Novice buying a horse with BE points?

[Lottie9]

I have been around horses forever but have never had the opportunity to compete or train properly. Now it looks like that may be about to change and I am looking for a horse at the moment. I'm really keen to get a horse that is ready to go and enjoy without spending the next few years working through issues.
The idea of a seasoned eventer definitely appeals to me but I'm concerned that getting something with points would restrict me from entering lower level stuff to help build my confidence.

I was thinking of doing a few unaff ODEs, RC rallies and team stuff with the hope of doing a BE80 next year and then be confident at BE90s the year after and work towards qualification for some of the bigger grassroots type stuff.

Would I be restricting myself by buying a horse that's already proven to be capable of everything I want to do?

Thanks

 

[chestnut cob]

When you say novice, how novice are you? My main concern would be that being a seasoned eventer, it might be quite sharp which won't be great if you are very novice and nervous. It also depends on what you mean by seasoned eventer. How much riding have you done, what are your capabilities?

 

[be positive]

It will restrict you slightly but if it is the right horse does that matter, you will have to go HC at BE 80 which is a little frustrating but you can probably find enough unaff at that level which you can compete in properly for it to be of little consequence. If he has not won a point for a while you can downgrade, there has to be 2 full years before you can, unless that changes, until he is downgraded you will only be able to do open classes at BE 90 or 100, once he has downgraded you can do normal classes and compete on equal terms.

We bought a horse with points for a novice teenager as a schoolmaster, she was limited to going HC very rarely in the two seasons we waited to downgrade, she learnt so much it didn't matter and at unaff level I don't think she ever had to go HC as the rules were combination not to have won xy or z, open 90's were much the same as any other class and sometimes actually less competitive.

Once downgraded you are not eligible for Badminton grassroots qualification and you will need someone else to tell you about RC teams eligibility but you will have so much fun with a genuine well established horse does it matter if you miss out on the odd thing you will benefit in so many other ways.

BE points will not effect any other disciplines so you can do baby show jumping or prelim dressage on level terms usually as well as hunter trials, you just need to check the rules for each competition as you look at the schedules.

 

[Lottie9]

Well I'm not so much a novice rider but as I say, I've not really done a lot of XC before and it would be my first horse after quite a few years sharing and exercising others.

I think you've hit the nail on the head be positive, the benefits seem to outweigh the negatives, although as far as I can tell from the RC handbook I wouldn't be eligible for eventing teams.

I hadn't thought of HC, that's a great idea for BE80ing.

 

[Laroxes]

A horse with experience up to BE100 might be a good choice and you wouldn't have to compete HC, they can still be experienced up to that level but not have the ability to progress. Not that I'm selling but my horse could compete all day long at BE80 and BE90 with consistent results and you pretty much just point and enjoy the ride! He doesn't have the ability to go higher but is still valuable to the right rider.

 

[be positive]

Well I'm not so much a novice rider but as I say, I've not really done a lot of XC before and it would be my first horse after quite a few years sharing and exercising others.

I think you've hit the nail on the head be positive, the benefits seem to outweigh the negatives, although as far as I can tell from the RC handbook I wouldn't be eligible for eventing teams.

I hadn't thought of HC, that's a great idea for BE80ing.

The other thing is that for a horse used to going round novice courses dropping back a few levels, as long as he has the right attitude, is that it finds everything so easy the slower time means you are never rushing, the horse can cruise within it's comfort zone so you learn to make minor adjustments without having to rush to gain the lost time, ours found 90 so easy even when he had a run out he made the time without ever looking hurried he cruised and gave the rider time to think, something that can really help bring you on xc but it does need to be the right horse, ours was a little perplexed at 80, he appeared slightly insulted, but very quickly adapted and only ever jumped as high as required.

 

[oldie48]

Just a small cautionary note. Be careful who you buy from, a good professional will get a donkey round a novice track but it might not be a schoolmaster. something that has been competed up the levels by an amateur and has been doing well, is sometimes a better bet than something being produced to sell.

 

[EventingMum]

Good advice has been offered. Just one thought if you're not familiar with BE points, hope this doesn't sound patronising, foundation points (FP) won't restrict you only points won at novice and above so an experienced BE100 horse or a PC/RC eventer with good experience would be ideal. The PC website would be a good place to look.

 

[Lottie9]

Hi, thank you very much for the advice, I did try the horse in question and it wasn't right on other aspects so was an easy decision at least.