USEF, USHJA, etc, new horse owner confused

[DaisyBabyCat]

This is my daughters second year showing and I bought her a pony in February.
She competes in local shows and is going to one travel show (Bravehorse), possibly two.
We’ve never owned horses so I am trying to figure everything out but some of it has been confusing.

USEF:
The pony was registered on there so I made myself a Fan membership and transferred the pony to my name as owner. So now both the pony and I have USEF ID’s

USHJA:
The pony was registered on there too. I ended up paying $35 for a membership for myself as his owner (Education/Non-competing). So now both the pony and I have USHJA ID’s

So now should my daughter also have memberships in these organizations? or does she somehow get listed as the rider under my accounts? She does already have a membership to our state HJA. It appears that the USEF & USHJA memberships only come into play for the larger, out of town, shows. I saw that if you are not a member that you can get a showpass but you can only get one show pass per year. If you are a member, you can get points, blah blah blah. I’ve tried to understand the requirements for the shows by reading both of the sites but it is just too confusing. Can anyone break it down into simple terms for me?

[noscopenohope]

If your daughter is competing then she is going to need an active rider USEF and USHJA. Sometimes at show offices there will be trouble(speaking from personal experience) using a Show Pass. You don’t need to worry about the points right now, but as she gets older and wants to qualify in say, Pony Finals, the USEF and USHJA will come into play. Hope this helps.

[NoSuchPerson]

If it makes you feel any better, it is confusing, even if those who are already familiar with it all try to tell you that it isn’t. Let your trainer be your guide. Last year, the mom of a new junior rider at my barn “read the rules and figured it out herself,” leaving our trainer, the show office, and someone at USEF to straighten everything out after the fact.

Another thing: If the local shows your daughter is competing in are part of the USHJA Outreach Program, make sure she and her pony are registered to participate. They give out some very nice prizes at the end of the year

[Janet]

To clarify,
If she is competing at USEF licensed shows, she will need a USEF competing membership (or buy showpass if she is only doing ONE USEF licensed show.

If she is competing in hunter or jumper classes at a USEF licensed show, she will also need USHJA membership.

The USEF licensed shows are often larger shows, but they may or may not be “out of town” depending where you live.

If she is only competing at shows which are NOT USEF licensed, then you do not need to worry about USEF membership, USHJA membership, or Showpass.

[fivestrideline]

These are great questions! But ask your trainer first. They will be able to tell you exactly what you need, when you need it, and why. This board will be happy to help and also confuse the heck out of you .

If for some reason your trainer doesn’t know and you are DIYing some shows, it’s certainly worth coming back with some more details so we can help point you in the right direction.

If you are doing anything USEF/USHJA, your daughter will need a competing membership. Pony may or may not need a measurement card (if it doesn’t already). If the shows are “local” in the sense that they are unaffiliated, you won’t need any USEF or USHJA memberships. This verbiage can be confusing - it’s not about distance it’s about licensing/association. We show on a “local” circuit that is 5 hours away. The USEF stuff is almost right here in town .

Talk to your trainer. And welcome to the world of show pony ownership!

[ATXmom]

It is super confusing! I did all of our registrations for years before we took a break but coming back into it after some years, I found it really hard to figure out. Ask your trainer to help you

[Tini_Sea_Soldier1]

Most likely, you will need to upgrade yourself and child as competing members (unless you just put pony under kid’s name). Depending on who had pony, it may already have a life membership. Trainer should be able to navigate and walk you through it. I suggest bringing your laptop to farm and asking for a half hour “admin” lesson. Have her walk you through everything and get it all sorted, as it would truly stink if she lost out on year-end awards or regional awards bc of an office error.
If she’s doing opportunity classes, it may differ than her doing actual USEF rated divisions. Trainer will know what the current gameplan is and can proactively let you know what is best to get your daughter properly aligned.
But it’s confusing and don’t beat yourself up too much.

[FishOutofWater]

Our trainer recommends horses/ponies have their child rider listed as owner, as it makes the registrations more straightforward and keeps the parent from having to join (at additional cost) to be the owner.

[LCDR]

And to add more confusion, what about completing Safe Sport. As a non-competitor owner of a horse who does compete, I just went ahead and did it. I don’t know if I really needed to or not.

[red_mares]

I’m pretty sure you have to do safe sport as a non-competing owner. Different type pony (Hackney), but my trainer showed him a couple weeks ago at a USEF show. A couple weeks before, I realized that I had seen papers on the little guy. We got them from the seller, who offered to call AHHS and light a fire under the transfer, trainer told them not to bother as I hadn’t joined USEF or done SS yet. Pony showed under old owners’ names. I hadn’t planned on doing USEF shows this year (or ever if possible…); however, trainer showed the pony on his dime.

[DaisyBabyCat]

@NoSuchPerson

USHJA Outreach Program

We are going to a show in a couple weeks that is listed on the USHJA Outreach Calendar. What do you mean “registered to participate”?

[DaisyBabyCat]

We are going to one show which I believe is a USEF licensed show (not sure how to check). But it is a larger show, Bravehorse in Ohio.

[DaisyBabyCat]

I did upgrade the pony to lifetime memberships when I transferred his ownership over to me as the owner. My daughter currently does not have either membership though. you’d think there would be a way to connect a rider to a pony that is owned by another member.

[NoSuchPerson]

Here is the link for more info: https://www.ushja.org/competition/outreach

Your daughter has to be a USHJA member. If you haven’t gotten her an active/competing membership already, she can join as an outreach member for free. You said your pony already has a USHJA registration, so you’re all set there.

At the show, make sure they have your daughter’s and pony’s USHJA membership numbers and know that you’re competing for outreach points. When you check out and pay your bill, make sure that the invoice shows the charges for the outreach program for each eligible class. It’s not much, just $3 or $4 per class, I think. The show will report your points to USHJA.

Your trainer probably already knows all about this and will make sure it’s all taken care of. Trainers get points for their students and can get year end awards if they also participate in the program.

[Ponyplusaninch]

Oh hey! I know where you are; we’ll be at BH for a week soon too.

Yes, your daughter needs to be both USHJA and USEF registered. It is possible to link a leased pony on USEF with a rider (who is registered with USEF), but I cannot remember exactly how. This may have more info https://www.usef.org/media/press-releases/usef-announces-new-online-transfers-leases

Additionally, you’ll want to be sure you’re UTD on safesport–that can be accessed via USEF. They will fine you mightily and not let your daughter show if that hasn’t happened (saw this play out last year at another show…)

[hoopoe]

The USEF web site has a Safe Sport section. The rule book is clear owners of horses being shown are considered competitors and must do safe sport