tigers_eye
Well-Known Member
I'm afraid I only popped along for a short while today in my lunch break, but thought I'd better as such illustrious breeding HHOers had urged me to!
When I got there the stallions were coming into the outdoor one by one to warm up over a fence, then when they felt ready pop round a course. If the riders wished they could ask for an upright and oxer to be raised after they had completed their round and pop them.
As they came in the commentator (didn't find out who he was, but he's judged at some style and performance classes this year and really knew his stuff) announced their breeding, any competition experience, and their marks from the morning's conformation judging. These marks had been split for the different parts of the body, and he ran through them quickly as each horse came in. I didn't hear any mark lower than 5, or higher than 9 (think I only heard one 9).
The ones I watched were 4 year olds, and they went rounda course of about 85cm - 90cm. I was a little surprised as the gradings I attended in Belgium asked horses to jump a similar height course in the March of the year they were 3. They raised it as I was leaving for the 5 year olds, and said it would be 110, with two fences at 125, but it didn't look that big to me.
The biggest difference for me from the gradings I saw in Belgium (only a couple, and that's all I have to go on), was the quality of horses and riders. The 4 year olds certainly weren't over-produced, some of the flatwork was quite poor. There was only one stallion I would truly consider as having "stallion potential", and I didn't see him perform, just warming up for the 5 year olds.
As I was leaving they announced that they would have the final marks and a presentation for those accepted at 3.30, and considering I left at 2.45 and the 2 or 3 5 year olds were still to go I thought that was quite efficient! I thnk only about 10 horses were forwards.
Any questions just ask, I'll see if I can answer them!
When I got there the stallions were coming into the outdoor one by one to warm up over a fence, then when they felt ready pop round a course. If the riders wished they could ask for an upright and oxer to be raised after they had completed their round and pop them.
As they came in the commentator (didn't find out who he was, but he's judged at some style and performance classes this year and really knew his stuff) announced their breeding, any competition experience, and their marks from the morning's conformation judging. These marks had been split for the different parts of the body, and he ran through them quickly as each horse came in. I didn't hear any mark lower than 5, or higher than 9 (think I only heard one 9).
The ones I watched were 4 year olds, and they went rounda course of about 85cm - 90cm. I was a little surprised as the gradings I attended in Belgium asked horses to jump a similar height course in the March of the year they were 3. They raised it as I was leaving for the 5 year olds, and said it would be 110, with two fences at 125, but it didn't look that big to me.
The biggest difference for me from the gradings I saw in Belgium (only a couple, and that's all I have to go on), was the quality of horses and riders. The 4 year olds certainly weren't over-produced, some of the flatwork was quite poor. There was only one stallion I would truly consider as having "stallion potential", and I didn't see him perform, just warming up for the 5 year olds.
As I was leaving they announced that they would have the final marks and a presentation for those accepted at 3.30, and considering I left at 2.45 and the 2 or 3 5 year olds were still to go I thought that was quite efficient! I thnk only about 10 horses were forwards.
Any questions just ask, I'll see if I can answer them!