Rules question! I am looking at EV 136 and 137, which read in part:
When they say “all obstacles and markers must be in position,” does this include just the fences/numbers/flags themselves or also decorations and footing amendments like fill dirt/stone? What constitute “alterations to the course” and how are riders supposed to be notified?
Definitely not a TD here, but I would for sure assume that this includes all decoration on/near the jump.
Footing amendments often continue while cross country is running, particularly if it’s a wet day, so I would not include footing amendments in that rule.
I would include all jumps, numbers, flags, required crossings, etc. in that requirement.
In the event a jump is removed from the course or relocated, typically they will make loudspeaker announcements, post notice of the change at the score board and start box and possibly other common notice areas, and sometimes ask the warm up or starter to remind riders of the change. For a removed jump, they would likely cross the flags on the fence or something similar so if you did start to approach it, you would hopefully realize you weren’t supposed to.
Everything should be as when the course opened, not least as the decoration often helps the horses read a fence or guide a line of approach. The Fence Judges should be trying to keep the jump in good nick so that the last competitor jumps the same fence, as much as possible, as the first did. If a course alteration is made, riders are told and it is publicized as much as possible. Generally the fence is flagged as un-jumpable. I’ve sat for hours guarding empty flags as our fence was removed during competition after a fatal fall and we still had to whistle and time etc all the horses running through.
In my experience, not all decoration was out at the time the course opened. They were concerned about damage to the decor, and put it out the morning of the competition. You had a short period of time that the course was open for walking in the morning, so there was opportunity to see the decor.
Maybe they did it wrong though?
Footing fixes and decorations can happen after the course is open for walking. At a local HT they had “take a flag and leave it in a hole” at rhe startbox so people walking would take a flag, walk, find a hole, and flag it. Then someone would come through and fill it
In addition to footing amendments, sometimes the level in the water jump is brought up closer to XC start time.
I’ve also seen events where the jump has a sign that says “top rail removed for X level”.
Once the level completes then the rail would be removed for the next level.
I volunteered at Pine Top in Georgia many years ago for a horse trial back in the Bruce Davidson era. Riders were given handfuls of flags of assorted colors to place in fire ant beds as they walked the course. Within a few hours the course was covered with so many flags it looked almost impassable. It reminded me of those beds of wildflowers you used to see planted in medians along interstate highways. It definitely warranted a photo, but this was before cell phones.
Ack, no thanks! Did they spray (?) all the nests or were the flags just an indicator to aim somewhere else if you were going to fall off? 
It was around 35 or more years ago but as I recall the flags remained in place so horses/riders could avoid stepping in the soft ant beds and possibly being injured. Eventing venues were a bit rougher back then.
Amen to that! Groomed??? what’s that? How about tying a tree limb between 2 trees for a fence. I mean tying - in knots, heavy rope.
The course is supposed to be fully decorated (flowers, filler, groundlines) prior to ground jury & TD inspection, which happens before the 3pm deadline. The TD & ground jury can request changes to the decorations as desired-- more obvious groundline here, fill in that gap at the base of a table, request to remove overly bright flowers from the BN coop, etc. Some TDs prefer sparse decorations to avoid distractions; others want LOTS of flowers to make the groundline more obvious, or taller plants to fill in empty space below a hanging log, for example. All these things should be completed prior to the course open for competitors.
HOWEVER, as competitors inspect the course, they should contact their rider rep with any concerns. I’ve noticed holes, or flagging issues (particularly with corners), and brought this to the rider rep, who then meets with the TD to discuss the issues. So yes, at times, the course may be altered after 3pm, if riders notice something wrong that needs improvement.
I was wondering if this is what happened at the event that prompted my question. There was a pretty significant footing change after I walked 3-4 pm Friday that surprised me on-course. The jump in question was B in a combination and was hidden around a turn in a tree line, so by the time I saw the change I couldn’t approach it differently because I had already jumped A. I wonder if the footing change was prompted by another rider’s concerns about the original, “unimproved” footing.
I’m still kind of bummed about having a refusal there but I’m not sure what lesson I should learn from it. Always walk the course again the day of the event? I don’t always have time for that. In this case I could have walked again but didn’t have any reason to think I needed to. Sigh.
What kind of footing change caused you to approach differently?
If they made a change after the course was open for walking, they should have posted a notice of the change at the start box, and the starter should have pointed it out.
You should still now inquire (politely) even if it is after the fact if for no other reason to raise awareness and remind them not to do that crap.
I recently rode a Starter course on a young horse where two jumps were literally exchanged with each other the morning of XC with no notice. Supposedly the jump was too hard for a first fence so instead it was place so you hand a long gallop toward the barns and the warmup then had to turn your horse directly away to this fence that was painted bright refrigerator white and literally glowed in the sun. Making it even harder than when it was sited as the first fence. 3/4 of the level had problems including 4 eliminations most of the problems happening there. I had a stop there and my daughter was eliminated there. But I didn’t realize the fences had been exchanged until she went back and showed me our pictures from the course walk and she was too new to know it was illegal and she didn’t tell me in time to do anything about the results.
This happened at a well know venue that hosts multiple events a year with divisions at all the levels including FEI. They know better. But even though the Starter division paid the same money as the other lower level divisions it was clearly an after thought.
So tell them.
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