Exactly. Not to mention that their shows draw big enough numbers that it’s good competition. This weekend will be my first time showing there. My green horse was 4th out of 19 in a class today and you better believe I’m excited for that ribbon—oh, and paying $100 for a stall ain’t bad either!
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So very well said! I 100% agree-I will never be in a year end award because I simply won’t show every weekend. Or every other weekend. It’s called life balance! So when I do go, it feels great to be competitive and have the possibility of winning some nice stuff! I love the ogilvy pads everyone got a few years ago, and the half bannerettes(prob not what they are actually called) and just the overall welcoming vibe of the place. Not to mention all the other perks
Wait, people didn’t want to stay at Motel 6 instead of a Hilton? I can’t imagine!
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In case you missed it, this just in:
Not much here, but still…
My horse injured himself on the stall mattress at WEC. Probably the only horse to ever do that with my luck. His hoof sunk in a bit and stuck where he’d pushed the shavings away and he spun on it. We were there in January and he’s just now getting back to work after lots of $$$$ vetwork. So I’m no fan of the stalls.
Another friend’s horse kicked the cement block wall and injured himself. Yes, it looks pretty and safe but (and generally it is) but it doesn’t mean a horse won’t be a horse. I actually wish they had stalls with no mattresses after this ordeal.
Funny when we had him in the horrible canvas tent stalls at WEF he did just fine.
Otherwise, I completely agree the place looks amazing and safe and the optics are much better than HITS and WEF from a stabling perspective.
I will admit to being a little disappointed that WEC OH isn’t going to be holding USEF shows going forward. It really did change the winter showing scene in the midwest when it opened, allowing people who were aiming to garner points for something a nice, affordable facility to show at in the winter. Without it, the winter show options in the midwest are dire for people who do care about qualifying for USEF’s offerings. There are plenty of these people who can’t afford the time or money to travel to Wellington for the winter, yet still have end of year goals. Maybe, eventually, NSBA will grow enough to offer year end shows that rival those of USEF and the people who don’t do WEF all winter can participate in those offerings. However, that’s going to take some time and in the interim this decision is going to once again hurt those without the deep pocket books.
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I agree with this 
:
“…this decision is going to once again hurt those without the deep pocket books.”
The WEC team is competent; they obviously decided that the relatively small number of people chasing USEF/USHJA/Devon/medal points competing at their facilities are worth sacrificing in this battle.
Once again, and as it always shall be, the little guys pay the price. Especially in hunter/jumper land.
I mean, the little people who are obsessed with usef points, which is pretty different from real little people.
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This distinction is unnecessary. The “little people” aren’t trekking to FL to show in a horse palace & stay in a 5-star hotel, either.
@Stayon’s point was actually quite good and one I hadn’t really considered. For the Midwest, WEC dropping the USEF rating basically means you must travel to FL if you want to accrue points during the winter as there are very, very few indoor circuit options. And Zone awards are a realistically attainable goal for many “little people” across the Midwest.
Fingers crossed the new management in St. Louis can turn it around as a solid alternative to NSBA WEC.
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It’s kind of crazy when you stop to think of all the ripple effects of the different show developments. Maybe this will make St. Louis into a much bigger show series as a result.
The spring shows in Saratoga that start this week are dual USEF and NSBA recognized. So apparently that is possible.
We’re going and my trainer mentioned that there’s going to be a separate NSBA schedule for these shows which I haven’t seen yet. Also wondering how they’re going to work out non-member fees—do USEF non-members still need to pay show pass fees if they’re only interested in earning NSBA points? Do I need to become an NSBA member if I only care about USEF points? A lot of unanswered questions.
I will say that I just got back from my first time ever showing at WEC and I had the most fun at a horse show that I’ve had in ages.
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Hmm. That’s interesting. I wonder if that means some rings will have only USEF classes, and some will have only NSBA classes. Or maybe it will be half and half in each ring. There aren’t a million rings there to run completely separate schedules.
I’m curious how they will work out SafeSport if they are running a parallel show to a USEF one but not actually sanctioning the same classes. Seems like there is a bit of a gap there.
If they could dual-sanction the show, which is generally how NSBA operates with breed shows (you show in one class and get breed/NSBA points for both, for example), then I don’t see this as an inexpensive option as it’s actually all the same fees as USEF plus NSBA.
This one will be fun to watch play out, no doubt!
I’m sure the safe sport question has been answered before, NSBA will follow the suspensions of safe sport.
At breed shows that run NSBA classes concurrent with their classes, you don’t have to enter both classes if you aren’t interested in doing so. If you are showing at an AQHA show but aren’t an NSBA member your ride won’t be included in the NSBA results. Both classes a placed separately.
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So does the horse have one round/trip/whatever, and it is judged for both the NSBA results and the AQHA/USEF/whatever results for the same round? By the same judge?
That’s right. They just call out the placings separately. I have no idea if that’s how it will be done at the USEF/NSBA shows, but that’s how it’s be done at the AQHA shows I’ve seen.
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Interesting, thanks.
I’ve seen AQHA shows where the horses do one round and get results from four different judges for the same class.
I would definitely have to hang kicks mats for 1-2 of my horses.
The block walls are easy to clean and maintain but I think there are more cons than pros for them.
Many, many professional barns in Europe are concrete block barns 🤷
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I know a few people in Europe that have them, they say it’s because it was cheaper.
Some barns over there have concrete feeders and water trough’s also.
I still think more cons than pros. But I do love a good brick wall.
