eatonbraynat
Well-Known Member
As title really what is the point of affiliating?
To affiliate or not - any benefits??
- Thread starter eatonbraynat
- Start date
Divasmum
Well-Known Member
Each discipline has benefits attached. You didnm't say what you were interested in. In dressage you get properly judged competitions. The opportunity to qualify for various championships. Regional training and camps. Inter-regional competitions etc. The benefits are enormous.
eatonbraynat
Well-Known Member
Thanks Divasmum, I compete in all disciplines, dressage, SJ and XC so i am really enquiring about all 3. Although i think with XC it is something to do with being a a member of british eventing, is that right??
Farma
Well-Known Member
Ive had a go at everything affiliated - each time the sole reason is that ive reached the end of the line unaffiliated - at dressage unaff comps only go to elementary - sj generally only goes up to 3ft and there are very limited unaff odes and xc comps so affiliated has been the only way forward.
Its a different world once you go affiliated i think - most people take it much more seriously so the competition is high and therefore you are pushed to perform that much better - also the courses, the judging and the general standards are much higher at affiliated competitions.
Its a different world once you go affiliated i think - most people take it much more seriously so the competition is high and therefore you are pushed to perform that much better - also the courses, the judging and the general standards are much higher at affiliated competitions.
JamilaParr
Well-Known Member
The benefit of doing bsja is properly built courses, correct striding etc If you have a nice youngster the last thing you want is to take it unaff and the distancces aren't strided for anyone in particular (which they tend to just randomly strided) and your horse scares itself etc, ok it's unlikely at like 80/90 cms but you just get a better service, nicer venues, nicer jumps. Also adds value to a horse when you come to sell. There is more structure more to work towards as the classes and heights are very specific. Also lots to qual for and lots of stay away shows. Which if nothing else are generally good for the parties.
To be honest any old cob (not suggesting you have one) can get round a british novice and they also do 'intro' shows which start at 70 and there's no horse that can't jump that height-surely?
And if you're half decent you can win a fair bit of prize money which dos help- all together it's just more professional.. try it!! xxxx
To be honest any old cob (not suggesting you have one) can get round a british novice and they also do 'intro' shows which start at 70 and there's no horse that can't jump that height-surely?
And if you're half decent you can win a fair bit of prize money which dos help- all together it's just more professional.. try it!! xxxx
Shay
Well-Known Member
I think you're being a bit rough on unaffilliated shows there Jamilla. You are right about some - but many affilliated venues also do unaffilliated shows for youngstock not yet ready to affilliate and to allow partnerships returning to competition to get out without affecting thier points etc. They have the same jumps, striding, ground etc. Same organisers, same level of service...
To answer your question etonbraynat...
I suppose the bottom line is that you win more money affilliated. The competition is harder. Certainly the conditions, ground etc tends to be better quality - but not always. Once you have affilliated and got points you may find you are not permiited to compete at some unaffilliated competitions. With BE certainly you have a far higher standard of safety which when you get up above intro is really essential to my mind. If you compete at or above county level you can really only go to affilliated competitions as unaffilliated don't offer enough scope. But below that a good unaffilliated venue is just as good.
If you compete in all 3 disciplines it is, quite honestly, going to cost you an absolute fortune to affilliate in all of them. I would suggest BE becuase that has all 3 aspects. But you do need to be quite serious about eventing to justify the cost.
You can compete at affilliated shows on a day ticket. This just means that you pay a bit more for the classes on the day and you can't keep any points you gain if you place. But it gives you a chance to check out the type of competitions and see if they suit you. Its worth doing before you decide.
To answer your question etonbraynat...
I suppose the bottom line is that you win more money affilliated. The competition is harder. Certainly the conditions, ground etc tends to be better quality - but not always. Once you have affilliated and got points you may find you are not permiited to compete at some unaffilliated competitions. With BE certainly you have a far higher standard of safety which when you get up above intro is really essential to my mind. If you compete at or above county level you can really only go to affilliated competitions as unaffilliated don't offer enough scope. But below that a good unaffilliated venue is just as good.
If you compete in all 3 disciplines it is, quite honestly, going to cost you an absolute fortune to affilliate in all of them. I would suggest BE becuase that has all 3 aspects. But you do need to be quite serious about eventing to justify the cost.
You can compete at affilliated shows on a day ticket. This just means that you pay a bit more for the classes on the day and you can't keep any points you gain if you place. But it gives you a chance to check out the type of competitions and see if they suit you. Its worth doing before you decide.
eggs
Well-Known Member
One other benefit of affiliating is that you are competing on a more level playing field in that the horse and rider have to be eligible to compete at that level. At a lot of unaffiliated shows you get "pot hunters" who compete a much lower level than they are capable of just so that they can win.
In dressage for example the horse and rider are both graded according to points won so if your horse is out of Novice points you can only compete him at a higher level.
In dressage for example the horse and rider are both graded according to points won so if your horse is out of Novice points you can only compete him at a higher level.
SuperSketch
Well-Known Member
Affiliate.
Its seriously one of the best things I've ever done. I'm a member of BD and BSPS. I've admit I've only done one Elementary test at unaffiliated level but I wanted to get the feel of the standard of test marking and judging that is at affiliated level and now frequently do Novice tests and will hopefully do Elementary next year if my boy is ready. Rosette hungry people were also another reason for me affiliating - once you have exceeded your maximum number of points, you are no longer able to compete at that level again and are forced to move up. Something that some rides at unaffiliated level don't always do, therefore preventing the new blood, as it would be, from standing any chance of placing or getting anywhere. I've found that these people are quite far between at unaffiliated level though - most in my area seem keen to move onwards and upwards although there are a few exceptions!
I'm scrapping BSPS next year because of uni commitments and a lot of the shows are too far for me to travel with studies now and am hopefully going to do BS instead as there are lots of showgrounds around where I live and will be studying that do affiliated SJ.
I'd love to event but tbh, I'd be worried about what the eventers on their horses would think of my 14.1hh boy and myself as daft as it sounds lol 
. One day I will.
The idea of affiliating is that the general quality of the judging, courses and organization of the event is a step up from unaffiliated. With some disciplines, I know BS for a fact as I've done it in the past, allow you to compete on a day ticket to get a feel before forking out on memberships etc which IMO is a really good idea. Go for it.
Its seriously one of the best things I've ever done. I'm a member of BD and BSPS. I've admit I've only done one Elementary test at unaffiliated level but I wanted to get the feel of the standard of test marking and judging that is at affiliated level and now frequently do Novice tests and will hopefully do Elementary next year if my boy is ready. Rosette hungry people were also another reason for me affiliating - once you have exceeded your maximum number of points, you are no longer able to compete at that level again and are forced to move up. Something that some rides at unaffiliated level don't always do, therefore preventing the new blood, as it would be, from standing any chance of placing or getting anywhere. I've found that these people are quite far between at unaffiliated level though - most in my area seem keen to move onwards and upwards although there are a few exceptions!
I'm scrapping BSPS next year because of uni commitments and a lot of the shows are too far for me to travel with studies now and am hopefully going to do BS instead as there are lots of showgrounds around where I live and will be studying that do affiliated SJ.
I'd love to event but tbh, I'd be worried about what the eventers on their horses would think of my 14.1hh boy and myself as daft as it sounds lol . One day I will.The idea of affiliating is that the general quality of the judging, courses and organization of the event is a step up from unaffiliated. With some disciplines, I know BS for a fact as I've done it in the past, allow you to compete on a day ticket to get a feel before forking out on memberships etc which IMO is a really good idea.
Go for it.