Friday, Feb. 14, 2025

“Amateur” Status Doesn’t Work In Eventing

Lower level eventing riders are, if not clamoring for, at least asking for a review of how the divisions within training, novice and beginner novice are established. They are tired of riding well and scoring well and not winning good ribbons because they are consistently beaten by far more experienced upper level riders bringing out young horses. But invoking the word amateur, and its meaning within the current U.S. Equestrian Federation Rule 808, is the most expensive, cumbersome and least effective way to address this issue.

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Lower level eventing riders are, if not clamoring for, at least asking for a review of how the divisions within training, novice and beginner novice are established. They are tired of riding well and scoring well and not winning good ribbons because they are consistently beaten by far more experienced upper level riders bringing out young horses. But invoking the word amateur, and its meaning within the current U.S. Equestrian Federation Rule 808, is the most expensive, cumbersome and least effective way to address this issue.

Here’s why:
1. Amateur status is defined by the USEF only by money received. Lower level riders are asking for divisions that exclude riders who have much greater experience and more highly developed skills. Adult riders want to compete against their peers.
2. To receive amateur status a rider has to certify that he or she has not engaged in any of the activities involving remuneration in the horse world forbidden by rule 808. In any discipline this simply cannot be checked. While an organizer or show secretary can require an amateur card, there is no way of knowing whether that card was truthfully obtained. Don’t get me wrong?I believe that eventers are among the most straightforward of competitors. Nonetheless, a rule that simply cannot be reliably enforced is a bad thing and leads to a casual attitude about all rules. A sport that must be extremely conscious of legislating safety cannot afford to have slippery rules!
3. Riders who compete below the preliminary level are not required to be members of the USEF and are therefore bound only by those USEF rules that are printed in the USEA rulebook.

There is no mention of “amateur status” in the USEA rulebook. Furthermore, the USEA has made a commitment to keep the costs of eventing as affordable as possible. In order to utilize the USEF’s amateur status rule the USEA would have to require membership in the USEF for all competitors, or at least require them to have an amateur card. Both options involve more fees. This is unnecessary and unacceptable.

Currently, organizers may subdivide the levels of training, novice and beginner novice in two ways. They may offer open divisions (OT, ON, OBN) which have no rider or horse restrictions or they may offer regular divisions (T, N, BN) in which the rider may not have completed more than two horse trials at the next higher level within the past two years. (They may choose as well to offer horse?TH, NH, BNH?divisions, but they must define their own specifications).

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While the regular division restrictions are inconsistent with Area Championship policies in which the rider may never have competed above the next highest level within the previous five years, they are both defined by skill and experience parameters and could easily be reconciled. And if anyone who had ever “worn a pink coat” (represented the U.S. in international competition) were not allowed to ride in the regular divisions, the system currently in place would meet all the requirements of the adult riders.

An in-place system that is not readily available does not do anyone any good. While regular divisions are obviously calculated to separate adult riders from those with upper level and/or international experience, they are not always offered. A quick trip through the 2003 spring Omnibus (the one closest to hand) indicates that out of 74 events, only 54 ran preliminary and below, and out of those, 15 ran only training and below. Yet 31 events in the group of 74 (close to half) offered only open novice and open training divisions.

The challenge is to make certain that regular divisions are available to adult riders. This is where the USEA should direct its efforts. There are three requirements for any effective policy to make this happen. It should be perceived as “fair” by the adult riders requesting it. It should not add any further burden on our already stressed organizers. And it should be at least overseeable, if not enforceable.

At the USEA Board meeting in December 2003, when this issue was discussed, a very vocal group of adult riders spoke against the idea of amateur status designation. Many adult riders in their spare time teach beginners, sometimes train a young horse for a friend or to sell, or otherwise use their passion for riding and eventing to bring in some money to pay their bills and buy their lessons. If an amateur status rule is put in place these people will de facto be forced into riding only in open divisions even though they have neither the far-reaching skills nor the experience of elite upper level riders.

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It is not fair to throw them into competition with those whose only livelihood is riding and training and who devote all day, every day, to perfecting their art. Nor will it benefit their peers to have a subset of adult riders blocked from competing against them. In general, amateur status will not improve anybody’s lot, and to my mind it does not meet the “fairness” test. In the past, some organizers have chosen only to run open divisions. Frequently they run upper level events that include novice and training, and they do not want to complicate their lives or those of upper level riders with young horses by running more than one type of division. It makes the secretary’s job easier, and it allows the upper level riders more time options to deal with multiple horses.

If the USEA is truly serious about meeting lower level riders’ demands for separate divisions I am sure that many ways can be found in which the USEA can encourage, give incentives or assistance to organizers to run both open training and novice and regular training and novice. Perhaps a slight break in their costs, like $1 off on the starter fees for regular divisions? (It would certainly cost less than paying the USEF to oversee amateur status declarations). Certainly the entry form for events could be structured in such a way that the riders’ qualifications were immediately clear to the event secretaries.

Finally, the USEA has a new database in which every rider’s experience is cataloged. What could be easier and more efficient than using that to make sure that anyone who enters a regular division truly belongs there? Packy McGaughan chaired a committee that explored this issue for a year. It’s recommendation was that the USEA “accept” the USEF’s definition of “amateur” (rule 808) and empower organizers to run “amateur” divisions if they so desire. David O’Connor recommended to the Board that they accept McGaughan’s proposal and enter into discussion with the USEF about enforcing the amateur rule, along the lines of USEF’s enforcement of the drug rule. How much will that cost us in extra fees? However, this proposal does not meet the needs of lower level adult riders. And, in my opinion, McGaughan’s cynical comment that, “the problem is that, basically, everybody believes the…line should be right above them,” is demeaning to hard working and dedicated adult riders. It suggests that the issue was not, in fact, considered to be of much importance to begin with.

Despite the fact that lower level adult riders make up at least 70 percent of USEA membership, it remains unclear how many of the governing members of the USEA really care about the needs and desires of adult riders. Perhaps this is a test case of their commitment. In the end it seems that what we are really talking about is language. Thus far, nowhere in the USEA rules of eventing does the word “amateur” appear.

If it doesn’t appear, we as an organization are not bound by the USEF rules that define it. We can define the divisions as we see fit and as they work best, both for the adult riders who are the majority of the mem- bership and for our elite riders. However, once the word “amateur” appears we are committed to uphold the USEF rule’s definition of it. Instead of embracing it, let’s rid ourselves of the word “amateur.” Currently it creeps into the USEA year-end awards, but there is no need for it there. The Adult Amateur Rider of the Year could easily be designated the Adult Rider of the Year. Rider of the Year clearly refers to premier riders with points in the triple or quadruple digits and could be called Premier Rider of the Year. As it is, the word “amateur” is not used to designate any award below preliminary so it is never used to describe lower level adult riders. Let’s keep it that way! Kate Champa, an eventer from Providence, R.I., just finished a three-year term as Area I Chairman.

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