First ever BD. Is it vastly different from unaff ?

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Notimetoride

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Been doing reasonably well with our unaff (prelim) achieving scores usually mid to high 60's. Now thinking of upping the ante a little and entering a BD class on a ticket. It is at the same venue as the unaff we've been doing, tho it will be outdoors rather than indoors. (We're better indoors tbh). Apart from the indoors/outdoors thing, is there a huge difference in aff and unaff?
 
The only differences at my local venues are the quality of the horses and everyone is a little more clued up in the warm up. They use the same judges for BD and unaff so its not a massive difference score wise there is just more competition.

Does the venue use BD judges for there unaff? If they dont then i would expect your scores to drop by about 4-5% to start with.
 
No they seem to use different judges for aff and unaff. I'm expecting a significant dip in my scores and just hope it doesnt leave me feeling too despondent. Just thought it is worth a bash as by coincidence I'm off work that day so a perfect opportunity to have a go
 
You might be pleasantly surprised.

From my experience if you are competing unaff at an established venue using listed judges then there could be minimal difference. Everyone builds BD up into this 'posh warmblood' scenario whereas the reality at the lower levels is very different.

If you have been competing unaff at small/low key/fun venues then yes you might expect a significant drop in scores
 
No we've been competing at a large established competition centre. However they use different unaff and aff judges. This is why I suspect my marks might slip. I suppose it will give me an idea of how I need to improve before I do another BD comp providing it doesn't leave me feeling disheartened
 
I didn't really notice much difference when I started doing BD on my old cob years ago, other than a small dip in scores (maybe 2%).

I didn't find the warm up intimidating (and I was on a 15.1hh coloured who did not find dressage easy!) but like others have said I did find that the warm up was a bit safer as people in there seemed to understand basic etiquette. Everyone was very friendly and polite and the judges were much better at giving constructive criticism and writing more comments.

I would definitely say go for it!!
 
Well ive just double checked, and found that two of the judges who have judged me are in fact BD listed judges. Thats a bonus ! Perhaps not so scary after all. Im glad to hear the warm up arena will be more polite, as I generally find the warm up arenas to be more like a game of dodgems. I end up having a half hearted warm up and then making a hasty exist ! Maybe it is time to give BD a whirl then
 
I found my scores went up! I think that was because I put more effort in with the schooling before my first affiliated show!

My local venue is a big competition centre who usually use listed judges for the unaffiliated competitions. As a rather sweeping generalisation I think that the judges are a little more lenient at the unaffiliated competitions. At least with affiliated you are competing against a more level playing field as I have seen some-one do prelim and medium tests on the same horse at an unaffiliated competition on the same day.

Some places run unaffiliated competitions alongside their affiliated ones so you end up riding the same test in front of the same judge as the affiliated entries (judge won';t know who is in which section).
 
My scores went up as well! The judging is much more consistent, and I haven't had a single WTF score yet; at unaff we had a few really low scores for tests that were actually fine. I've really enjoyed it so far, the comments etc have been really useful, and I've gone from feeling out of my depth at BD prelim, to entering an elem and not totally panicking about it (march, eek!) in less than six months. It's so much less scary than I thought it'd be!
 
Pigeon said:
My scores went up as well! The judging is much more consistent, and I haven't had a single WTF score yet; at unaff we had a few really low scores for tests that were actually fine. I've really enjoyed it so far, the comments etc have been really useful, and I've gone from feeling out of my depth at BD prelim, to entering an elem and not totally panicking about it (march, eek!) in less than six months. It's so much less scary than I thought it'd be!
Click to expand...

WOW that is absolutely brilliant !!!
 
Thank you all so much. I do feel (marginally) better. Im sure we wont disgrace ourselves and will be a massive bonus if we actually do reasonably well :-)
 
I really enjoy BD and i am pretty terrible and have never ridden more than a prelim! I will go a step further and say that i far prefer BD comps to unaffliated. I was terrified before my first one, but actually i found them much better run, much nicer warm ups and far far more relaxing as a day. And the horse i did it on was new to it too. Ive gone from 'pleased to complete' and 53% (not actually last!) to 'doing ok' and top 3rd of the score board averaging about 65%. Still struggling with a canter going forward not up, but getting there.

Go and have a lovely day. :)
 
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