You could be the eventing #1 in the world and if you have no ranking on the FEI Dressage world ranking list and are over the age of 26, plus have all the required FEI registrations and declarations, you could compete in the CDIAm.
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You are probably right
I understand. I was just trying to address why the OP may have singled out Heidi since multiple people commented on why she singled her out. OP may not have realized that the other riders were also USEF pros. Therefore she didn’t call them out. Even if she was incorrect in applying the USEF classification for amateur to a FEI class. She probaby picked on Heidi since due to her sales presence on FB she may be more high profile and therefore the only one known to OP to be a USEF pro. The others she may not have heard of so assumed they were just an AA.
It sounds like she still thinks it is in bad taste for a USEF pro to show in an amateur class even if it is allowable under the FEI rules.
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On post #59, I gave Coby Bolger as an example.
He went to the 2002 WEG in eventing and still does the CDIAm classes, in Spain.
Have fun!!! We’ll cheer for you too!!!
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The USEF amateur rule was implemented because there were so many people who claimed to be employed as the barn book keepers, office managers, etc when they were actually being paid to ride/teach/train. Thus the “SHAM-ateur” label.
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Indeed, gossiping about false accusations and spreading bitchy conversations is not creepy at all…
But you enjoy it, isn’t?
I just stated real public facts that took me 5 minutes to google. I, unlike the OP, gave no names.
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it’s not really creepy, many of these people know each other, for years and years, and go to all the shows, frequently together.
As an example my first FEI show was a long tour. Me and a girlfriend were like oh this is so much fun, love everyone, so sad it’s ending! And her boyfriend was like why are you crying? you’re going to see everyone like next week.
And he was right, I mean, except it was like three weeks for me to the next 5* week.
At this level it’s like the circus, everyone comes to town, and you get to know everyone who does the same.
but it also means if you don’t really play at that level, you not only don’t know the rules, but you also don’t know the people, in this instance it means OP didn’t realize that fully half of the cdi-am riders are USEF pros.
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Haha thank you!! Should only take me 6-9 years :lol:
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I always tell non-horse people that my discipline takes 7 years to train a horse if you’re really good and the horse is really talented, and I’m lousy and my horse is less talented so I can ride her… so it should take us well over 10 years. 
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Whatever I am or what I did, your research is a joke… I just did a search on USEF for the participating riders and all the ones I looked up are AAs according to USEF… Maybe their data is not current, I don’t know, or maybe you as a Canadian have not the right acess… I recommend that you check your results…
The Canadian in the field is 100% a pro by USEF standards. Her business is teaching, training, boarding and selling. I don’t know about the others because I honestly don’t care enough to look them up, but I’d be shocked if Heidi and Megan were the only two USEF pros.
And once more for those in the back…it’s not remotely relevant if they are USEF pros. They have no FEI ranking, ergo the CDI Am division is appropriate.
There is far more interesting gossip out of Wellington each week than riders competing in a division for which they are eligible.
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Well I did look them up and every single one of them is currently listed as an AA. I did not look up Heidi Degele, the German and the Canadian though. So I hope it doesn’t shock you too much…
Please… it’s not true… Don’t believe Alibi… Not sure what her intentions are but her research is wrong… i learned a long time ago that you need to check the original source before you can trust statements made by somebody (anonymous in the WWW…). And it’s certainly true here… Go to USEF and look up the riders names… They are all listed as AA for 2019… I have no idea what source Alibi used…
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Why is this still being discussed? The person being referred to placed 7th out of 10 (PSG) and 6th out of 9 (I1)
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Why does it matter? All of them are amateurs according to the FEI.
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It doesn’t matter to me, but obviously it was important to Alibi
Yeah, but it did nothing to solve the problem, unless you can prove someone is being compensated. USEF amateur rules are a joke and totally non-enforceable. Those who want to cheat, still do.
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Ladies- Wow- I was busy with work for two days and had’t looked at the board. I will note that Ms. Alibi’s info above is 100% false. All the competitors in the CDIAM were USEF AA, except for Heidi, who is a USEF Professional and Meagan Maloney, who is inactive, because she is competing under her Canadian federation membership, which USEF has reciprocity with.
That said, at least in Wellington, its quite unusual for someone who rides as a professional, especially someone who makes their living riding horses, selling horses, and teaching lessons, to take advantage of the inconsistency in the FEI rule to actually compete in the CDIAM, hence the reason I was wondering what others thought. There was a great deal of conversation about a professional competing in this division, which is why I was interested as to what the wider universe thought. While I would not have competed in this division if I were a professional, I actually initially brought up the topic because I do recognize its “allowed” and thought it was interesting that there was so much conversation about it here.
That said, there are many voices stating that USEF and FEI are completely different universes, if so, then why are FEI violations enforced by USEF?? Should the two not be completely separate since their rules are significantly disparate? Why do only certain violations have reciprocity?
Zipping back up the flame suit…
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Well, you wondered what people thought and now you know. Most people have zero issues with someone who meets the FEI definition of amateur competing in the CDI Am division, regardless of their USEF status.
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