Baby horse show jumping question...

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when you have a young horse, how much unaff do you do before you have a go at affiliated and how well do you have them going at home before?

My dads little tb is still quite green but is improving rapidly and most/all unaff round us is pants (to the point where i won't take my horse).

There is a venue in a few weeks that built really small last time i went and has an unaff class before so i'm thinking of taking him there - but i don't want to over face him - what do you think??
 
It really depends on the horse but a lot of the producers around our way will jump a horse round the 3ft clear round at an affiliated show a few times and then go straight into BN.

TBH, if a young horse isn't capable of going round a BN a few weeks after it has started jumping it is unlikely to be the sort of horse that will progress far up the BSJA ranks anyway
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Id say go for it. I agree there are very few places that offer good Unaff. We have one local place that does both as the other is up for sale and isnt offering any shows this year (crockstead) but they were good for unaff and the people who own it are nice and encouraging.

My 4 year old is exceptional jumping but i wouldnt take him yet as im not ready to take him but will go straight to aff or trail blazers
 
I'm thinking of affiliating my 5yr old as soon as I get transport. We've done a few unaffiliated classes (err about 4!) and found that the courses were often (always actually) very badly built and dificult for youngsters. especially with any kind of combination which was always set out for ponies!
 
I have a 4 year old who had been jumped in France round there age classes (1m) over there they don't have to jump doubles which was what mine found most difficult to understand, yet he had jumped open water! I took him straight into BN and he is now jumping them confidently. I didn't want him upset by badly built, wrong distance courses and unfortunately at a lot of unafflicted places that is what you encounter!
 
Ive got a youngster who Im going to jump affil with shortley.. I would say weve done around 10 unaffs together but before i got him he had done nothing. I have a few more before my first bsja with him mainley because Im still getting used to him (being my first horse) and he still likes to put the odd big jump in over a scary filler!(I end up on his neck lol) ..I think you should affiliate when their jumping consistantly round unaff 3,0/3,3 classes.
 
I think it depends totally on the horse. They're all different.

I got my horse as a 5yo that had done absolutely nothing. I took her to her first show and jumped her round a British Novice without even jumping a filler at home as she was so easy and straightforward - I'd have been amazed if she hadn't gone round without looking at anything!

OH has a 6yo TB that we've had a few months that has also done very little but is very very green and spooky about jumping. With her I would want her working confidently over fillers, and small courses to get her confidence before I will take her even round a British Novice. My opinion of her is that she has got a good jump and once she is more balanced on the flat and more confident about jumping will be a nice horse. I don't see the point of rushing them and knocking their confidence.

Finding a BSJA venue that hold clear round or an unaffiliated class first is a good idea.

I'm friends with a guy that buys and sells jumping horses and all his go straight into British Novice but it's very different for a professional producer than the average one horse owner that doesn't do horses for a living.
 
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