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LIMITED PRO
Diana De Rosa chats with AHJF Executive Director Michele Perla

The Legacy Cup is so new, so novel that it takes a little time to grasp all that it offers. Yes, there is lots of money because of the concept of adding back. In fact 50% of the entry fee goes into prize money. But added to that is another $113,000 from money raised through mostly individual sponsorships. Money is always the easy part to understand and appreciate. Yet, there is more to the Legacy Cup. It offers money incentives for breeds in hopes of one day encouraging more breeding of hunters in the United States. It offers a Pre-Green Incentive. And it offers something for the Limited Pro riders, or riders that are new to the professional ranks. I chatted with Michele Perla, Executive Director of the American Hunter-Jumper Foundation about the Limited Pro and why it is such a great addition to the Legacy Cup. Here's what Michele had to say:

"A Limited Pro rider is a professional just breaking into the ranks. You have a group of professionals that are established and then you've got a group that are coming up the ranks. By identifying this new group of professionals you are recognizing them as a group in and of themselves. We coined the phrase Limited Pro for these riders.

"The Limited Pro concept is really important. Seventy percent of the pot goes to the professional riders and then a portion of that is given to the Limited riders. The seasoned professionals through this Limited division are giving back to those just starting up. It was great. You saw the professionals cheering them on from the sidelines. They even gave them horses to ride. For example, David Connors (a Limited Pro) rode Bill Ellis' horses and Bill is a professional.

"The Limited Pro riders are important because in a sense they are the new generation of professionals that will be riding into the future. So, with the Legacy Cup concept - of thinking to the future, of maintaining a legacy - this is a perfect example. They can't compete at that level forever. Once the've earned enough prize money they are moved up to the professional ranks and new ones will replace them.

"One of the most important reasons for creating this division is because it gives them more of an incentive to come and compete because they feel they can be competitive. David Connors is a good example. David won the Limited Pro division. David is new to our hunters (he's competed in the Quarter Horses) and this class gave him a separate competition to compete in without separating the competition. It's not a separate class, just a separate pinning of those within the class who have listed themselves as Limited Pro riders.

"That is something the professionals aren't used to - competing by achievement. But that's what is so great about the Legacy Cup - it's new, innovative and a nice change of pace.