SSADL

[SO1]

I have just started doing the SSADL classes and am really enjoying them. I did two last year and one this year. They have a marking system and the ones I did had two judges as they were either direct Olympia qualifiers or round twos. It is great to have the marking system as you can see what areas need to improve and also where you have done well which is good for progress and moral as well especially with when there are large numbers of entries.

My performance section marks and suppleness for age marks so far are consistent but the other section "condition, manners, type, breed and Equine history" have varied from 10 to 28 of out of 30. I know these classes are massively hard to judge with such a variety of types of horses and ponies all looking amazing for their age and this section is likely to be more subjective.

The bit I struggle to understand is the "equine history" does anyone know how this is assessed. Do you get more points for example in this section if your horse or ponies has competed at higher levels. I guess if you have had success at higher level of competition your horse is probably naturally going to be true to type or breed and so it would make sense in for these two to join up for example if your horse or pony has qualified for HOYS or perhaps worked very hard and still remained sound then you would probably a high score in this section?

 

[humblepie]

I don't know the answer but it would be interesting to know. If you do find out from anywhere please share. Having an exracehorse, I always think an ex flat racehorse should get good marks for history as they have often been on the go since very young - mine raced for 7 seasons from two to eight. Were you at Windsor yesterday?

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

The history part is not based on previous successes. Its based on how well your horse still moves after its previous career - you would expect a shetland that has done nothing but bum around in a field to move well where as say a racehorse or seasoned eventer will have had a harder working life so to come out of that sounder is bonus marks.

I don't do ssadl, I cant because of my job which is a shame as I have mostly old ponies/horses now and I am sure Flint would love to go back to his old stomping ground af Olympia!