Help with Pony Club Research?

[EloiseB]

Hello,
This is my first time posting here so please forgive any missteps. Please let me know if I should post this somewhere else.
My 9 year old daughter is in Pony Club and would like to do research on the evolution of fence/jump cups and the how they may be safer now.
I searched a number of places for this information but have not found anything that compares older cups to newer ones nor how they have become safer.
Would anyone have any recommendations for credible, scholarly resources for this topic?

Thanks,
Alisa

[MHM]

Maybe try the FEI website? FEI.Org

[MHM]

And welcome to the BB!

[Peggy]

Welcome to the BB!

I don’t know of any scholarly articles, but I remember when safety cups were mandated for the back rail of oxers. Pretty sure it was before this year, but the article I found was from this year: https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/usef-announces-sweeping-modifications-to-safety-cup-rules

I think the original rule did come from FEI.

[foggythistle]

You might try talking with some long-time makers of jump cups. Potter Steel Service is one company that I’ve seen advertise in horse mags for lots of years.

[EloiseB]

Thank you, I will take a look at Potter and others.

• Alisa

[EloiseB]

Thanks Peggy,
I have looked around the FEI site and found at least one article. This one sounds great, too!

• Alisa

[EloiseB]

Thank you!

[EloiseB]

Thank you. I have looked there a bit but will take another look. I have a feeling we need to change her topic

• Alisa

[EVneo]

As someone who did a senior project on frangible pin technology and making xc safer for “modern” eventing 15 years ago, I feel your daughter’s struggle! At that time, there was zero research on it in the US, just a lot of “well someone invented this thing that miiiiiight be safer” I did a lot of calling and reaching out to people at USEA (probably USEF and FEI in your case) and they were happy to let me in on the studies and such that were just in their infancy then. They also were able quickly send me fall data from the US and overseas where there were more MIM clips already being used. At least back then, safety nerds were more than happy to help a kid trying to do a research project on their work.

[EloiseB]

This is so great! Thank you for this response.
As a school librarian, I want to encourage my daughter to take on this research and answer the questions she is wondering about. But she is also 9 years old and this topic is clearly better suited for an older student who has done research before. Your post made that clear to me now.

I will share this information with her so she doesn’t give up that curiosity but I think I will guide her to a more age appropriate topic that will make sense coming from a 9 year old.

Thanks again, everyone, for your responses.
Alisa

[EVneo]

Sorry, I missed the part of her being 9 - maybe shift the focus of jump safety from the technology piece to maybe jump colors? I bet there are a number of easier to find scholarly articles on how horses see colors and how that affects how horses see jumps.