I’d like to hear other people’s feelings about the team format. I love that the riders go back-to-back, I don’t like that each round starts on a clean slate. I don’t like that there’s no drop score or that they swap riders out all year long. But I do think that it’s easy to follow for the layman (even DH can understand who’s winning) which I am all for. What do you think?
I’m not overly crazy about the format either. I don’t like that teams can use substitute riders that aren’t on their team, like a couple did last night. If you have a team of six riders, I think it is the responsibility of the team to make sure three of them are at each event. Also, speaking for myself, I don’t like that the 2nd round is run as a Table C. I have never liked those. The objective of the sport is to keep the rails up. I don’t think it’s right when you can finish well in a class having had a fence down just because you’ve gone blazing around and other riders finishing behind you were clear. I know sometimes there is no choice but to ride that format, but I’m not a fan of it. I also would prefer a drop score and the scores carrying over to the 2nd round. Truth be told, team competitions and championships aren’t my favorites. Give me a good GP, jump off class, or Table A Speed any day of the week!
I have no opinion but does MLSJ stands for Major League Show Jumping?
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When you say the score doesn’t carry over to the second round, does that mean the first round just acts as a qualifier for X number of teams to move forward to the second round?
I haven’t watched any MLSJ shows yet, so I’m a bit unfamiliar with the format, though they seem popular with spectators from what I’ve heard.
I attended the MLSJ Friday nite courtesy of a friend’s company, VIP etc. at Angelstone here in Ontario. Live only about 1/2 hour but have never been. It was a fun evening, but did not get all the in and outs of the class etc but seemed a crowd pleaser. Had someone sitting beside me who helped somewhat on explaining things. It was nice to see some BNR ride. Fun evening all around, good food, company etc.
There are currently 8 teams in the league. In the first round, each team sends out 3 riders. The first round is run as a Table A. The top 4 teams move on to the 2nd round and scores go back to zero. In the second round, those 4 teams send out 2 riders. The teams that finish 3rd & 4th move on to the bronze medal match and the teams that finish 1st & 2nd move on to the gold medal match. Whichever of the 3 riders weren’t used in the 2nd round are the ones that have to compete in the medal matches. The teams have to decide if they send in their fastest rider to get them to the gold medal match or save that rider, hoping they do end up competing for the win and use them then. So there is some strategy involved. No rider will jump more than twice during the competition.
Edited for grammar mistake in last sentence.
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Yes, MLSJ stands for Major League Show Jumping.
