Moving from unaffiliated dressage to BD affiliated??

[tobiano1984]

Tell me all about it please! One of my horses has been doing quite well at unaff Intro and Prelim (67-73%), and as he's going to be sold soon someone recommended getting some affiliated comps under his belt. I understand you can compete BD prelim without being registered?
Please tell me how it works!
and how are affiliated comps different? Are there any extra rules re. turnout etc? compulsory plaiting etc.
and can we expect a massive drop in scores? His unaff comps were with BD listed judges.

Any advice would be appreciated.

And also when do you make the move from Prelim to Novice..?

 

[Rosesandhorses]

There are BD Have a Go days where you get a mini lesson and some advice from a judge - I know there aren't loads of these but would be worth looking up which BD Region you fall into and contacting their regional rep. You also tend to get reduced membership rates on these days.

You can compete BD at Prelim level without being affiliated and without a ticket if you enter the Open section of the Prelim. If you want to enter any other class you will need a ticket which you can buy off the BD website.

With regards to turnout have a look through the dress code on the BD website - you will probably find it isn't much different from what you do already. Turnout is generally higher at affiliated comps and the whole atmosphere has a sense of calm to it compare to unaffiliated. With regards to your marks there shouldn't be much difference if you are being judged by BD listed judges.

With regards to moving from Prelim to Novice there are no set rules - when you and your horse feel ready just have a go - you can't really fail at dressage! The biggest difference is that you are expected to have a horse that uses his back end effectively and is generally more 'uphill' than at Prelim. You will also need to have established some work within medium paces. Transitions are generally more accurate (e.g. no between C & M - more at C) I would have a go at Novice unaffiliated first - mainly as it's cheaper.

The advantages of going BD is that you have access to training, you can work towards regionals etc so your results mean a little more and your horse will obviously build up a record. If you are getting the %'s that you say then you should be able to qualify for a regional fairly quickly as you need three tests above 62% (I think) and you can get these whilst you are unregistered at Prelim level.

I hope this helps!

Anyone feel free to correct me if I've missed/got anything wrong!

 

[PaddyMonty]

The advantages of going BD is that you have access to training, you can work towards regionals etc so your results mean a little more and your horse will obviously build up a record. If you are getting the %'s that you say then you should be able to qualify for a regional fairly quickly as you need three tests above 62% (I think) and you can get these whilst you are unregistered at Prelim level.

Anyone feel free to correct me if I've missed/got anything wrong!

3 tests at 62% plus will get you area festival qual, not regionals. Regionals requires 19 points gained in tests of 65% or over.
You do need to register for BD prelim but it is free associate membership that is required for rider and horse. You can register yourself on the BD website but will need to phone up to register horse.
As for % drop. My horse was scoring between 64% and 69% BD. Did compete in an Unaff just after doing regionals and scored 74%, 7% higher than second place in large class and it certainly wasn't our best test by a long way. You could expect around 5-8% drop in scores.

 

[Rosesandhorses]

Thanks for the correction on the qualification - couldn't remember exactly what it was

 

[Walrus]

You can compete in the open section (as opposed to restricted) at prelim if you are an associate member (free to do and easy to sort on the BD website). My understanding is that currently BD cannot register an associate horse to an associate rider (until their computer system is updated) so you don't have to register the horse to do prelim open classes. The people in the membership section of the BD office are really helpful if you phone them - i called them a couple of times to check I was on the right track - the number is on the BD website. You don't collect prelim points (towards regionals) in the open section at prelim but the sheets can count for area festival qualification.

I agree with the poster above about the increased level of calm at affiliated competitions. And expect a drop of about 5% on average compared to unaff.

 

[fusspot]

It's actually now for Prelim Qualification for Regionals 20 points from Qualification Classes at 66% and above-think they are trying to cut the number that Qualify.Do expect about a 5% drop from Unaffiliated.We have a couple of places round here that run Unaffiliated Classes alongside the Affiliated so you are still competing at the same time and under the same judge so get marked like an Affiliated but in an Unaffiliated section.Seems to work well.

 

[kc100]

All of the above good comments - but my question is why are you interested in trying affiliated BD with him if he is being sold soon? Personally as an amateur dressage rider/enthusiast, if I were looking to buy a horse, I would want to see his points record for BD if he had been to affiliated comps - now please someone correct me if I'm wrong as this is not an area I'm totally familiar with - but if he's not registered with BD then he wont have a record? So it renders the BD affiliated comps pointless really?

Fair enough if you are going to register him, compete him with the view to selling him with the points as this adds value - but a few score sheets at affiliated that are not on his record dont do much beyond what an unaff score sheet will give you.

Typically a lot of unaff venues use BD listed judges, so unless your unaff venue are using some pretty questionable judges then I dont think doing some affiliated comps will make any difference - in fact it will just be extra expense for you (entry fees for affiliated are more expensive) and wont add any value to the horse. They say scores drop by around 5% in the move from unaff to affiliated, but if your venue uses BD listed judges then your drop may not be so significant. So getting similar (ish) scores both aff and unaff wouldnt make a vast difference to the potential buyer - they are more interested in whether the horse has points/qualifications for area festivals/regionals etc. And if I'm correct in my thinking, he wont have points for regionals as you are not registering him.

In terms of the move from Prelim to Novice, there isnt a great jump to be honest - providing you can do a few medium strides in trot and canter (lengthening not going faster), and can maintain counter canter then you'll be fine giving it a try. The move from Novice to Elem is far bigger and far harder so prelim to novice really isnt as daunting as it may seem.