Be sure to get a Certificate of Eligibility to Show from the ASHA before you take the horse to an AHSA accredited show. This document allows you to enter a leased horse in your own name. The horse show is the proving ground for American Saddlebreds and is the source of great activity and interest to riders and drivers who love the sport. There are local shows where your Saddlebred may compete against horses of many breeds in western pleasure, jumping, or trail classes. Riding tournaments, where academy riders show in equitation with their peers, are popular for stables with lesson programs.
Costs are minimal, and attire usually consists or shirts, jodhpurs, and riding boots.
Country fair type shows can range from grass roots competition to AHSA accredited events. The American Horse Show Association is the national all-breed organization based in New York which governs affiliated shows, with member breed groups involved in making and enforcing the rules. Most Saddlebred exhibitors are members and receive a discounted rate on membership if they are also members of the American Saddlebred Horse Association. At the upper end of the echelon are the various state fairs and major shows where high performance Saddlebreds compete for championship titles and large purses. The Kentucky State Fair, held in August in Louisville, Kentucky, is considered the World's Championship Show for American Saddlebreds, and the American Royal in Kansas City , Missouri, is home to several blue chip competition finals.