Pot hunters and showjumping

[Dubsie]

Nooooo You HAVE to have the adults on their big poncy showjumpers in with the kids - just so the likes of my 13yo daughter and her 14h pony can take delight in nipping between a couple of fences and jumping the next jump on the angle to cut a huge corner and loads of time off.

Then she can then enjoy watch the big prancy showjumpers almost crash into the wall and overshoot as they attempt to follow suit! She was DELIGHTED when an old chap came and congratulated her on doing this at a recent show as he'd seen the whole of the previous (lower height class) and half her class 'miss' the obvious short cut. And no I didn't tell her to take this route, I barely ride let alone jump, she saw the line and and executed it herself.

(and she will generally only jump 2ft9+ classes as she prefers to be challenged)

 

[lcharles]

I occasionally go with a friend showjumping. She does the 65cm and 75cm classes. But it's separated into horse and pony placings so the kids are generally on the ponies and still get their win/placing. My friend is an adult but her pony is only 14hh. So she enters as a horse so that she competes fairly against other adults - maybe that's a solution for other unaffiliated comps.

Havent read all the replies but this is cheating and potentially pothunting. Horse and ponies are split because ponies can whip around the wings easier, whereas horses cover the ground easier. We had a young lad on a 14hh pony which he'd entered as a horse, in the line up he looked ridiculous stood with the horses. A couple of people complained and the placings were corrected but we heard the lad saying 'I told you dad' so his parents clearly knew what they were doing.

I wont ever go back from affiliated now.

 

[rhino]

Havent read all the replies but this is cheating and potentially pothunting. Horse and ponies are split because ponies can whip around the wings easier, whereas horses cover the ground easier.

I wont ever go back from affiliated now.

Except you can compete as an adult on a pony in 'horse' classes in BS perfectly legally

 

[Littlelegs]

Afaik nobody ever complained about me doing senior bs on a 14.2. Although when I've gone hc unaffiliated I have had comments about pot hunting before people realise I'm hc.

 

[debsg]

I used to do a lot of affiliated jumping, many many moons ago These days, my cob mare and I do local shows for a bit of fun. She will buzz round the 85 - 90 cm classes and nearly always does a double clear. We rarely get placed though, because turning her in a jump off is a bit like turning an articulated lorry in a small car park
They always put the horses and ponies in together anyway. The ponies nip round in 15 seconds and I refuse to haul her around to get a bit of ribbon stuck to a cardboard circle!
So we just have a fun day out, I chatter to loads of new people, admire everyone's precious horse and refuse point blank to get caught up in the bitching. (oooops my halo is slipping )
There will always be pot hunters, snobs, bitches and spoilt brats at shows of all levels. Just take a deep breath, smile and enjoy your class with your horse.

 

[windand rain]

I took my showjumper to a show last month, it was an unaffiliated (David Broome Qualifiers I think) and I jumped the 90cm and the 1m. We were 2nd in the 90cm and 5th in the 1m. I compete him BSJA starting at Newcomers (1.10m) and also Foxhunter (1.20m). So at this show yes I was probably classed as a pot hunter but it was his first show of the season after a holiday over the winter and he hadn't competed since October last year so I wasn't expecting anything spectacular to be honest! Just a nice pop round and get him back in the swing of things, I never race round in a jump off but just used it as more of a schooling round with a few tighter turns where we could. Just happened to get placed! Whoops! but I certainly wouldn't make it a regular thing and probably won't do any more unaffiliateds this year now he is back out doing affiliated. But just thought I would say on this occasion am I excused?

yes because you were jumping the big classes but not if you had jumped the 50 and 65cm classes Most unaffiliated classes round here only go to 1m so that would be fine in my view it is the men and the hunt all day ladies that annoy me going round the baby classes just to take the prizes

 

[merlinsquest]

Havent read all the replies but this is cheating and potentially pothunting. Horse and ponies are split because ponies can whip around the wings easier, whereas horses cover the ground easier. We had a young lad on a 14hh pony which he'd entered as a horse, in the line up he looked ridiculous stood with the horses. A couple of people complained and the placings were corrected but we heard the lad saying 'I told you dad' so his parents clearly knew what they were doing.

I wont ever go back from affiliated now.

I ride a 14.2 & jump senior BS which is within the rules, if I were to go unafil it would be as schooling or after a long gap between shows & I would jump as a horse & would not consider it to be cheating at all when I compete against horses all the time, definately not pot hunting. I certainly don't "whip round the wings" but ride balanced turns & proper lines, some of us can actually ride quite well despite having ponies & looking "ridiculous" in the line up.

 

[Suzie G]

In a local unaffiliated sj comp my daughter went to, (run by the pony club) the programme stated that people who were registered bsja were expected to jump at the same level as they would at bsja shows.

So my daughter on her recently bought 13 2 pony entered the 75 and 85 as she usually just does the 70 and 80 opens at bsja comps. The pony is registered jc in bsja but my daughter is only 10 and never done bsja before buying this pony. She came 5th in both classes.

The girl who won the 65cm( and highly placed in 75 and 85 ) is 18 and on a 14 3 horse. Not bsja registered but goes out hunting twice a week and horse will jump 5 bar gates.

Ive never had anything to do with hunting so is there a difference between jumping a big gate out hunting and a fence show jumping or was she just pot hunting??

 

[mcnaughty]

In my experience the reason why they split the horses and ponies is because the little kids wipe the floor with the adults!

Sorry OP, sound a little like sour grapes ;-)

 

[windand rain]

In my experience the reason why they split the horses and ponies is because the little kids wipe the floor with the adults!

Sorry OP, sound a little like sour grapes ;-)

How could it be sour grapes when I have repeatedly said neither I not my pony were involved in the little class I was a spectator waiting for a later class If they want to race round the 65 cm class do the clear round it is open to all and is non competitive

 

[Holly Hocks]

Havent read all the replies but this is cheating and potentially pothunting. Horse and ponies are split because ponies can whip around the wings easier, whereas horses cover the ground easier. We had a young lad on a 14hh pony which he'd entered as a horse, in the line up he looked ridiculous stood with the horses. A couple of people complained and the placings were corrected but we heard the lad saying 'I told you dad' so his parents clearly knew what they were doing.

I wont ever go back from affiliated now.

Er, no it isn't. The reason she does it is because she will wipe the floor with any other pony. She has a speed merchant pony. It would beat any child on any other pony there. However against the horses she doesn't always win - yes she has the speed to execute the turns, but the pony isn't as long striding as the horses so it's swings and roundabouts. She doesn't want to stand in a line up beating a 10 year old child, but is happy, and I agree with her, to stand in a line up against other adults.
She did BS on a ticket a couple of years ago and had to compete as a horse - she wasn't allowed to compete as a pony, and that's exactly what she does at her unaffiliated.
She has jumped higher but due to having a blood disorder which means that if she has a fall it could potentially leave her seriously ill, she now chooses to stay at the lower heights where there is less chance of her having a fall - and I for one don't think she should jeopardise her health for the sake of jumping a few cm higher.