adult amateur

[Judy F]

#ed_op#font size="3"#ed_cl##ed_op#span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="postbody"#ed_cl##ed_op#font face="Tahoma"#ed_cl#"Now that being said, would you place the same restraints and rules on the Juniors, forcing them to move up to AA??#ed_op#/font#ed_cl##ed_op#/span#ed_cl##ed_op#/font#ed_cl#""#ed_op#br#ed_cl#
#ed_op#br#ed_cl#
Okay, first off, a junior cannot 'move' up to AA, they have to reach
their 18th birthday the year before!  But, they can compete in
Open and many do.#ed_op#br#ed_cl#
A horse scoring consistently over 65%-70% is ready to move up, but the
rider may not be.  The new levels have more new challenges (like
counter-canter at Level 1) than the old system.  But a decent
coach should have you moving up properly.  For those who self
school and have hit a roadblock or plateau, it may be time to take your
horse to a clinic and see if you can sort out the problem with an
expert.  It may be one of the basic building blocks that you have
to work on, going back and filling in a blank.#ed_op#br#ed_cl#
As for people riding really super horses, the horse can only carry you so far until a missed building block causes problems.#ed_op#br#ed_cl#
As for ribbon chasers, we all know about them and no one admires
someone who stays at Training until their horse can do it in its
sleep.  On the other hand, some AA's keep moving up too fast,
happy with 50% at the end of the year, but that's their business.#ed_op#br#ed_cl#

[zooka]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#well put Judy I totally agree with your above post.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Tabby]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I'm mostly a lurker, but I'd like to chime in and say I support the suggestions to have people "earn" their way to open.  In fact, I think it's a great idea.  It actually addresses a number of issues in the sport, including why AA exists in the first place.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Years and years ago, most people who got into equestrian sports lived on their own farm and kept horses at home.  We got "lessons" from  people in our region who were fairly successful on local show circuits.  These people weren't certified coaches - they were just trying to make some extra money to support their own riding. When I was a kid, only the extremely wealthy or very talented (Olympics bound) had their horses boarded at stables and took lessons with the real "pros".  #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Nowadays, riding schools are filled with kids and adults from the city.  These people have no idea what good coaching or proper equitation is until they've been at it for a while.  They are easily impressed by racks of ribbons in the barn.  They assume the coach knows what she/he's doing and that these ribbons are a testimonial to that - just as a case full of trophies would represent to a basketball coach.  In other words, they can be easily tricked into paying gobs of money to someone who has no qualifications whatsoever to teach riding.  I've seen it happen  and probably many of you have too.  #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#In addition to providing a level playing field for competitions, AA designations (and coaching certification which has its own problems) are supposed to deter these "scamateurs" (love that word, BTW) from taking advantage of new riders as I described above.  If all is working as it is supposed to, people will only coach IF and WHEN they are competitive with the rest of the pros.  This way, the ribbons and trophies will be more representative of their actual accomplishments.#ed_op#BR#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#This is more important than you think.  The economics of riding, like any other sport, is dependent on the new and young participants.  They are the people paying for lessons, shopping for their first horse, filling up classes at shows, paying trainers etc.  As it is, far fewer kids get into riding than say, soccer, because it is an expensive sport.  But many that do get highly discouraged along the way - and one reason is being completely out-classed in competitions when coaches and trainers are cleaning up all the prizes.  And apparently nothing can be done - even the examples given on this thread have prompted others to ask "where's the proof?"  After a while, these people either become disillusioned and quit horses altogether, or simply give up on competition, ride on their own and contribute no more to the industry than board at a non-competition stable that may not even have a coach.  I've seen both happen, many, many times.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I'm sorry if this seems a little off topic - I don't think it is.  I think it is important to recognize the importance of true amateurs, as well as the integrety (or lack thereof) of the sport as a whole.  #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Adpaga]

Thanks for your support Tabby!#ed_op#br#ed_cl#
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Dressage Canada is reviewing it's rules and regulations and is asking members for input.#ed_op#br#ed_cl#
 If you are interested in joining me to propose something with
regards to the definition of Adult Amateur and the moving up to Open
after achieving scores that would make the horse/rider combination
eligible to the Dressage Canada award (for exemple, other score levels
could be more appropriate), or staying in AA but moving up a level,
please pm me. We have an opportunity to suggest something, let's take
it! #ed_op#img style="border: 1px solid rgb(49, 105, 198); cursor: pointer; background-color: rgb(198, 211, 239);" onclick="InsertImage('/richedit/smileys/classic.gif');" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#C6D3EF';this.style.border='1px solid #3169C6'; " onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor=''; this.style.border=''" src="richedit/smileys/classic.gif" align="middle"#ed_cl#

[Trinity_25]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Adpaga,#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I'd love to stand with you on the idea except I don't have a DC membership since I wasn't competing in dressage this year.  (EC, OEF, THJA for my horse's ability to compete but no DC)#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#If I could still help I'd love to though.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#