CDI*** & National @NNEP

[Ruth]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Just remember that the top riders are riding thier youngsters and are not there to win but to gain show exposure for the horse and to read the comments at the bottom of the tests from the judges.  Don't enter to win, enter to better your horse and you as a rider.  The comments from the judge are a better thing to take home with you then a ribbon that sits and collects dust.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#P#ed_cl#

#ed_op#/P#ed_cl##ed_op#P#ed_cl#Yes, I know that's what they're doing and I don't have a problem with that aspect of it. I don't enter to win, but I do like to be competitive, and as an AA I'm really not competitive in a class with pros. Generally the judge's comments are things my coach and I know already, and are things we are working on. If I was doing this purely from an educational standpoint I'd be far better to spend my $500 going to the Walter Zettl clinic than reading judge's comments about stuff I pretty much already know. So if I had to compete against them at the Toronto show, that's exactly what I'd do.#ed_op#/P#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Morgan1981]

As an Adult Amaature you would not be competing against riders like Evi, Tom Dvorak, or Gina Smith. They would be in the Open division so you don't have to worry about them. If you want to be more competitive I would suggest going down a level from what you are schooling.

[Ruth]

As an Adult Amaature you would not be competing against riders like Evi, Tom Dvorak, or Gina Smith. They would be in the Open division so you don't have to worry about them. If you want to be more competitive I would suggest going down a level from what you are schooling.

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#That's exactly what my original question was. When I saw how the results were posted I was curious as to if the classes were being run how they used to do them before the creation of the AA category. I am competitive with other AA's, we are usually in the top half of the class and scoring in the low to mid 60's at First Level last year. I am not competitive against pros. We do show a level down from what we're schooling, we're schooling 3rd Level and we'll be showing 2nd Level.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Morgan1981]

Oh sorry...yes all the riders compete in the same class with ride times mixed together but for ribbons and prizes it is separated into divisions. Jr/YR, AA, Open. I wish you luck!

[Ruth]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Thanks! We'll need it with the way he was carting me out of the sand ring this morning. Good thing the BO wasn't there to witness us running over the young trees!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Kerri]

Just wanted to add that it's unusal to handle the 3 different divisions
(Open, AA, Jr) by having their riding times all lumped together. Most
shows separate the riding times of the division. In other words, the
Open division is held, then the AA, then the Junior (maybe not in that
order, but you know what I mean - they are held as a 'block'). #ed_op#br#ed_cl#
In Ottawa, they had the riding times for all divisions mixed, so you
would see an Open rider, followed by 2 AA, followed by another Open,
then maybe a Junior......That's not usually the norm for most largish
shows. Don't know why they did it that way. It certainly gives the
appearance that everyone is riding/competing against each other,
although the placings and ribbons were given out to each separate
division. Ruth, I can understand why you thought everyone was competing
together.#ed_op#br#ed_cl#

[Morgan1981]

I think they did that to allow the riders that were riding more then one horse in the class a sufficient warm up time. The classes were very big and I know several riders were riding two or three different horses in each class.

[Judy F]

Not that unusual Kerri, we do it with our shows at Spiritwood. Not that hard to do if you have the show scoring set up to handle it. Blainville does the same.

Shows have several options in handling the divisions (categories really, divisions are EC (training to 4th level), Pony, JR, YP, Advanced & GP):
1. Separate classes for each division at each level.
2. Separate blocks of time for each division within the class.
3. Mix them up.

Riders with more than one horse can be at a disadvantage in schemes 1 & 2 unless you have a really big entry.

[Kerri]

I guess I'm just used to the shows that I go to running the divisions as blocks, especially the larger shows.