My daughter age 17 is the primary registrant for her and her horse under the USEF. We thought we enrolled in auto renewal for both her and the horse, but apparently the auto renew was only for the rider and our horse’s membership expired earlier this year. I called the USEF regarding the horse’s registration and it appears all the accumulated points the horse earned since his 2019 membership ended will not count towards qualifying for nationals. That means there is no way for her to become eligible since she’s already accumulated over 150 points. The USEF will not retroactive the horse under any circumstance (expired 1/20/20). Has anyone experienced this issue? Since my daughter was primary when we enrolled, all the email notices have been going to her junk email address and nothing was sent to me as the parent. I didn’t notice any of this until a show this week - the registrant informed me that the horse’s membership lapsed. I simply thought both were triggered under the autorenewl program.
I’m sorry it happened to you but you have to think of it from USEFs side. What if everyone waited 3-4 shows to see how they were going to do at shows? Then if they accumulated a bunch of points, call USEF and say hey, I forgot to renew/register my horse, I want to make my points from the last several months count…
It really isn’t fair to those who have shown against her and have kept up with memberships. Bottom line is the owner is responsible for this. If your daughter isn’t responsible enough to keep up with her memberships, the horse should be in your name. Or you could do a lifetime horse membership so you would not have to renew every year. USEF sends out tons of reminders, they should not be on your blocked list if points are important to you.
caryledee thank you for your feedback and I understand. I guess I never thought that folks would abuse the system - we are only talking about an $85 fee. I simply feel horrible since, and as you correctly stated, this was my fault and now she wont be able to qualify for Nationals. I simply thought the annual renewal was for both the horse and rider. Simple error. I’ve updated the USEF website to place me as primary contact. My daughter bought her Standardbred for $2 when she was 12 and they both are now competing in the 3.6" jumpers. This is her last year with her horse before going to college and competing at the NCAA level, so her last run with her Standardbred is ruined because of me. Just desperately looking for options -
Has she not been checking her points? Every time I go on the USEF website, I get reminders starting months in advance if my recordings are coming due. It’s not the show or USEF’s responsibility to remind you although they politely do - it’s on the owner. Tough lesson for your daughter and I’m truly sorry for her but the rules are there for all members, there is no way to “retroactively” enter. I had a similar painful lesson when we moved to the US - I had registered one of horses with USEF with a horse ID but hadn’t signed him up for recording so none of his points counted and by the time I realized the difference halfway through the year, he had already won several championships with a jr rider and would have qualified. Alas…no idea and it was on me as owner.
Also - you’re only missing a month of points if I understand correctly (from 1/20 until now). PLenty of time left in this year, I wouldn’t despair yet.
Who did you speak to at USEF?
I really don’t think there is anything you can do about it. You have (I think) 10 days after the show to get your registration in but that is it. They used to be kind of wishy washy about stuff but they have really cracked down in recent years about following the rules they set. And I think it is a good thing for creating a level playing field.
As someone else said, you need to check points after each show and if they come up bad, investigate why.
It is awesome that your daughter brought this horse along the way she did. Why can she not continue to show and get points for the remainder of the qualifying period?
Unless you plan on selling the horse in the next year or two, the lifetime horse recording is a much better deal than paying to register your horse on an annual basis. Something to consider, and then you don’t have to worry about renewing the horse registration each year!
Thanks everyone for your feedback. I’m a single mom and put every dollar into her shows and we travel for most. I did contact USEF and at least I have last week’s show where she was Champion so really, really thank you for that information. We’ll just engage in more shows (which she’ll be thrilled) and hope to get the points needed. Again, really appreciate the help here and a great lesson learned.
Best of luck to your daughter for the rest of the year! I love to see the non-traditional breeds hold their own in open competition.
