I have been planning on getting my USEF Ammy Status back ever since I quit coaching the IHSA team. That was two years ago. There is a one year wait before you can get your ammy status back. Then, you have to send in a notarized letter, two more letters from other current senior members, and a $50 check. Then you have to wait 5 weeks or so for a board hearing. Simple? Yes, and I was happily willing to jump through those hoops.
However...
It seems that coaching aside, I still will blow my ammy status if I so much as clip someones horse (money for horse services), sell tack trunk plans on my blog (because blog is horse related), or even ride Hugo on occasion for EB (because I board her horse). The rules IMO are a bit ridiculous. I really don't think any of those things make me a professional in regards to showing. How does any of that make someone a professional rider/horse trainer?
Despite having gotten the ball in motion, I think I will save myself $50, and those I've asked for letters, the headache of tracking down notaries. I will just keep my professional status. Most shows around here are so small that they do not separate pros from ammy's anyway. Lord knows that I won't be going to Thermal anytime soon anyway (although I can still daydream about it). I guess now I can start clipping horses again and maybe even start training the occasional horse for profit. If I'm a pro, I may as well actually be a pro. Right? So ridiculous.
Happy trails and swooshing tails!
•Renee•
Follow my adventures as I bring a long an upper level dressage prospect, starting as a yearling.
What's the attraction to showing under Ammy status? We don't have that with eventing so I'm not familiar with the appeal.
ReplyDeletePeople will give you all sorts of reasons why, but the main reasons are that at multi-day shows, generally ammy classes are on the weekend and pro classes are weekdays. In addition, although it sounds superficial, as an ammy you get more bang for your buck (more blue ribbons) if you aren't competing against pro's.
DeleteNever knew about weekends etc that makes sense! Of course I would rather win more too ;).
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain :-(
ReplyDeleteAAs also have lower score requirements to qualify for championships and some awards. There are also education programs and scholarships that are only for AAs. Well, that's in dressage, not sure about the other USEF sports.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that the rules are dumb, though. I managed to sneak my AA status past USEF by letting my membership lapse for 6 years. When I joined again, they let me in as an AA. Very strict rules ;)
aw what a frustrating bummer...
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty crazy. Sounds lucky you live in an area it won't matter so much.
ReplyDelete