A new convert?

[bornfreenowexpensive]

[QUOTE=jody jaffe;7857068]
New blog about dressage scoring which kept me up till way beyond my bedtime trying to crack the code.
http://jodyjaffe.wordpress.com/

Kaybee: I love the comedy of manners idea.[/QUOTE]

Yes…that is a fantastic first test. Of course there is snarkiness in eventing…because we will now tease you and say if you are scoring like THAT you are a DQ at heart too…and need to do a test with cantering next time

But if you keep eventing long enough…there will be the dressage tests that score in the tripple digits…the times your horse jumps out of the ring…the time you leave boots on your horse or ride with a whip in a championship test…the list goes on. But even if eliminated…sometimes they still let you go do the fun part of jumping

If you want real entertainment…look ups some of the older threads on how to get eliminated while eventing. I’ve done most of them I think…but I’m sure my horses or myself will come up with a few new ones.

[jody_jaffe]

I did an event (horse trial? show? what do you call the dang things?) about 20 years ago. I forgot the dressage test in the middle and had to ask the judge what was next. And that was the least of my errors.

They made this announcement: “The ring is now open.” So I quickly walked in on my horse to school over the stadium jumps before the ring was overrun with other horses as it would be in Hunterland. You can imagine what the next announcement over the loudspeaker was.

Then as I was schooling for cross country, I had no idea what those funny little red flags were for and jumped both ways.

[KayBee]

[QUOTE=bornfreenowexpensive;7857165]
If you want real entertainment…look ups some of the older threads on how to get eliminated while eventing. I’ve done most of them I think…but I’m sure my horses or myself will come up with a few new ones.[/QUOTE]

I was thinking we should have a 2015 recap of all our highs and lows. I would be able to contribute stories about being eliminated. Also about needing to protest (and missing the window, which… I did not know about.

@jody jaffe;7857197

I did an event (horse trial? show? what do you call the dang things?)

Horse trial or event, mostly. I think. But hey, I’m relatively new, too, so what do I know…

[lstevenson]

Hi Jody Jaffe, would you be interested in having the post “The Dark Side Visited… and loved” featured as a guest blog post on My Virtual Eventing Coach Or maybe even being a regular blogger for the site? Welcome to the dark side, by the way :winkgrin:

http://www.MyVirtualEventingCoach.com
Facebook page

[jody_jaffe]

Ok, my flame suit is on. Here’s my new blog about the differences between Eventingland and Hunterland.

http://jodyjaffe.wordpress.com/

[bornfreenowexpensive]

[QUOTE=jody jaffe;7860073]
Ok, my flame suit is on. Here’s my new blog about the differences between Eventingland and Hunterland.

http://jodyjaffe.wordpress.com/[/QUOTE]

Honestly. There are some differences and a lot that is the same. But since you are new to eventing I want to respond. First off. The PTB are NOT making it more difficult. There are some proposed changes for lower recognized levels but whether that is actually making it “harder” is very debatable (I find them very minor) and would NOT effect unrecognized levels or the UL where the more high profile issues happen.

Bad riding… Yeah I see it as well but also good riding too. You want to see some scary stuff… Go watch a schooling jumper class. But hunters are all about having a horse look good and I would expect hunters and equitation to have more polished looking rounds as that is how it is judged and scored.

and about horse death. Please. Yes that happens on a rare occasion at the highest levels but it isn’t like this is Horse Racing or Racing over fences where that happens more often. And personally…having been in both worlds. I’ll take those risks and the continued work done to minimize them with my horses over the drugging, lunging to death (or at minimum lameness) and colics caused by withholding water that I saw happen in the show world on a regular basis all to produce a dull and lifeless good forbid they swish thier tail that has become show hunters. (Rather than what I remember from the fwd beautiful courses 20 years ago). Yes. It is more public when it happens in eventing, but I know of many broken down and killed horses from some of the crap done in the show world. Crappy horsemanship is everywhere. And yet still on my 30+ years with both event horses and show horses BOTH are more likely to get hurt in their pastures or in their stalls.

[TB_or_not_TB]

Actually I pretty much agree with your blog, and I’m sure many other eventers would as well (as long as we all take a few deep breaths and don’t try to start a pissing contest). I’m not sure I would categorize the majority of riders as having poor releases, but it is a problem I’ve noticed and frowned upon. I see it particularly at the lower levels when folks have a fear component or a hotter horse. I think this is where the gung-ho/kick-on mentality does the horse a disservice, because grittiness is rewarded and applauded. The sport has worked very hard to start fostering a mentality of “know your limits,” but it’s a balance when the sport requires courage.

No horseman likes the horse deaths or thinks that is OK in any way shape or form. The eventing community as a whole is vocal and active about change. The deaths really occur only at the highest levels, at which only a handful of people compete. If you’ve ever felt embarrassed and horrified by the displays of a few elite people at the top of your government who are ostensibly representing you to the rest of the world, you can understand what it’s like for many eventers. :no: Fair warning though - there’s a nerve here around feeling accused/blamed about this issue especially for those who choose never to compete at the problem levels. They are practically different sports.

Eventing is FAR from perfect. I love it but I won’t pretend it doesn’t have issues. All we can do is make our own decisions in line with our views of horsemanship, strive to improve our riding and knowledge, and as you say, learn from each other. The cool thing about eventing is that I think most people are willing to do that, and that’s something that I haven’t seen as much in other sports.

[maggini]

I’m very happy you enjoyed your first event and found eventers to be friendly and laid back. One of my favorite parts of eventing is making new friends and getting to chat with them at the next event.

As for the horse deaths, I think it’s easy for me to take it too personally when you mention horse deaths in your post because I’ve personally had my horse die on XC. But standing from my perspective, every time I see an upper level (and therefore high profile) horse died from a cardiovascular event, I firmly believe that the rider and the sport had little to do with it. I know our sport does place strong demands on a horse’s heart, but we prepare for it with mindful conditioning and we try very hard to listen to our horses and we back off when they say they’re tired. When my horse died, we were not high profile, so I would be very surprised if anyone remembered my name or my horse’s name in that context. We were running training level as an easy season warm-up and were two fences from home on XC. Up to that point, everything was feeling too easy and we were actually sitting in first place. My horse was older, but full of life, well-conditioned and had just been seen by my general vet for a health cert (who commented on his cardiovascular fitness and resting HR of 24), my lameness vet for a checkup/go-ahead (because he was older and my goal was a 1-star, the last thing I wanted was to cause damage), and my DVM chiropractor. No one told me that he was a ticking time bomb because no one could. So when the weakening in his heart hit a breaking point and his aorta ruptured on course, I was shocked and devastated. If I could trade that last event for 15 some odd years (because I was sure he would live into his 30s) of paying board on a horse that was only useful for eating, I would. Upper level riders may be idols, but they are also human, and I imagine they would feel exactly the same way that I do.

[baxtersmom]

[QUOTE=TB or not TB?;7860522]
AFair warning though - there’s a nerve here around feeling accused/blamed about this issue especially for those who choose never to compete at the problem levels. They are practically different sports.

Eventing is FAR from perfect. I love it but I won’t pretend it doesn’t have issues. All we can do is make our own decisions in line with our views of horsemanship, strive to improve our riding and knowledge, and as you say, learn from each other. The cool thing about eventing is that I think most people are willing to do that, and that’s something that I haven’t seen as much in other sports.[/QUOTE]

This for sure. nods vigorously