New USEF Website

[541hunter]

It’s also not terribly hard if you’re at all connected to the horse world to find someone to look something up for you. I’ve done it for other associations that keep their membership information behind a paywall. Hell, I posted in the Sporthorse Breeding forum looking for info on my horse a while ago and got a full report on his pedigree and breeder from someone who had access to the Hannoveraner Verband database.

Understood that someone newer to the sport buying their first horse doesn’t have as many connections as many of us. But I have to think that if you’re buying a horse with a decent show record that you care enough about to see, you probably know at least one person with a USEF membership.

I think the comparison to the used car reports is an apt one. Obviously horses are not cars, but it’s similar in terms of investment and ability to hide things. CarFax charges $39.99 for a full report, $59.99 for 5, and $69.99 for unlimited over the course of 60 days. That obviously includes a lot more, and is more like buying the show records and vet records for a horse. But similar idea.

Out of curiosity, how would you all react to the option of a one-time lookup fee for show records? Say, $5 for a horse’s full show history report with all the owner changes, microchip info, etc., $10 for 5, and if you want unlimited for a year you buy the $25 fan membership.

[541hunter]

I sent an email yesterday with my thoughts on the suspension list falling behind the paywall and I got a response today.

Here’s what I sent originally:
“One of the things I’m curious about is the decision to keep the suspension list behind a paywall. I understand there has to be benefits to membership that would motivate people to join who don’t compete at USEF shows, but this particular item seems to me like it should be freely available for the wider good of the sport. If someone is new to the sport, they may not be ready to take the leap and join USEF just to check the suspension list for their local trainers’ names. And in the long run, it could lead to bad experiences for new riders and make them less likely to get deeply involved down the road.”

And here’s the response from their Regulation Dept. Director:

"Hi [541hunter],

Thank you for your email. My department is responsible for the maintenance of the suspension list. We will be having the discussion next week regarding whether to keep the list behind a pay wall or not. I was under the impression the suspension list would be open to anyone but it was not launched this way. Keep checking back on the site for updates and again we appreciate our feedback.

Emily

Emily Pratt | Director, Regulation Department"

So it looks like they’re still making edits (as I thought!).

[snaffle635]

[QUOTE=JenEM;9007821]
Well, I have a membership, so personally, it’s a moot point.

But from the point of a view of a parent shopping for a kid’s first horse, doesn’t know much, but is told horse’s show name is Super Star, it’s won all over the place, check out the USEF results! They know enough to know the USEF is the governing body, but maybe don’t have a membership yet, because kid doesn’t have a horse to show yet. Yes, those of us who show regularly know there are other places to look, like state associations, Horseshowing.com etc, but for the first time buyer? Non-horsey parent trying to do their due diligence? It’s not so obvious.

Same reasoning with wanting to keep suspensions public–you want people to be able to find things out about a person before doing business with them. Not that those are easily searchable now, but IMO, should be.[/QUOTE]

Thank you for offering an alternative point of view and rationale for keeping the records free.

These non-horsey parents are terrific prospects for membership in USEquestrian. If I was about to purchase a horse for my kid and saw that I could get all this info (including educational videos) for just $25, it would be money well spent (IMO).

[ladyj79]

[QUOTE=Tackpud;9006785]
Read the article on Murray’s new vision for the USEF. He specifically talks about why certain areas of the website are now going to be unavailable to non-members and the creation of a “fan” membership. Modeled after some European countries membership support. Can’t say I blame him - we’ve been getting a lot for free from the USEF.[/QUOTE]

Not really. I can look up fei results for horses and riders for free.

Silly choice us equestrian.

[ohnoO]

I have not tried to log on the sight yet–do you need your old membership number? Even if it’s not active and has not been for years?
Lord only knows where that is–it may have only been an AHSA number :eek:

[541hunter]

OhnoO, if you’ve never logged in online before, you’ll probably need to create an account using your old number.

[comingback]

When I signed up for my membership after having been away for 10 years, I was able to search for my old membership number to create my account.

[EAY]

For me, it was nearly 25 years and they still had my old AHSA number in the records.

[vxf111]

I agree 100% that the suspensions/discipline should not be behind the pay wall. If one thing should come out, it really ought to be that.

[tbchick84]

Bummer, I just went to watch the rest of the GM horsemanship clinic and I can’t watch anymore without joining. So much for that.

[Groom_amp_Taxi]

A US Equestrian Eventing post came across my FB feed today with a link to a video about regarding helmet safety - I clicked on the link and THEN found I couldn’t see the video without joining. Not cool. If something is going to be shared via social media and it’s not accessible to the general (non-member, non-paying) public, that needs to be indicated in the post.

[MyssMyst]

[QUOTE=snaffle635;9007780]
For those cranky about putting results behind the paywall - just want to make sure I understand your logic.

You value USEF enough to rely on competition results posted by shows governed by the organization, on a website paid for and run by the organization, but you don’t value the organization enough to pay them for access to this information?

Just checking.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=vxf111;9007835]Should total noobs shopping for a kid’s first horse have some help, like a trainer with access to the USEF records?

Anyway, if these noobs can find the website, they can certainly read and understand that it costs $25 to access. If they think it’s worth it, they can pay.

I get that we all enjoyed having the data for free. But it costs money to maintain the database and I don’t think it’s unreasonable to pay a small amount to access it and other benefits.

I don’t know if they changed but for the longest time APHA records weren’t free. I wasn’t a member and I sent them a check for $20 get my horses’s records printed out. Lots of newspapers are behind a pay firewall. I don’t think it’s so out of line.

It was nice to have it for free but now it’s not. And I don’t think that’s so unreasonable?[/QUOTE]

This. If I want a horse or rider’s show record with AHA, I need a membership. It’s not a crazy concept, really. LOTS of organizations have a pay to play setup. When I wanted to figure out the saddlebred side of my Half-Arab’s pedigree, I paid ASHA for it.

[yaya]

Where does one find the rulebook on the new site?

[yaya]

Found it. Have to go to the bottom. There is no link in the main menu.

[SnicklefritzG]

I can understand the “pay to play” concept to an extent. Many other sites and organizations do it. On pedigreequery.com for example, one can do a simple pedigree search and progeny report for free. More advanced features such as hypomating, linebreeding reports, etc. require a paid membership to see. The same is true on Equibase. Simple searches for race record are free. Other features such as race video replays are not.

I’m not against a fee for some things because a web based business needs to make money to pay for the website and people to maintain it.

What is the issue with USEF? Are they so strapped for cash that they absolutely have to do this? An organization that already charges riders $$$ in fees at a show now has to try to get more $$$$ from the general public, their so-called “fans” in order to make a go of it?

Mr. Kessler built up a nice fortune on convincing people to buy a product that is known to cause deadly diseases. Surely he has the intelligence needed to figure out better ways to increase the fan base than charging people yet another fee before they even think about joinging.

[Darkwave]

I guess I just don’t get the acrimony. I could understand if this was an additional fee on TOP of a membership fee, but it’s not.

What it is is an affordable (in fact, dirt cheap) way for those of us who do not currently show to become members. And the USEF tv coverage of events is fantastic, and undoubtedly not free to provide. It makes far more sense that freeloaders (like I used to be) should pay a fee for access than that members subsidize the rest of us. It’s akin to limiting use of a coffee shop’s wifi to paying customers. Time for people like me to pony up, even if we don’t have a pony to show (har har har).

Is there anyone on this thread who a) objects to this new fan membership and the paywall but b) subscribes to FEI.tv or EQSports? If so, I’d love to learn what the distinction is. Is it just the accessibility of rulings? Or something else.

I do agree that rulings should be public facing. If for no other reason than that when someone who has been set down gives their side of the story, it’s nice to be able to read USEquestrian’s side of the story. So it benefits USE to have those rulings be public.

[SnicklefritzG]

Many sites have a few things you can see at no charge to determine if you’d like to join or not. Does usef offer any of that at all with the new site?

[EAY]

I don’t think anyone is objecting to them charging for access to tv coverage or videos, but I can’t even look at my own lifetime registered horses’ results much less any others. Like Snicklefritz said, are they really that strapped for money? The fees we pay to register our horses, change names, transfer ownership, etc. should go toward maintaining the database.

[alittlegray]

No, it ISN’T a complaint, as I said. Just a point to make that we are tiny fish in the overall scheme of things, and it still cost us that much money at the start of last year. So adding more fees can and does add to the burden and feels like nickle and diming to some, which is a reasonable way to feel. Because I have an opinion that there shouldn’t be a fee to look up horse and rider results doesn’t mean I am complaining. I agree completely that the rest of the content (ie videos) is something they have every right to charge for.

Why the need to go down the “you can always tell her no” path? I know I can tell her no, and she heard that word a LOT. She paid for a lot of stuff herself. She had one horse, one time, one year that could do the height and so we decided to let her have that shot. It was a lot of money, and most folks in our income range who weren’t anticipating all those membership charges would probably be surprised by it too. That is all.

[MyssMyst]

What I WOULD love… For those who need multiple memberships, is a one-stop shop for common memberships like national breed organizations and things like USDF/USHJA/USEA. Even better (although I realize this is not remotely possible) would be a Costco-style discount for buying in bulk, lol!