Is there anyone on the forum that can give a first hand account of how this went? I saw a lot of controversy on my local FB page about the USEA Annual Meeting.
Also…
• The board is considering making the the starter division a USEA-recognized division with its own leaderboard for year-end awards.
I just have to ask… why?
Money money money
Canada is planning this also I believe.
Blegh. Am I caving into unnecessary negativity by saying I feel like it’s a cash grab…?
I was there. What do you want to know?
It’s 100% for organizers, who want the numbers. I just hope organizers are prepared for the extra time and support, this level requires.
I’m glad LN was there to say her thoughts. I see the complainer of HM wasn’t present, would have loved to see his face when they talked about that lol
Interesting about the new frangible devices. They can drop from force any direction. Should be fun to tally up the penalties.
Also noteable - I see they snuck in the level name changes! So is the US going to the EVXYZ level names also, like Canada?
As a founding member of the “Starter for life” team otherwise known as “can you make that any smaller?” I’m not a fan of the cash grab. Also, having to get my horse a microchip to run Starter? A division where I fully plan on trotting and taking long pauses to graze and/or contemplate life?
At what point do we just start setting up jump standards on the XC courses? lol
Just a general synopsis, if you have the time. I saw some unhappy remarks on my Area’s FB page about concerns re: USEA’s future and lack of transparency with regards to official decisions, etc. I see the COTH article lightly touches on this topic.
Most of our horses are microchipped. Anything Hendra vaxxed is chipped, as are many (most?) horses in registries. I believe my Lip x had to be chipped for entry as a p/b Lip. TBs are all chipped.
I don’t get the fuss about mandatory chipping TBH.
Edit: Just checked, all horses in the Aus Studbook, Aus Lip, and Aus PRE books must be microchipped prior to registration. Those are the only SBs I have knowledge of.
Don’t laugh, the Brits did this years ago and called it JumpCross I think. Looked like fun. Showjumping but in the wilds.
I can understand why some people are upset. It’s now another hidden cost to compete. On a shoestring budget that money matters and microchipping is not inexpensive when you factor in the fee for the chip, the vet visit, the registration, etc.
None of my TBs are chipped so it’d be a couple hundred dollars for me. My wb was chipped when she was registered.
The US is a big place, in some parts of the states veterinarian practices don’t even have the tools to offer microchip services. I remember what a big deal it was when my preferred practice finally started offering the service. There’s a whole can of accessibility issues that this requirement would open, and just another way the genuinely shoestring people are further pushed out of the sport.
Ok, so this is in Aus dollars.
Chip $25
Registration free
Vet visit? Done at time of vaccination / dentals.
Very expensive.
All pets must be microchipped so it’s really very common. The cost for a dog/cat is built in to the first puppy / kitten vaccination. For horses, it is built into the cost of your first HeV if you choose, or when you have the vet out to certify a horse for registration / insurance. Every vet has a reader. Is it really such an anomaly in the States?
I find it really hard to believe that a chip is going to break the bank when people are competing in eventing, especially if you have it done at the time of a Coggins. It takes five seconds to insert and is done with a big needle.
If you have TBs, you can get microchips from the JC for $15. You may still need to pay for a vet call.
USHJA already went through this microchip debate several years ago with all the same complaints before implementation. Microchips were about $25 each and usually people had them done when coggins were pulled. You only have to add the microchip number to your horse’s USEF record (free), there’s no requirement to register it anywhere else. In the lead up many competitions even held microchip clinics on site - with the show vet offering them onsite for about $25 with no vet call fee needed.
I still want to know who the complainer of HM is!
The riders had a couple of complaints about officials unnecessarily disrupting a rider’s warmup. One case was at the Maryland 5-Star where an official interrupted a rider’s “ring familiarization” because the horse had a neck strap not connected to the saddle (this is a rule for cross country, which doesn’t apply to ring familiarization). It was pointed out this was an FEI official, not a USEF official, but everyone agreed it shouldn’t have happened.
Another rider described a situation where a USEF official interrupted a rider’s dressage warm up to question whether or not her boots were a legal color. Everyone agreed this should not have happened.
Several riders commented that if they break a rule, and get a penalty (e.g. a yellow card), it is publicly published. But if an official makes a mistake, and the rider files a evaluation of the official they rarely find out what, if anything happens to the official. The USEF head of licensed officials explained the process (discussion with the official, suggesting remedial training, lack of promotion), but agreed that this is not made public.
Got to go now for a meeting. more later.
That is great to know, I may take advantage of that since I have quite a few “older” models. I believe it cost me $45 for the WB, I’d have to check.
I was planning on microchipping one of my TBs next spring anyway since he’s plain bay with zero distinguishing markings and I planned to show him, so the proposed change doesn’t really affect me, but I totally understand why other people are complaining. When you’re on a tight budget every penny counts. I’m so fortunate to be in a position where “eh, $45? that’s fine” doesn’t make or break my competition plans, but I know many people who aren’t so lucky.
There is no rule/law that all pets must be microchipped. If you got your pet from a shelter it likely came chipped but many people don’t update those. Is it a good idea to have your pet chipped? Yes. But there is no such thing as all pets must be chipped in the US. I think one of our dogs is chipped, none of our cats, and the chip has migrated and can’t even be found.
