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Post by jealoushe on Oct 2, 2014 15:21:08 GMT -5
Aside from money, I am interested in hearing about the show days work etc. You should take a look at a Prize List to get an idea about scheduling at the gold shows! They will break down all the classes offered Wednesday-Sunday and give you a good idea of what to expect in terms of how the show days work. There is usually an opportunity to flat in most rings before they open as well. At Trillium shows, you do all your classes in one day. I have looked at the prize list....it was confusing for this little ol eventer! ahah...so many options to choose from. Like every show has a different name, and I guess they have different series every week or every few weeks? How do you choose which ones to go to? Just favorites or where your barn is going. How do you pick which venues to show at - either Palgrave, or in Quebec, etc?
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Post by Mineral on Oct 3, 2014 7:25:56 GMT -5
I know it's a bit overwhelming when you're not sure how it works! I basically wrote you an essay so hopefully this is helpful! So each week is a different show. The usually change course designers every week and move the show staff around but if it's a two week show that'll be all the changes. Show management stays the same. There are ENDLESS options as you saw. We base our choice of show on so many different factors! I'll share a few that I can think of wth you. First, how many Open divisions and Jr/Am divisions are offered? Sometimes there are literally zero Open divisions offered at a lower level which means my coach can't get his young horses going without showing at 1.20m. That doesn't make sense for any of the young jumpers who need to get show experience. That or there are open divisions offered but they are only offered Wednesday and Thursday (usually the clear round days) and once the Jr/Am competitions get started, those horses have no place for the whole weekend. It doesn't make sense to pay for a stall for the whole week if the horses can only show two days out of the 7 that we're there. That said, the competitions run like this because generally the pros are schooling these horses on Wednesday and Thursday for their riders who show up on Friday to show. Also, what divisions are offered? What options do you need this week? Does everything move up in a 5cm interval or a 10cm interval? Do I have to jump the 1.20m then the 1.30m or is a 1.25m offered as a half step? Some horse shows run, 1.10m, 1.20m, 1.30m, 1.40m while others run 1.15m, 1.25m, 1.35m, 1.45m and others run all of them. With the really young ones, it's nice to have the .75m, .80m, .85m and so on half steps. You can move up and down as needed. It all depends on what your horses needs are! Second, course designer and show management. How do they build? What do they build? How much do they challenge you on day one? What questions are they asking for the younger horses and older horses? Do they build on a longer strides or a shorter stride or the half stride? Some designers build a bit soft the first few days and slowly build the horses up so they are confident and bold by the last day. Other designers can be very challenging from day one which is fantastic for the older horses that need to step up and be challenged. This all depends on what you're sitting on. If I'm on all my older more experienced horses, I'm not so worried about who is designing. But if I'm on my younger horses, I'm going to be a bit more discerning because I want to keep him as confident as possible. In terms of show management, who is super organized? What are the add and scratch protocols? Is everyone in the office friendly? Third, show facility and atmosphere. Indoors vs Outdoor rings if it rains. When choosing between Quebec and Ontario, it's mostly whether or not you want to be away for the week. Palgrave and Angelstone run against a lot of the Quebec dates. Generally, if you're showing locally (like at Palgrave) you can ship in and out every day. You can pick and choose what you're going to show in and don't need to be there everyday. In Quebec, you'll be stabling. Blainville has the most wonderful Grand Prix ring. Virginia is so incredibly laid back. If you have a conflict, they will take care of you. At the Virginia Horse Center, all the 1.10m jumpers and up run indoors in the Coliseum so you don't need to worry about weather. HITS Culpeper (also in Virginia) has the same atmosphere but they lack an indoor ring. While the outdoor rings are beautiful, if you are there in April, weather is also a factor. I got stuck flat schooling my young horse in terrential rain pour because it would not stop all day. Neither he nor I were impressed with getting soaked. We've been to Atlanta and St. Louis just because the facility and the show management are so incredible. Anyway I'll share with you a bunch of links to a few of our favourite horse shows. www.classiccompany.com/www.queenieproductions.com/www.classiqueblainville.com/www.hitsshows.com/www.horsecenter.org/Events/April-2014/Lexington-Spring-Premiere-AA.aspxMost of these are in the states but they are all wonderful horse shows.
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Post by jealoushe on Oct 8, 2014 14:15:37 GMT -5
Thank you so much!!!! So helpful, I will take some time to look over everything.
This would be so much easier if there was a barn in my area I could hook up with, but sadly we are pretty limited around here.
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