I think the “ideal” calendar is ridiculous but I don’t really understand why Red Hills didn’t bid for the following weekend. They were told there wasn’t going to be a 4* on their original weekend. Did they think USEF would back down?
Scheduling things in parks or on other public lands can be extremely difficult, especially an area that holds many different types of events. It is a very real possibility that the next weekend was not available due to someone else using the space.
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I believe also they were concerned about their course designing staff. Tyson works multiple events in that same time frame and I know they were concerned about the course designer’s availability as well. It might have been difficult due to other scheduling conflicts to keep both on a different weekend.
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Interesting read (inc: notes);
https://www.usef.org/forms-pubs/b4F4FR-EJFM/2021-audited-financial-statements
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They don’t look to be having financial problems looking at their financial statements. One thing did pop out at me - they spend a huge amount of their expenses on “FEI sport training and selection”. Almost 8 million in 2021 as opposed to almost 3 million in 2020. Non FEI sport training and selection is about 43 THOUSAND. So yes most of the dues are being spent on the few people at the top of the competition pyramid.
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Whats with the 2.7million for medications?
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I am ASSUMING it is for drug testing and the like. If not - then it is really strange.
Accountant here, who has audited and prepared financial statements for non-profits.
I would guess that it is the cost of the drug testing program (your USEF drug fees). You will see there is a corresponding revenue account “Drugs and Medication”. I see a few other corresponding revenue and expense accounts such as “International high performance” and “Sports programs”. When I see these mirroring expense and revenue accounts I would consider them to be offsetting accounts to track the performance of that revenue line.
On the last page under “functional expenses” you see it listed as “Banned substance collection, testing”
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I thought you could pay “non-member” fee in your entry…at least I used to, not sure now.
Yes, non-members can pay “Show Pass” fees
Thanks…I got disgusted with whole politics thing years ago and now just pay non-member fees.
A friend’s family donated funds to create a named scholarship in what used to be AHSA…the USEF dissolved that endowment and folded the funds into its general operating fund…so maybe @Texarkana’s spidey sense about financial “issues” is on the money.
I had a stallion that I got his life number, but he died and now I don’t show enough and don’t care enough to keep up regular memberships.
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Be warned - starting next year there is a limit on how many times you can purchase a show pass in a given year before you have to become a member. I think it’s one show pass which you have to purchase prior to the show.
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Thanks for the heads up…maybe time to vote with the wallet and get serious about Working Equitation … and bail on the USEF…
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So the whole USEA calendar thing is to develop the pipeline for 4* and 5* riders, and especially make our way to better results in the Olympics and other international FEI team competitions. That’s what they are saying?
OK let’s stop & think about the U.S. Team … how many team and individual slots are there per year in each discipline?
Is it even 20 to 24 slots per year per discipline, across all FEI & Olympic Team competitions? More for show jumping?
And in each discipline at least a couple of riders already have their names written in ink on every list for a Team competition. So actually ‘competing’ to be on a Team is down to even fewer open slots than that?
The math may not be precise, but basically a tiny, tiny number of elite riders from an organization with a membership of many thousands. A percentage of membership so small as to be almost invisible. Apparently that’s the priority of the entire showing calendar disruption, especially in Eventing.
We are talking about an organization whose membership is primarily amateurs & juniors, that is now framing itself to serve the goal of pumping up a comparatively minuscule number of elite riders. For a Team that less than apprx. 24 elite riders per discipline per year will ever participate in, out of that membership of many thousands ( most members not aspiring to the Team).
Let’s talk about the pinnacle, Olympic team riders. There are 4 or less per discipline in a 4-year cycle. So 16 across the USEF (counting Endurance). At most, 8 per discipline every decade, that’s 32 across the USEF in a decade. Probably fewer actual names, as certain riders have a lock on a team slot across games. And of course after the last rule change knock it down to even fewer riders.
So for just a bit more than two dozen Olympic team opportunities per decade the USEA (USEF) is going to turn the entire showing calendar upside down and give it a huge shake. Not just for the relatively tiny number of ‘pipeline’ riders, but for the thousands, for everyone.
The USEA is the “United States Eventing Organization”, not the “Team Pipeline Feeder Eventing Organization For Less Than 10 Riders Per Decade”.
Drop into this mix the monopoly the USEF and sub-orgs are attempting to force on the horse showing public by kicking them out if they also participate in any other national showing organization that focuses on them, rather than focusing on the handful of elite riders aspiring to some Team.
Just my very strong IMO - The organizations’ focus, as well as member fees, should primarily serve the majority of members who pay those fees, the amateurs & juniors. As the USEF and sub-orgs represent to those members. Although that is hard to do when at the same time the USEF and sub-orgs present different priorities to another audience that is focused on bettering the FEI/Olympic Teams.
Good on Endurance for getting rid of this nonsense and bringing their sport back to what it can be and should be for their national sport. Maybe this is the model for the other ‘Team’ disciplines going forward.
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The Olympics – and a particularly expensive version of the Olympics – happened in 2021, while very little “FEI sport training and selection” happened in 2020, so the discrepancy in the FEI sport expenses year-over-year makes sense in context.
I’m also relatively certain that FEI vs non-FEI is not about LL vs UL but rather drawing a distinction between (for example) eventing and hunt seat equitation.
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It is the USEF (NOT the USEA) that is responsible for butchering the calendar, and for fieldling the National teams.
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It is key leadership figures in USEA eventing who are doing the actual butchering.
Let’s not kid ourselves where the USEA really stands. Their focus again & again are FEI divisions and FEI pipeline. Which are not even their sanctioned divisions.
By the way, how accessible are the 2022 AEC’s in Montana to the majority of active eventers? So why are the AEC’s being run in a place that most amateurs and juniors can’t reasonably reach? Why does the blurb on the USEA website refer to the AEC’s as having “the Olympic equestrian sport of eventing”? What difference do the Olympics make to the average amateur or junior competitor, or the AEC’s?
It’s about “the pipeline” and a venue run by the Rebecca Farm people who support the team. Nothing wrong with their support at all. But wow that’s a big diversion their way that doesn’t well serve the majority of the USEA eligible AEC qualified members.
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As a former area VII rider I can answer that.
Because KHP is unaccessible for most ammy on the west coast. Rebecca farms is. From my former home base Rebecca was 12-14 hours. KHP is about 36 hours. I shipped a horse from Oregon to Alabama. That was $3500+ 2 years ago. I don’t even want to think about that price now. Personally I wish we had an east and west championships with a national championships closer to the middle of the country. But that is nether here nor there.
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Looks like the growth in assets is mainly due to $5.5M appreciation of their real estate
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