What age did you start your horse at BE?

Frankie was 8 when he did his first PN, he was broken at 5 and was a bit backwards and had learnt to run out of fences, had he been broken properly at 4 i would have done an intro on him at 5 then PN at 6. Think it depends what sort of attitude the horse has and how quickly they mature. My friend did three intros on her very mature 4 year old then gave her time off. Mine always has 2 months off at the end of the season.
 
Andy did his first event in summer of the year he was 6.. (i'd had him about 10 months and he had done nothing when i got him)
if you have a young horse i think 5/6 is the best age to start depending of course on when they are ready and how they are maturing.. There are 4yo classes but i think they are restricted to 1 or 2 events to qualify, not 100% on that tho..
 
Whenever they are ready. Sarnita started as a 6 year old but I hope my 4 year old will do a few Intro's this year if ready. If I feel it is a push then she will wait until she is 5 to start.
 
The reason I ask is because there is a lady at my yard who events and she's very much like you should start now.. her horse is 9 years old and mine only 4!!! I have no intentions on rushing her and will start as and when I please, and at the moment I dont think she is mature enough....the last thing I want to do is scare her..

AimeeC can you explain what you mean by qualifiers..

Thanks
 
I started mine at 5 rising 6 (so by BE rules he was 6 even though he didn't turn 6 until June of that season). He'd done not a lot until then, but had been well produced by his breeder in terms of attitude. In their 5th year you can do as you please in terms of events, but for one reason and another mine only did about 6 events in his first year and then did did a full season last year.

From my experience of one young horse (so minimal then!) I'd be really inclined to do it this way again - my boy is bold as you like over a fence, totally chilled at an event and can be worked hard with no ill-effects. I am convinced this is due to the way he was allowed to mature up until he was 5 and a half.
 
Mine started as an immature 5yo, but too be honest he could have done more mileage which would have prevented a few teething probs we had last year. I feel we are much better prepared now he is in his 6th year.
 
Mine was 10 but then we did do a lot of BSJA from 8yrs when I bought him. He was a terrible dressage horse from 4 to 6 and hunted and played about from 6 until 8, so he was really mature and ready to go when I started eventing him.

Ideally I wouldn't want to event until about 6yrs because I don't think they are mature enough in mind and body until then - but thats just my opinion and loads of horses start from 4.
 
I did my first BE event with Hector in his 6yo year, and prior to that he'd done a bit of xc schooling, dressage, sj, eventer trials etc. He's a "mousey"character so that suited him, and it was only last season (at 8) he started to really feel like more of a tiger than a mouse!

HumungaHorse (Ross) on the other hand was 4 (going on 14) when he started. He did one PAVO intro, then started in earnest as a 5yo when he did 6 PN, a N and the PAVO Championships. He's the boldest horse I've ever had so I've had to sit on my hands with him a bit; it would be tempting to do too much too soon. Also, with him being so big I've gone steady cross country and only put my foot down twice when the going was good and I was in with a shout.
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In their 4th Year horses can do PAVO classes (intro level) these are classed as qualifiers for THE PAVO BRITISH EVENTING BREEDING CHAMPIONSHIPS at Tweseldown, so you can do 3 intros and the final if you qualify or just 4 intros if you dont. (4 year olds are limited to 4 intros) I believe you have to be in the top 4 to qualify. Assume the rules havent changed for this year?
 
Ours started in his 7th year!! He was a very green 6 year old when we bought him and he spent the first year in and out of work with lameness until we had him body scanned to find out he had pedal bone rotation in all four feet
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He did 3 ode's late last summer and I am now hoping that this year, he will be ready to do a full season, 1/2 doing Intro then 2nd 1/2 doing Pre novice.
We call him 7 going on 5!!! cause he has such a young brain
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Moon was broken in in April of her 5yr old year. She did her first intro that September and then came out at PN at the beginning of her 6 yr old year.

I'm not convinced how great it is to do intros at 4, I'd prob rather wait until 5.
 
I started my greys BE and BSJA off as a 6yo. I probably would do it earlier but I got him as a very green 5yo so he wasnt ready until after a year of smaller stuff. My Welsh Cob did his first BE last year as a 6yo. Again, he's just been very slow to mature (he's still got a way to go!).

I'd probably be happy starting a 5yo at BE, although I think at 4 they might be too babyish IMO as I prefer to have a year of doing smaller / less stressful things!
 
my horse is rising 7 and will start his first "proper" season this year, as we did 2 PN last year and went clear in both, so i am hoping to do about 4 more PN and then move him up to novice. he was broken at 5, had a recurring virus so was off for 6 months which was a huge setback for us, although it gave him time to mature - over christmas he really seemed to grow up and now i would say he is a horse whilst last year he was just a boy! lol but he is a big boy and irish bred, so is typical with slow maturing!

personally, i hate the age classes. fair enough if the horse is mature enough, but as a lot of horses are irish bred/ just slow maturing then they can be pushed too soon and too hard just to push the price up. imo this can often break a horse, and esp. in the hands of inexperienced person - horse can learn bad habits that come from inexperience or being over-faced! lol but that may just be because i am jealous
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Ive got 2 horses who are rising 6 this year and although have been backed for a year i doubt they will really be competitive till next year, but then ive got a rising 4 who i can see doing a couple of intros later this year. All depends on individual horses physical and mental maturity.
 
I've just been given a three year old (who will jump for the first time tomorrow
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) who will hopefully do some intros and PAVO this year.

The selectors encourage riders to take their decent five year olds for a couple of novices at the end of the season.

*Edited to say... she's rising four.
 
well i think song was 6 and that was the 1st thing he had ever done was broken in as a late 5 year old and then i got him in april and did 2 SJ shows and 2 XC schooling sessions and the instructor took him to do and intro in the july as i was away and it was his 1st dressage test and 1st XC course and he came 6th!! it all went a bit down hill from then but did his 1st novice as a 7 year old and finished that season with a novice 2 day then as a 8 yo went intermediate without great success and did a few * taking me abroad then last season had a bit of an odd season at int and novice!

And goggles started eventing at 12 after 8 years of jump racing and before our debut we did a mini ode and a few dressage and jumping comps with little success and next season hes going dressageing and show jumping and then i will reg him for 1/2 a year and hopefully do a PN my the end of the season!!!
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Both ours started at six, Flo at intro because she had missed the whole of her 5yo summer through injury, and S at PN (we didn't have intro then or she may have done a couple as a 5yo).

It was time enough for both of them, as neither were the most mature in the world. S is 10 this year, and TBH only grew into herself as a 8/9yo.

Fiona
 
Flynn started at 9, but did 1 PN then went novice. As first horse, had done loads open unaffilated, and mum wouldn't let us go BE unless we could do big stuff!!!
Titus did first year of PN last year at 7, but he grew last year and has suddenly mature so much this year and in his 3 monts holiday!!! He was very immature physically (only learnt a semi decent canter last winter!!) and mentally!! He will hopefully become poper event horse this year and do novice and end year intermediate.
But Woody whos 4 this year will hopefully do some intros, but he is SOOO mature physically and mentally, even though hes on holiday again at the mo!!! (his pic is in my siggie 3rd from right, this was like the 5th time I cantered him and 2nd time we pop him over some small jumps!!!)
 
Well Hattie did one event in 1 PN in her 5th year and then did approx 12 events last year in her 6th at intro and PN
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She had matured a lot over the winter and felt like a different horse - almost exactly a year before i did my first intro BE event on her i could barely get her round a 2'6'' cross country course!

Fiddler was 7 when he did his first BE events, he would have been ready as a 5 or 6yr old if a pro had taken him, and i was only 12 when i got him so wasnt allowed to go until the year of my 14th birthday anyway
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