IHSA Show Weight Limits – How Common Are They?

[adelaide36]

Hi! One point of clarification - as a current IHSA coach - we don’t do weight limits or make blanket statements on height or weight for the Region or show, we just need to know if certain riders are above certain weights and heights so we can match horses for the draw appropriately. When we list “H/W” it just means that riders have to be below that height or weight for that horse or pony, not for the entire show. We have more than enough horses to accommodate riders of all heights and weights, we just need to make sure those above the stated H/W limit are not eligible to draw, say, a large pony, or a bony TB. We’ve never had to entirely disqualify a rider from a show due to weight or height. It’s inclusive.

Edited for clarity!

[touchstone]

I am also very out of date. But when I was involved in IHSA show management back in the day, we went out of our way to make sure there was at least a horse or two in every class that did not have serious height or weight restrictions, because we wanted to be sure we could accommodate larger riders at every level. There were certainly individual horses with limits.

[quietann]

But the OP is saying that an IHSA show is applying a show-wide weight limit. My guess is that they have a bunch of skinny riders, and the other teams are better than they are, but have more heavy riders.

[fivestrideline]

@quietann

But the OP is saying that an IHSA show is applying a show-wide weight limit. My guess is that they have a bunch of skinny riders, and the other teams are better than they are, but have more heavy riders.

More likely that they have an in-barn weight limit that they’ve applied (perhaps) incorrectly for the show vs using it for a competitive advantage. Or maybe they only have ponies… something not ideal as a school providing horses for IHSA.

[adelaide36]

I wouldn’t assume that negative or divisive intent of any IHSA team, from my experience. I hope when the OP reaches out to her Region President it’s clarified that it’s not a “blanket limit” as she’s interpreting it. If so, that would very much go against the spirit of IHSA.

[blondewithchrome]

Totally agree - I doubt it’s nefarious. If their largest horses in their schoolie line up are dainty 1000lb TBs, from a horse welfare perspective I can absolutely understand putting a HW limit on that one and saying that a rider over 200lbs isn’t eligible for that horse. And, if that’s the biggest they have, it is an unfortunate limitation - in some regions, it’s a scramble to find co-hosts willing to bring horses to even out the lineup (and I’ve seen that in my region in the MidAtlantic at times and were horse rich!) so I can imagine it is surely not done for a competitive advantage. I hope OP gets the clarification she needs for planning for her team!

[Renn_aissance]

@quietann

My guess is that they have a bunch of skinny riders, and the other teams are better than they are, but have more heavy riders.

This seems like quite a stretch.

Some farms and some regions have more resources than others. Facilities, access to diverse pool of horses, etc. If this particular farm happens to have a farm wide policy that they are unable to accommodate riders above a certain weight because of the horses they have available, that’s hardly nefarious. Some regions may be able to support that host barn by bringing plenty of horses who are fit to carry different sizes of riders, but if the region is largely populated by club teams, that may not be available. (My college team was a club team and while we co-hosted with other schools and brought horses, most of the horses we rode at our host farm were privately owned and their owners didn’t want them leaving the property- so we were limited in who we could bring, and then if the two big schoolies both popped an abscess the same week, the trailer was full of ponies.) We are all making a lot of assumptions about the options available to this particular host farm without knowing a single detail, which, yes, I have in fact been on this forum before and I know how we operate.

[quietann]

OK… I was being a bit petty! My apologies.

[Kirikou]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences—I really appreciate the insight!

I’m hoping I’ve misunderstood the registration emails I saw, so I’ve reached out to the Region coordinator to double-check. I’ll keep you all posted once I hear back.

Thanks again!

[Tackpud]

Please remember horses that might normally have one lesson a day with no weight limit, may have multiple riders the same day at an IEA or IHSA show and a weight or height limit for shows due to that. Repetitive mounting and dismounting adds stress that a regular lesson day does not have.

[Kirikou]

@Tackpud

Please remember horses that might normally have one lesson a day with no weight limit, may have multiple riders the same day at an IEA or IHSA show and a weight or height limit for shows due to that. Repetitive mounting and dismounting adds stress that a regular lesson day does not have.

Oh definitely! That makes a lot of sense, especially considering how much extra wear and tear horses experience at these shows. And again, I completely understand why weight limits might be more strictly enforced in those settings.
My question was about general policies and whether limits were on one or two horses at a show or if it was common to have a show-wide weight limit—it’s important for policies like that to be clearly communicated ahead of time so students can make informed decisions (after all college students tend to be ‘on a budget’). From what others have said, it sounds like it’s not a universal rule but rather something that varies by show, which is good to know!

[CuriosoJorge]

@Renn_aissance

14.3 QH types

You mean the types of horses regularly ridden by >200 pound men in reining, cutting, reined cow horse, trail, …

Misogyny in a nutshell.

[Renn_aissance]

I’m not sure how you’re getting misogyny out of that. Please explain.

Horses’ carrying capacities are variable according to conformation, fitness, and physical condition. A rider’s weight distribution can vary based on their athleticism and skill. And we are in the hunter forum talking about IHSA so what Western riders do with stock horses is probably immaterial here, but Western saddles balance weight differently than English saddles, so that also influences the amount of weight it’s horsemanlike to ask the horse to carry.

Even if you’ve got the fittest creature out there, the rider to horse dimensions can also pose a different problem. I had the pleasure of once drawing a medium pony in the Open Flat. I don’t remember how this ended up happening, but there are pictures. Lovely pony, built like a bus, wore her own 16” saddle with her owner’s 4.5” peacock irons. I am a 5’7” adult person. My behind did not fit in the saddle and my feet broke the stirrup bands off of both irons because the only part of my boot getting in those stirrups was the big toe. A bit hard to make an effortless picture under those circumstances.

[Sarah616]

Not to mention the fact that many of the horses are in their upper teens and twenties. It’s a totally different ballgame especially when these horses haven’t been conditioned to carry “200+ pound men” every day.

[bingbingbing]

Totally opposite issue - but weighing 100 pounds soaking wet and being assigned to ride Magic Mountain was fun. lol His giant self was a saint.

[Montanas_Girl]

@bingbingbing

Totally opposite issue - but weighing 100 pounds soaking wet and being assigned to ride Magic Mountain was fun. lol His giant self was a saint.

I am a hair over 5’ tall and once drew a 17.3 Clydesdale cross for Novice Fences. His owner was about 6’3”, and my feet didn’t even reach below the flap of her saddle. I was handed a crop and told, “You’ll need this, but don’t actually hit him or he’ll buck.” We made it over two fences at a slow lope before he petered to a stop in the center of the ring and would. not. budge. I tried every desperation move in the book, including double-barrel “pony club” kicks, and he barely flicked an ear. I finally just looked at the ingate and asked someone to come lead us out.

I was denied a reride because he wasn’t “dangerous”.

[Renn_aissance]

Are you my former teammate? I almost told that story upthread. She was very petite and drew a 17.something moose in the walk trot. My coach had a fit about it but couldn’t get the steward to agree it was a safety issue. We had to give her a leg up from the top of the mounting block.

They were fine, but we are talking about a woman who was suitably mounted on a large and rarely rode anything taller! Mane was held and hip flexors challenged.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

I appreciate all the sympathy for small people forced to ride big horses! When I was learning to ride, often I’d be put on absolutely enormous horses, and was told that if I was good enough rider, I’d be able to manage it. I know it’s less of a horse welfare issue, but it’s certainly hard for a rider who is put on a horse that doesn’t even register her presence.

I have ridden many ponies in my day, although I will say, riding mediums in a pony saddle left me pretty bruised in the nether regions and backside (something about how the twist of the saddle for a child isn’t the same for even a petite grown-ass woman).

[Montanas_Girl]

My current ride is a 13.2 on a tall day Arabian mare. I think we’re a perfect fit (even though I could stand to lose about 60 pounds and make both our lives easier):

Now just picture me on something 15” taller and probably 600 pounds heavier…

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

I think you make an adorable pair! I love the green shirt with that fiery chestnut!

And yeah, 13.2h with a good-sized barrel over 17.2 any day for me!