Entering a Recognized Show (Simplified?) By Mary Lou Gallagher, Technical Delegate and NODA Director at Large As I am writing this, I can see the wind turning 6 inches of snow into a knee-high drift by my door. So why am I writing about a NODA horse show that’s four months away, in June? The answer is the Covid pandemic. It ruined most of the 2020 show season and will still affect show operations for 2021. The secretary’s office will remain closed to competitors. Riders who used to wait until their arrival at the show to renew their memberships or handle other entry problems will find their entry rejected. So now’s the time to get all your paperwork in order. I am starting with requirements for the horse because some things cannot be done online. All horses entered in the show must have 3 documents: a Coggins test that has to be included with the entry form, a vaccination record, and a USDF number for the horse. The Coggins must use the same name as will be found on the entry form. Vaccination records are not included with the entry but must be brought with you to the show. The Coggins test must be dated within 12 months of the show date and the vaccinations must be dated within 6 months. Schedule a vet appointment before May if either document is due to expire before June The USDF requires a horse identification number (HID) for all horses entered into a dressage show. (One important exemption – horses entered only in Introductory and/or opportunity classes do not need a HID.) The HID number will stay the same even if the horse if is later sold or upgraded to a Lifetime registration. Applications can be competed online if the horse has never been previously assigned a number. If you are an owner without a USDF number for yourself but are planning to become a member, I would suggest you go online to USDF and become a member first. Once you get your own USDF number, then go ahead and complete the horse’s application for its HID. This can all be done within a week’s time. Horses do not need to have a USEF number unless you plan on qualifying for regional championships. More about this later.
shows can be an expensive proposition, I am going to offer 3 approaches to meeting your USEF and USDF Membership Requirements: a cheap way, a reasonable way, and a “let’s go for it all” way. We’ll start in the middle, the way most riders take. 1. For riders who plan to attend two or more Recognized Shows and want to earn rider medals, but are not interested in qualifying for the Regional Championships, here’s what you need to do. a. Join USEF, online. Annual membership fees for the USEF are $80 while the Show Pass fee for non-members is $45 per show. Simple math will tell you that two nonmember fees will cost more than the membership itself. An added bonus for amateur riders is that the USEF Amateur Card comes free with the membership—and you must have an Amateur Card to enter any class designated as “adult amateur”. b. Complete the SafeSport program. Since 2019, all members of the USEF who have passed their 18th birthday and now enter a recognized show (whether as a rider, owner, trainer and/or coach), must first complete the SafeSport program before being eligible to compete. A new member
Matters become more complicated if you bought yourself a new horse that already has a USDF number. You will need to submit a Transfer of Ownership which cannot be completed online. The USDF lists what documents can be submitted as proof of the new ownership, but the point is that these documents have to be mailed with the transfer to the USDF office. You need to get this done as soon as possible. Now let’s talk about requirements for the humans whose names go on the entry form. Since recognized NODA News 2021, Page 6
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