Anyone hear of anything regarding equitation points? Just wondering if points in certain regions will be lowered or maybe an extension to get points for equitation finals?
I think you can consider yourself lucky if there is any show season this year. I would just assume there will be none.
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I would think that if/when this is over, they will lower the number of points.
I just saw a petition going around fb to get Jrs aging out an additional year. Thoughts?
No. Welcome to adulthood, snowflakes.
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Good lord, who gives a Fock? This is just not important in the scope of the current world pandemic. This is an embarrassing development, if true.
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Sometimes its nice to think about other things then the 24/7 news of the virus.
anyhoo-No I don’t think they should get another year. Life isn’t based on fairness and they might as well learn that now.
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Didn’t the NCAA extend another year of eligibility to athletes? How is this different?
Extending eligibility would also probably keep people competing, training, etc. It would help our sport and the businesses it supports recover a little quicker, at least that’s probably one hope behind the thought.
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You’re right, it’s not important in the scope of the pandemic. Why does it mean it shouldn’t be discussed? USEF is involved in the business of horse shows. That is what the organization does and it is absolutely their job right now to be thinking about questions such as this. Every organization, business, social group, community, etc who isn’t too busy on the front lines of the pandemic should be thinking about the best ways to return to normal.
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I think it’s a good idea to offer an extra year to those aging out. As stated above. It will help the horse industry economically. Kids can renew leases, keep showing, spending on travel & braiding, vet & farrier, etc.
Some kids are already committed & will be moving off to college, so, I don’t think it will impact those Jrs as much.
However, there are quite a few Jrs aging out that because of their birthdays, they are only Jrs in high school. This is the group that often sells those big eq horses and Step down from showing as much, only because they age out. Keeping this group showing will Help the industry.
Plus, I do think these kids work really hard year after year & deserve to have the opportunity for a last jr year with opportunities for Devon & other finals.
The Olympics is rescheduled for 2021, the NCAA is offering an extra year. It just seems like an easy solution to a sad situation.
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NCAA only extended another year of eligibility to athletes in spring sports who had not started their season, not all sports across the board. Sports like basketball which had finished their regular season and only had post-season competition left are not included in the extra year. NCEA riding is not included in the extra year.
Tell me what the “welcome to adulthood” looked like for you. Hiroshima? The Holocaust? What tragedy in your life compares to any of these or the current one?
Adults mitigate what suffering they can, where they can.
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I stand by my statement no matter how offensively anyone replies to it. Those young adults who wish to continue competing after they age out of the junior ranks can do so in the divisions for which they are eligible by the rules spelled out by the USEF, just like they do every year.
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Um, wow, mvp. You perhaps want to reconsider that post maybe?
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I feel like the ask for the additional year for juniors is tone-deaf. People are sick and dying all over the world, and there is a subset of people crying about their inability to do their luxury sport. We are frequently accused of having an elitist sport, this does not help. Competing with horses is a privilege and a luxury, sometimes life is unfair and crappy things happen. I find the whole thing, especially the change.org petition to be in poor taste.
That’s just like, my opinion, man.
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Sure, the Jrs aging out could show in the amateur classes next year. I think the idea is that some of the classes these kids have been training for aren’t offered once they age out. Many of these horses specifically are leased for the big eq classes. The shows like Devon & eq finals are an achievement many juniors strive years for. This is not an option once they age out. The classes aren’t the same.
Yes, this is an elitist sport & a sad time in world. Lots of people dying, but that doesn’t mean people quarantined at home, watching Netflix, can’t have a discussion about how the sport might proper economically once this pandemic is over.
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Here’s the problem with changing the rules for the benefit of the elite junior riders who are aging out this year: they are not the only ones aging out of their divisions. If you give them an extra year, you are also going to have to give another year to a small number of pony kids who are aging out of the pony divisions. Another year to a small number of U25 jumper riders. Another year to a small number of 18 - 35 year old adult amateurs, 3’3” amateurs, and 3’6” amateurs. And how will it be documented that for the year 2021, this violation of the age restricted divisions/ classes by certain members is not really a violation? Will an amendment to the rule book be authored? What if some aspect of the social distancing guidelines that limits the number of people who can gather in one place extends into 2021 in a way that would prevent horse shows from starting up again? Does the USEF create another temporary rule change for 2022?
It’s just pretty ridiculous to make all these tedious changes to well-established rules just because some people don’t want to disappoint a small percentage of wealthy parents who spent ungodly amounts of money so their kids could ultimately spend two minutes riding a horse around an equitation finals class or two.
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My daughter is one in this category who is affected. She is an October birthday so she ages out this year, but is only a junior in high school. Would I be happy if she had more time, sure, mostly because we need to sell or lease her junior hunter to pay for college and that will be much easier if we can actually get a show season in. Yes it will be heartbreaking if she can’t do junior hunter finals for the last time or qualify for indoors, or medal finals. But in fact that is just life. She has been fortunate to have a great junior career and while she is sad, she has lived through the life of a horsewoman, where her horse has been lame and missed a season, or she had an injury and missed a spring of showing, or had a pony needing to be retired unexpectedly. She has learned that nothing in horses is a given and this is no different. I have told her that her season is basically done and she will just have look back over her career and appreciate the time she did have.
That said, those of you who are calling them brats essentially and claiming that their “wealthy” parents are behind this is a bit crass as well. Have some sympathy for kids who have been thrown into this situation where their hopes and dreams have been dashed forever. Kids who needed to show what they could do so they could be recruited to college, or just meet their personal goals.
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But that’s who this thread is about - the OP made reference only to what is going to happen with regards to equitation finals. Every kid who is trying to be recruited to college is in the same boat so I’m not sure why that is being used as an argument to change rules. The bottom line is that everyone who was competing before Coronavirus will be able to compete after Coronavirus without changing the rules for a special few, even if it requires a change in personal goals.
My sympathy goes to those whose lives have been lost, those who are grieving the loss of a loved one (or loved oneS in some cases), those on the front lines every day battling this virus, and those who have lost their jobs and don’t know how they will feed and house their families in the near future. Full stop.
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To me the beauty of our sport is that is a lifelong pursuit. Is it disappointing to miss out on a season- absolutely. What’s rare here is it is happening to everyone all at once and not the usual, I’m hurt, the horse is hurt, someone has to retire early, i need to find a new trainer, etc. reason that typically keeps people from showing. If I were parenting those disappointed kids from pony kids to juniors to U25, I’d try to give them the perspective that they will still have their horse to ride and compete as adults, they can go to college and compete IHSA, there will still be horse sport. It does not feel like the basketball athlete that had one more season and had no chance of playing in college missing their last chance to get on the court competitively. I hope we remember that despite the universal set back and disappointment- we still have the love of the sport and can go on to do it for decades to come.
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