What height do young showjumpers compete at

snooples

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Sorry I dont know anything about showjumping but just wondering what height the 4 or 5 year olds are generally expected to comepte at. This is for horses destined for the top.

I know in eventing 4 year olds compete at 90 and 5 year olds 1m so I expect they are schooling 10 to 15cm higher at home.

Its just Iv come across a fb page which seems to be selling young showjumpers destined for grand prix and in the photos they are jumping huge jumps, they are nearly at the top of the fillers so it must be about 1.50 I guess and this is with a rider and I just thought that seems a bit ridiculous for a young horse!
 

DabDab

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Well they won't be jumping those heights regularly at that age - those photos are just marketing really. Having good 5 year olds out jumping newcomers (1.10) and foxhunter (1.20) isn't unusual, but it really depends on the individual horse. The best 5 year olds would be in the newcomers second rounds at the end of their 5th year, which I think is still around 1.25.
 

horse.love92

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I wouldn't want to jump a 4/5 year old over 90cm on a regularly basis , I jump my 5 year old over 90cm courses but I don't feel any higher would be fair on him as they aren't fully developed at that age . Occasionally we will jump the odd 1m single fence at home but that is it .
 

ellie_e

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Depends on horse, breeding, and what it's job is.
Like dabdab said, 5yr old second rounds are big, and a lot of older horses wouldn't be out jumping 1.20, however if you have a young, well bred horse that you plan on taking to top level, the age classes are ideal.
If you want an all rounder for riding club stuff then no I wouldn't be jumping the age classes and sticking to 90-1m.
Every horse is different, and not pushing a nice horse too early is also difficult and seen alot, I have a well bred sj'r who was pushed to hard as a 4-5yr old and have spent 2yrs gaining his confidence.
 

snooples

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Ya these horses are aimed for the top and im sure priced accordingly too! One of the 4 year olds appears to be out competing at 1.10m
Your right about the marketing photos Dabdab but at the same time they must be jumping close enough to that height regularely enough to be able to jump it for a picture, its a big square oxer too so not the easiest jump.

I dont know anything about showjumping but it just seems a bit much for me but I guess to some people it looks great!
 

ElleJS

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I jumped my 4yo at age classes champs which started at 1m05 and in the final she had to jump a full up 1m10-1m 15 course. The 5yo started at 1m20 amd finished at 1m30 and the 6yo class had fences at 1m47.
Most wouldn't jump that height on a regular basis. Mine had never done above 1m05 and wouldn't do it to often! Age classes are really only for the pros and used as a platform to buy/sell their 'product'. I noticed I was really the only one horse rider amateur at the show everyone else was a top name SJ-er. Plus the horses are far more green than you would think, they are just expertly ridden. ;)
 

blood_magik

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my 7yo is potentially a gp horse - he'd been out doing age classes before I bought him.
he was 6 when i got him so he'd probably have been doing 1.30 courses if he did age classes as a 5 year old.
That said, he wasn't produced particularly well so he's 12-18 months behind where he could have been if we hadn't started again from scratch.

There's plenty of time to go out and jump big courses - although B's capable of jumping the height, he's still making the odd silly mistake because he's young and inexperienced.

The last thing I would want is to push too far, too soon - my old boy had his confidence ruined by doing that and it's just not worth it, imo. I spent years trying to repair the damage and he never really came right.

The 6yo class at my yard a few weeks ago was 1.35 in the first round.
 

DabDab

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Ya these horses are aimed for the top and im sure priced accordingly too! One of the 4 year olds appears to be out competing at 1.10m
Your right about the marketing photos Dabdab but at the same time they must be jumping close enough to that height regularely enough to be able to jump it for a picture, its a big square oxer too so not the easiest jump.

I dont know anything about showjumping but it just seems a bit much for me but I guess to some people it looks great!

No, I wouldn't think so - it's probably never jumped that height before in its life. There was probably only one fence and they just kept putting it up and kept taking photos until they got to the top of the wings or the horse was getting tired or nervous. You do have to be a bit careful buying show jumpers because it is very easy to over face them in an effort to show off their talent.
 
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