The $1200 Name Change.

Y'know... Let's get one thing straight right here at the top of this blog. I'm a big believer in USEF. I'm a big believer in the rules, and in following them. I'm also a big believer in breed registries (I won't buy an unpapered horse - never have, never will), and so far, my dealings with ASHA have been nothing but pleasant. And I totally understand the "pay to play" concept, and for the most part, it seems fair. I get that these organizations have overhead, and I get that it's only fair we contribute to that. I also get that from a breed registry perspective, horse name changes are really nothing but a big fat pain in the asp which divert manpower and resources away from the principal mission of getting/keeping those registration numbers up.

HOWEVER. I just got around to actually running the numbers on what it's going to cost me to change Quattro's name with all the various organizations he will need it changed with, if and when he decides to compete at recognized shows. And you know what? To get the name that I want, and record it correctly with all of the organizations I want, it is going to cost me - are you ready for this? TWELVE HUNDRED DOLLARS.

For real.

Let's run those numbers again, shall we? That can't possibly be right; or can it?

The breakdown goes like this.

ASHA charges $200.00 for a name change.
ASHA also charges $500.00 to register a farm name, and it MUST be registered to use it as part of the horse's name. So that's $700.00.

USHJA charges $30.00 for recording him.

USDF charges $25.00 for recording him.

ADS, thankfully, does not track horses and does not charge. (You use your USEF number. We're getting to that.)

USEF charges $200.00 for a lifetime recording.
USEF also charges $200.00 for the farm registration.

So there you have it - changing Quattro's name to the name I want will cost me $1155.00.

You know, the great thing about America is freedom of choice. USEF and ASHA are perfectly within their rights to charge us these fees. We're perfectly within our rights to suggest some imaginative things they might want to do with those fees, and equally within our rights not to compete the horse as a Saddlebred at all...

It remains to be seen which way I'll jump. I'm currently pondering the options, and I do have several here: Forego the prefix I had in mind; keep his registered name and show under it; keep his registered name but record him with USEF as something else and not show him as a Saddlebred (which frankly is the way I'm leaning); etc. etc. etc.

Reckon I can convince my bank manager I'm building a garage? :-)

The adventure is certainly fraught with some interesting forks in the road, but it continues!