It can’t hurt to ask if the club will reimburse you for these expenses. Our club does, but the person needs to request reimbursement. I actually suggested this. It doesn’t seem fair for it to cost an older PC member more to be a member than a younger one, so reimburse them. However, if that person can’t be bothered to submit the receipt and ask, then that’s more money for the club. Everyone was supposed to have these things done by January 1, so we gave them until Feb 15 to submit receipts and ask for reimbursement. Only about half did.
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Look what’s happening in the UK;
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Resurrecting this thread as I started looking at entries for the new season here in area 8… and I’m a bit sad. There is no way I can justify any of the sanctioned events this year. I make decent money. I keep my horse at home. I train on my own, because even monthly lessons are a splurge. Last year I did all local unsanctioned shows except 1. This year I can’t even justify that lone sanctioned one. I always sleep in my trailer. I try to haul in for the day to avoid stabling fees, but this is the year I won’t even renew my USEA membership. I get it. I’m prioritizing my teens sports and their college fund and my mortgage and other expenses. It’s just tight as a single working mom, but even the cheapest sanctioned show is going to run $400 not including gas for the weekend. That’s just ridiculous. I love my local shows and paces and I’ll make do and be happy with where I can compete, but I’ll miss the bigger venues out there. If anyone has magical suggestions on how they’ve made it work I’d love to hear them.
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Pretty much every big venue in Area VIII has a schooling show or several. I would much rather do multiple schooling shows than 1 recognized show. I think that we had a lot of pressure to ourselves from other horse people that only recognized shows have value, but that is not the case. If someone only gets value out of recognized shows then I have no issues with them doing that. What I won’t abide by is them trashing my accomplishments because it was “just a schooling show” That the judging was more lenient, the courses easier, the environment less electric. That’s a them problem.
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Unless you have a major goal you need to qualify for (AECs, 3 day), there is no reason to go sanctioned. I’m guessing you have plenty of stress in your life already. Enjoy the schooling shows!
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