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USA
Equestrian Board Acts On Rule Change Proposals
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Following
open rule change forums and committee meetings, the USA Equestrian
Board of Directors acted on over 300 rule change proposals at
the Sunday morning Board meeting held during the 2003 Annual Meeting
in Lexington, KY. Complete results of the Board meeting will be
available on the USA Equestrian website in the near future. A
few of the rule changes that will be in effect as of December
1, 2003, are listed below.
·
After considerable debate and the cooperative efforts of more
than one committee, a system has been approved that will allow
a steward or technical delegate in consultation with another official
to issue a Warning Card for improper conduct or rule infractions
that are not, in the opinion of the steward or TD, deemed severe
enough to warrant issuance of a Charge.
·
Horses competing in the Roadster division must be Standardbreds
registered with the US Trotting Horse Association or the Canadian
Trotting Horse Association. Exception: horses that have competed
in any Roadster division class at a USA Equestrian recognized
competition prior to December 1, 2003.
·
A new training program and requirements to become a steward have
been developed that will include experience in competition management
as a requirement for entrance into the training program.
·
The entire Jumper division rules have been rearranged and revised.
· New Jersey, being a land-locked state within a zone,
will be treated as a part of either New York or Pennsylvania for
the purposes of awarding zone points in a contiguous state.
The
following changes are only a few of the many changes that will
go into effect prior to December 1, 2003:
· Competitions may email certificates of insurance to our
office; effective immediately.
· Whether or not stabling is provided, a minimum of one
sharps container per competition is required to be placed at competitions;
effective March 1, 2003.
·
Category 2 and Combined Category stewards will be able to officiate
at Morgan only Dressage classes at a recognized Morgan show through
Fourth Level, as of March 1, 2003.
·
Memberships completed at a competition must be forwarded to the
Federation office within 2 days of the close of the competition.
The member's copy is valid for 45 days or until his/her membership
card is received.
·
Speed and Distance specifications for Eventing Horse Trials have
been changed. There are also changes in the calculation of scores,
how refusals are scored, faults at obstacles, and resistance time
at combination jumps. All of these changes are effective March
1, 2003.
·
In the Dressage division, a third error will result in elimination.
The time allowed to enter the arena after the bell has been rung
has been reduced to 45 seconds. Both changes are effective January
30, 2003.
·
Competition management must provide new disposable surgical gloves
for use by bit inspectors at Dressage competitions, effective
January 30, 2003.
·
There is a change in the qualifying period for the USA Equestrian
Pony Jumper National Championship. For the 2003 Championship,
the qualifying period will be from June 2, 2002 to June 1, 2003.
·
The qualifying period for the USA Equestrian Junior Hunter National
Championship will be between July 2, 2002, and July 1, 2003; for
the 2003 Championship.
·
In the National Show Horse Division, junior horses are to be considered
five years of age and under; effective March 1, 2003.
The
full text of all the rule changes approved by the Board of Directors
at the 2003 Annual Meeting will soon be available on the USA Equestrian
web site. A hard copy of the rule changes will also be available
by contacting Marie Murphy, Director, Regulation Publications
at (859) 225-6922 or via email at mmurphy@equestrian.org.
USA
Equestrian Inc., as the National Equestrian Federation of the
U.S., is the regulatory body for the Olympic and World Championship
sports of dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, reining, show
jumping, and vaulting, as well as 19 other breeds and disciplines
of equestrian competition. As
the country's largest multi-breed organization, the Federation
has over 80,000 members and recognizes more than 2,800 competitions
nationwide each year. It governs all aspects of competition, including
educating and licensing all judges, stewards, and technical delegates
who officiate at these shows.
VISION STATEMENT
The vision of USA Equestrian is to provide leadership for equestrian
sport in the United States of America, promoting the pursuit of
excellence from the grass roots to the Olympic Games, based on
a foundation of fair, safe competition and the welfare of its
horses, and embracing this vision, to be the best national equestrian
federation in the world.
www.equestrian.org
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