I would love to go for All-Breeds with my gelding. We could be competitive and probably end up in the top 3.
I can’t afford to get all 8 scores. I could put it on a credit card, but that’s not financially wise. Ribbons aren’t worth debt.
I’ve joked that hunter shows are the paycheck Olympics, but it is really all recognized showing.
I moved to the Midwest once (temporarily) and there was no mean girl scene because there was no dressage scene. The horse scene in general was…terrible. Plenty of people had horses though and were keeping them in conditions that made me cringe.
So perhaps narrow it down from, “the Midwest” 
Seriously? That is a big thing keeping people from showing? I don’t know anyone who behaves like that. And I am in a very healthy dressage market. I couldn’t care less what railbirds think of me and you shouldn’t either. I’ve never had a judge make a snarky remark when I’ve had a bad test. My coach would NEVER be mean to me or any of her other students. And total strangers? I can’t imagine going up to someone you don’t know and saying something sh*tty. Where are all these “mean girls” hiding and why do you attract them?
I remember those days too. I had an OTTB and was thrilled to break 60%. I didn’t break 70% the first time until I did a freestyle on my KWPN mare.
IMO, that’s what the All Breeds Awards are for. I ride Iberians.
You could show HC……
Wasn’t the gaits score changed a few test cycles ago? For this very reason?
Then get involved by emailing your ideas and complaints. Your region has PM delegates. You are represented by regional delegates on many of the committees. Fond out who they are and discussyiur concerns. You have a Regional Director. You have a Regional GMO representative. Make a rule change proposal. (The recent “medals with distinction”
Award was started by an AA. )
What I’m saying is basics do t complain if you don’t try to change the patterns you don’t like.
A fee of what, $35? About 5 Starbucks?
I have never ridden at the Championships or even tried to qualify. You will not be in the ribbons unless you are high 60’s and above in my area. The classes are usually 20 plus. A lot of people get the qualifying score which is not all that high and go to the Championships and a lot don’t bother even qualifying because they know they won’t be competitive so why spend the money.
Oh totally.
I was more saying it would be nice to have some stiffer competition, to be able to “fight it out” for year end stuff and the like.
In my area, there is a lot of politics about who gets in to the shows and whether and what stalls they get. Many have complained about it and nothing ever happens.
…“multiple folks are telling us how we should feel about our own experiences or that it’s essentially our own fault…”
And this is it in a nutshell: no one is listening because they want to maintain the status quo. So they tell you why your feelings are wrong, that you are welcome (with conditions), that you just need to be a better rider, or that you should shut up and write the check.
See the part where you assume that I attract mean girls? There you are. (Why make the other guy wrong along the way for no pressing reason? Why?)
It’s not the mean girl factor that stops me from showing dressage (though I am positive that it does some people), but it does mean that if you are riding or training in that discipline, you’ll run across your share of them.
Look, I know you can find other species of heinous people in other disciplines (barrel racers, your brand of it is usually combined with crazy and gets legendary).
But the point stands: Why would people want to spend their time and money to get into a mean girl group?
Jumping off from the “just be a better rider” point, 15 years ago when I had an Arabian, I definitely got the impression from multiple trainers that they were happy enough to “help” me but in their mind it was a foregone conclusion that we would never leave 1st level and therefore “help” was mainly equitation and ringcraft while leaving those assumptions unspoken. Good clinicians could get more out of us but I felt very stuck and hopeless about whether I could even treat my medals as a reasonable goal for many many years. Still don’t have my medals, but there are a slew of unrelated reasons for that, other than hopelessness made it easy to not feel like I was missing out on anything by giving up showing for a decade or so.
You are the one who asked about it, I assumed therefore, that you are suffering from “mean girls.” I am not. Never have. And then at the end you say something about barrel racing (this is a dressage question) and that your point stands. OK. It doesn’t “stand” in MHO, but I would like to know (if you are not surrounded by and/or “attracting” mean girls), what makes you think it’s an issue? That’s what I’m asking.
A few years ago I sent an email to the Awards Chairperson regarding number of shows needed for year-end awards. My suggestion was 6 for Horse of the Year and All Breed and 4 for Freestyles. Current number of shows is 8 for Horse of the Year/All Breed and 3 for Freestyles.
This would significantly help with costs. Would help those in dressage deserts. Would actually encourage people to show more because 6 is more attainable so more people may say they would try to get those year-end awards.
No one answered me.
Please send me a pm about this. This is not right and can be addressed.
This is a good idea. I’ll bring it up if I have the chance and the right timing.
It sounds like you are referring to the gaits score in the collective marks? Yes, that was added in fairly recent history, but it doesn’t really address the issue. My post was primarily referring to the individual movement scores.
Clearly $35 is not a lot of money to you, but it might be to others? Much of this thread has revolved around the rising costs of everything - including shows. It’s just yet another fee (and frankly, it seems a bit high).
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