Careful Course walking

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juliap

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I was fence judging at Stockland Lovell and 6 riders were eliminated for missing the fence(14) I was at in BE90. Another one was eliminated for jumping the wrong fence out of the water

The fence before was an owl hole then course looped round over a palisade(14) then to a log, dew pond and log out.

The palisade was visible from the owl hole and obviously numbered correctly

Just wondering how often this happens - before BE100 the course designer came out and put some stakes and rope up to ensure riders couldn't miss out the palisade.

How much onus should there be on riders to make sure they walk the course properly and take note of numbers and how much on the designer to make it very obvious?

My friend also missed out a fence at Pontispool recently & apparently quite a few others did as well.

Is there any info on the BE record to show it was E for error of course?
 
I thought a few might miss that fence when I walked it yesterday especially considering where the intro owl hole was.

It should come down to the rider the fences were clearly numbered plus well documented on the course plans which there were numerous printed copies available of in the secretaries tent.
 
Crikey! Amazed that people can afford to 'waste' an entry fee by such an error!

As long as the fences are numbered and flagged correctly then the onus is on the rider to walk the course, and walk it again and again if necessary. However, having been at Solihull to help a friend the other weekend I was astounded at the numbers walking the XC whilst on their mobile phones, trying to retrieve their dog which had done a BOGOFF or yacking to their mates.
 
I always feel so sorry for people when this happens - I have been known to do this in show jumping as well :eek:

But ultimately it is the riders responsibility to walk the course, there aren't that many jumps on a xc (or sj) course - and they are very clearly numbered.

I was at SLM today and although it wasn't immediately obvious where you had to go - the fact that the owl hole was 13 and the water was 15 should give you a reasonable indication that you need to go and hunt for a fence.

However that said I do hate it when they put an extra loop to lengthen a track as you merely end up hauling your horse round the corner, it just doesn't make it flowing.

I don't think there is any way of knowing whether the E showing on a record is for a technical error, would be interested to know if there is x
 
They used to put Technical Elimination (TE) on the record but stopped as too many were abusing it to mask a horses true record :rolleyes:

I scored at Cumwhinton last year and we had at least 6 riders miss out a whole loop of fences and go straight from fence 6 to 9 or something like that:eek:
 
gunnergundog said:
Crikey! Amazed that people can afford to 'waste' an entry fee by such an error!

As long as the fences are numbered and flagged correctly then the onus is on the rider to walk the course, and walk it again and again if necessary. However, having been at Solihull to help a friend the other weekend I was astounded at the numbers walking the XC whilst on their mobile phones, trying to retrieve their dog which had done a BOGOFF or yacking to their mates.
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speaking as someone who did this today i can say it is truly gutting and totally not an intentional/deliberate "waste" of my entry fee as you imply. i would love to live in a perfect world where i don't make errors but i do...clearly you don't :(

in answer to the OP yes its totally the rider's responsibility. have done it twice in the last 12 months- once coming out of water not through the flags, today i missed the fence before the water. i suffer quite badly with nerves and i think this can be a problem for me when i'm walking a course. have had a lot of problems with water on old horse and i wonder if its a coincidence that i seem to keep making mistakes near the water.... must try harder next time. very gutting when you are in line for a placing :(
 
I often walk the course twice just in case. Especially if I've ended up a bit lost the first time round. My friend is always doing it, she wanders round the course, has a little hunt around for a fence and then inevitably gets lost on that bit! It annoys me, let alone her mum who takes her and funds it!
 
Diggerbez, i missed out exactly the same fence, never missed one before, but def had a blonde moment yesterday!!!!!:rolleyes: Didn't see it at all when I walked the course, in fact got the water and actually wondered why there wasn't a fence near by!!!!

However it was my fault, nothing I can do about it now, sickening when it happens as you feel v v v stupid!!! but, it will def make me count the numbers properly at Bishop Burton at the end of the month!!!

One year at Skipton a load of people missed out a fence in the corner of a field because `normally' the course went straight across to the other corner, a load of people kicking themselves I'm sure
 
Mrs Pink said:
Diggerbez, i missed out exactly the same fence, never missed one before, but def had a blonde moment yesterday!!!!!:rolleyes: Didn't see it at all when I walked the course, in fact got the water and actually wondered why there wasn't a fence near by!!!!

However it was my fault, nothing I can do about it now, sickening when it happens as you feel v v v stupid!!! but, it will def make me count the numbers properly at Bishop Burton at the end of the month!!!

One year at Skipton a load of people missed out a fence in the corner of a field because `normally' the course went straight across to the other corner, a load of people kicking themselves I'm sure
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Oh no!! Not you too! :o I saw the result and wondered what had happened. At least only pilot error - and as someone who has been E for missing the finish :o I can't say anything!!:rolleyes:
 
Mrs Pink said:
Diggerbez, i missed out exactly the same fence, never missed one before, but def had a blonde moment yesterday!!!!!:rolleyes: Didn't see it at all when I walked the course, in fact got the water and actually wondered why there wasn't a fence near by!!!!

However it was my fault, nothing I can do about it now, sickening when it happens as you feel v v v stupid!!! but, it will def make me count the numbers properly at Bishop Burton at the end of the month!!!

One year at Skipton a load of people missed out a fence in the corner of a field because `normally' the course went straight across to the other corner, a load of people kicking themselves I'm sure
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glad its not just me :D;) still kicking myself now :mad:
 
we've all done it i think (incl Jeanette Brakewell on Over To You at Belton CIC*** iirc, a few years ago!), it's never a case of willingly throwing away an entry fee, I assure you!
I've never missed out a fence when I've walked the course correctly, but twice I've managed to walk it wrongly and then ride it the same... once walked in dense fog (first event of the year, iirc it was Poplar Park Int) before Secretary's was open to give out Programmes (with list of fences and course map in it), and didn't even see a particular fence in the fog, and obv wasn't counting fence numbers accurately. Another time at Weston Park in the OI, I did ABC of a complex, didn't even realise there was a part D hidden away behind a tree, thought we'd done a brilliant clear. :( :( :(
Moral of the story - ALWAYS walk the course with the Programme in your hand, and make a note about every fence. Impossible to miss one out then. (well, so far, anyway...)
 
kerilli said:
we've all done it i think (incl Jeanette Brakewell on Over To You at Belton CIC*** iirc, a few years ago!), it's never a case of willingly throwing away an entry fee, I assure you!
I've never missed out a fence when I've walked the course correctly, but twice I've managed to walk it wrongly and then ride it the same... once walked in dense fog (first event of the year, iirc it was Poplar Park Int) before Secretary's was open to give out Programmes (with list of fences and course map in it), and didn't even see a particular fence in the fog, and obv wasn't counting fence numbers accurately. Another time at Weston Park in the OI, I did ABC of a complex, didn't even realise there was a part D hidden away behind a tree, thought we'd done a brilliant clear. :( :( :(
Moral of the story - ALWAYS walk the course with the Programme in your hand, and make a note about every fence. Impossible to miss one out then. (well, so far, anyway...)
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Ooh good point k - I never thought about missing part of a combination! I always try and take pics of the course and make sure all numbers are there and make sure I count numbers as I go but that is one I had not thought of!!
 
DarkHorseB said:
Ooh good point k - I never thought about missing part of a combination! I always try and take pics of the course and make sure all numbers are there and make sure I count numbers as I go but that is one I had not thought of!!
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I was so chuffing angry with myself, big fat E on my super grey's record, totally undeserved, 100% muppetry on top. sigh. pls feel free to learn from my stupid mistake... ;) ;)

another year at Weston CCI my friend was doing the 2* (i w/d due to hard ground but walked the course a few times with her). the 1* and 2* routes through the water were very close together, and marked ABC and ABCD... we both got rather muddled and thought D of the 1* was actually D of the 2* (wasn't v clear in the programme iirc), so she managed to do a totally unnecessary extra part, just to make it even trickier (fortunately unpenalised!). oopsy again...
 
I think next time I do a course I'll make a note of all the fences & where there is more than one element and tick them off.

I try to walk once on my own to concentrate on lines then again with a friend to discuss lines etc.

The other thing I've learnt by others misfortune is to check where the finish is.

I do photograph most courses which gives me something to check if I walk the day before but it's not always possible.

Hopefully it a mistake you only make once!
 
as someone who did this today - for the very first time i can fully relate to this!

by coincidence it was number 14 i missed today but at northallerton and i KNOW i saw it on the course walk so dont quite know how i happened - think woodland with various paths going through it - you get the picture.

made all the more worse because I would have won had i not missed the fence, we were dressage leaders and clear showjumping. gutted!!!

I pray to god i never make that mistake again.
 
diggerbez said:
glad its not just me :D;) still kicking myself now :mad:
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Diggerbez, if it's any consolation, I went to friends last night and one of them had been to watch yesterday and they watched someone else miss the fence out just before the water, I am beginning to think it was camouflaged ;)

DHB, I know, complete pilot error, I am a numpty, I am now going to practise your suggestion I think and take pics ;)

Kerilli, good point about the programme, I have to say, I tend to shove it in the wagon or my pocket and not refer back to it :o
 
This was noted an Saturday and on Sunday SL actually had a string put in place to direct people towards the pallisade........some competitors still ran around the string and got the big E for missing 14, what can you do????

Strangely one multiple rider jumped 14 on first ride, missed out on the second (!!!???) and jumped on the third....weird!
 
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