The Peruvian Horse’s smooth gait and willing temperament makes it an exceptional horse for recreational activities. The gentle nature of this horse combined with its athleticism makes it a good match for both junior and senior riders as well as experienced athletic riders.  Many pleasure riders enjoy competing in recreational venues demonstrating the Peruvian Horse to be competitive in a variety of tasks.

NAPHA offers a variety of recreational rider programs for NAPHA members.  All horses in this program must be registered Peruvian Horses to compete. The sole exception to this is the Trail Horse Testing in which any breed may participate, regardless of membership or registration.  This includes Peruvian half bred horses.  All programs offered are coordinated by the NAPHA Recreational Riding Committee.

Recreational Riding Versatility Award

The NAPHA Recreational Rider Versatility Award is earned by member riders of NAPHA
registered Peruvian horses or part-blood registered Peruvians for participation in events
that promote the Peruvian horse and the breed’s versatility.

Multiple horses may be used by the rider and the rider does not have to own the
participating horses. The award will be a custom silver belt buckle with the Napha logo.

Peruvian Horse Promotion Program

The NAPHA Peruvian Horse Promotion Program awards riders in ALL open shows who show their pure or part bred Peruvian.

Recreational Riding (High Hour Rider)

The Recreational Riding is only one of the recreational programs that is FREE to all NAPHA members.  JOR gives recognition and awards to NAPHA members for time spent in the saddle of any registered Peruvian horses or registered Part Bred Peruvian horses outside of NAPHA sanctioned breed shows. The rider does not have to own the horse. Awards are given to the rider for hour milestones achieved and each year to the rider with the highest number of hours in their region and in the NAPHA organization.

High Point Recreational Horse Awards

Each year this FREE program for NAPHA members recognizes four horses with the most points one of four categories.  The Open Show award goes to the horse with the greatest number of points competing in shows other than NAPHA sanctioned breed shows. The Open Trail Horse goes to the horse with the greatest number of points in competitive trail events, which include endurance rides, organized trail rides, and competitive riding. The Parade award goes to the horse or group with the greatest number of points earned in parades, and the Exhibition Horse goes to the horse with the greatest number of points earned in exhibitions.

There is no fee to submit your horse for consideration or to receive the award.  The point calculation is shown on each of the submission forms.

Trail Horse Certification

The Recreational Rider program also includes a progressive trail training and certification program to our members for their horses regardless of registration or breed. The program is offered in conjunction with the Paso Fino Horse Association (PFHA).

The Trail Horse Test Program (THT) provides a way to demonstrate your horse’s ability to perform trail riding skills based on a series of tests that gauges the horse’s natural ability and training against a standard of performance. This is not a competitive trail obstacle course, but a measure of your horse’s abilities to complete the tasks normally performed before, during, and after a pleasure ride.

The Trail Horse Test program objectives are to:

  1. Highlight the pleasure of a trained and responsive trail horse.
  2. Set non-competitive goals for the horse in an effort to improve both horse and rider.
  3. Provide a structured method to judge a trial horse.
  4. Recognize the harmony between horse and rider where there is good communication between them.
  5. Record the level achieved in the horse’s NAPHA registry. This will assist individuals who are researching Peruvian horses/bloodlines that are well suited to the trail.