The Complete Entry Form
By Debbie Carr-Kirk
Ever since becoming the Entry Secretary for New England Dressage Association’s Fall
Dressage Festival in 1992, I have wanted to write an article on "How To
Correctly" fill out the Omnibus Prize List (OPL) entry form. If you are a new comer
to the dressage scene, I’d like to help you get your dressage show career started in
the right direction.
The best advice is PLAN AHEAD, START EARLY and CALL THE SHOW SECRETARY IF YOU HAVE
QUESTIONS.
As soon as you get the OPL, with entry form inside, make copies of the entry form. Be sure
to set one blank form aside in a safe place to use later in the year if you need it. If
you need an OPL and entry form, please see side
bar. In the OPL, locate the shows that interest you and READ THE PRIZE LIST. Read it
carefully. If it helps, highlight the information that relates to you. I’d recommend
that you start to fill out the entry form for an event a week or two before the opening
date. That should give you enough time to work through the process, round up the necessary
paperwork, contact the show secretary with any questions you may have, and get the entry
in on time. If you are doing this for the first time, you may want to start in pencil or
have plenty of white-out on hand.
The opening date (OD) is the first day that competitors may mail their entries to the show
secretary. Entries mailed before the OD may be returned to sender. The closing date (CD)
is the last day that an entry may be mailed without incurring penalties. Mailing by the CD
does NOT guaran-tee entry into the show. Most shows must limit entries and many fill up
before the CD. This is an excellent reason to get your entry in as soon as possible.
Decide early in the competition year if you should join the American Horse Shows
Association (AHSA) and United States Dressage Federation (USDF). If you plan to compete in
two or more AHSA recognized events, it may be cost effective for you to join AHSA rather
than pay the non-member fees at more than one show. If you are an amateur, you must apply
for Amateur Certification as part of the AHSA membership process. You are considered to be
an Adult Amateur (AA) and therefore eligible to ride in AA Classes ONLY if you are an
adult AHSA member with an Amateur designation on your AHSA card.
Your NEDA membership entitles you to a Group Member-ship with the USDF but this is a
limited membership. If you plan to compete towards various USDF year end awards you may
want to upgrade your USDF membership to Participating Member.
When submitting your entry for an event, be sure to include all AHSA & USDF numbers
and a copy of the AHSA cards for Rider/Handler, Owner, Trainer and Horse. If an AHSA
member cannot find their card, a $5 affidavit fee is required. Be sure to include it with
your show entry. For each Rider/Handler, Owner and Trainer that is not an AHSA member, you
must include $20 ($15 non-member fee plus $5 breed/discipline fee).
A few suggestions you should consider as you fill out your entry form:
• Write legibly! I can’t stress that enough.
• Fill in your correct mailing address plus the zip code. We need to be able to reach
you.
• A telephone number is important.
• Return the secretary’s phone calls as soon as possible.
• Use paper clips to hold things together. NO STAPLES PLEASE.
• Use a full or half page for copies of your AHSA cards. Something that won’t
get lost in the shuffle.
If you have three people on your entry; one as rider, one as trainer and one as owner,
take the time BEFORE opening date to get copies of everyone’s card, then copy them
all onto one sheet of paper. Then make spare copies of those AHSA cards for your next
show.
On the occasion that you are sending in more than one entry in one envelope, please paper
clip coggins and AHSA cards to the relevant entry form. At this time, the perfect entry
for an OPL show should consist of three pages plus payment; a completed entry form with
original signatures; a copy of the horse’s current Coggins test and a copy of the
appropriate AHSA and USDF cards for people and horses.
One last comment regarding a very common mistake on entry
forms. The Dutch and Danish Warmblood horses are becoming very popular and are often
abbreviated by competitors as DWB. DWB stands for Danish Warmblood. If you have a Dutch
Warmblood please write out the word Dutch or use the abbreviation KWPN.