BSJA Junior Academy Show - The Reason I Event...

[chester1234]

Seeing as Winkburn was cancelled, decided to head off to Keysoe for their Junior Academy show, which had 3 classes specifically for juniors on horses. Took P but left the little ginger one at home. The horse section didn't start til one, whereas ponies were first thing. [What? I like my bed!

]
Bought P in, hosed him off & plaited him [habit from eventing, and I stuck out like a sore thumb!]
Got to Keysoe, he warmed up really well, however, he needs to be as careful with his back feet as his front feet. Jumped an okay clear - eyes were out on stalks as he'd never been there before. Did the 90cm warm up class, and came 6th, very pleased with my little [!] man, despite a hiccup in the jumpoff.
Whilst warming up for the 90cm, there was a gentleman who was putting the warm up fences up clearly bigger than what was in the ring. I asked him politely to lower them, saying that I wasn't being funny, it was just the rules and there were other people trying to warm up. He replied that he wasn't being funny, he just wasn't good with heights.

The same thing happened in the warm up of the 95/1.05m handicap, at which point the secretary came down. And then it just didn't stop. Let's just say there are some very rude people that do BSJA than BE. After the whole to-do I lost my focus and rode like a sack of frozen peas around the 1.05m and the 1.15m. P was clear in the 1.05m first round, then I messed the J/O up, resulting in 12 faults. TBF I had just had to extricate my tooth from the inside of my cheek after P put in a scrappy jump in the warm up, headbutting me in the process.

Had to go straight into the ring, and I actually couldn't see the first fence!

P definately went round inspite of me not because of me. Then the 1.15m was just disaster, I got completely confused as it was in the schedule as A7 but was run as A4 and I just got v confused, and was still reeling from earlier altercations.

So, all in all I'm a ticked off mummy :
a] because I know that P could have done so much better if I'd ridden and
b] because I lost my focus because of a very rude man.

Sorry for the shocking report, I'm sat in the common room in a free period/lunch and haven't really got much to say! Have videos at home, so will try and get them up later, but humph. Senior BSJA is much better - pushy parents spring to mind when you do Juniors. Thank god no more juniors after december! Sorry for the not-so-fluent and raving report =/

Hope everyone else had a better weekend.

L x x

 

[ann-jen]

Well I do BSJA not BE but that thing with the practice jump happens all the time - nearly every show I go to and its very annoying! The last show I went to - warming up for the BN (90cm) the oxer in the warm up was standing at at least 1.10m. As I go to shows on my own I have no choice other than to jump what everyone else is jumping so I end up jumping some rather random heights!

 

[arkov]

was it a senior class or a junior class..... cos the senior rule for the warm up fence is 105cm or the height of the class - i think !

 

[ann-jen]

Well I'm definitely in seniors (if you are answering me and not the OP). I wish but doubt I could pass for a junior.

I thought the rule was that the practice jump should not exceed the height of the class. While I wouldn't expect this to be held to completely rigidly sometimes it really is way above what is expected in the ring. There always seems to be someone intimidating guarding said jump like a rottweiler so you can't get it adjusted easily until they have left the ring - always leaving the fence at crazy height when they do.

 

[Baydale]

You are so fickle L, last week you were more of a showjumper than an eventer....

I know what you mean about people doing the practice fence though. Your mum should practice her scary face before you go out again.

 

[kerilli]

sorry to hear you had such a horrible time.

at least he was jumping well when you got it right though!
a friend told me she was at a bsja show recently where some of the junior whitakers turned up (complete with jackets with their names in diamante on the back, allegedly!) and there was nearly a turf war for Control Of The Practise Fence between them and the locals who are usually there (and behave as if they own it!)
there was a certain top-ish eventer who used to put the practise upright up absolutely enormous years ago... I think he was possibly the reason they started marking the practise uprights with tape! It wasn't unusual to be warming up for Advanced and watch him flashing his horse over about 4'9"... while the rest of us were avoiding jumping anything over 4' if we could help it!

 

[SpottedCat]

[ QUOTE ]
was it a senior class or a junior class..... cos the senior rule for the warm up fence is 105cm or the height of the class - i think !

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought it was 1.05 or 10cm bigger than the class? Makes no sense if it is the 'height' of the class as BSJA course builders have a 10cm leeway anyway don't they? And the JO is meant to be no less than 10cm higher than the first round height so if you are jumping whichever class it is where you go straight into the JO when you go clear in the first round then you really can't complain if people want to jump 10cm higher than the first round in the warm up (if that makes sense?).

I agree it gets silly sometimes, but I just ask people to put the fence down, explaining I am on my own - never had anyone refuse yet, though a few have done it with exceedlngly bad grace!!

 

[ann-jen]

[ QUOTE ]
I thought it was 1.05 or 10cm bigger than the class? Makes no sense if it is the 'height' of the class as BSJA course builders have a 10cm leeway anyway don't they?

[/ QUOTE ]
As I understand it - although I rarely read the rulebook so it might of changed - 85% of the course has to be to the specified height - ie 90cm BN 1m discovery etc. The 15% generally works out equivalent to 1-2 fences depending on how long the course is and usually means the first fence is slightly lower to be a bit more inviting - although there is a big difference from 1 venue to the next and some course builders round here are notorious for building well up to height. I suppose it also means 15% could be over height but I would have to check the rulebook.
I understand what you are saying about a 2 phase competition - we don't get many of these our way - but if the 2nd phase is 1m for the BN then it would make sense to be able to practice to 1m for sure. Sometimes its a great deal over this though!

 

[Groom42]

But when the warm up fence is a good 30cm bigger than the class............?

 

[viewfromahill]

My understanding of the rules is that the practice fence in any BSJA Affiliated competition can be up to 1.05 or whatever the height in the ring whichever is greater so if you are jumping 90cms in the ring you can practise up to 1.05, if the course in the ring is 1.10 then you practise up to 1.10 - I stand to be corrected!!!

 

[RhiannonColeman]

My daughter does junior BSJA, and I have to agree that the behaviour of some of the parents is appalling. We had an incident a few weeks ago when a certain well know 'Dad' actually started raising the fence as my daughter was approaching.

 

[PaddyMonty]

Rule 122.6
The height of the practice obstacles must not exceed the maximum height of obstacles allowed by the rules for the first round of the competition in progress or 1.05m, which ever is the greater.

 

[chester1234]

May I just add that the fence in the warm up for the 90cm was a good 1.15/1.20m, and the fence for the 95cm/1.05m handicap was about 1.25? A good 2/3'rds of the way up a standard BSJA wing....
I wasn't being pedantic!