I am looking into possibly going to a USDF show next year, but I am super confused about the membership rules. Every year I join my local USDF GMO, does that make me a “full” member of USDF, or do I need to purchase an additional membership? If I join USEF, does that mean I am automatically a member of USDF?
Same goes for my horse, if I get her a USEF lifetime membership, does that mean she is automatically USDF lifetime member?
If all you want to do is go to a recognized show, not regionals or year end awards, the GMO membership is just fine. You would need a USEF membership separately, USEF and USDF don’t have any kind of a reciprocal agreement. You’d need the same for horse memberships, both.
So say I did want to try to qualify for regional or year end awards, then I would need…
USDF membership
USDF lifetime horse membership
USEF membership
USEF lifetime horse membership
Correct?
Yes, but you can do it a smidge cheaper by getting a USEF annual recording for your horse instead of the lifetime recording. Just figure out how many years you would want to show that horse, and see how it would add up for you.
And make sure your USDF membership is the Participating (PM) Membership.
welcome to the world of Dressage 
and don’t forget, if you like your GMO and want to continue to support it, you still have to pay the GMO membership which makes 2 USDF membership. And really just imagine if you like showing. Then you will still have to pay for more years for your horse… So for myself I decided on the lifelong horsemembership. It sounded a lot cheaper over the years.
I have a follow-up question. If I wanted to do a USDF show, but not worry about qualifying for year-end awards or championships, do I need a USEF membership? My understanding is the horse must be registered with either USDF or USEF. Also, I believe the statement above about requiring a PM membership is incorrect in my case. I believe a group membership should be sufficient.
Group membership is fine for USDF in the case you do not want to qualify, but you will need a PM from USEF or pay the nonmember fee.
Horse registration is tricky. If you do not want to qualify for regionals or awards, you just need an HID number from both organizations. Here’s the tricky part: if you only want to pay for one, make it USDF, because USEF will then give you a reciprocal HID number for free. But if you only record with USEF, you will still have to pay for a USDF HID. (The reciprocity only works in one direction.)
And don’t forget you will have to complete SafeSport training before you show at a Recognized show… It takes about 90 minutes all on line.
And point of fact, there are no “USDF Shows”. Shows are recognized by USEF.
You might try “Opportunity classes” before putting the money into memberships. To show in a “rated” show, you need to be a member of BOTH USDF and USEF or you will be charged non-member fees - Opportunity classes require no memberships, but are at rated shows. The downside is that they don’t “count” toward anything. But if you are just getting your feet wet at a rated show, that is the place to start…
BTW, USEF also has a magazine - it is quarterly, and doesn’t have a lot of dressage content, but they DO have a magazine…
Your GMO membership gets you a group USDF membership, which is fine for entering shows as long as you don’t want to go for points/qualifying scores–those require Participating Membership.
I only have a USDF GMO membership, and I get the magazine, if that’s your concern. If you’re not trying for year-end qualifiers and don’t want to pay a bunch of nonmember fees, GMO membership is a great way to go IMO. I already have to pay for USEF/USHJA so not having to pay for both a GMO membership AND a USDF membership is a big positive for me.
When you join your GMO, you become a Group Member (GM) of USDF. Your GMO sends in the information. GO to the USDF website and look under “membership” to see what your membership qualifies you for. https://www.usdf.org/join/ has info on what each type of membership offers.
For All Breeds year end awards, you have to declare for it (only once, no need to renew yearly), be a member of your breed organization, and you need minimum 8 scores from 4 shows, with two scores above 60 at the Test 3 of the level. All that is found in the Member Guide, also found on the USDF website. I believe you must also upgrade your membership to a Participating Member with USDF and be a USEF member, and have your horse registered with USDF and USEF as well…
If any of this is incorrect I am certain I will be corrected.
Refer to the Member Guide for everything. https://www.usdf.org/publications/#guide
But the USEF microchip rule doesn’t apply to USDF shows yet, right? (Coming over from hunter land with a horse who will likely dip his toe in the dressage show ring this year…at least that’s the goal). I don’t plan to show him h/j this year and so haven’t bothered with the chip.
correct
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