The USEA posted the stats for this years AECs and of the 996 starters, 572 are in the N/BN divisions alone. 752 if you include the training competitors too. 2/3 of the AECs are the lower level riders and it got me thinking… Other than the AECS, area champs and year end awards, what else would be fun for us lower level people to work towards that IMO, keep the USEA going?
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Not so sure about what keeps the USEA going. I don’t really get the opinion USEA cares too much about the smurfs, personally…
But I love the “team event” aspect that is hosted in Area 1. Something like that nation-wide sounds like so much fun but I’d prefer it didn’t line USEA’s pockets and instead went towards some sort of grant fund for YRs or amateur riders because showing is becoming so unaffordable and USEA cares only about the money.
The AEC’s courses are posted online on FB. BN an N are a study on level creep.
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Can you help those of us who Google hates and give a link?
I searched and searched and I am not finding these courses.
Hey there, you have to be on FB. Join this group:
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We specialize in introducing horses and riders to eventing so 25+ years of bringing people into the sport. There are several USEA programs which the new riders can participate in including the USEA medal program and the Blue Ribbon Award program / Certificates of Achievement. Links below if I can figure that out. We also have our Area 1 championships as well as year end awards. The Adult Rider Program has some other programs and offers several team competitions made up of ARP members or mixed YR and ARP members.
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I think the long format 3 days are incredible opportunities that not enough people take advantage of-- I definitely recommend going at least once!
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You can see the courses here, too: https://useventing.com/news-media/news/preview-the-2021-aec-cross-country-courses-with-crosscountryapp
I actually think that bn and n both look really nice and inviting and am surprised to see it described as level creep.
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I agree, the courses looked really nice. I thought that Training and Modified were more inviting to a horse at the level than BN was. It is a championship, so I wasn’t necessarily surprised to see corners, tables, trakehners, raised flowerbeds and mock-bullfinches at BN – but I think that USEA has lost sight of what BN is intended to be: a positive introduction of green horses and riders to horse trials.
Hmm, I don’t see a corner or trakhener on BN? Ascending tables and brush and raised flowerbeds are pretty common here and have been for a long time, so I guess didn’t draw my attention. It doesn’t look like there’s anything you can’t ride straight to the middle of and jump from a forward trot, which is what I like for babies.
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Personally, I have never been interested in going to the AEC, or getting National Year End Awards. In addition to the National year end awards, there are Area Year End Awards, and many local affiliates (Combined Training/Eventing Associations) offer year end awards that are much more accessible. Also, depending on where you are in the country, there are a variety of team competitions and “Long Format” events that are fun to work toward.
But, to me, the most fun is working on getting better at each phase, and getting ready to move to the next level.
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The USEA is very aware that 80% of the riders/horses/starters are at Training and below, and that the future of the sport and of the association is dependent on attracting, and keeping, new Eventers. I am on the USEA Membership Committee, and at least part of each meeting focuses on how to get, and keep, new/lower level Eventers.
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I don’t think anyone would argue to the contrary that the USEA isn’t aware. We have this conversation every year and it’s always brought up. The USEA has been aware that 85% of its organization is T/N/BN for over a decade.
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It isn’t the USEA that lost sight of that intention, it was the BN riders, and the USEA gave in to the pressure from the riders…
When the BN level was started, it was truly viewed as a “first time out” opportunity. It was anticipated that each horse and/or rider would compete at BN a handful of times before moving up to Novice. As such, the expectation was that courses would be very simple and inviting. Placing well at BN would simply reflect that you had a good experience, and not as proof of competence or capability.
But it turned out that many riders (less so for horses being ridden by more experienced riders) stayed at the BN level for YEARS. These perennial BN riders began complaining to the USEA office that it “wasn’t fair” that BN did not have a leaderboard, and a place at the AECs.
The USEA gave into the pressure, and introduced a BN leaderboard, and a BN level at the AEC. As a direct result, placing well at BN became a reflection of competence and capability. In particular, placing well at BN made you “qualified” for the BN AECs. Because the AECs are a Championship, and because nobody wants an Eventing Championship to be just a test of who has the best Dressage score, the AEC BN cross country course (and to a lesser estate the show jumping course) needed to be challenging enough (though still within the BN specs) that not everybody went clear.
I wasn’t there , but my understanding is that the first time BN was offered at the AEC, there were a number of riders who had qualified on paper, but did not have the competence or capability to safely jump a “Championship Level” BN course.
This put the BN course designer at an ordinary HT on the horns of a dilemma:
- Should they design a course that almost every one would jump clear (thus providing a positive experience as an introduction to Eventing)?
- Or should they design a course that only those who were competent and capable of safely riding a Championship BN course would jump clear?
Unfortunately (from my perspective) the latter approach prevailed, leading to “level creep”, as BN courses became more focused on demonstrating capability to ride a Championship level course, than on providing a safe, simple, easy introduction to Eventing.
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I also thought BN and N looked pretty reasonable and inviting. I thought the T course looked hard. I’m not seeing any corners or trakehners on BN. And I don’t think I’ve ever jumped a course without a table. The BN “ditch” is one of the more inviting I’ve seen. Also, BN doesn’t have any combinations. In Area II there is almost always a combination at BN. Really the only BN fence I don’t like is #7. I’m also not a huge fan of the bright blue ones - I’d prefer more natural colors at BN.
I do think there is potential inconsistency, though. No combination at BN, but then 3 combinations at N is a big change.
I think the first Training water combination is really tough. You have a combination including a drop down into the water, then a fence in the water, then another fence right after the water. That seems like a lot for one water jump at T.
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For what it is worth, I’ve never run a recognized BN that had a table, so my post is a regional perspective and not necessarily a national one. It sounds like these fences are much more common for you guys in BN - are you both in Area II?
I remember when one event barn near me put a table (Training-Prelim level) in their XC course in the early 2010s. People were coming from ALL over to school it. I can’t think of any BN level table at any of the courses I’ve schooled recently.
I’m with you that I don’t love the blue fences, but they’ve made an appearance here too - ick. At my local cross country course, someone painted the lovely, rideable Novice pheasant feeder blue… I watched a lot of pairs crash and burn at it at the last show.
I’d be interested in more non-USEA ways to promote the sport of eventing. As a member of USEA, I’ve felt that this topic/conversation is cyclical and comes up every few years and never seems to have a viable solution. And maybe USEA isn’t entirely to blame for that - costs of living in general have pushed many competitors out of the sport and many landowners out of hosting for shows entirely.
It’s interesting to me that “perennial BN riders” is brought up - IIRC, this was also brought up in our last COTH convo about promoting grassroot eventing. I don’t agree that USEA is blameless in the culture shift and level creep. It should be perfectly fine that a rider picks a level they are competent at and stays at that level "perennially’ – USEA and many coaches seem to have this “must climb the levels” mentality that in part is to blame for so much of the level creep we see at the lower levels. There really should be nothing wrong with someone being a lifetime BN rider, and yet it is often referred to negatively.
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I guess that I also don’t know exactly what you call a table. There are a large number of various types of rectangular-topped jumps that I see regularly on BN in Area II. They may not technically all be tables? But they all seem to ride about the same to me so I don’t worry about them much.
My only other experience in another Area was in the 1990’s in Area III, and I think the difference between 1998 and 2016 (when I got back in to riding) is much bigger than the difference between Areas so it is hard to know whether what is normal in Area II is really normal everywhere. I recently joined the XC Course walks group on FB and it had been interesting to see the variation in courses.
To get back to the original question, I think the USEA medal and certificate programs are nice. I like that they have options to recognize people for completing events, as well as for different score and placing levels. I don’t know that USEA really advertises/highlights the medal programs that much - maybe they could place more emphasis on that? I also think Area Championships are a lot more affordable/realistic for most people than AECs and think it is a nice option to have both.
The classic 3-days are a big motivator/year-end goal for some people, but I think there are only a couple of BN ones. Perhaps supporting more of those at BN around the country?
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As someone who took my young guy out at BN this year, honestly the AECs BN course looks more simple than the 2 BN courses we ran in area 3. At one there was a ditch placed as a half coffin, and the other one had a bank with 1 jump 3-4 strides before the bank and another jump on a bending 3 strides from the up bank. With jumps 3-4 strides before AND after the water.
Interesting the differences between different areas, and I think the AECs has to cater to all areas. The other lady who shows with me agrees that the courses we rode this year are more difficult than the AECs course, so very interesting people think it looks difficult or level creep.
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Unless I am misreading the photos, which is entirely possible because I am on my phone, the AECs does have a water question at BN like what you’re describing (jumps 3-4 strides before and after water). 8 is a mock bullfinch before water, 9 is the water, 10 is several strides away. 14 and 15 look to be 3-4 strides apart also, but always tough to tell over photos.
The AEC definitely has to cater to all areas, while keeping in mind the limitations of each level.
The BN ones are flagged separately though and it looks to me like there’s room to make a circle without presenting which makes it a nice educational option.
