I think those in our position who are Training level riders and planning an upgrade are probably the ones who shouldn’t be asked about this, way too biased. Me being one too 
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Yeah, you’re probably right. Although I do know “unlicensed” riders (including several professionals) who have safely gone prelim and above who have also stated on FB that they think the 10 MERs are too much.
I think they will need a far more graduated “licensing” between B with 25 MER Prelims and UL unlicensed having 0-24 prelims and thus needing 10 trainings as a combination to be able to move up. It’s like a game of snakes& ladders–one new (even experienced) horse & back to the start you go each and every time until you get that magical 25.
Potential remedial downgrading for MR is fine to reduce the achieved tally as is needing a few fairly consecutive decent runs but seasons are not continuous everywhere and XC clinics might prove more beneficial than an extra lower level run on a weak course just to score well. Not all T/P courses provide the same challenges to each competitor whether due to terrain or accessibility.
While qualitative scoring by the TD or course designer or other official would be good, they can’t have eyes everywhere on everyone on course. Likewise some mishaps are just that & shouldn’t be penalized beyond their fault value.
Prelim is a reasonable level of accomplishment but should not be solely the domain of the Olympians–competency of the rank and file should exist & be promoted. Sport is ultimately about challenge.
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I have gone Prelim on a horse I brought up through the levels myself and did my first recognized Trainings and first and only Prelims and first time jumping bigger than 3’3. The first year I did Training with him I did I think 5 recognized Trainings and got one MER, at a couple of events I had one stop and at one my horse stumbled landing off a drop into water and I fell off. The next year I think I did one unrecognized Training and roughly 8 recognized Trainings and the T3D. At all of the HTs I got MERs and then I went off course at the 3 day. The year after that I think I did 4 recognized Trainings (all MERs) and then 3 Prelims (all with clear xc and a rail or two sj but at 2/3 I didn’t get qualifying dressage scores-- my horse struggled with the dressage in general due to his headshaking and did not see the point of counter canter. The next year he had colic surgery and never really came back 100 percent but I did get 1 more MER.
I live in Maryland so have access to a lot of competitions but am poor and keep my horses at home with no ring so only really was able to compete April to October, so 1-2 events/month and 8-10/year. It definitely absolutely took me more than 10 events to be ready to compete at Prelim safely. It actually took me a year and half at Training and roughly 12 events before I even really considered it as a possibility. I took lessons with a 5* eventer regularly if not as often as I would have liked and she did not ever even mention it to me (my original goal was the T3D). I did qualify for Intermediate by the rules of the time but would not have been ready by any stretch of the imagination.
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There is a new version of the rule change proposalon the USEA web site.
It reduces the number of MERs required for an “unlicensed” rider to move up from 10 to 8, and clarifies that it is within an 8 year window. (The 24 months only applied to doing a “Classic Three-Day Event”). Also one MER needs to be within 8 weeks instead of 6 weeks in the original version.
You can send comments and questions to Sharon@useventing.com. Also, once it has been reviewed by USEF, it will be on the USEF web site, and you can submit comments there (if you are a USEF member).
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Wondering about this. I can’t see any dangerous riding penalties in the results available on the USEA site or the FEI warning cards for a rider at Advanced or FEI at Rebecca Farm.
Secondly I want to know how “safety” is defined. I see they used falls, and charted that unlicensed riders fall more than licensed ones. I think horse falls should always count as dangerous, and the chart they used thankfully showed very few horse falls. But I’m not sure that all rider falls can be equated with unsafe riding; or vice versa, not all unsafe riding translates into a fall - you might be very unsafe and go clear… many times… until you don’t.
I’d also like to know if an analysis was done of fatalities and serious injuries, looking at the records of those who suffered them and whether there were any predictors, or not, of the safety of that rider or horse/rider pair. I’m not sure there is strict correlation. Remember in the late 1990s when there were huge numbers of fatalities amongst competent upper level riders?
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I am just surprised they are not using the British eventing MERs. They work for me as an amateur and on the whole they seem fair.
Our rule is that competitors must have done 3 of the level before at a certain standard (dr below 50, sj less than 16 and 0 xc )before moving up. Don’t need to have done it as a combination either. Intermediate you must have done 5 x prelim and one of those as a combination.
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Well what you describe is slightly less onerous than the current system they’re looking to replace (4 MERs).
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For me – I keep my horse at home, and I am very frugal, and even then it gets expensive fast!
Not very many events within a day’s travel of me anymore, and I am in Area 1 and this used to be a mecca for us eventers… I could in theory make it work in one day, but I feel that it is a lot to ask of my horse after he competed. A 2-4 hour drive to and from, plus the event, is a lot to ask of him!
So, event entry: ~$270
Stabling: $100-200
Hotel: $100-200 (I would sleep in my trailer if I could, but many events here expressly forbid it!! lol)
Gas: $80
Food: $50-100
An event becomes a full on destination weekend – and even being cheap as possible, it creeps into a $500 weekend for me.
Instead, I have started putting the money that I would spend competing at USEA recognized events towards local hunter paces and small unrecognized events. I have had the season of my life last year, hit up every hunter pace that ran local to me, and still spent less over an entire season hunter-pacing than I would ONE recognized USEA event.
I’m priced out too – and I have a good paying job and keep my horses at home. I could not imagine trying to make this work if I had to board.
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I wonder what the reasoning is for this. Seems like an incredibly dumb rule to me.
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I don’t know, but that’s one rule I buck. I’d imagine it’s for liability reasons, or in the case of events being held on “forest preserve” land that has rules against staying overnight. Whatever, I just sleep in the neck of my goose and stay really quiet.
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It might also be an insurance thing. Providing housing (camping) might be a different insurance than simply running a horse event.
This is just a guess. I doubt someone just made the decision to be a jerk.
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I guess that makes sense. But it’s still frustrating when rules like this make competing even less affordable.
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For most of them I am confident it is liability related and not because the event is trying to be unwelcoming.
I remember one year I went cheapsies at Huntington VT and stayed in a tent at the backyard barn I was keeping the horse at - never again!! It was SO cold that night (There was FROST on the ground that morning!!) I ended up sleeping with the horse’s show cooler on top of my sleeping bag 
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I had a similar experience in my trailer with no heat. I invested in an electric blanket… and have since never needed it.
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It might also be due to zoning rules.
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I was thinking of this thread earlier this week.
I decided to rejoin Pony Club. I aged out when there was an age limit (25) so it’s been a while. I called the DC last month to join and just finished up my paperwork this week. It all seemed really reasonable. But! There are some ancillary and hidden fees. I was sitting at my laptop kvetching to myself how it was $20 here for this, $20 for that, etc when I started to do the math; the fee to USPC was $150, the fee to the PC org was $120, then there were a few other fees related to a background check and taking SS classes. I’m not made of money, so I grumbled a bit but started thinking… Add those all up and that’s STILL less than what I’d pay for one recognized event in my area when you factor in all gas, labor, show fees, stall or trailer fees, etc.
BTW, my PC region meets from April-June and then Sept-Nov. Every Thursday we have a lesson. It’s 24 lessons in one year. That’s worth it to me.
My long term riding instructor is now retired, and my other instructors that I ship into have bumped their rates up. The rates are honestly not unreasonable, but gone are the days I could afford weekly lessons.
Something to think about for those who feel priced out but want some sort of community/connection. There’s also foxhunting, but my area happens to be cost prohibitive.
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There are several unrecognized events locally that offer a discount for PC members. I have to admit I’ve considered it for that reason alone. I aged out in the early 2000s and I am not sure I could bring myself to go back although a part of me would like to get my A.
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I think you should do it! It’s never too late especially now the age limit is lifted. I’ll have to report back (maybe in a new thread) about how this season finishes but my main draw to rejoining was I’d always loved the structure and education of PC, I’d only aged out — and I could get access to affordable lessons after work. The membership is split pretty evenly between adults/kids.
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I agree with @beowulf, go for it if there is a club near you that you are willing to deal with.
(I say that because we all know that how good a pony club is greatly depends on the volunteer leaders.)
Do confirm with the locations with the discount that they mean that discount to apply to all pony club members.
I did attend a clinic that offered a reduced rate for pony club members and the organizer was very miffed when a bunch of adult pony club members wanted the discount. They only wanted that discount to apply to kids.
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