@teatime0714 That’s correct. “She” hasn’t had a horse that was sound for long enough to compete regularly for quite some time.
Not sure what that has to do with anything?
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No, I haven’t been competing much over the last few years due to injury (mine and my horse’s). What does that have to do with anything?
The location change was promised to members when the idea of a National Final was first floated. I’ve been involved in dressage since the early 90s, and I remember the discussions well.
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What’s your point?
Any USDF member has “standing” or whatever the equivalent may be. Our dues and fees support the entire organization and the so called national finals.
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As mentioned above, I have qualified twice.
Were you not a member when the concept of a national finals was pitched to the membership?
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For accuracy’s sake I believe that it was originally pitched as it would rotate east vs west every THREE years. I specifically remember it because I was thinking how knowing how my luck runs I would qualify during the period that it was a west coast show and I would never be able to justify the cost to go as a AA hobby rider.
Every post I have made on this thread has said that the west coast members have gotten the fuzzy end of the lollipop regarding this show.
For a facility with the size and accommodations necessary for this show a facility often requires a multi-year contract. Which is part of why I don’t think it was ever pitched as a every year rotation.
It really doesn’t matter how you try to spin it as “not a national show”. The reality is that it IS a national show/finals. Every region has a show where you can attempt to qualify for this show. It is not limited to a specific segment of the country. Every rider has to choose whether they can make the trip, whether it is 200 or 2000 miles away.
With a country the size of the US, someone is going to be a large distance away from the show. This is true for any sport, horse or otherwise. Every finals/championship is a competition of the people who were able to make the trip and that is not necessarily every single person who qualifies.
You know what I don’t hear? Quarter Horse people bitching about Congress being in Ohio each year. You either accept that this is not a competition that you are going to attend or you make an effort to get it moved.
Have you reached out to your USDF regional director to express how unfair this is and why it has not been moved as promised? Have you reached out to your local GMOs to see if you can put together a group to get the show to the west coast? It’s easy to complain online - it’s harder to actually put the work in to get it moved.
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It would be pointless to bitch about that, since it is run by the Ohio Quarter Horse Association, not AQHA. 
Now the AQHA world show, which is run by AQHA does have a 10 year contract with the OKC Fairgrounds, running through 2031.
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Yes, I’ve reached out and so have many others. They don’t care.
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Have you reached out with suggestions as to locations, or just bitching and accusing them of lying?
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Is it necessary to be rude and insulting? Please let’s have a civilized discussion.
Yes, I have suggested locations, and so have many others.
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Who are you suggesting locations to? Did you receive parameters of what a location needed, regarding number of rings, stabling, and available staff for things like arena dragging and manure removal? Did you reach out to the locations and get bid prices? Were those locations ok with a rotating show? Were those bid prices acceptable? Will the lower number of entries even out the bid prices and other costs of having it in that location?
We can suggest a location all we want, but there’s a lot of parameters involved. I think the biggest thing is the increased cost combined with lower entries.
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Point taken and I apologize.
Its just that I know the folks in charge of Nationals have looked and looked and looked, and taken suggestions over the years.
They are not sitting on their hands.
Perhaps it would help if they released venues they have already considered, with the reasons they do not work ,…
We ahve a similar issue regarding Regionals in Region 3. There jsut are not many venues that can host a competition of that size. But every year folks think there is no effort to find suitable locations. But I know different…
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More transparency would be nice.
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This seems to be the best solution. I personally know a few people from Oregon who made the trip to Kentucky. It was not an easy trip! If I remember correctly, one year a few riders from Seattle flew their horses.
Distance is only one factor. To go to the WEC in Ohio from western Oregon it is 2600 miles, 36 hours of driving over two mountain ranges, the Cascades and the Rockies. To compare, it’s a 16-hour trip from Miami and 33 hours from Los Angeles. All of these times must be modified to factor in pulling a horse trailer.
Riders on the “left” coast have to be highly motivated and have the finances to make the trip. Forget it if you are from Alaska or Hawaii.
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That would definitely be helpful.
And thank you for the apology 
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No, because it’s not my job as a paying member to do their event planning for them. I’d be happy to do it if they wanted to pay me as a consultant, however.
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It’s a very nice facility. I’ve been there for Pony Cup and would enjoy going to Finals as a spectator.
