Because trying to walk in your stiff dressage boots murders the back of your heels. Ask me how I know after having to dismount to take the bonnet off my horse every time because he has been known to leap sideways due to loudspeakers or particularly disturbing freestyles and he’s much braver if I’m in front of him instead of on top of him.
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This attitude is ill-advised if people actually want things to improve, though.
My employer pays me to do my job, but they don’t just abandon me to do my own thing with zero input and expect me to have the perfect product at the end. They communicate what they need/want and offer feedback on what I come up with. They offer suggestions if they don’t like my ideas or implementations. When employers say “no, no, no” and offer no constructive feedback on what they DO want, employees eventually just stop trying (and frequently find new employment elsewhere).
So it seems we’ve ruled out taking the bridle off under any circumstances, doing barn/trailer checks, and there is a striking dearth of willing/knowledgeable people who can do gloved bit checks. If we want a better system implemented, we need to find some constructive feedback to give before TPTB just stop trying altogether (if they haven’t already). After all, we pay them to facilitate what we want, not to read our minds.
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If usdf wants to pay me, I’m happy to come up with suggestions. But I am paying them, and they are making things more and more ridiculous every year.
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The person on the ground should still be the one in control of the horse, and is endangered if the rider tries to do the control in that moment.
However, ground manners are abhorrent on MANY dressage horses. Different problem, but I completely agree. My super hot trakehner mare (made worse due to major heat cycle issues so she never knew why she had random bouts of pain when younger) was one I always dismounted to ensure I could handle her from the ground for inspection safety - she had manners but was very particular about how she was handled, back to the random pain she didn’t understand. (And which we found ways to prevent for show season, and most of the time in general)
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Last I checked USEF and USDF just take my money. They don’t employ me.
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Correct. Which is why smart tack checkers are going to hold the noseband or noseband cheekpiece with one hand and check the bit with the other. It may be a while since I’ve showed, but this is the way I always saw it handled. If the checker had an issue with a horse, they were in a position to be able to push that horse away from themselves.
Um, let’s check. Because it’s safer for everyone. A rider has control of the entire horse and the horse is less likely to get away from a rider.
Think of horses loose on a dressage show grounds. Loose because they got excited while being led. Pulled back and got loose. Busted (or Houdinied) stall and ran wild. Another loose horse got them amped while they were between halter and bridle.
I’m all for teaching horses manners. I’m not all for expecting everyone to have high enough standards for making the idiocy of dropping a bridle after a test a safe and sane expectation.
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That’s my point though - USDF/USEF is an employee of its members (us). Imagine if your boss was like “I refuse to talk or tell you what I want you to do unless you pay me first for input on what I want!” Sounds a bit ridiculous, no?
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I can agree with all of this, which is why I think untacking/unbridling in a secure area is a safer solution for all. 
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I disagree that USEF is my employee, however we can go that route…
I’ve told my employee that their idea of making mandatory removal of the bridle has not considered all the issues involved w that which might arise (loose horses, not all riders have grooms, etc) and do they have any other ideas or solutions.
And they’ve told me that I’m crying oppression and they’re going to do it anyway.
So shouldn’t I then fire my employee?
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The employee suggested 50% tack checks at the stall.
And we pointed out the obvious pitfalls of that.
Someone suggested taking bridles off. And that was deemed dangerous.
Someone suggested a drug stall to safely take bridles off. And people said no to that because people without grooms might not have a way to bring a halter to the ring.
And so spare halters were suggested. And a bio security issue was pointed out.
And so biothane halters that could be disinfected quickly and easily were suggested for those who couldn’t bring a halter to the ring.
So if none of that is acceptable, at some point the question must become what DO we want? What do we want to pay USEF/USDF to implement? What would be acceptable to you? And if you’re unwilling to even attempt to answer that question, I don’t know how you expect others to answer it for you.
But yes. I agree that if your employee is not living up to your expectations (reasonable or otherwise), you should fire them and go show elsewhere alongside the many many other people who have decided that’s the best path forward for them. I personally would like to see USDF shows around, so I’m trying to sit at the table and have the conversations and offer solutions to make that happen.
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And that brings us back to why the heck has it been deemed that normal tack checks either on the way into the competition ring, or directly after leaving the competition ring, need to be changed?
And if it is deemed that they need to change, then why stop thinking of a fair, equitable, and safe alternative after only a few suggestions have been made?
I’d fire that employee for inability to think, let alone outside the box.
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This 100x’s. Where I show is often a half mile trek from the farthest west arena to the east side stabling…I am pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to make it without destroying my feet. But maybe I could carry a halter and change of shoes to the show ring? 
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Yes, and hold your horse safely while you are changing your shoes after your ride to lead them back to the stabling area.
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This could be interesting if they do it at a breed show with multiple divisions including dressage.
There could be a wide variety of bridle/bit combinations in the tack stall.
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The KY horse park at horse trials often has dressage 20 minutes from stabling, past a gauntlet of horse murdering obstacles. This year it was nick named the “trail of tears” for all the riders who ended up sobbing when their horse spooked at the horse drawn trolly or something else. Its a lot for a green horse. Adding carrying your own halter and lead rope to that and someone’s gonna die 
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I just rabbit holed here because of the statement of the TD going around to stabling. Per the rule this is only applicable to Competition levels 1-3. Off to the rulebook for specifications per levels of competition and it states no requirement for stabling at Level 1, Level 2 only if more than 150 horses is stabling required and only for Level 3 competitions is stabling required and to be on grounds.
So based on this information, the expectation is that this rule is for competitions that are majority truck-in based with no stabling. Which if that is the case then the TD is tasked with undertaking a large job outside of volunteer assistance for Level 1+2, possible Level 3 shows for tack checks. No stabling available, there is no requirement for a drug testing stall (that I can find, please feel free to fact check me).
None of this rule is going to apply to larger competitions or show grounds such as Regionals, HITS or the KY horse park which are going (likely) Level 4 competitions, which the new individual, gloved finger in mouth will be only option.
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Think of all the people that prefer to ride versus handwalk their horses back to the stable. I wonder why?
Because the stable was half a mile from the arenas and riding him back to the barn saved me from having to walk back in my show boots? I don’t know if it’s rational to try to make preferring to ride your horse back to the stable a nefarious thing, especially given the variables at hand (horse personality/preferring to handle or control them whilst in saddle rather than on the ground, show layout, show boots, et cetera).
I always used the walk back to the barn as “me” time with my horse. The trainer got a hold of me out of the ring, but once we were on the path back to the barn I could reflect on the test and spend some time being grateful to my horse for what I inevitably had just put him through.
Regardless of how this rolls out, I feel for the volunteers who will enact the rules as they are determined and directed - and my endless thanks to the volunteers who make our shows possible, from the bottom up.
One thought (which I know is not a legitimate solution) is something like a marker on the ring of a checked bit. I don’t think a product like this exists though because the closest thing in my mind is a zip tie that you’d cut the extra end of the tab off of, and that would impede in how it moves in the bridle and quite possibly rub on the horse as well so this is not a solution - but if something like this (that didn’t abrade the skin or impede the bit’s movement, but also could not be removed without being cut off, so you cannot transfer from bit to bit) existed, that sounds like it could be a solution to the issue of “I’ll show you one bridle and then swap to another” posited by those wondering about the efficacy of checking tack at the stall.
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Stewards have been visually inspecting bits/bridles since the EHV-1 outbreak for 3 maybe 4 yrs now. The USEF comment about level 1-3, hands in mouth is outdated.
My understanding, TD’s are expected to inspect 50% of the bits at a show. That includes walking the trailer parking lot and stabling areas. One report had 50% of those inspections at a station adjacent to the show ring at the conclusion of the test. Show managers and TD’s will design an inspection plan specific to each show’s unique show’s demographics and submit that plan to the competitors’ prior to the start of the show. Not a big deal. So, translation, bring a halter with you to the warm up and be prepared to pull your bridle after your test.
I have asked and received no answer to the question - what happens if there is a serious situation that requires the TD’s full attention and 50% of the bits are not inspected? Do the TD and Show Manager get fined by the USET? Sanctioned? What is the training required to be a designated bit inspector if the TD is unavailable?
Here’s another question…why is this now a required show function? Is this a reaction to isolated incidents that could be managed at the time of the incident? In my many years of managing and volunteering, I’ve seen 1 illegal bit at a dressage show and the horse was eliminated. ONE.
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There is no way I am going to surrender control of my horse to someone I don’t know who may have questionable horsemanship skills while I am on the horse’s back.
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Speaking of a biosecurity nightmare…
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