Well I don’t really think it matters whether you finished the course of education for riding professionals. If you have insurance and find people to pay you for your lessons then you can earn as much money as you like with it.
It doesn’t really matter for anything… And there are even certifications for Amateurs who want to teach lessons…
it does help to keeps costs down if Amateurs teach beginner lessons in lesson barns…
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Ok so the licensing is not as strict in Germany as I imagined. Good to know.
In North America anyone that teaches any level is pro, and there is no credential.
In the 90s we briefly had a “non pro” division in Canada meant to keep the people teaching up-down lessons a few hours a week to pay off their board from having to compete against the full time pro trainers and Olympic riders, while also keeping them separate from amateurs who didn’t earn money from riding or teaching at all. It died a speedy death and we soon went back to just AA and Open.
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I know there are thousands of amateur riders in Germany. And there are not thousands of them riding in international teams and being flown around the world to give clinics. Hence I recognize that is not typical for amateurs in Germany. It’s not difficult, really.
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Go ahead and call everything however you like it… I think it doesn’t really matter whether somebody Is typical or atypical or whatever…
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I don’t either, but then again I’m not the one who claimed Michael Klimke was a “typical amateur.” 
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But you are the one who went crazy in your effort to prove that He was not an Amateur … It is exactly as I wrote in my first post, and I think it’s sad,
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As someone who competes in a country with no distinction between professionals and amateurs, this discussion is really strange to follow. Manni01, I’m in South Africa (hardly the centre of equestrian sport), but we do pretty well here in some respects, and I think I understand what you’re trying to say 
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I never said he wasn’t an amateur. I said he wasn’t a typical one. Hardly what I would describe as “going crazy”
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For compensation. One can teach all day every day, but if there’s no compensation, one still has amateur status.
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Ah yes. For pay.
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Just to illustrate how showing works in Germany…
I am over the moon right now because I secured a spot at a show close by 
. It is really hard in the moment, because of Corona and Herpes shows get cancelled all the time and everybody is crazy about getting in…
Ok this is a second level test. allowed riders (amateurs and pros) which are level 2,3,4 (level 2 requires placings in 4th level and up) allowed horses are horses without 3rd level placings or higher in the last two years… in the class are 30 spots and they are all filled up. I got the last one
so I don’t personally expect anything, but I only go there to check how our training over the winter worked out…
The financial part… I paid 22 Euro for the spot (which includes drug testing and office fee and additional Corona fees) And there is price money of 200 for this class.
And this is a rated show so if we would do exceptional we would get ranking points.
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are level 3 and 4 higher or lower than level 2?
good luck at your show, I hope you get good feedback
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Thank you!!
I hope I get feed back as well!! And just saying I will probably miss one thing I loved in the US.
In the US scoresheets always show scores for all the movements!!!
Most times in Germany you get short remarks if you are lucky for some movements and then a Score for the test… Sometimes it is hard to figure out how this score came out. Because judges rank you. They try to keep all the riders in mind and give the highest score to the best ride that day… Scores are not calculated from the individual movements like it is in the US… But I admit that I am not really up to date because I did not ride shows in Germany for a long time… Maybe it changed…
And sorry, I know how confusing these labels are. they are confusing for me as well 
As far as I know (it is changed sometimes, when I started out to show 45 years ago there were only 5 levels…) there are 6 levels nowadays.
Level 6 is the entry level for showing. Not even sure if you need to pass a certification for it.
Level 5 you have if you pass the Abzeichen Class 3 which requires to ride a first level test with a score of 6,5 or higher in front of a judge and ride a jumping course with 80 cm height…
Level 4 you either get with placings in 1 and 2nd level tests or with the Abzeichen which requires 2nd level Dressage test and 1.10m jumping course in front of a judge with a score 6.5 or higher… there are other things you can do, but I don’t know them…
Level 3 you get for placings in 3rd level tests
Level 2 you get for placings in 4th level tests
And I am not sure about Level 1 (will probably never reach it in my life anyhow)
And I believe that most German riders never get above Level 3… maybe it changed but if you are a Level 2 rider you kind of are at the top…
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In North America there is no qualifying system in dressage. You can sign up for any level on any horse. You can also show in non accredited schooling shows and have no record.
All of the following are possible.
Compete for years at schooling shows then debut at a higher level in accredited shows.
Go up the levels to PSG getting scores of 55 % and have ribbons to show for it I’d you pick the under enrolled show shrewdly.
Get access to a Grand Prix school master and jump up from riding Second Level.
Oh and no jumping ever. I think that’s why some successful dressage riders never bother with the EC certification when they go pro. They don’t jump at all.
The ammie/pro division is the only regulation really.
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Which is destroying a lot IMO…
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Which thing is destroying a lot?
I like the idea that a person can do schooling shows for years and only pay rated show fees until they are ready to come out at the higher levels.
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Which you can do in Germany as well… there are a lot of popular unrated Shows. And its a true choice and not dictated by financial reasons
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The only North American discipline with levels to pass is Eventing so people don’t get killed.
I don’t know if it’s the same in Germany, but here horses headed to the international FEI circuit don’t go “up the levels” from TL to 4th. They might debut at a 4 year old CDI class, and then start competing at PSG. The lower levels were added on precisely to open up the sport to ammies, hunter jumpers, low level pros. The lower levels I suspect do nothing much to develop a true international horse with an equivalent rider.
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Ahhh, I never knew this. I like that the level placements are incumbent on both horse & rider’s qualifications.
Smooths out some of the potential issues that arise here in the US with certain horse/rider combinations.
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