New equipment rules, equipment elimination and yellow cards

[OldSchoolDressage]

Hello all,
I lurk around here but don’t post. But I need some experienced and active minds. Sorry for the lengthy post. And I will try to be super responsive to questions, but obviously, like all, I am trying to keep the barn running and the horses ridden. TO BE CLEAR, THE STEWARDS, TDs, ETC were all SUPER NICE and I don’t want them to get into trouble over this. I think this is a topic that suggests that the rules are hard to keep up, even for the officials.

I competed at regionals this weekend (in the open show) at a venue I was at two weeks before (second week in Sept). I have a third level horse who did her first third level test at the show two weeks ago, I put her in the open show, doing third 1 the first day and third 3 the second…no championship tests, I wasn’t qualified. She has a funny sized head, the double is hard to fit on her. The cob is too tight around her ears, the horse size is too big and I have to jack it up enough that the brown band scrunches her. So I replaced the crown piece with the Waldhausen Gen X crownpiece that I ordered from Mary’s tack and feed. It is a “poll relief” crow piece…I will attach a pic. All leather. It does not sit behind the poll at all. It is adjustable and as such made the bridle fit her better. In September the TD took a look at it and said nothing. This weekend I rode a nice third level test, came out, and the TD took a look at my stuff as they do. Checked bits, checked bonnet, checked spurs, checked whip…all fine.

But she questioned the crown piece. Here were her points as to why she questioned it (according to her):

• As of September 1 the rule now states that any padding on a bridle had to be a “continuous piece of leather"…different parts of the bridle could not be padded differently. The picture she showed me showed a bridle that had a crown piece, with padding on either side of the poll. Not a gap like this one had. But even so, I could not find the rule itself posted anywhere on Annex A. Maybe I am slow.
• But, be that as it may, this crown piece (which she called a Stubben, but it is not) has always been illegal (according to her)
• and as such I was eliminated (erasing my 68.00 percent the test earned)
• the fact that another TD had let it go mattered not.
• the fact that this rule was not well publicized, nor was the actual crownpiece specifically targeted. The pic they showed me, and the one they listed on the yellow card, was a Stubben bridle (the bridle wasn’t stubben anywhere, in any part)
  *and furthermore, they “had” to issue me a yellow card for the tack violation. Which they did.
• I was told that the yellow card was “just procedure” and didn’t mean anything. Honestly, it means something to me. I am a rule follower. I don’t like things like this. And I have been a professional in this area for 35 years, competing in the area since 1983…when I was thirteen. A professional since 1991. I have NEVER had a yellow card, or been eliminated for a rule violation.

This was not a championship test. It wasn’t even a QUALIFYING test. It was third level test one open. I was the only one in it. I care not about the ribbon, I do care about the score (on my horse’s record) and I care a LOT about the yellow card. I was EXTREMELY nice, polite, respectful, didn’t argue, didn’t balk, I had to go teach my clients so I left my respectful husband but even he eventually had to depart, and this decision was made amongst the two or three TDs without me. They brought me the yellow card to sign, and my score was changed to ELIMINATED.

So…I don’t want to out the TDs, the ground jury, the management, or anyone else. But I do want to appeal my yellow card and the elimination (if possible). And, while I am not a very active person on the administrative side of dressage, I sure will be if I can EFFECTIVELY lobby for some sort of change. Lets:
*change rules at a predictable time. Like, say, Jan 1.
*make rules easy to understand and find.
*educate our officials and give them a resource
*make sure to give competitors some sort of due process with things like this.
*give competitors a grace period for newrules that do not affect the welfare of the horse. This was a poll relief crown piece. Clearly, it was not giving me any sort of unfair advantage. A month’s grace should be sufficient.
*If it is a “gray” area, it should rule in favor of the competitor and be made “not’ gray.

So…wise ones…
A) Do I appeal this with the USEF or USDF? Or both? I have researched this and appealing is not all that easy.
B) I am going to go down to the USDF convention in Houston. How best to get this heard?
C) besides that, who do I write? And other people have stories too…I can compile?
D) Other thoughts?

I am attaching the crownpiece and the yellow card. Ya’ll decide. Thank you!

[IPEsq]

I totally agree the rule change should have been made for December 1st and the Annex updated to reflect all the new equipment rules before they went into effect. But even if that is not a Stubben, it’s still not legal per the new rule, so I’m not sure how an appeal will change the outcome of your case.

[lorilu]

@OldSchoolDressage

A) Do I appeal this with the USEF or USDF? Or both? I have researched this and appealing is not all that easy.
B) I am going to go down to the USDF convention in Houston. How best to get this heard?
C) besides that, who do I write? And other people have stories too…I can compile?
D) Other thoughts?

SInce you’ll be at the convention, this si something you could bring up during the BOG. In particular, the timing of the change issue - and just how it was advertised.
If I find out anything else I’ll post it. There might be a committee you can address the issue with. Committees are having open zoom meetings before the convention, later this month.

[OldSchoolDressage]

I cannot find where it is shown as illegal. Yes, I get the “padding” is supposed to be flat. But this has no padding. No where do I see anything about the crownpiece itself being split.
Regardless, I can probably swallow the E. But the yellow card? Why? I wasn’t combative or disrespectful in ANY way. Nor was my horse distressed. It seems like a harsh action considering the factors involved.
They told me that this crown piece had never been legal. I couldn’t find that info anywhere either.

[GreyDes]

It’s pretty clearly called out in Annex A with the Stübben bridle. I don’t believe this is a recent rule change.

They also have two other crown pieces as examples. Keep in mind that it doesn’t matter if your bridle isn’t a Stübben. That’s the example and any brand with the same design will be treated the same.

It’s a sucky situation, and I agree with the earlier posters who said you likely don’t have much to push back on here for the elimination based on the equipment rules.

[IPEsq]

The new rule: Any padding must be smooth and continuous across the poll while on the horse, and rectangular or in the same shape as the crownpiece.

Yours is not continuous across the poll.

[OldSchoolDressage]

Ok, I get it. But a yellow card? That’s really my point. I don’t love the E, of course. And I think it’s vague. We name every bit possibly manufactured and judge its legality but we leave the crownpiece for interpretation…, because I had a TD say it was fine two weeks prior? And not all of the TDs this time were in agreement,

My issues are:
Let’s change the rules at a predictable time. And give the competitors adaquate time to read and adjust tack.
A yellow card? Eliminate me if you must. But a yellow card? Unless the welfare of my horse was directly threatened, or I was sketchy in my response to the officials, I don’t deserve a yellow card.
The inclusion of the competitor in this.
And some latitude, particularly in an open class with a new rule.

I sincerely took my yellow card with grace, and I’m being open minded now. I’ve looked at it carefully.

Second point is, good lord, how is this something that should be illegal? It’s a poll relief crownpiece that lets me properly adjust my bridle for my horses head. I now have a $500 ol fitting double that I had to purchase at the show to replace the crownpiece,

I’m a rule folllower. And, like I said, I’ll take the E if I must. But I don’t think an equipment violation warrants it…. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth as a competitor.

[DMK]

If that particular rule was just changed, I think you might have some standing about the yellow card, but it has been around at least since March, possibly earlier. I do agree that it’s easy to overlook when they name a single brand when what they really mean is something like “brand x or browbands with similar designs”. This is compounded by reading tiny words with even tinier pictures on your phone!

I also share your pain on violations when you are a Rule Follower. I got an infraction warning on the FEI app we use to check in, take temps, etc. For some reason the competition wouldn’t load on the app for the show management in time for the temps taken at home, so they told us to write down pre competition temps then enter them when it was up. But when I went into the app it let me enter temps under my horse as soon as the pre show portion began. Cool. Entered temps. Yay for me. When I checked in, the fei vet said I had a warning one was missing. Oops, in a rush to ship that AM I forgot to enter that temp. I thought it was odd though, I’ve been 24hrs late and nothing happens but maybe the vet is being helpful because people with paper forgot to put them in the app… Nope. When they finally DID get the competition live on the app, it took all temps except it must have overwritten the one immediately before it went live. So no temp recorded, and yours truly gets an entirely undeserved infraction. Again, it’s meaningless but like you, I pride myself on being the easiest, most prepared person to check in. My passport even has tabs to identify the pages they need to stamp and check, so this was a bitter pill. But I am getting over it. Mostly. And so will you. But the injustice… I feel for you.

[OldSchoolDressage]

Ugggg. I’m sorry that happened to you.
I feel that there needs to be a simpler way to compete. I’ve been doing this for a long time at this particular show. I had students in the intro level, and an adult amateur in the Grand Prix championships. It’s getting harder and harder and harder to keep up. Are we professional horseman or professional competitors? It is very difficult to be both honestly. I want to work in the interest of animal welfare of course I think we have just gone down a very, very slippery slope.

[eponacelt]

I think the Yellow Card for this is ridiculous and should be addressed. I would also wholeheartedly support a standard date for any rule change that is not related to blatant, eye-popping problems which things like crownpiece shape are not. Yes, as competitors (professional or not) we should be checking in on the rules. But before every show? That’s dumb. And for some people at shows this fall, there was no time to procure another crownpiece that would work for their horse.

I still think this was a dumb rule change overall. I get that the wild crownpieces that sit way back from the poll might be illegal or crazy wide padding, but different horses need different shapes and I just fail to see how these crownpieces are a real problem when for so many of us, our horses are HAPPIER in them.

I’d say you should at least make the issue known with USDF re: the Yellow Card and timing of the change. I’m not sure there’s any hope for the dumb change itself.

[endlessclimb]

@eponacelt

But before every show? That’s dumb.

Right! As if a horse professional doesn’t have enough to do to keep afloat, now they need to check in on any asinine rule changes before each show?

Realistically, with the equipment rules as they are, there is absolutely no reason to do an equipment rule change mid-year. The existing rules are comprehensive enough that nothing outright abusive is going to pop up out of the blue.

[rebecca_yount]

The TD was correct. That crown piece has been pictured as not permitted, in Annex A, for a long time. BTW, the new rule about continuous padding that people are discussing became effective on October 1, not September 1, but is not relevant in your case. The TD wrote Stubben bridle which it may not have been, but it’s made just like it.

[beowulf]

As a very literal person, I would take it the rule meant the exact bridle pictured and named is the bridle banned – not attributes of the bridle itself. Why could they not say “Irregular Crown Shape” or “Crowns Shaped Like Pictured” instead of naming a specific brand?

For a rulebook, many of their restrictions are clear as mud.

What I don’t understand is the rule change mid-year, instead of holding them to the Dec 1 date they ostensibly say is procedure.

[trubandloki]

Rule change and crappy TD actions aside, that crownpiece is brilliant for those hard to fit horses. Too bad they have made it not allowed. I had not seen one of those before.

[endlessclimb]

Yes, when you’ve gone through a million trying to get the ear cutout to be in the right spot, what a great idea.

[OldSchoolDressage]

Well, not everyone (TDs and otherwise) agrees… since I had two TDs disagree on the rule. I’m fine with it if I’m eliminated for it. I mean, not fine, but not going to argue. It’s the yellow card I’m disputing.

[DMK]

@OldSchoolDressage

I feel that there needs to be a simpler way to compete.

Feel grateful you aren’t in combined driving. I have a running joke that I’m learning the rules one elimination or penalty at a time. We even had 3 advanced 3*/2* drivers get eliminated or might as well with massive penalties while we all learned it’s a very bad idea to accidentally brush one of the number boxes in cones with your wheels, and it’s an even worse idea to not pull up IMMEDIATELY when you hear the buzzer, even if your horse’s nose is already passed through a cone. But I figure no one is making us compete or stopping us from reading all the (exhaustingly long and generally cryptically written) rules, so ultimately it’s on us. But some days it does suck the joy right out of the sport.

[Snow_Mass]

Just a reminder, USEF makes the rules, not USDF. So while you may receive empathic response from fellow convention USDF attendees, rules are created, enacted, changed by the USEF.

[OldSchoolDressage]

Yes. Yeah, I get that.
I normally read the rules, follow the rules. But it gets harder and harder to do.

[OldSchoolDressage]

You are absolutely right, it is incumbent on us. But interpreting the rules is sometimes so freaking hard. And when we get inconsistent info, that makes it even worse.
I have had rules that I have balked at, but it is my choice to compete (I am a professional, so it sort of is not, I compete to be able to make a living, that’s my demographic…competition minded students). My bigger issue is with (as I said) the yellow card, which I know has to be appealed through USEF. I just think it wasn’t warranted. I know that it really is just feeding the machine, but I have never heard of someone being yellow carded for an equipment violation. We had one competitor one year be eliminated twice in one show, for two different violations, and she wasn’t yellow carded (NOT me or my client, heavens. Once is bad enough!). And, as I said, I have gone 35 years and managed to wade through the rules without violating them. In my head, it feels like if they can catch me out (as a veteran rule follower), it makes it super hard for the average bear amateur to keep up, interpret, and make necessary changes.