I’d like to be able to buy a GMO membership without the USDF double dipping, personally. My GMO deserves my money, and serves me. Whereas I think the USDF is horrible and would rather have nothing to do with it if it weren’t for showing. I have the same opinion of USEF, but at least they aren’t supposed to be the educational branch.
The Tucson Dressage Club has done many interesting things. They have things like footing seminars, had a great sport horse education class taught by a sporthorse judge, had an in-hand demo, plus do more dressage and showing specific items as well. They’ve even done first aid certification, feed seminars, vets coming out to talk about choosing vaccinations, worming routines, etc. They also do seminars, trainers around town post about the clinics they have so different GMO members can attend, and of course they obviously have shows. I don’t show at their shows often, but it’s very worth being a member for the other things they do.
I agree with Silverbridge. I don’t think I ever had enough scores at a single level during a year to qualify for the HOY list. However, I’ve been to regional championships as a JR/YR or AA 5+ times and have placed in all of my championship classes at Training through 4th. Each year, I would usually go to 2-3 shows to get my qualifying scores and then attend regional championships, so a yearly total of 3-4 shows, with 3-6 rides of a single test/at a level.
Analyzing HOY rides may show a bigger drop off because of the number of rides required to qualify - people may have revised their goals as a result of the recession and tried to save money by qualifying for regionals or earning scores for medals.
I think looking at the number of horses/riders qualified for regional championships at one or more levels would be a better reflection of the membership trends.
I think we had a discussion in another thread about what we want to see from USDF… This feels like the same exact question, with the same exact answer - why isn’t your GMO doing that?
-Totally agree with netg - stop double charging us! There was a time when we got a “rebate” toward PM if we had GMO membership. This was kind of a back door fee increase.
-Personally, I think one of the few programs USDF does have for people with non-fancy horses is All Breeds. Give us access to that program with a GMO membership! The registries pay for the program, it doesn’t cost USDF anything - in fact, I"m pretty sure it is a profit center with all the registry fees charged. ETA - plus we end up “paying twice” because most of us also have to pay an annual membership to our registry!
-I keep hearing that the GMOs are suppose to offer education -but USDF DOES run educational programs. They just tend to be in Florida and other parts of the East coast. And some are only for select riders - elite riders, or junior/YRs. I find it unfair that USDF runs so many programs on the East Coast, and nothing in the West, or middle of the country.
-Make videos available by DVD for those of us with minimal internet service - kind of like Netflix by mail.
-Rotate the location of ALL national programs - competitions and educational events. Eastern, central, western. Equal access to all members. There is dressage life beyond KHP and Wellington, honest…
Posting the trot through 3rd or 4th level, but doesn’t qualify for any awards - so essentially schooling show classes with USDF fees? I’m not sure I see the benefit there.
The “posting at the trot at 3rd and 4th Level” division is interesting … maybe I’m misunderstanding the intent, but to me it sounds like “they” believe that what is holding most amateurs back from progressing up the levels is their inability to sit the gaits of whatever big fancy mover they bought and have in full training with a professional … rather than the fact that, say, collection doesn’t come quite as naturally to the quarter horses and OTTBs that are in their price range, and it can be tough to get the level of consistency you need if you can only afford intermittent lessons and clinics, even when you ride almost every day (a situation that I, personally, find a whole lot more relatable!).
When I started showing dressage in 2000 (I am an ex hunter/jumper competitor), our shows were 5-6 rings; now they are 1-2, occasionally 3 if something else is tacked onto it, like a breed show.
The shows were WAY more friendly and fun back then too, with real prizes, occasionally prize money, and parties, educational opportunities (viewing sessions with judges, maybe a symposium) and meals and other social activities. Our shows now have no prizes, no high point awards, no parties, no social events, no educational events.
Personally, in the current environment, I’d rather support really good clinics than shows. I find the judging erratic and inconsistent currently, and sometimes bitter and crabby. I think I get more for my money riding with a top rider or trainer than riding for a judge who hasn’t ridden a horse in 20 years or who has drifted too far away from “dressage is training” and too far into “dressage is gaits”. I never thought I’d say that, but here I am.
To be sure, Udon wasn’t a “world beater” like Verdades is now. To make an equal comparison, you’d have to compare to the top horses. You’d have to compare to Ganimedes and Bonfire. That said, the horses in 1994-ish aren’t the dressage athletes you have today. THAT said, most of those dressage horses could jump…not today!
Meh, don’t think you can say that definitively, particularly the increasingly popular (again) multipurpose bred dressage horse, like Valegro. I’ve said multiple times and for years on the boards that the future of dressage involved adding the jump back in with judicious use of jumper blood. I think the best is yet to come for dressage horses as a whole.
No, the person leading this is thinking about the horse’s welfare… really. And an attempt to give older AAs, with less mobile hips, a chance to win ribbons.
MOR, good ideas. I especially like the DVD idea and the All Breeds idea.
I do wish someone would build a suitable facility somewhere i the middle of the country that is available when Nationals is scheduled. If you know of one please set USDF know. They keep looking.
And I try to bring up the rebate thng every year. It’s not going to happen.
FWIW, the oldest thing I have handy is the 84/85 rulebook, but there’s almost nothing HOTY-specific in it. It does detail the requirements for national championship qualification, and it ranges from 60% at 1st down to 55% at 4th.
Well there is a suitable facility on the West Coast, but USDF has made criteria that basically limits the show to one facility. They have no intention of honoring the original commitment to rotate the Finals. Or any of the other “national” programs.
I thought it would be interesting to look at my own recognized showing history.
2003: 2 recognized shows at first level
2013: 4 recognized shows (going for my All Breed at TL)
2016: 1 recognized show - using scores for 2017 season (after Oct 1)
2017: 3 recognized shows (going for my All Breed at first)
2018: 3 recognized shows - learning in-hand with baby horse
2019: plan to go to 4 recognized shows for All Breed at second (hope I didn’t just jinx myself by saying it out loud)
What did I do in between? Schooling shows.
I got just as good experience at schooling shows as the recognized shows. This is supposed to be fun, and if not totally fun, then rewarding (reaching goals feels good).
Now that I think about it…I don’t find showing in and of itself to be all that fun. You have to get up early, clean them, braid them, trailer them; they have to be cooperative in a crazy environment; you have to wear white breeches and stay clean; stress of all that money I just spent on entries…
What makes showing fun for me is showing with friends. My friends show at schooling shows. Going for the All Breed award (or trying to make it to Regionals, etc) is the rewarding part - making a goal and reaching it. I balance the rewarding part (can I get >60% at a given level) with the fun part (what are my friends doing) in deciding what I’m going to do for the year.
Alternatively, couldn’t the horse’s welfare be preserved by the rider selecting a horse that is appropriate for their physical capabilities and limitations, even if it’s a less spectacular mover, or by the rider working to improve their strength and flexibility before moving up?
Maybe instead of changing the level requirements, create a division restricted to amateurs 50+?
The problem is that the scores are so heavily weighted by the horse’s “quality of gaits” - that the scoring system pushes people to buy those bigger movers…
If you’ve ever seen an IDA (intercollegiate) competition - the judges are told to disregard the quality of gaits (other then impurities), and it gives a very different picture! I’d love to see a division that is more like that - emphasis on correct riding and quality of the individual movement (I know that is ALSO judged in our competitions, but let’s be real, we all know that quality of the gaits is driving scores just as much as quality of the actual individual movement). That would be much more useful to the grass roots riders. BUT - it is useless if it doesn’t qualify for anything - should at least qualify for medals…
If I do some showing with my new boy, it will mostly be schooling shows. There is a possibility of some “opportunity” classes at a local recognized show. I anticipate it being more of a learning experience - I am not competitive.
The difficulty will come when he is past First Level. There is rarely any competition at schooling shows at that level, and, more importantly, the judges are not always that great at judging at that level (little experience). With no opportunity classes at that level I would have to shell out all the fees to show recognized. Not likely to do that.
So for my viewpoint, I would see providing a cheaper route to the higher level tests at a recognized show might entice me to show there. No points, no cumulative awards, etc needed. Just the opportunity to ride at a nice facility before a good judge in a show.
Otherwise my money would be spent on lessons and clinics.
Anyone want to show in Tulsa? It’s where a lot of horse show nationals have moved to (permanently).
They tried to offer nationals (not the USDF dressage finals but the creme-de-la-creme one that used to always be Gladstone) on the west coast and had to cancel it.
Kentucky isn’t ideal for many but it’s as close as our very big country can get and not end up in the red. I took my thoroughbred to the Jockey Club championship show at the KHP and I started planning a year in advance to make sure it was doable.
And this is also one of the judges that makes less than kind remarks on social media about AA riding skill and why the FS score requirement had to be raised.
So on one hand she wants us to ride better and on the other, let’s make a division for not having the ability and/or unsuitable mount.
I understand why gaits have to influence as much as they do for international/high performance team development, but would love love love if there were a “national league” with judging criteria that largely disregards movement beyond rhythm/regularity. That would benefit a lot more people than being able to post at 3rd/4th.
