Frequently Asked Questions
The Equestrian Connect FAQ addresses the following topics:
I. Data Entry
- Getting Started
- Horse/Person and USEF # already in the system
- Deleting a person or horse
- Transferring Data Ownership
II. How to Purchase
- Annual Subscriptions
- Pay as You go
- Suspended Accounts
III. Entry Forms
- Creating
- Viewing
- Printing
- Emailing
IV. Security
- Changing Passwords
- Social Security numbers
- Privacy
I. Data Entry
Q: How do I get started?
To get started, you must first enter all relevant information regarding the people you are associated with on your entry forms. These are generally owners, riders and trainers. Then, enter your horse information. For help, refer to the “Getting Started” document. You will find the document in the “support” link found at the bottom of MyEqConnect.
Q: I tried to enter a horse or person, but the system told me someone with that USEF number was already in the system.
If the system tells you that, most likely someone else has already entered the horse or person in Equestrian Connect. You may still add that person to your account. Use the “find person” button first find the person, then indicate their role in your account. This creates the link between your account and the horse and person recorded. This is a required step.
Q: How do I delete a horse or person from my account?
There is an X icon to the right of person or horse name listed in the My EqConnect people and horse tabs. When you click on X, you will remove that person or horse from your account. However, they will remain in the general member list. In order to have a person or horse permanently deleted, contact us at info@equestrianconnect.com. Please include person or horse’s name and their USEF number.
Q. What if I want to remove myself from a trainer’s account, or I want to retain ownership over my own data, even if my trainer entered me to start with.
Please send us an email at info@equestrianconnect.com requesting that change. Please include your name, email and USEF number, and the same information for the related owner of the account.
Q: I just bought a new horse. How do I transfer data ownership of the horse from the previous owner?
Please send us an email at info@equestrianconnect.com informing us of your purchase, and requesting that change. Please include your name, email and USEF number, the name and USEF number for your horse, and the name and USEF number (if you know it) of the previous owner and trainer.
II. How To Purchase
Q: How do I know when my free trial will expire?
You can check the status of your free trial on the screen of Step One of creating a horse show entry. Select a show, click “create entries” to see Step One . If you haven’t created an entry form yet, the screen will tell you that your free trial has not started yet.
Q: When Do I Pay my Annual Subscription
You pay your annual subscription at time of purchase via PayPal. We recommend purchasing subsscriptions a few days before you intend to create entry forms, to allow payment to be processed.
Q: How Do I Pay for an Annual Subscription
Annual subscriptions can be purchased from the MyHorses tab of MyEqconnect through clicking on “Order Annual Subscription. ” Horses eligible for subscription will appear on the screen. To purchase, select desired horses and click Purchase. Once you click “purchase” you will be taken to Paypal to pay either via credit card of Paypal account. Annual subscriptions can also be purchased during the entry process on Step One of Three of creating entries.
Q: Can I use different credit cards to purchase subscriptions for different horses?
If you plan on using different credit cards to pay, select only those horses to be paid by one credit card.
Q: What is the MyAccount, MyInvoices Tab for?
The system automatically creates an invoice, per horse, for your records and stores it in the MyInvoices tab of MyEqconnect. MyInvoices will also display the status of each invoice – paid or unpaid. If you are paying via credit card rather than PayPal account, your payment may now show for 24 – 36 hours. However, your account will still be able to create entries.
The subscription status for each horse will be indicated on the MyHorses tab and on Step One of the create entries process.
Q: How do I pay per Entry Form?
For horses without an annual subscription, a price per entry form will be listed across from their names on Step One of creating a horse show entry. Once you have completed your entry process and downloaded your forms, you will be directed to Paypal to pay your fees via credit card or a Paypal account.
Q: Why was my ability to create entry forms suspended?
If your payment does not clear for any reason, your ability to create entry forms will be suspended, and you will receive an email alerting you to unpaid fees. Invoices/fees that are not paid within 15 days will result in the suspension of that horse – meaning you will not be able to create entry forms for the particular horse(s) until fees are paid. In some cases, it may result in the suspension of the whole account.
III. Entry Forms
Q: When I go to create an entry form, the horse I want to enter isn’t on the list I select from.
When you create an entry form, you will be asked to select one or multiple horses listed in your MyEqConnect account. If the horse you are looking for is not in your account, it has not been associated in your MyEqConnect or the horse was never entered in the system. You will need to go back to the “Horses” section and either add the horse and its relevant information to the system or search for it, edit the record to identify your role with the horse (i.e. owner, trainer, rider), save it and the horse will now appear in your MyEqConnect.
Q: When I want to select owner, rider or trainer in the entry form process, I don’t find the names I want.
When creating the entry form, you are prompted to select only from names you have put into your My EqConnect account, and are listed in your “My People” tab. If you do not see them during the entry process, please go back and check your MyEqConnect People Tab. If they are not there, add a new person or find and edit a person to associate your role with them (owner, trainer, rider) that is already in the database. Save it and it will now appear in you MyEqConnect and for the entry forms.
Q: How do I enter more than 2 riders for a horse that I’m taking to a show?
You will need to create another entry form for the horse with the 3rd and/or 4th rider(s). You will follow the exact same process you did the first time. However, when you select the horse again, it will say “entered” next to its name. Select the horse and on the bottom right of the screen click on “ overwrite any existing entries”.. This will permit the service to create a new entry with the additional riders. The service only stores one entry per horse in the “Show details” tab for a specific show. This means, the most recent entry created for the horse is the one saved. Don’t forget to staple the entries together before sending your entries in.
Q: What if I want to do entries for horses that show with different trainers?
If you want to indicate different barns to “stable” with on your entry forms, you will need to go through separate entry form processes. The first time, select only the horses that will be going to a show with Trainer A and complete the process. Then, go back and select the horses that will be attending a show with Trainer B.
Q: What do I put in more than one owner for a horse?
At this point, there is no way to select separate entities as owners for the horse. You can create a single entity that consists of both owner’s name, and decide which address to use for that entity. Or, you can select a single owner, and write in the additional owners after you have created your entry forms.
Q: I can’t view the entry form I created
There are two reasons you might not be able to view the entry form you created.
First, you must have Adobe Reader 9.1 installed on your computer. Go to Adobe.com to download the software, which is available free.
Second, you must have pop-up windows enabled in your browser. Most browsers have a default setting which does not allow pop-ups (i.e. a PopUp Blocker). We recommend you set your browser to accept only Equestrian Connect to minimize other unwanted pop ups. To change the settings, follow the steps for the browser you use:
1) Firefox: Using the menu tool bar, look at the pull down menu under “Firefox”, go to preferences, then content.
2) Safari: Using the menu tool bar, look at the pull down list under “Safari”, and then allow pop up windows.
3) Explorer: Using the menu tool bar, look at the pull down menu under “Tools” and turn pop-up blocking off.
4) Embedded PopUp Blockers: For you techie users, if you have set your browser to accept Equestrian Connect and are still being ask to disable PopUp Blockers, check your browser to see if Google is part of your browser’s tool bar. If so, on the far right of the screen is either a “wrench” icon or a setting tab. Click on it and go to options and look for “PopUp Blockers” and disable it.
Q: What happens if I make a mistake on my entry form? How do I correct it?
To correct your entry form, you will need to create a new one. To create a new one, click on the box that instructs the system to override the existing form. That box is on the screen with Step One, Select Horses.
Q: Can I save my entry form PDFs to my hard disk?
Yes. You do this in several ways, depending on the browser you are using.
If you are using the Explorer Browser, you have two options, from the print menu or from the Adobe Reader command bar.
Print Menu: When you select print you will be presented with a standard pop-up menu giving you print options. At the bottom left of that pop up window, you will see a button labeled “PDF.” Click on that PDF button and it will give you list of options. Select the “Save as PDF” option.
Adobe Reader Command Bar: When viewing the entry form you will be in Adobe Reader. Use the command bar at the top of your screen. When you click on the “File” command you will get a number of options, including “save as copy.” Select the “Save a Copy” option.
If using the Safari or Firefox browser (which you will most likely use on a Mac), you must email the form to yourself in order to save it. Use Adobe Reader Command bar at the top of your screen to email the form.. Click on the “File “ command and select the “Attach to Email” option.
Q: Can I email my entry form?
Yes. You do this in several ways, depending on the browser you are using.
If you are using the Explorer browser, you have two options, from the print menu or from the Adobe Reader command bar.
Print Menu: When you select print you will be presented with a standard pop-up menu giving you print options. At the bottom left of that pop up window, you will see a button labeled “PDF.” Click on that PDF button and it will give you list of options. Select the “Mail PDF” option.
Adobe Reader Command Bar: When viewing the entry form you will be in Adobe Reader. Use the command bar at the top of your screen. When you click on the “File” command you will get a number of options, including “save as copy.” Select the “Attach to Email” option.
If using the Safari or Firefox browser (which you will most likely use on a Mac), use Adobe Reader Command bar at the top of your screen to email the form.. Click on the “File” command and select the “Attach to Email” option. Then, when you receive the email in your inbox, you may view or save the completed form.
IV. Security
Q: Can I change my user name and password.
To change your password – click on the link on the welcome page, below the log in information.
Q: How do you secure my social security number and credit card information?
We use SSL and database encryption technology to store data safely in our system. This information is optional to respect the privacy of our members and users. Credit card information is not currently stored in the service.
Q: Who is able to view the personal data I enter into the system for myself and the people in My EqConnect?
You have complete control over who able to view the personal data you enter on yourself and any others. Equestrian Connect provides 6 privacy fields in its People section, they are email, 3 phone numbers, street address and birthday. You can decide who you want to share or not share information with. You can select different privacy settings on an individual basis. The 3 categories are:
1) Do Not Share: Only you will see this information
2) Share with Everyone: This permits every one in Equestrian Connect to see the information.
3) Share with People in MyEqConnect: You and the people in your “MyEqConnect” can see the information, typically riders, owners and trainers you work with.
Q. Who can make changes on the people and horse data in the system?
Equestrian Connect only permits one person to be the owner of the data.. What this means is, the person (i.e. account user) who entered the data for People and Horses into Equestrian Connect, is the owner of that data and responsible for maintaining it. Only that person can edit the data also. There are 2 typical data entry scenario’s: 1.) a trainer enters all the information for their clients; or 2.) the clients enter all the data and then share it with the trainer. To share information, both trainer and the client must be in each others “MyEqConnect”. Depending on what privacy is set for each person, then only that information will be shared.
