My horses board right by the USET. I like to go ride my two horses in the morning and stop by for the afternoon gymnastic session. I usually am a bit late because it takes time to take care of 2 horses, but i usually miss the first 15 or 20 riders but then get to see approximately 45 plus horses go. In the USET heyday there were always around 90 riders. Well today when I arrived there were only 12 left to go. what? only 32 riders in the whole finals? I can’t believe it! Somehow for me it takes away the charm and prestige of the finals. There weren’t that many people sitting in the stands from all different states and it was over in a flash. This is not the way the USET finals ever was!!! I am so disappointed. I was ready to sit down and indulge myself in beautiful horses, riders and watching the trainers bring them to the ring. I started talking to a man collecting garbage and he said that it’s because they raised the height of the fences from 3.9ft to 4ft and the kids who own 3.6ft horses just can’t stretch up those 6 inches. they can stretch up 3 inches and some of the kids were undermounted and it showed at the finals but He felt that they should have been given a chance to try to compete even if it was a bit of a stretch. I feel like pushing the height limit is just limiting the kids that do not have the big budgets that some of the kids have that can get horses with tons of scope. years ago all the kids in the big EQ pretty much showed at USET. The big question was always the water jump. would they get over the water jump! some did, some didnt but it was a learning experience for all. Now they can’t even get a chance to try due to lack of horse flesh that can jump softly around a four foot course. Why is this for the betterment of the sport and it left me really sad because i am not even sure its worth going for the second day when I would only get to watch about 1.5 hours and I could be using the day to go on our boat. I surely would miss a day of boating to go sit in the stands for hours watching the beautiful horses, trainers and riders. and is it really that prestigious to win out of a handful of kids trying. I always felt that it such an amazing thing to beat out 60 to 90 riders for the win. I know the idea was to prepare kids for open jumpers, but alot of kids cannot afford a horse that can be their 3.6ft horse and then turn around and jump 4ft like it was an open jumper but go around slowly and pretty. I just can’t wrap my head around how this is betterment of the sport and I am really disappointed in the fact that a really fun final in the past seems to be watered down to a few elite kids. really not that fun to make the effort to stop by. Your thoughts as to why they changed it?
and another reason that I felt really disappointed was that this was supposed to be the gymnastic phase of the competition. They didn’t even have one trot fence. it looked to me more like a gymnastic show jumping course. what happened to the big X trot fence. the trotting bounces. the circle crossrail jumping exercise. nothing. just finding jumps off of tight turns with some combinations. This was never this way in all the years i have been going.
Well, I guess the popularity of the 3’3 jumping seat shows the other side of it. 128 riders in the east coast finals alone, and I was pretty impressed with their gymnastics phase. It’s true - a 1.20 horse/1.30 horse is harder to find as an eq mount than a 1.0 horse. Some of those 3’3 riders are absolutely beautiful riders too - I can’t blame them for wanting to go to the 3’3 CCHS finals if they can do it for less horse flesh and cost than USET!
I totally understand the dissapointment in the lack of numbers but the riders are still exceptional. McKayla, Grady, Daisy, Coco, etc are all phenominal - out of a field of 30, or 90, I’d be thrilled to watch them ride!
Side note, I’m 1.6 miles away, where are you boarding?!
also I meant to make it down there today, but instead I did laundry and dishes and cleaned the floors…living the dream!
Yes they were beautiful rounds the top ten that I saw go, but is it even worth putting on a finals for 30 riders. Its expensive to get the facility ready for a horse show and I am sure the entry and stall fees didnt amount to much. I just feel so disappointed that there were not all kinds of riders trying to tackle this course. Why does it have to be a 1.2m course? Anyone that wants to do jumpers can use their equitation experience and move to high level jumpers. Why the change?
I board in Califon NJ semi near Redfield farm and Devin Ryan
We had a similar discussion at the barn this morning that started with the value/need for national 3’3" medal finals, and specifically the USHJA jumping seat medal (“mini-USET”). Not much was concluded but we wondered how many riders skipped the USET finals because they could do the mini-USET instead.
There were riders in the west coast mini-USET finals a few weeks ago that, in past years with no mini-USET and with a slightly more forgiving height on the USET finals, might have done that instead. The west coast version had the regular and mini USET finals at the same show, with the classes running back-to-back in the schedule in the same rings. All but the flat phase was on the GP field. Probably a good thing for the rider who isn’t ready for the regular USET, but wants experience. Maybe not a good thing because a rider who maybe should be in the regular USET, but figures that the mini version will provide much of the same experience with a better chance at a ribbon, enters the mini instead. There were 29 in the mini and 20 in the regular on the west coast.
Ah, thanks, I thought I had missed a barn on this road! Now I’m sad though haha
I actually thought the gymnastics course was an interesting change from what it’s been in the past. Sure, it might not have been as exciting to watch, but the questions that it asked were, IMO, much more reflective of what you’d actually do to school a horse up to be an upper level jumper. It wasn’t a lot of trot poles and bounces, or trot fences, but it clearly had a focus on adjustability. I saw some beautiful trips over it, but I also saw some riders who just didn’t have the subtlety and finesse to execute it well - without any catastrophic result if they failed.
I was surprised by the number of entries as well, though.
I imagine a lot of it has to do with the fact that most riders in this country can’t afford a mid-6 figure horse that can jump around a 4’ jumper course soft and quietly.
Not a whole lot has actually changed. The finals courses were always built pushing 1.20m with an open water, and you can still qualify doing mostly 1* classes (1.10 - 1.15 which is what the USET has been in the past). You do have to get a ribbon in a 2* or 3* class which would restrict some of the last minute one-day horse show qualifications. I will say it has been harder to find horse shows offering and filling the class since the open water requirement, but that’s been at least 6 or 7 years now.
I liked the gymnastics course. I am sure those combinations walked much much more difficult than they appeared to ride.
Aw, lot of tears from Daisy. Loved seeing her and Maddie Goetzmann hug when they announced 2nd place.
Are the scores posted online somewhere?
I’m wondering if the ratio of good trips has changed with the different qualification requirements. I can remember a year when there were 90-100 entries, but literally one third did not get around the course, and another third got around with one or two refusals (back when it took three refusals for elimination). There were some good trips, but lots of not so good trips, even in that top third.
Is there a link to the courses somewhere?
This!
I agree with OnDeck. In my mind USET Finals has always needed a legitimate 1.20m horse, even if the specs don’t state it… apparently now they do.
Eq kids would for sure fill the class at a show but very few have/had the Finals on the list. WIHS/Maclay/USEF goals are quite plenty to occupy one’s short time in the junior ring with. It’s a jumper medal with a 21 y.o. age limit; it really should be the Low Jr/AOs riding it, not the average 14 y.o. big eq kid. We may be seeing fewer kids bankrolled beyond the age of 18 these days, and fewer kids making long-term plans to continue into the Jr/AO Jumpers because of it.
I’d rather see 40 spectacular yes-you-should-be-here rounds than 120 wings & a prayer, and I think that’s a legitimate number for a Finals of the USET’s difficulty. That said, it really sounds like that’s where USHJA Jump Seat Finals should be held… Fill out the day there, at a historical show in a landmark venue that needs support, because lords know CC doesn’t need anymore classes. Was this ever a consideration? What a shame if it was not.
i was surprised at the limited entries as well as the difference in the courses this year. I always watch it when it’s on the USEF network. This is the first year I remember it being so warm as well.
Where are the full results?
I decided to go again and watch on Sunday because the weather was iffy for boating. It was misting. I did get there about half hour late, so I missed the earlier riders, but I will say that I got to watch quite a few, and I thought the riding was spectacular. One rider after another came in and put in beautiful rounds. Yes, it was really impressive. I sat with friends and my old trainer. It is a really nice feeling to sit with your old trainer and feel comfortable and not awkward and tension. She is a lovely woman. Class act all the way and she explained to me that they felt too many riders were crashing and burning. So, they created the 3.3ft class at capital challenge to meet that need. She said the USET is truly now a talent search. Its to seek out the talented riders that will go on to do grand prix.
My thoughts though are that a lot of these riders are doing grand prix or close to it. I guess what I don’t understand is for so many years the class was designed for equitation riders. It was the USET, Harrisburg, and then the Maclay. And years ago the riders were required to jump on grass and jump banks. So are we becoming a softer generation?
Maybe now its steering riders to other venues and courses, but why steer people away from a staple of the equitation riders throughout history. I get having kids be better prepared. Like asking them to jump open water in order to get qualified. They put that in and there still was plenty of riders that came to the finals last year. It was an extremely noticeable change this year and wondering if they entry fee and stall fees even covered the expenses of putting on such a class. I truly hope that the USET does continue on I guess because I really enjoy stopping by in the fall every year to watch the class live. I can’t just stop by Harrisburg or the capital challenge or Kentucky.
[h=4]RESULTS
Place / Rider / Horse / Owner[/h] 1. Daisy Farish / Arsouille Des Etangs / JMTT Girard LLC
2. Madison Goetzmann / Faemes Van T Poelzelhof / Anna Blumenfeld
3. Cooper Dean / Braavos / Bryan Baldwin
4. Lili Kaissar / Salt Lake / Two Aces Equestrian LLC
5. Tess Lenihan / Cool De Reve / Tess Lenihan
6. Ava Ellis / Remmits Delphi / Clear Ride LLC
7. Coco Fath / Cantoblanco / Raleigh Hiler
8. Tanner Korotkin / Canny Windsor Z / Peacock Ridge LLC
9. Ava Stearns / Cassidy 25 / Clear Ride LLC
10. Isabelle Song / Casper Vant Gestelhof / Patricia Garrett
To OP: The following article will answer a lot of your questions. The caliber of the riders was top flight. The top two riders are amazing and in a league of their own. https://www.phelpssports.com/2018-pl…s-east-review/
