Tuesday - Uninspiring, But it Must Be Done

What must be done?  Well, it's fall (just barely here in sunny CA), and the 2011 calendar is drawing to a close. That means memberships for 2012 need to be renewed.  This has become an interesting topic, to me at least, since I just discovered that there are way, way more than 50 GMOs out there.

I have come to realize that not all dressage riders show.  That is a strange concept to me, but everyone gets to do dressage for their own personal reasons.  My way won't necessarily be their way.  I've already blogged about the fact that I am somewhat (okay, kind of a lot) motivated by extrinsic rewards, an 8 on a score sheet, or a blue ribbon out of a class of one.  I know that I wouldn't work so hard to improve my riding if there wasn't a place to demonstrate what we've learned.  I need the tests to confirm what we get as well as to determine what we don't yet get.

If you're going show, you have to pay.  Hence the membership renewal discussion.  I am happy to report that my 2012 memberships to the USEF, USDF, and CDS have all been paid for.  It wasn't as much as it sounds like since the California Dressage Society takes care of the payment to the United States Dressage Federation.  I paid $55 to the USEF and $70 to CDS.  Back when I was still competing in the endurance world, my memberships were nearly the same price: The American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC) needed around $70 and Arabian Horse Association (AHA) needed another $50 - $60.  The year that I maintained memberships in both disciplines was an expensive one.  So for only $125, I am now ready for the 2012 show season.

Bring it on!