions must be presented in a bridle. Feet can be oiled, but not blackened. No boots or bandages for Conformation & Movement assessments. Boots/Bandages can be used for Ridden and Jumping assessment.

Assessment Work Out Pattern: Confirmation & Movement

Before judging begins, you will be asked to stand the horse for a recording of the markings if applicable.

You will then be asked to stand the horse for assessment of Conformation. Preferably an even surface approximately 5m from the Assessor. The Assessor will move around your horse whilst making his assessment.

You will then be asked to walk away from the Assessor in a straight line, continue walking until you are asked to return – ensuring that you walk straight towards the assessor on your return, before continuing to walk on the triangle.

To judge the horse’s in-hand movement, you will be asked to trot the horse on the triangle. Trotting the horse away from the assessor on a clockwise triangle.
(Approx 20m across the back length of the triangle.)

Please note foals and yearlings will be shown in liberty only.

Afterwards, you will be asked to turn the horse free to assess it’s free movement. ... See MoreSee Less