why have pony workers classes got so high?

fayeg1

fayeg1

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Idk what it's like everywhere else, but I know that in NI, pony working hunter classes have got incredibly big.
I have a 4yo 14hh and am wanting to do the 143 class at Balmoral Show this year. Last year when I went to watch, it was 90cm and it was big enough. However, this year they've put the height up and the 14hhs have to jump 1m. Is this not a bit steep? Bearing in mind that the smallest in the class will be just over 133cm and asking them to jump that height?
Also now the 133 class is 90cm and 153 1.10m?
You now need a showjumper that also happens to look incredibly good to have any hope of doing well at workers classes.
Anyone else think this is too much for ponies?
 
Don't know if I'm being harsh- but this is for county level and qualifiers, yes? So 1m isn't unreasonable at all, and is totally within the range of most ponies- for eventing, they ping round 1.10m+ tracks, and those classes are never short on entries! At unaff. stuff, no doubt it will be smaller.
 
AFIK has been 1m for 143cms ponies and 1m05 for 153cms ponies for a good many years at county level / qualifiers - although some places don't build up to height - but then if you qualify from one of those shows for Champs or RIHS or HOYS you get a very nasty shock when you find that these are 10cms bigger!!
 
When I was doing county level WHP (which was a couple of decade ago :eek:), it was pretty big, my 13.2 jumping pony was jumping 14hh workers that were on a par with BSJA 13.2hh, or pony open tracks.
I did more recently do a novice 15hhWHP at a BSPS show on a pony I was selling, and I did think the track was big enough, but maybe I am just getting old!
 
I think at County level this is not unreasonable, unafiliated would be smaller. I have a 14.2, we have started senior BS classes & my coach says we should be aiming at Newcomers eventually, so 1.10m first round, 1.20m in the jump off, so I think 1m is fine.
 
143cm normally jump 1m, always have done, and balmoral is a pretty big show!

The 153cm jump 1.10m, always have done :) when I was doing pony workers on my 153 it was always 1.10 in the open :)

novice workers are smaller, afaik the novice 143 is 90cm. Maybe better waiting for some of the smaller shows, which hold novice classes - you could do ni champs at Cavan?
 
1m for a 14 hand is nothing really, horses can step over anything up to the height of their elbow from a stand still, and the majority of ponies i know will not even bother to concentrate properly on jumping anything under 1m
 
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