While I agree that many horses are entered in too many divisions, I’ve seen plenty of horses that are doing just 2 divisions a day (say a warm up and then the “real class”) that are schooled and prepped as long if not longer than some of those horses that may show in more divisions. Seems to me that it’s the school horses that manage to enter in every class a show has to offer, which i think is a shame. God love them as many just truck around looking as happy as can be. Are they?
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I agree that FEI brings a lot more oversight, but it brings a ton more costs as well. I think it was $5000 to show FEI last week at Thermal. You need the special stabling, special warm up supervision, etc.
I think there are things we can do to make the sport better for horse welfare without getting tangled up in the FEI. Changing how we drug test, mandating the maximum number of classes a horse can show per day, having stewards in lunging arenas etc. These would be a more direct way of accomplishing better horse welfare.
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Hunters will never be an FEI discipline for the doping alone. Doping is an issue for everyone but it’s a habit, bordering on necessity for hunters.
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I am glad you started this topic. I have been wondering the same thing. I’ve seen a barn showing the horses in what I consider a lot of classes at A shows. One horse was doing the 3’6" pro and junior division. I thought doing 15 classes with only two of them US was a lot and then I looked up another horse from the same barn. He did 28 classes at one show with 24 of them OF. And three different riders.
^^^that’s horrible
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Was this all in one day? Or spread over more days? Not going to pass judgement without that information… Not sure 2’3” jumps and particularly 2’ jumps should count since they are just lope overs and don’t require an actual jump . Lots of assumptions here off just looking at online results.
And for whoever questioned why a trainer would do a County show the same weekend as a rated? Because trainer has other clients who do County and seek those points, not rated levels. Clients who likely don’t own but lease from the trainer, especially at speed bump levels…and who probably complain trainer doesn’t have enough school horses for them to show more often.
Not condoning overuse here at all. Just not going to judge based on the info provided without knowing the time frame and other details…
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I don’t think I agree with that statement… still has a concussive affect on the horse.
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I see horses in those CA series (I am sure it occurs elsewhere too) that do triple duty in the A/O hunter, eq and jumper rings. I think it is terrible frankly. And bad rides for these horses too. So disappointed that the professional(s) feel this is good horsemanship.
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I guess that wasn’t clear, but no, this horse did not show in 27 classes in one day…?
This is an AA rated show. They run from Tuesday (schooling day, so add in more jumps there), to Sunday.
That’s almost 6 classes per day. That’s a lot. And especially for a horse who has shown all year long. And is showing the following week. This is a high level, not some backyard barn and show. I expect more from not only the three trainers at this barn, but the client and owner to care better for her animal. That is what sickens me and makes me sad. This horse has 4 advocates and not one of them thought this was a bad idea.
I questioned why the horse would have to do the USEF show and the county show. Not the trainer. I don’t care if it’s 2’ or 3’6", the logistics of showing are enough wear and tear on these horses. Clearly someone who thinks it’s okay to do two shows in one weekend with the same horse probably doesn’t have the knowledge to give it ulcer meds, ice it’s legs (probably no time?), does it get wrapped and poulticed? That’s pretty basic care for a show horse.
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I agree. This has been the normal my entire life, because I’ve mostly ridden hunters. Now that I’ve “seen the light” in switching to jumpers, I don’t think I could ever go back to hunters for this reason alone. I feel so, so bad for them. LTD, braiding, drugs, and then all these classes as a standard? Something needs to change.
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The eq division done by the horse in the OP was 2’ adult eq FWIW.
One horse did both a county show and an A show the same weekend. On more than one occasion IIRC. Edited to add - Just checked and in 2019 there was one weekend with an A USEF show and a county show for one horse and another weekend with two county shoes for that same horse.
Ok-what this poor horse had to do in a week of showing is terrible for sure. But, can we not turn this into a complete hunter bashing thread? Hunters certainly have their share of HUGE problems, but i would venture to guess that any sport that uses animals for financial gain will have some gross underbelly reality. It’s because there is a participant that has no voice. I have been in the H/J world since the 80’s. I have never participated in ltd,doping or whatever new flavors of the day exist and I know there are tons of people like me too. There are those out there that are unethical, but this is not only a hunter industry problem. The shows around me only offer 1 or 2 jumper classes a day at certain heights, maybe 3 if there is a warm-up, so most only show in their designated height, thus saving themselves from the multiple divisions that the poor old hunter had to do in the OP. I honestly don’t think that is normal or even routinely seen at shows. Most owners and trainers want to preserve and extend their investment, and take care to do so. I think that situation described is pretty unusual and I would be pretty disheartened to see it too.
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I could tell horror stories about several different disciplines. Each riding discipline has their own share of shall we say “challenges” and bad horsemanship. Let’s not run down the rabbit hole and completely bash one discipline. However, open, candid discussion from all sides is a good way to help start implementing some change!
I pointed out the one I referenced as an example but I feel it’s an anomaly. Agree that all disciplines have issues, or people who don’t have the best interests of the horse at heart. And all have good people; OK maybe not the “big luck” Tennessee walkers.
