Need new goals

[Ample Prosecco]

Feeling a bit meh about eventing this year…

Brigante cup was the big target but BE have barred them from using Frickley for the Championship so although they had/have the 10 qualifying events sorted, the series looks unlikely to go ahead.

I am irritated with BE for chucking them under a bus like that with no warning. BE needs to work with unaff venues not punish them. And they are inconsistent anyway as they allow BE events to run places like a eland which run unaff all the time. They have also taken Somerford’s date off them for cancelling last year. So that’s a brilliant local eventI would have done, that is not running despite long term loyalty to BE.

There are other threads debating this and I’m sure BE have their reasons but on a personal level I’m just irritated and annoyed with their attitude. I’ve always felt BE need to work with venues not just throw their weight around and we have seen a number of venues going ‘ok sod BE then’ and withdrawing their events from the calendar. Which is hardly helpful to the future of eventing.

BE don’t have a series to target and
I am reluctant to pay such a lot for standalone events in my current frame of mind! As it feels like I’m paying double for events not remotely as interesting.

I could go for Regional Finals but can’t make the date of the finals.

I could just do the odd standalone unaff event but that’s not inspiring either.

Seriously considering switching to dressage/endurance with the odd bit of show jumping and just schooling when it comes to XC. And hope Brigante Cup comes back in 2024.

Anyone got any more interesting ideas?

 

[Ample Prosecco]

eta Cotswold cup feels just too far away though I’m actually considering it. I can definitely get to Solihull..

The 3DE at Cholmondely looks fun. Though not really sure how that works. So I need to qualify for it? Or is it just a standalone, pay and turn up event.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

I'll also add that I am changing how I ride Lottie on the flat completely and the new way of going is not yet established. Ao I do not believe we can be competitive in terms of placings. Otherwise standalone events might appeal more. I was going for a series that rewards consistent double clears. But this may just be a schooling year instead. The clears with no time feel very achievable already, so next year hopefuly our dressage will allow us to be more competitive.

 

[Roxylola]

I just pick and choose a bit of everything with an overall goal to do a bit better each time rather than chasing a qualification. If that appeals though dressage - area festivals would be a nice one for you.


I think BE are getting a bit of stick unfairly though. The events have chosen to support BE rather than divide entries (and I think chase cash) with unaffiliated as well.
From what I've seen I think Eland are running hunter trials rather than unaffiliated ode, and I get that feel from kelsall too.

Somerford has cancelled last year, abandoned both years before that, and if you look back at course pics they've not run May more than they've run. I think BE are right to take the date, it's not fair to competitors to endlessly cancel. They prioritise their ground which is fine but don't run in the NW on May - kelsall run similar dates and rarely abandon

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Eland are running 2 Unaff ODEs. They are earmarked as BC qualifiers but may just run as standalone ODEs.

Frickley have not chosen to say no to BC -- they have been told thay can't run the Champoinship there if they want to run the International. I think putting in a new barrier this late in the day to sabotage a series that was already in the advanced planning stages is an unacceptable way to behave by BE. They could easily have said 'from 2024...' and then there would have been time to plan round the new restrictions. As it is they have messed around venues, and competitors and pissed a lot of people off. Including me! Not really a good way to conduct yourself. They may not care about upsetting the BC organisers which is fair enough. But it is their own customer base and the venues they want support from caught in the cross fire. It feels very self defeating.

I was not aware that Somerford had a bad record of running. I did it 2 years in a row and was not aware that there were often abandonments. Seems strange as they have no need to prioritise the land as they don't use if for anhything else. Last year was not their fault - they were one of the many post Covid venues with not enough entries to run.

 

[Roxylola]

I do agree that BE could have worked better with good unaffiliated organisations and could have collaborated.



I wasn't referring to Frickley so much as Cholmondely tbh though - last year they didn't have enough BE entries so cancelled the unaffiliated too which I actually think is quite decent of them. Although frustrating.

I agree though - I'd have liked to run some BC events so I'm annoyed it's not running

 

[humblepie]

Riding club championships? No idea what they do eventing but just an idea

 

[oldie48]

Why not just focus on training and set yourself goals with that? I think you have a regular trainer? if so, why not talk to him/her and set some realistic goals based on what Lottie and you need to improve with some measures of how you measure if you've met them. When my daughter was eventing we got too fixated on events and with hindsight I think we'd have done better to focus on her show jumping for a season as this was her weakness.

 

[ycbm]

I was not aware that Somerford had a bad record of running. I did it 2 years in a row and was not aware that there were often abandonments. Seems strange as they have no need to prioritise the land as they don't use if for anhything else. Last year was not their fault - they were one of the many post Covid venues with not enough entries to run.

Somerford also runs amd parks on sand, the only weather conditions that have cancelled it, to my recollection, was wind so strong it was blowing the show jumps over.
.

 

[Bernster]

I tend to be more motivated when I have event based goals to work towards. I then put in training goals to help me get there.

I have pretty low level aims in terms of competing however but there are unaffiliated things like the sunshine tour, trailblazers (which seems to be on the decline), riding club championships, horse events website has a ode champs, or things like eland lodge ode champs?

 

[shortstuff99]

Riding club would be a good one to do as champs have changed slightly for this year. There is now a 70cm class which is a ODE. The 80cm is now a long format 2DE (steeple chase etc) and the 90cm and 100cm are full long format 3DE.

 

[SantaVera]

Do endurance instead

 

[Birker2020]

Feeling a bit meh about eventing this year…

Brigante cup was the big target but BE have barred them from using Frickley for the Championship so although they had/have the 10 qualifying events sorted, the series looks unlikely to go ahead.

I am irritated with BE for chucking them under a bus like that with no warning. BE needs to work with unaff venues not punish them. And they are inconsistent anyway as they allow BE events to run places like a eland which run unaff all the time. They have also taken Somerford’s date off them for cancelling last year. So that’s a brilliant local eventI would have done, that is not running despite long term loyalty to BE.

There are other threads debating this and I’m sure BE have their reasons but on a personal level I’m just irritated and annoyed with their attitude. I’ve always felt BE need to work with venues not just throw their weight around and we have seen a number of venues going ‘ok sod BE then’ and withdrawing their events from the calendar. Which is hardly helpful to the future of eventing.

BE don’t have a series to target and
I am reluctant to pay such a lot for standalone events in my current frame of mind! As it feels like I’m paying double for events not remotely as interesting.

I could go for Regional Finals but can’t make the date of the finals.

I could just do the odd standalone unaff event but that’s not inspiring either.

Seriously considering switching to dressage/endurance with the odd bit of show jumping and just schooling when it comes to XC. And hope Brigante Cup comes back in 2024.

Anyone got any more interesting ideas?

Le Trec is good fun.
And I always wanted to try my hand at jump cross but never got round to it sadly.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Do endurance instead

Does Man V Horse count! We are doing that. I'm getting excited about non eventing goals but XC is my favourite thing - and Lottie is a great XC horse. She is just so bold. So I will find a way abck to that one way or another

 

[J&S]

You really might enjoy Trec. The orienteering needs a bit of brain work but you get some lovely rides. The PTV section would amuse you, you can gallop and jump but also do some tricky obstacles. The control of paces (now called something French!) needs some really serious work on your canter to get the time and the walk pace needs good control buttons. Plenty to work towards!
Endurance is also fun, working out timing, heart rate etc is interesting and each time you can set your own goals.
There's plenty out there to do and you can alwasy fit in the odd ODE for fun and practice.

 

[Accidental Eventer]

I feel you with the lack of motivation, though mine are for different reasons. I can't say I like the sound of BE, though our governing body isn't much better here in Aus!

I thrive with goals, and have found competition helps push me and show where more work needs to be done etc. though since having a baby my goals are different and this year is going to be really different, as I have become a member of two riding club, one dressage and one a bit of everything. And I feel really excited about that, and looking forward to getting involved at a club level and enjoying the social side of riding coz I don't get much being at home on my own riding by myself all the time.

I'm looking forward to going XC training with my new club, because I love XC but I don't have the time or energy to event. I think just follow what excites you and motivates you and if you get back to eventing then great, if not, you'll be doing something else you love and enjoy instead. That's my current path! If it feels right, go for it, if I get a fizz of excitement, enter. If I can't be bothered, then don't coz while it might be worth it, I probably aren't going to ride my best and thats what happened when I fell off!

 

[Red-1]

A bit late for this year perhaps, but I love team chasing. Very informal, huuuuuge fences but a team of mates to cheer each other on. Some take it seriously, some go for a canter round. It even gets photos in H&H!

I enjoyed Trec too. A skill to getting the obstacles perfect, a friendly bunch. 4 hours out on your horse in beautiful countryside, not as frantic as endurance.

I also have thought about working equitation. BH looks like he would fit in, if I can motivate him to be able to do the canter work in collection.

I agree that it is awful to remove the BC from Frickley at short notice. They may have got more people to want to do actual BE by seeing how beautiful it is to compete at a BE venue/organisation.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Lots of great ideas. Thanks.

I am focused on training all year round and take training seriously in all 3 phases but to stay inspired, I need specific challenges to work towards and specific events to target.

Team
Chasing sounds utterly terrifying!! But a few people I know do it. So I might ask them about it.

Trec sounds fun.

Endurance is great but my sharer is riding Man V Horse so that’s her goal mainly.

I’m going to go to some stay away SJ shows which I’m excited by.

Aaand I have heard on the grapevine that BC may have found a solution to the problem….. which would be very cool x

 

[mini_b]

A bit late for this year perhaps, but I love team chasing. Very informal, huuuuuge fences but a team of mates to cheer each other on. Some take it seriously, some go for a canter round. It even gets photos in H&H!

No TC up north (I’ve found!)
We have some hunt hedge hops but these are few and far between

 

[ycbm]

The problem I found with Trec was that I couldn't find any competitions within a reasonable travel distance. That was a while ago, is it getting any better?
.

 

[Bernster]

I like the idea of trec but theres not much round me. Working equitation looks fun too.

 

[cauda equina]

The problem I found with Trec was that I couldn't find any competitions within a reasonable travel distance. That was a while ago, is it getting any better?
.

Same here - it seems to be very much confined to a few areas, none of which are near me
I'd have loved to have a go otherwise

 

[southerncomfort]

Our TREC group covers the whole of Yorkshire, which is a massive county.

Their are lots of training opportunities but very few comps in West Yorkshire. Most seem to be in the north or on the coast, which could quite easily end up a 4 hour round trip for us.

 

[LEC]

BE qualification is better than ever for GR. I would do your two DC and then go to Frickley. Do it for 80 and 90?
Bicton 3 day is lovely and a reasonable dr with a DC sees people going to Badminton. The BRC champs eventing is one of the best weekends of the year and well worth qualifying for. Sadly it clashes with BE RF so need to see what happens and make some decisions.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

BE qualification is better than ever for GR. I would do your two DC and then go to Frickley. Do it for 80 and 90?
Bicton 3 day is lovely and a reasonable dr with a DC sees people going to Badminton. The BRC champs eventing is one of the best weekends of the year and well worth qualifying for. Sadly it clashes with BE RF so need to see what happens and make some decisions.

I would have gone for the Frickley RF route and targeted Double Clears but sadly it clashes with my OH's 50th birthday. Binning him would not go down too well!

I am hearing BC have found a solution and are preparing to announce the series. Fingers crossed......

I will explore BRC - I am actyally a member of Hope Valley RC but have never done anything with them! BE plans wtth Katie took over then I sort of forgot about it. x

 

[Squeak]

I would have gone for the Frickley RF route and targeted Double Clears but sadly it clashes with my OH's 50th birthday. Binning him would not go down too well!

I am hearing BC have found a solution and are preparing to announce the series. Fingers crossed......

I will explore BRC - I am actyally a member of Hope Valley RC but have never done anything with them! BE plans wtth Katie took over then I sort of forgot about it. x

Until last year I'd never done RC before but I'm completely converted and would really recommend it. Although it makes a huge difference if you can find the right club, I'm a member of two and chose to compete for the smaller one as there's more comradery.

There's qualifiers and champs for most things - dr, sj, eventing, combined training, arena eventing, combined challenge (sj + xc) etc. and if you're part of a team then you get a chance to qualify as an individual as well as the team with the one entry. There's a huge range of classes, I think sj + eventing go from 70/ 80 up to 1.10. If you're wanting some structure and champs to aim for the riding clubs could suit you. The clubs around here also do brilliant training with the best coaches in the area and cheaper than it would otherwise be.

Eta - I do think it's very naughty of BE if they've tried to sabotage the BC and they certainly won't be gaining support from that sort of behaviour.

 

[MereChristmas]

There was Trec at Dudgeley, Shropshire I think. I know some of the liveries there do it.

 

[myheartinahoofbeat]

I haven't renewed my membership with BE this year. I've gone a bit cynical this year.
As I understand it regarding Eland, venues can run UA ODE's as long as they are not within 2 weeks of a BE one. I think if it's a PC or RC ODE, that may not apply.
I agree with you though, it has rather disrupted the calendar. rom As yet, nothing from Bede about Shelford running their UA events like they used to which is a shame . Hopefully , they will be a venue for the Brigante Cup? I love Frickley too, but I have to admit I thought The Brigante Championships at Frickley was a bit of a nightmare with the timings. A very long day for some with horses waiting on the lorry for upwards of 4hours between phases. Not ideal!. I will do the qualifiers if i can but not the championships if I get there.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

I can see that BE and many eventers regard unaff comp as a threat and that BE need to protect itself. I just think behaving in a way to cause maximum disruption to venues and clients so late in the day is shooting themselves in the foot. My reaction to them sabotagingh the series (or trying to anyway. I am still hoping the BC finds a solution) is not 'oh I'll do BE this year then'. It is I will do anything except BE this year. And I was going to do both BC and BE events. Refusing to consider BE now may be silly as I want eventing to thrive but is a perfectly rational human emotion. I am thinking sod them then and am certainly not joining again. I might feel differently in a few months but right now all I can see myself doing really is BS, Endurance, Chatsworth AE and some Riding Club stuff. And training.

 

[Cragrat]

The Brigante Cup Final is at Frickley this year,
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The post says arranging all the dates had been tough, and more will be added, but there are a few to be going on with .