Showjumping Class formats in the UK

BunnyDog

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So I have been meaning to ask this for a while.

How are your classes structured?

Here is the USA we have a couple varieties but when I watch the UK classes on Clip My Horse I find myself confused.

Can someone please explain what I am seeing? How are classes scored? When (if any) does your speed component come in?

Thanks!!!

Em
 

Snowfilly

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Very basically the two main types are one phrase and two phrase. One phase, you go in and jump once, the last third or so of the track is against the clock if you're clear. Faults are all added together, and the fastest time with least faults wins.

Most common is two phrase - everybody jumps one round. The track is then raised a bit, and all clear rounds / all clear rounds and either 4 faults or fastest faults if there's a time limit /jump off against the clock. This is over a shortened track. Winner is fastest clear. Most affiliated jumping at higher levels follows this format.

There's also straight speed classes, which are against the clock from the beginning and faults are converted to seconds and added on.

Then there's odd formats like accumulators but they're not that common.

Our faults are basically - fence down, 4 faults, refusal 4 faults, 2 refusals elimination, fall elimination. No marks for style. Some classes have a time limit and each second over is so many faults - not at my level so vague on this!

Our classes are split by fence height and horses move up by winning points at the lower heights, and it all gets very complicated.

Hope that helps!
 

ester

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I think this is still correct, I did steal it from elsewhere. I think people do get confused about two phase not being A7 where you come out. Two phase you only continue the second half of the course if clear the first half, single phase you can do the second half even if you got faults in the first half.

http://www.britishshowjumping.co.uk/_files/MH2018V8HBSept1.pdf page 127

basic summary:


A4 - Speed class whole of round timed
A6 - Two phase with equal split of JO not against clock
A7 - traditional jump first round come out, jump off over shortened course
Two phase - jump course of 8-10 and get buzzed out if faulted. If not continue over a timed section
Single phase - as two phase, but you don't get buzzed out
 

BunnyDog

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Very basically the two main types are one phrase and two phrase. One phase, you go in and jump once, the last third or so of the track is against the clock if you're clear. Faults are all added together, and the fastest time with least faults wins.

Ok in the USA this is called a "Power and Speed class" or Table 2c. I get this. Thanks for providing the English names.

Most common is two phrase - everybody jumps one round. The track is then raised a bit, and all clear rounds / all clear rounds and either 4 faults or fastest faults if there's a time limit /jump off against the clock. This is over a shortened track. Winner is fastest clear. Most affiliated jumping at higher levels follows this format.

Ok this would be a table 2a class. We have that here but it's not used much as show organizers believe it takes too much time, they do use it for bigger grand prixs etc. So instead we have table 2b, which is that you do your first round. If clear of faults and time, you then do a jump off over a shortened course, but the fences are the same height as first round, obviously.

There's also straight speed classes, which are against the clock from the beginning and faults are converted to seconds and added on.

We have those too. That would be table 2.1 here.

Our faults are basically - fence down, 4 faults, refusal 4 faults, 2 refusals elimination, fall elimination. No marks for style. Some classes have a time limit and each second over is so many faults - not at my level so vague on this!

Our classes are split by fence height and horses move up by winning points at the lower heights, and it all gets very complicated.

We have the same fault system and time faults are 1 point per second over. Across all levels.

I can share this website as a translator for American show jumping class types.

https://heelsdownmag.com/what-are-all-these-show-jumping-classes-jumper-tables-explained/

Thanks so much for everyones input. It really does help explain things.

Em
 

ester

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They do essentially seem to make it more complicated than it needs to be :p

For your 2b equivalent though, I think would be A10?! anyway having jumped them the second half of the fences are definitely bigger/jump off height.
 

Snowfilly

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Oh, interesting that you can do a jump off across a shortened track that's the same size! One of my bugbears is that if you do a bigger class for the first time and go clear, our jump off is bigger again and I turn into a nervous wreck.

Fascinating to see the difference in formats!

Do you have the 'fun' classes like accumulators with a joker fence or puissance in America? A few of our local shows have puissances as attractions at lunchtime and they're always very well attended, not sure if I fancy them though!
 

BunnyDog

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Oh, interesting that you can do a jump off across a shortened track that's the same size! One of my bugbears is that if you do a bigger class for the first time and go clear, our jump off is bigger again and I turn into a nervous wreck.

Fascinating to see the difference in formats!

Do you have the 'fun' classes like accumulators with a joker fence or puissance in America? A few of our local shows have puissances as attractions at lunchtime and they're always very well attended, not sure if I fancy them though!

I am going to go out on a limb and say that your "Accumluator" class is our "Gambler's Choice"

Each fence is assigned a point value and you do as much as you can in 60 seconds. Then you can choose to jump the joker or not. (Add 200 if clear, subtract 200 if not)

And Puissance is a thing but only at a rare few shows. Mainly the indoor shows, I can't recall a recent outdoor show that had a puissance. Of course I could be wrong.

We also have a new type of class which is the optimum time class. Much like eventing, set time for the distance, not necessarily known by the competitors. And you do one straight round, just go clean and the closest to the opt time wins. Show Organizers like this as it takes very little time.

So my next question is this....

The current trend now is for the first class of the division is a Power and speed round/ your 1 phase

Second class is a table 2 b. 2 phase but for us not raised for jump off

And 3rd class is always the bigger money stakes class and usually it's also a table 2b (2 phase without the height raise.) but sometimes it's a table 2 A (Come out and come back for the jump off. )

What's the common order over there????

Em
 

AnShanDan

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Most commonly (in Scotland anyway ;)) local shows (ie not big multi-day) go like this:
Class 1 British Novice (which is often also a 90cm Open for horses with too many points), typically one or two phase, so you only jump once, which makes it quite quick.
Class 2 Discovery (also a 1m Open), as above.
Class 3 Newcomers (also a 1.1m Open), might be Table A7.
Class 4 Foxhunter (1.2m Open), usually Table A7.
Class 5 1.30

There are also often interval classes now ie before British Novice there will be an 85cm, then after it an 95cm, and so on through 105cm and 115cm and these are normally opens. There are specific qualifiers for second rounds as well. Plus all horse and rider combination points go into tables for Bronze, Silver and Gold leagues, which potentially qualify for further rounds.

Shows are either Cat. 1 (lower level, often stop at 1.1m or so) and Cat. 2 (which are for bigger classes).

It is honestly overly complicated, but I think that is deliberate :)

In the UK courses are def. up to height, and fairly technical, even at lower levels, certainly compared to the SJ phase of eventing.

Oh, and shows are moving to pre-entry and drawn orders too, which is newish, so you have to go on your time, which has speeded things up a lot.
 

BunnyDog

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Ok so I realize now that I wasn't so clear, even though I thought I was.

Here, we do 3 classes for a division. A division is a separation of the entries. I am going to share a schedule and explain it as best as possible.

This is a 'typical' 1 day show:

Prize List for show - Click here

Go to page 2 and you can see the schedule. Jumpers are on Sundays for this particular show and we like them as they happen in a heated indoor in the winter. VERY handy.

Page 7 has all the details.

You can see we run one height at a time, but each division consists of 3 classes.

For example: the 1m jumpers have:

Class 431: Table 4 sec 1, Optimum time class
Class 432: Table 2 b, 2 phase, stay in ring, no change in height for jump off
Class 433: Table 2 b, 2 phase, stay in ring, no change in height for jump off


The Low Adults jumpers meanwhile have:

CLASS #441 LOW CHILDREN’S/ADULT JUMPER – TABLE IV SECTION 1 (Optimum time class)
CLASS #442 LOW CHILDREN’S/ADULT JUMPER – TABLE II SECTION 2(b) (2 phase, stay in ring, no change in height for jump off)
CLASS #443 LOW CHILDREN’S/ADULT JUMPER – TABLE II SECTION 2(a) (2 phase, come out of ring and return for jump off, but no change in height for jump off)

But overall we have our horses do 3 rounds in a show.

Now if it's a multi day show, we do 3 rounds over the course of the show per division.

Em
 

JustMe22

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Just to add to the complexity, I'm from South Africa and we have:
2 phase: jump the first part and if clear go immediately onto the second phase. Often the fences are bigger but you can jump the same fence twice (e.g. It could be fence 6 going one way and fence 12 going the other way) so not always.

Competition: jump once, come out, all clears go back in and jump again over a raised couse. There is always a time limit too in the first round.

A2: speed class, fastest clear wins and there's always a time limit so you can be clear for jumping but still get faults.

We always jump two rounds at shows if they are registered shows, and generally it's one competition and one speed. So all 1m riders will have two classes. Obviously you don't have to do both but most people do. You may not jump the same class at two different heights; eg you can't do the 1m A2 and the 1.10m A2 as well


For us, riders get points rather than horses. You need a certain amount of clear rounds at each level (clear over jump off too) for you to qualify to jump the next height but once you've qualified to jump 1.20m for instance, you can jump it on any horse without having to get your points anew.

If it's a big multi day show there will normally be at least 4 classes for any given height but spread over a few days. For these shows there's almost always a composite entry fee so you have to pay for and enter all classes within your height - that is, you can't just enter one class in the 1m for instance, you would have to enter all 4.
 

muddy_grey

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This is really interesting. I like that in the US you can jump multiple classes as each height. In the UK you mostly have only 1 class per height (or 1 per day if a multi day show). Each individual class has it's own separate entry and it is up to you how many you enter (generally 2 per day sometimes 3).
There are a lot of things to qualify for now which is getting really complicated!
Some classes are direct qualifiers (such as bluechip, amateur finals) in which the first 8 qualify
Some you need 4 double clears to qualify for the 2nd round and then the top few from 2nd round qualify for finals (eg british novice, discovery, new comers and fox hunter)
Then for amateurs you can also qualify for the bronze, silver and gold finals. These are done by both a regional league table over the year and you can qualify directly at qualifiers.
Individual show centres may also run their own finals. Hickstead has amateur finals and runs qualifiers at it's 3 shows during the year. The final is then in the main arena
It is a bit of a minefiled!
 

BunnyDog

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And in France it is slightly different again lol!

@Casey76 Tell us (ok probably just me!) How France does it??/

OMG don't get me started on qualifiers. Here our qualifying process is completely weighted to those who have GOBS of horses/money and can run more. It's the top 25 riders by points (1.10m) or money won (1.20m) for the various divisions at Devon, Washington, etc.

This website shows a lot of the qualifying lists: http://www.ryegate.com/nal.php

If you figure it out that the absolute maximum number of points you get for one class win is 30 points, those folks with 6000 points..... I am just dumbfounded. I have a job, a husband and a house. I cannot possibly afford that much time at shows.

Here's the jumper point scheme:

Jumper Points Table.jpg

And the kicker, which I found out this year, is that if it's just you or you and another person in a class, no points for you. There have to be 3 people minimum.

AND..... here's my favorite part. If you're in a class at 1.20 or higher, they don't have a point system. They just assign points equivalent to the amount of money you win in classes with prize money. So there are NO POINTS or anything awarded for a class without prize money. So at my typical shows we have 2 non-stakes classes and then one money class. BUT they need 8 people to have the stakes class run for money. Fun fact, there normally aren't 8 people in my area who are doing the 1.20 level. These shows are not the A circuit and by and large the jumpers over 1.20 stick to the A circuit and don't mess about with the shows near me that do offer the height. So I can compete at these shows (and have) competing over the courses, in front of a judge, with maybe 1 other person. Paid all the same entry fees and have nothing to show for it in terms of qualifications, end of year standings, etc. Though to be fair, the show organizers give me a break on the stakes class entry fee if it didn't run with any prize money.

Em
 

Casey76

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@BunnyDog

In France you have several levels which overlap. You have ‘Poney’ which is for juniors (<18 on ponies upto 150cm), then depending on which license you have you have Club, Amateur and Pro. Pro includes FEI classes.

Poney goes from 60cm to 125cm
Club goes from 65cm to 105cm
Amateur from 95cm to 125cm
Pro from 120cm to 150cm

I don’t know much about the Pro classes, as I don’t know anyone competing at that level, but for Poney, Club and Amateur, they all have three basic formats: “spéciale” which I think is an accumulator - each jump is larger than the previous with a set limit, and a choice of a joker to finish (normally 5 or 10cm higher), each fence has a point value, though theoretically it would be possible to win the class if you knocked each fence down but still cleared the joker.

A “Grand Prix” round, which is usually timed only after the 6th fence and placing safe time based, or there may be a “barrage immédiat” in which there is a jump off immediately after a clear round which is timed, so joy! Two courses to memorise at once.

A “Vitesse” is a speed round.

For Club and Poney penalties are 4 points for a fence down, 3 for a refusal; three refusals = elimination, unless the competition is being run to FEI rules, then 2 refusals = elimination. Fall of rider or horse = elimination.

Every completion and every first quarter placing is a qualifying round for the national competition held in La Motte at the end of the season.

There are also “préparatoire” classes, which are “clear round” and as long as you have a minimum exam and license you can compete from 30 to 150cm - they don’t count for anything, but you get a rosette and a plaque for a clear round.

In Poney and Club, there is no need to accumulate placing before moving to the next class, if you have the exam to qualify you for the level you can go straight in at the top.

And that just about taps out my knowledge of French showjumping, all of which I’ve learned from watching friends children move up the levels!
 

Casey76

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@Casey76 or anyone... can we please expound about the exams to qualify for the level. We don't have that here but it sounds very interesting!!!

Em

So, in France there is what is known as the Galop exams, which - theoretically - test practical skills, theoretical knowledge and riding ability. Kids normally start their Galop 1 during their first year of riding (I did my Galop 1 and 2 as an adult with a bunch of 6 and 7 year olds, they were really nice to me :) )

You need a galop 2 to enter any competition, and then the expected progress is about one level per year.

You can take a generalized exam, or you can specialise in one discipline, e.g. I have my Galop 1-3 généralisée and Galop 4 dressage. This means I can compete up to a certain level in SJ and CCE, but can compete to a higher level in dressage.
 

Snowfilly

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Exams before competing is a fascinating one! I suppose it stops people riding above their level, but I could see people not being able to progress if the exams are expensive and it must give the organisers a huge amount of power over equine sport...not sure I'd like the BHS to do similar.

Does it work ok in practice or are there issues?
 

BunnyDog

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So in my minds eye, not necessarily accurate, I would presume that an independent authority that reports back to the national association for each discipline (BS, BD, BE in your case) would be best suited to be the testing authority. Is that how it works?


It would be a cluster here. overly litigious society coupled with trainers falsely telling the parents how brilliant their children are. Putting adult amateurs in over their heads to keep receiving training fees. I would love if we had it but boy it would hit my compatriots like a ton of bricks between the eyes.

Em
 

Casey76

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It certainly doesn’t cause an issue here as far as I’m aware; but perhaps it’s just because the practice is so well ingrained?

I think it’s useful, the general care/stable management is always good to know etc.

My last examiner charged 63€ for the exam. There is no need to do an extended course, though many riding schools offer a week long “stage” with the exam at the end during school holidays. Certainly it isn’t as nerve wracking or as formal as what the BHS exams appear to be! (From what members have written on here). In fact all of my exams have been very informal, with the examiners being very friendly and open - though maybe I’ve been given some leaway doing it in a second language.
 

Casey76

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So in my minds eye, not necessarily accurate, I would presume that an independent authority that reports back to the national association for each discipline (BS, BD, BE in your case) would be best suited to be the testing authority. Is that how it works?


It would be a cluster here. overly litigious society coupled with trainers falsely telling the parents how brilliant their children are. Putting adult amateurs in over their heads to keep receiving training fees. I would love if we had it but boy it would hit my compatriots like a ton of bricks between the eyes.

Em

In France there is only one overall authority, the FFE, and my exam qualifications are on the site for the whole world to see, including when I passed them. All competitions are centrally databased, all rules and regs are held in the same place. You can search country wide (including DOM) for all competitions which are currently planned, open for entries and completed; and for completed competitions you can see all of the results and placings. You can also search for specific horses or riders to see what their lifetime competition history is. It makes life very easy!
 
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