What’s the worse course you’ve seen?

[dixie]

For me it was today. I duly turned up to our local venue hoping to do my first sj show with my new horse. I go here a lot for clinics and general hire and it’s a a nice arena.
I got out the car, walked the course, got back in the car and drove home.😬
The first fence was a double ! The second fence a double, the third was a bounce followed by one stride to a spread - you get the idea.
Luckily I was only 10mins away so didn’t waste too much time. I’ve never seen anything like this and I’ve been jumping several years now. I guess this is why I stick with BS but it’s so disappointing to come across course building like this.

 

[millikins]

Not at your level but local riding club a few years ago put a filler with huge cat's eyes as the first jump in the 70 cms which caused carnage

 

[ihatework]

That sounds awful Dixie and is indeed one benefit of affiliated.

 

[dixie]

This was a local riding school as well and only 70cm so net encouraging at all. I can well see the cats eyes being scarey😱

 

[millikins]

This was a local riding school as well and only 70cm so net encouraging at all. I can well see the cats eyes being scarey😱

I misunderstood, thought you meant it was a BS course. There's more problems with inexperienced course builders

 

[Snowfilly]

Eek, never seen anything like that luckily! I'm actually struggling to think of any real bad courses that I've seen, and I've never jumped affiliated!

On a personal note, I did once see a track with a wall, a water tray and a really hideous brightly coloured plank fence. I had issues wih all three and was expecting trouble; promptly got eliminated at a rustic Oxer at fence one so they never got their chance!

We had course building lessons at PC camp and sometimes at rallies...is that still a thing?

 

[Chippers1]

The worst was probably not the course itself, but the warm up was in the huge indoor and the course in a tiny outdoor. It was very tight! It was working hunter as well so trying to then fit a show piece around the jumping course took a bit of planning 😅

 

[JFTDWS]

I've never seen a 70cm with a double as the first fence, and I've never seen any unaff sj course with a bounce in it

 

[blood_magik]

A bounce? 😳

A double as the first is a bit mean but allowed BS. We had a distance followed by another distance to the third the other week - it certainly made you think about your canter coming in.

 

[Pie's mum]

I’ve seen a few truely awful ones, the worst being an 80cm cricklands qualifier where there was a cross pole where you had to land then do a handbreak turn to a triple bar, land from the triple bar and within 2 strides turn 90 degrees to get to a stile. Also there was a double which walked 6.5 strides. I didn’t even get my horse off the lorry! It may have been doable on a Pony in the 1ft6 leadrein class but there was no way I was prepared to try it on a horse!

 

[DabDab]

I've never seen a 70cm with a double as the first fence, and I've never seen any unaff sj course with a bounce in it

They aren't permitted for affiliated except in the higher level stuff. I've never come across a bounce in either affiliated or unaffiliated.

That course sounds horrific OP - did you mention it to the organisers?

 

[dixie]

No I chickened out as I hire the place regularly and didn’t want to fall out with them. I will say something if they ask why I disappeared tho.
Pies Mum your course sounds horrific too 🙀

 

[Fiona]

It sounds awful and I wouldn't have jumped either 😣😣

Fiona

 

[Littlebear]

I went to one to get my old horse out to do her first course and they had put around 6 bales of straw down in a square with wood on top and wanted to you to jump it like a bank so jump on and then off! This was a for a novice unaffiliated class I was like wtf!
I have jumped bs and be and never seen anything so random in my life!
I have seen bounce fences at unaffiliated a few times though.

 

[SpringArising]

I went to one to get my old horse out to do her first course and they had put around 6 bales of straw down in a square with wood on top and wanted to you to jump it like a bank so jump on and then off! This was a for a novice unaffiliated class I was like wtf!
I have jumped bs and be and never seen anything so random in my life!
I have seen bounce fences at unaffiliated a few times though.

That's hilarious - what the heck were they thinking with that?

 

[DabDab]

You had to jump onto the hay bales??!! Well that's just asking for an accident

 

[Littlebear]

You had to jump onto the hay bales??!! Well that's just asking for an accident

Yep onto a wooden square that was placed on top of the bales (not fixed so very wobbly aswell!)

 

[Snowfilly]

Yep onto a wooden square that was placed on top of the bales (not fixed so very wobbly aswell!)

WHAAAAT?!

That's bonkers in every possible way.

 

[DabDab]

Yep onto a wooden square that was placed on top of the bales (not fixed so very wobbly aswell!)

did anyone actually do it??!

 

[JFTDWS]

did anyone actually do it??!

I probably would. I've done worse... But I'm an idiot

 

[little_critter]

I thought the scarecrows decorating a 2'3" unaff xc course were rather mean