Well, the warmup is already that way! Sometimes the big jumpers are warming up in the same ring the pony kids are, with some green horse schooling going on in between. It’s not ideal but it happens, especially at the really full shows. I don’t think the open card would change that, except maybe get everyone warming up over similar fences since they’re all about to be jumping 3’.
Clearly I should not have attempted that while squinting at my phone screen, scrolling around the table, and not wearing glasses. But at least I showed it was possible.
Having shown both disciplines at a range of levels, I think dressage warmup rings are worse. You might think it would be better bc fewer people are showing at a given time, but no. Is it that the lateral work (*) adds a layer of complexity? That dressage riders are maybe more likely to be looking down at their horses? That dressage riders are likelier to ride solo at home?
In whatever discipline it’s definitely easier when there are designated warmup rings for each show ring. And I’ve definitely had some interesting moments in HJ warmups.
One of my worst warmup moments was getting yelled at by an FEI rider who decided to warm up in the lower-level ring, came barreling at my 3 y.o. who then spun and bucked, whereupon she yelled at me to “get that thing out of here!” Hello, you’re in our ring and we were fine before you showed up. She never apologized, though a member of her entourage eventually did.
(*) I think that lateral work takes priority? Sort of like a sailboat.
Dressage warmups are definitely worse. People complain about hj folks “claiming” jumps, but dressage riders will claim 20m circles of the ring and don’t watch where they are going either!
I find that apart from really grassroots showing (where you can get some… interesting folks), HJ warmups are somewhat predictable, and people are more used to riding in traffic. You get a few oblivious people (and I wonder if they’re the ones who almost ran me off the road that morning), but in general the dressage folks are less predictable and somewhat less aware of their surroundings. It gets worse as you go up the levels as well.
No warmup is sunshine and rainbows, but I don’t think that rearranging to class lists will change that.
I have long held the theory that people who rode horses growing up were probably more likely to become good drivers when they finally got a license, just because they were already familiar with the concept of steering large objects around other people on large objects.
At least the cars don’t have minds of their own. So it should be easier in that respect.
I almost never worry about kids who ride when they start driving.
Having a mind of their own is useful at times. A horse will sometimes avoid a collision on their own. Though as cars get smarter and smarter…
The car I have had for almost 2 years does try to avoid collisions, which is super handy.
The only problem is when I get in a rental car and forget that the rental car might not have the same safety features on it. Lol.
I had a rental earlier this summer with waaaaay more bells and whistles than my (fleet/bare bones model) Ram pickup. The first time I got into bumper-to-bumper traffic and the front end collision warning light/beep went off, I nearly jumped out of my skin.
I used to tell my students I could tell who would be good drivers by the way they negotiated ring space and I was usually right…
I haven’t read the entire post yet, so there may be some doubling up.
Equestrian Canada has made a slight change to their rules for certified coaches; you may have your Instructor of Beginners level and maintain your amateur status. This is geared towards those teaching pony camps and up/down lessons on school horses.
My understanding was it was having coaches at that level go through the certification process, safe sport training and get the appropriate insurance to coach. I believe they were also allow those members 16 and up to become an IOB.
Interesting concept, and will be interesting to see where it goes. They have also be implementing coaches be licensed/registered (can’t remember which is which) at gold level competitions. This year is the second year it’s required; safe sport, concussion training, background check and proof of insurance. Coaches without the appropriate level pay at each show. Next year they are suppose to be implementing everyone be certified. It’s had a lot of push back, and it’s been 3-4 years in the making of changing what they are going to roll out and extending timelines.
The current flaw is as long as the coach on entry either paid for the upgrade or has the proper license the competitor gets their horse show number and competes. There no monitoring who is standing at the jump, whether it’s the actual coach, an assistant coach or a coach not listed as trainer on the entry. Some people are listing themselves as coaches if their coach is not certified.
I believe the idea also will be an Instructor level coach won’t be coaching at a sanctioned horse show, and someone coaching at a high performance level will have a high performance coach certification.
It’s a mess, and the way it’s been rolled out is a money grab. There has been a lot of backlash on it