I know this is probably an easy answer, but can someone tell me the difference between the Adult Amateur and the Non-Professional? Is it simply that an AA is a USEF member?
I’m not familiar with the term “Non-Professional” in dressage at the national level. Professionals are also USEF members if they are competing in national shows. Basically, you’re an amateur if you don’t do this stuff I’ll paste in below from a proposed USEF rule change last fall, no idea if this went through. Note that for dressage, you’re not an amateur until the calendar year you turn 22. If you are under 21, you’re either a junior or young rider. There are several “exceptions” so it’s best to go to USEF.org or USDF.org and check the rules. Also, going by the consistent use of “he” and “him”, it appears we ladies are free to do as we please!!
- Professional based on one’s own activities. Unless expressly permitted above, a person is a professional if after his18th birthday he does any of the following:
a. Accepts remuneration AND rides, exercises, drives, shows, trains, assists in training, schools or conducts clinics or seminars.
b. Accepts remuneration AND gives riding or driving lessons, showmanship lessons, equitation lessons, trains horses, or provides consultation services in riding, driving, showmanship, equitation, or training of horses.
c. Accepts remuneration AND acts as an employee in a position such as a groom, farrier, bookkeeper, veterinarian or barn manager AND instructs, rides, drives, shows, trains or schools horses that are owned, boarded or trained by his employer, any member of his employer’s family, or a business in which his employer has an ownership interest.
d. Accepts remuneration AND uses his name, photograph or other form of personal association as a horseperson in connection with any advertisement or product/service for sale, including but not limited to apparel, equipment or property AND gives riding or driving lessons, showmanship lessons, equitation lessons, trains horses, or provides consultation services in riding, driving, showmanship, equitation, or training of horses.
e. Accepts prize money unless permitted in paragraph 3d or 3e above.
f. Rides, drives or shows any horse that a cohabitant or family member or a cohabitant or family member’s business receives remuneration for boarding, training, riding, driving or showing. A cohabitant or family member of a trainer may not absolve themselves of this rule by entering into a lease or any other agreement for a horse owned by a client of the trainer.
g. Gives instruction to any person or rides, drives, or shows any horse, for which activity his cohabitant or another person in his family or business in which his cohabitant or a family member controls will receive remuneration for the activity. A cohabitant or family member of a trainer may not absolve themselves of this rule by entering into a lease or any other agreement for a horse owned by a client of the trainer.
h. Accepts remuneration AND acts as an agent in the sale of a horse or pony or accepts a horse or pony on consignment for the purpose of sale or training that is not owned by him, his cohabitant, or a member of his family, a farm/ranch/syndicate/partnership/corporation/business in which he, his cohabitant or a member of his family controls.
i. Advertises one’s equestrian services such as training or instruction.
j. Accepts remuneration AND acts as an intern, apprentice, or working student whose responsibilities include, but are not limited to, riding, driving, showmanship, handling, showing, training or assisting in training, giving lessons/coaching and/or schooling horses other than horses actually owned by him.
k. Accepts remuneration in excess of rental fee for use of a facility, ring or school horses.
l. Accepts remuneration for such use AND uses commercial logoed items while on competition grounds unless expressly permitted by applicable division rules. - Professional based on one’s own activity along with another’s. A person is also deemed a professional after his 18th birthday, if he accepts remuneration for his spouse, family member, or cohabitant engaging in any activity enumerated in 4 a-l above. For the purposes of this rule, the term cohabitant is defined as any individuals living together in a relationship, as would a married couple, but not legally married.
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Thank, atlatl.
This was something I noticed in the USDF Regional Schooling Show Awards Program rule. It lists the divisions as:
a. Open: from the beginning of the calendar year the rider reaches age 22, not a USEF Adult
Amateur (AA), not a non-professional.
b. Junior/Young Rider (Jr/YR): up until the end of the calendar year the rider reaches age 21.
c. AA: from the beginning of the calendar year the rider reaches age 22 and possess a
current USEF AA card.
d. Non-Professional: from the beginning of the calendar year the rider reaches age 22, not a
current USEF AA, not a professional.
I am guessing it is to cover amateurs that do not belong to USEF and so dont have an AA card. yet they would meet the requirements. It is a schooling show award, so that is often the case.
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It appears it is someone who is not an amateur member of USEF.
However you can hold a non-member amateur card. I still have one even in years I don’t pay for the membership.
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Hmm, it’s hard to get past the “not a non-professional” 
I always thought “Open” was well, open to anyone. After reading the Regional Schooling Show Award Program rules, it appears they want to prevent double dipping as sometimes happens with the All Breeds Awards where an Amateur wins both the AA and Open award. I wonder why? I would think that a big point of the schooling shows awards is to encourage JR/YR and AAs.
I agree with the other posters that it seems this “non-professional” is someone who is not a pro but doesn’t have a USEF AA card.
Weird!
My local GMO seems to participate in this. (Just checked the website. Haven’t joined yet due to my superstition that it will result in my horse going lame for the year!) Anyway, I would be a “non-professional” since I dont belong to anything else and dont have an AA card.
Interesting that their version of “Open” is really “Professional”.
Thanks, all. I will consider myself a non-professional. I think it needs a fancier name. Schooling Show Fabulous Novice anyone?
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As far as I know, there is no such thing as a “USEF AA Card”.
There IS a “USEF Amateur card” (I have one)
Under USEF rules, anyone who is an amateur has to be an adult- there is no such thing as a “Junior Amateur”
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Brava!!! 
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