Large horses jumping 'small' courses

Trophy-hogging applies to kids on little ponies as well!! Never forget one novice unaffiliated competition where the 1st, 2nd and 3rd slots went to an under 12 with 3 ponies - the bling saddlecloths with owner's name was a bit of a giveaway
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I have a 16.3hh and compete happily with all the kids at 2'6-2'9" - I am in my mid fifties but still love competing - as does my horse. I'm not competent enough to jump big tracks so why shouldn't I continue to have fun? I don't care if I get laughed at!! As many people have said - it's very hard to get placed on a big horse
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Maybe the way to stop the "pot hunting"in this case (large horses small courses) Is for the show centres to get their a*ses in gear and LOOK at the results and think "ok so and so has won this class 3 times, they can no longer COMPETE in this class but can choose to go in HC if they wish"



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ahh but that works very against those of us with vertically challenged equines who cant physically jump any higher but are quite good at their job after years of practice.
 
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Big horses and small courses.....far less chance of being in the ribbons anyway as the smaller horses/ponies cream them on speed
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You'd be surprised how fast a big horse can move when it decides it *doesn't* want to jump something & goes sideways or in M's case, backwards
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I think a large horse especially a youngster is more likely to find any sj course more difficult if it is indoors unles the arena is international size.

Small horses will find the tight turns and distances from the walls a lot easier.

Large horses often struggle to lengthen and shorten as they naturally have bigger stirdes. So if I as pot hunting I would prefer to be on a smaller horse any day!
 
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ahh but that works very against those of us with vertically challenged equines who cant physically jump any higher but are quite good at their job after years of practice.

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True, hmmmmmmm difficult. See my local EC does shows at
Very novice 12"-2'
Novice 18" - 2'9"
Open 2'6" - 3'3"

They have a rule for the first class of each (except v novice obv) that if you have won more than twice you cannot compete at that level. Not that they enforce this rule very often
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I have a 16.3hh ex-BSJA showjumper, who can jump 1m25, but I put the jumps up to about 2ft3, then think god that's huge, so put it down to about 1ft6! Much more my height! Even tho she does fall over them, but last time I jumped big I came off and was knocked unconcious and went slighly mental for few days!!

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I have been loaned an eventer with 150 points who has jumped at advanced level and until we are confident together i wont jump him over 85 cms and he is a big 16'3 but re falling over them -
if they are too low i think he doesnt know if to jump them or step over them so i think if you struggle at 1ft 6 i would put them up to 2' 6 and hopefully you will find a big difference as it will be more comfortable for her.

Sharonxx
 
If and when I take my 16hh horse to a jumping rally (having taken out life insurance, got the parachute and other exit options covered)

I'll be taking him to bottom hole/ minimus
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They can sneer all they like, i'm not confident, he's not confident and we both will be taking it from the VERY bottom!! grin:
 
You can bet your bottom dollar that if there are big horses and small ponies in the same class then come the jump off who'll do best. You just can't get anything 16hh+ to turn on a sixpence like the littlies!!

Our 16.1 will be doing small classes to gain experience but we certainly won't expect to win anything if there are ponies around.
 
80 cm is SMALL?
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My huge beast at 16.3HH and built like a tank has to suffer the embarassment of his 32 year old mother taking him to the kids classes at 50cm.
And i don't care...........we get our asses kicked by kids on leadropes!!
 
Well what would you make of this?

I hadn't done a show in several years, I was jumping a horse I knew well and had re- learned the ropes on over a course of several months. At home we had been jumping 3 foot or so.

Both I (in a past life) and the horse had won the class in previous years. However I entered the 2'6 clear round.
I would have won the class which was exactly the same as the clear round (it was a time and penalties thing) but I was SO scared that I didn't even dare compete. Instead I stood at the ringside and cheered for all the littlies I was losing to!

We have a different problem round here. The second class is always full of powerful hunters and their novice riders, who have never jumped before and are too proud to hop the clear round track first. We then get an entire programmes worth of "thrills and spills"!

I don't think they have twigged that their audience would be smaller and their falls would be less noticed if they went in the beginning of the morning to a course they could manage, not mid morning when the crowds have arrived to something they think they should be able to jump just cause other people can!
 
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I have thought this before - once I went to groom for a friend on one of her early outings with her new £15k SJer...we got there, I went to enter her and she said "2ft"...I was gobsmacked, checked I had heard right and did as I was told...

...I was sooo embarrassed. It was her and a load of tiny kids! Can't remember if she got placed, she may have done.

Having said that, it could be the venues you choose - I have gone and entered teeny tiny classes on my 16hh, but each time have turned up and noted thankfully that there were LOADS of adults on biggies in the class. Maybe cos I went to low key places? The one my friend went to was a place that does a lot of BSJA, though think this was an unaffil day.
 
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