BE - is it worth it? Are UA just as good?

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Blythwind

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As title really... Last year, I competed at a number of unaffiliated events (Offchurch Bury, Keysoe, Eland, Aston Le Walls etc). I am toying with the idea of joining BE this year, but it seems quite expensive. I tend to only do one ODE every 3-4 weeks, so could enter with day passes rather than full membership...

Is BE worth the extra cost of membership/entries?

Thanks :)
 
Day pass will only lets a rider compete 4 times in a season, as far as I understand.
So if you want to compete BE more than that, you'll have to get a membership.
 
Depends what you want out of it.
The unaff these days, esp 80/90/100, is pretty good so if just educating a horse & rider then I might be inclined to stick unaff.

However the atmosphere at BE can be slightly more buzzy, at 100 you get access to some really good venues that don't run unaff, and if you have an eye on selling then unaff doesn't cut it with many purchasers.
 
Think it depends what area you live in and what level you're competing at. I'd imagine if you want to do much above 100 then you would need to go BE, however at the lower levels I find there is plenty of unaff around me.
I've found plenty of unaff 80s over the past few years, often run around BE courses, and with each venue often hosting 3/4 per year, the calendar soon comes together!
I believe you can use as many day tickets as you wish at 80 level, then it's limited to 4 per year at 90, so I plan to do mainly unaff next season and supplement any large gaps in the calendar with BEs on day tickets if necessary :)
 
I have to say for me, at the level I'm at (80/90) I have so many great unaff venues locally it really isn't worth me affiliating. I have Solihull, Swalcliffe, Aston Le Walls, Crown Farm, Broadway and a few others within and hour to an hour and a half max drive away all of which run unaffiliated events as well as BE, the only difference being the price!

However, going affiliated still has that real 'made it' feel about it, which is silly really as from what I've seen unaffiliated is just as competitive.
 
The venues you are looking at the standard is probably pretty similar & I dare say a lot of the competitors are too. Depends what your ambitions are in life.
 
Thanks all. I should have clarified that I am only at the low level (80-90), but hoping to do my first 1m by the end of the season (new year goals and all that!). So I could do a couple of 80s early on, then four 90s on the day pass. I can easily fill the calendar with UA events, but wondered what BE would be like and if it was worth it. Like Girlracer, I have this strange view that BE is for "proper riders" that have "made it"so maybe I wont fit in lol! I have no intention to ever sell, so a BE record is not of importance.
 
I think BE is over rated and much prefer UA, always have in all disciplines. Maybe if I had money to throw away I would have tried one of the affiliated organisations? For me I have made so many friends along the way in 30 years of UA, I expect affiliated is much the same, it depends why and if you would want to affiliate?

My horses are never to be sold on, I don't put myself under pressure anymore, and simply could never justify the expense of affiliated...always found UA prizes better, locations just as good and friendly.

I do have many friends that LOVE BE, never got it myself all looks very stressful, but they are addicted!!

Horses for courses!!
 
I did mainly UA and then a couple of affiliated BE ODEs last year and tbh I didn't really see much difference apart from price - but then like you I was largely competing at BE venues (Aston, Keysoe, Solihull etc).
 
It really depends how many events are near you and that you'd actually do. If you're only doing 3 or 4 then I'd just do day tickets, this is what I'm doing currently as there's simply not enough BE in my area to make it worth joining then again at the moment (I was a member for several years previously). To be honest, my horse is still only at a low level (BE80 / 90) so I would do nothing but unaffiliated if there were enough in my area which there isn't hence I have to go to the odd BE thing. It is very expensive, I notice is far more nowadays than before when I didn't have a mortgage and child to pay for ;) The only thing I will say though is that the BE events are far better organised and courses better built than unaffiliated.
 
It very much depends on the quality of your local venues. If they run decent unaff events, great. However where I am, the unaff events tend to be a bit naff compared with BE. The courses are not as well thought out, the ground not as well managed, the jumps either more boring or just downright dangerous and the events tend not to be as well run generally. The exception to this are those venues which run both affiliated and unaffiliated events - their unaff stuff tends to be almost as good. For me, the buzz of a big BE event is also a big draw. I like the fact that there may be five or six dressage rings running at once and upwards of four hundred competitors. I also like the real mix you get - I have competed against the likes of Nicola Wilson and Karen Dixon when they bring out their young horses to get them started. Obviously they then move on to doing the scary stuff two events later, leaving me behind at grassroots level!
 
Honestly if you are just doing it for fun & enjoyment at 80 & 90 stay unaff. You may find one or 2 do 100 unaff as well depending in area. They do up here :)

I took mine BE as I was aiming to sell so it made a difference but a lot of unaff round here run over be courses. Sadly I did them all when she was 5 so at 6 & to sell BE was our best option.

That said BE is different to unaff, the atmosphere & drive it can give you is amazing :D
 
I'm in south east and have great access to many unaffiliated courses that run round BE venues. I was very into eventing a few years back and to run at novice level there was no option but to join BE, and I loved it. However, me and neddy are older now, and money is more of an issue, so to have a few fun days out a year to run around 100 courses I find the unafilliated more than adequate.
 
I agree if you are doing UA at the larger venues like ALW, Keysoe, Solihull, Eland (All of my local ones) then there is not much difference. I did notice a BIG difference when I did a riding club ODE!

I would get going doing UA, if you are going great guns and fancy a 100 then you can always get a half season ticket from BE, that is what I did last year and it just offered me a few more options.
 
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