Bsja- which option is wiser?

BroadfordQueen

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couldnt really think of an appropriate title, sorry!

My horse now has £59 on her card. she has 1 double clear british novice this season. Now, she is VERY fast and can turn on a sixpence, and rarely/never touches a pole at 3ft and under- shes like a little speedy pony.
My question is, should i a) go steady at my next few affiliated shows so i can get my 4 double clears before i jump out of BN or b) not worry about getting my 4 d/c's as the 2nd rounds are huge and i doubt i would do any good anyway?!
 
I would go for the double clears, it will do her good to slow down and you may find then she will be able to cope with the 2nd rounds, use getting your double clears as schooling practice,if you can achieve a slower but powerful canter i'm sure she will start to be more careful over the bigger jumps. Worth a try. . .Good luck!
 
Don't try too hard going fast or you will end up having to jump the bigger classes and jump huge anyway! I used to really raz then round, but you don't have to go that fast to win/get placed so I'd get her going in a way you can jump bigger and better.
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I would go for double clears and establish balance and control at the lower heights. If you push it too soon you and/or horse may loose confidence if something was to go wrong. You could aim for 4 d/cs and then start going for time. You may well be surprised how well you do by just aiming for steady d/c
 
Go for DC's, as for when/if you sell you can say got DC's in BN etc.

Also she will then think that every round you do she should go fast.
Just try and get your DC's going steady then you will be confident to move up a level.
xx
 
Going against the grain I would so go and have fun, realistically unless your horse can turn into a 1.25 spread of 1 stride you are never going to qualify for the festival as that is what you need to do to win, and most 2nd rounds only the winner gets to go. If you think this time next year you'll be able to do it, then go slow and get your DCs, but after a few years playing this BSJA game I've realised that the average horse with the genuine amateur on it doesn't get to go to the festival anymore since they've changed the rules so whats the point? Aim to qualify for the Amateur 2nd rounds, you only need to come in the top 6 to do that. Also if you see any Scope qualifers, try and qualify for them.
 
Yep, i'm with DD and BBMat here. You're not going to be competitive in a BN 2nd Round unless you're riding something pretty special and there are plenty of 90cms and 1m alternatives to jump even when you've won too much money for BN and Disco
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That said, i'm not condoning blasting your pony around against the clock every time out...just don't worry about winning your money too quickly.
 
thanks for all the advice
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I don't tazz my horse around, she is just naturally fast, being bred to race, she just has a long stride which is really hard to shorten- i took all the long routes yesterday when we did the BN and went for just a double clear, yet we still came out alot faster than 2nd place! Will just go how we are going now and not worry about qualifying for the 2nd rounds- chances are we could do anyway, if we dont do too many 90cm opens etc before hand.
 
Do you actually want to do the 2nd rounds? It's good to say a horse has them for selling purposes but if you're not bothered then do what you want I say! I dont bother with getting my double clears since our 2nd rounds are usually too far away for me to bother going to. I missed out on my NC clears because I was out of it too fast! And if I dont hurry up and move up to Foxhunter very soon then Ill be out of that before Ive even done one!!
 
i would like to have a go- I was watching it at weston lawns and i am pretty sure she would do the first round (well, unless she had a really unlucky pole), the second round she would have a crack at and maybe have one or two poles but she COULD go clear, and the jump off...abit too big at the moment, but in a years time..who knows...!
 
remember, you shouldnt rush a horse or it may lose its confidence, go for 4 dcs and then try the bigger tracks, you don't want to get too far ahead of yourself
 
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