Post by Haleigh Sharphowl on May 25, 2007 18:22:51 GMT -5
Just a thought...
Would folks like it if I created a "governing body" for Furcadian horse shows? I'm thinking it would kind of be like the USEF.
There would be a calendar with all upcoming shows on it, a list of judges, and show rules. I think making a list of rules we ALL can agree upon would be beneficial, as well as class guidelines.
(Let me explain the difference real quick. Show rules: basic things like don't talk, don't insult judges, be polite and courteous to all involved, etc. Class guidelines: The basic forms a class should take, "levels" of competition in that class like Preliminary Novice/Novice/etc. or "divisions" in a class like Mares/Geldings/Stallions, etc.)
I would enlist the help of a couple of other dream owners (I already have them in mind) but all class guidelines would be up for a review period at first so we can all discuss them. At the end of the year after we do awards, we can discuss and vote on changes to the guidelines if any of us feel they should be made. It wouldn't be just me, or just me and my little group of dream owners, making the rules and guidelines -- we would want input from everyone.
Another important feature would be the team registration where participating barns can register a team of horses and riders that represent them. Teams could set guidelines (must be of a certain breed, i.e., all horses are Thoroughbreds. or, riders must be a certain age, etc.) for their horses and riders. (The opportunity for horse and rider teams to compete as individuals without a barn affiliation would be given. Likewise, a horse would be able to register up to 3 riders in the case of co-ownerships and leasing.)
Standings would be kept of the top teams, top riders, and top horses based off of earnings. Year-end awards would be given based on the standings.
All events would be legal (no racing, though -- that's a whole different ballgame), although not all events would give out earnings that contributed to the standings. An example of an event like this is Costume class. You don't earn money in a costume class. (Not talking about Arabian dress classes, but anyway...)
This leads me to my next point. Monetary rewards would be carefully monitored. Shows will have to announce in advance what the monetary awards will be for placements 1-4 (1-6 allowed in bigger shows). This would need to be kept realistic. 20k for first place in an upper-level 3-Day Eventing show is realistic, 1k is not. 500k for first place in a stock horse Halter show is not realistic, 10k is. Guidelines would be set for event holders to follow, so they have a general idea of what to award.
Dreams intending to hold events under this regulatory group would need to register in advance and hold a couple of mock-shows to prove they are of true worth. Before any dream owners have an aneurism, MOST DREAMS ALREADY EXISTING WOULD BE GRANDFATHERED IN. As long as you've held some events with cash prizes without much trouble, with trustworthy judges and horses competing from several different dreams, you're okay. The registration process would not be difficult and it would probably only take about a month to get full accreditation (shorter in the summer when we're all on all of the time.)
A list of judges (and their other human alts) that have successfully judged classes without any problems would also be created. An accreditation process would occur for judges, too, similar to that for dreams. Again, most judges would be grandfathered in. Accreditation would consist of assisting other judges at shows and judging mock-shows.
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Okay. Thoughts? I want to hear from as many people as possible. I'm all for constructive criticism. I'm thinking FSEC (Furcadian Show and Eventing Committee) as a name since FEF is kinda short and seems silly. But that's up for discussion, too. x)
Would folks like it if I created a "governing body" for Furcadian horse shows? I'm thinking it would kind of be like the USEF.
There would be a calendar with all upcoming shows on it, a list of judges, and show rules. I think making a list of rules we ALL can agree upon would be beneficial, as well as class guidelines.
(Let me explain the difference real quick. Show rules: basic things like don't talk, don't insult judges, be polite and courteous to all involved, etc. Class guidelines: The basic forms a class should take, "levels" of competition in that class like Preliminary Novice/Novice/etc. or "divisions" in a class like Mares/Geldings/Stallions, etc.)
I would enlist the help of a couple of other dream owners (I already have them in mind) but all class guidelines would be up for a review period at first so we can all discuss them. At the end of the year after we do awards, we can discuss and vote on changes to the guidelines if any of us feel they should be made. It wouldn't be just me, or just me and my little group of dream owners, making the rules and guidelines -- we would want input from everyone.
Another important feature would be the team registration where participating barns can register a team of horses and riders that represent them. Teams could set guidelines (must be of a certain breed, i.e., all horses are Thoroughbreds. or, riders must be a certain age, etc.) for their horses and riders. (The opportunity for horse and rider teams to compete as individuals without a barn affiliation would be given. Likewise, a horse would be able to register up to 3 riders in the case of co-ownerships and leasing.)
Standings would be kept of the top teams, top riders, and top horses based off of earnings. Year-end awards would be given based on the standings.
All events would be legal (no racing, though -- that's a whole different ballgame), although not all events would give out earnings that contributed to the standings. An example of an event like this is Costume class. You don't earn money in a costume class. (Not talking about Arabian dress classes, but anyway...)
This leads me to my next point. Monetary rewards would be carefully monitored. Shows will have to announce in advance what the monetary awards will be for placements 1-4 (1-6 allowed in bigger shows). This would need to be kept realistic. 20k for first place in an upper-level 3-Day Eventing show is realistic, 1k is not. 500k for first place in a stock horse Halter show is not realistic, 10k is. Guidelines would be set for event holders to follow, so they have a general idea of what to award.
Dreams intending to hold events under this regulatory group would need to register in advance and hold a couple of mock-shows to prove they are of true worth. Before any dream owners have an aneurism, MOST DREAMS ALREADY EXISTING WOULD BE GRANDFATHERED IN. As long as you've held some events with cash prizes without much trouble, with trustworthy judges and horses competing from several different dreams, you're okay. The registration process would not be difficult and it would probably only take about a month to get full accreditation (shorter in the summer when we're all on all of the time.)
A list of judges (and their other human alts) that have successfully judged classes without any problems would also be created. An accreditation process would occur for judges, too, similar to that for dreams. Again, most judges would be grandfathered in. Accreditation would consist of assisting other judges at shows and judging mock-shows.
-----------
Okay. Thoughts? I want to hear from as many people as possible. I'm all for constructive criticism. I'm thinking FSEC (Furcadian Show and Eventing Committee) as a name since FEF is kinda short and seems silly. But that's up for discussion, too. x)
