Article here https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/grassroots-three-day-event-with-steeplechase-to-be-piloted-next-year-711877
Thatâs great, I hope the US follows!
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USEA already has the classic series that does traditional long formats from BN-P
Yes I know it is offered at some events, just saying I hope it becomes more prevalent!
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On a strictly practical basis, this would break the bank as far as volunteers are concerned - think just about doubling the numbers required if Roads & Tracks is to be run on the same day as XC. Equally the area required & investment in fences would also be about double so would we see a four figure entry fee?
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You wonât ever see a real long format other than as a novelty ever again. The only way to get to it for the upper levels would be to get out of the Olympics and get rid of the FEI, basically start over again.
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I was initially against the removal of tracks and steeplechase because I thought it changed the sport for the worse. However, all these years on, I think it has been beneficial for horse welfare. In the good old days a horse did one or possibly two top level events and that was the finale of its career. Now, we see horses running at 5* that last for several seasons.
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I havenât really noticed a difference in horse longevity, related to format. There are still plenty of âone hit wonderâ horses who cruise around 5* short format for a year or two and disappear; some run 3 CCIs in a year with a lot less downtime. I think modern advancements in sports medicine has allowed horses to continue long careers (perhaps not always in the horseâs best interest). I do think long format weeded out some horses who just didnât have the gallop and fitness to be at that level (Trading Aces, Loughan Glen come to mind), and the skills learned on phase B could benefit riders & horses learning to jump safely at speed.
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Iâll disagree with this as a general statement. While there are still some rugged campaigners out there I think there are fewer than before. In a lot of ways I think eventers have become more hot house flowers. When the season was shorter in the US it used to be fairly standard to see eventers and upper level horses out fox hunting. Not any more.
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Ah yes, I was polite and deleted my final few words âexcept in the USâ. Here in Eventing Central (the UK) we have a lot of rugged campaigners.
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I donât think thatâs quite accurate. While it is true that horses seldom did more than 3 long format courses in a year , two being more common, I think it told a lot more about horsemanship and the ability to get a horse fit, to do one or two a year successfully.
Just finishing in the top ten was an accomplishment.
The same horse and rider did compete for more than one year.
But as others have said we didnât have all season UL competitions, and unless you were at Olympic level, Advanced didnât happen.
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I think the old format limited the entries in upper level competitions based on horsemanship.
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You all are missing the biggest reason for no more roads and tracks. Sales.
A horse is only worth what the owner gets for it. Very few owners want to keep horses around if they arenât earning money. Very few top riders want to keep horses around because they can make money from sales commissions.
This is the business model that has seeped into Eventing from the jumpers.
The long format didnât encourage âchurnâ as Wofford said long ago. Now a rider/trainer can run a horse ion the levels fast, sell before anything happens and make money selling to the amateur with ego and money to spend.
You see this all over the world at the top levels. The short format enables this business model to flourish and for top riders and trainers to make money.
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My opinion, for what itâs worth (nothing!), is that warmbloods werenât competitive enough at the top. You needed something with (Thoroughbred) blood to make it through Roads & Tracks, Steeplechase, and Cross Country. So, TPTB, decided to make it more âfairâ for the warmbloods, and 3-Day Eventing became a big($) venue for the ones that could do dressage and make it around a shortened version.
Again, JMO.
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A few thoughtsâŠ
- Is it really better for âhorse welfareâ to have horses competing at top levels in eventing for many seasons?
Eventing is dangerous and - especially at the top levels - you are putting the horse at risk every time you go to the start box. Keeping the horse in the sport is not the obvious âwelfareâ option.
- Mike Plumb says that in XC in the long format, you werenât riding the horse you trained. Because of the added efforts of the other phases, the horse you went out on XC could be quite a different animal than the one you schooled at home and rode at HTs. Thatâs an interesting observation from a great rider and trainer who rode in a long format or two.
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I would agree with this. In all my long format runs, the horse I rode on phase D was BETTER than ever before. Bolder, more forward-thinking, with zest and a sharpness that made difficult courses seem easier.
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That was a very popular theory at the time of the change but subsequent history has shown that a lot of blood is necessary at the top level. Scratch the skin of a successful eventing WB and see a lot of TB xx in the pedigree.
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The fact that they compete for many seasons suggests that the welfare of the horse is excellent.
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No, no it doesnât. It shows the riders want to pump as many events out as possible on said horse.
The horses eventing all summer, then fall and winter and spring donât last. There are the few exceptions who would stay sound no matter what, but in general it does seem the upper level horses donât have nearly as lasting careers as the long formatters did.
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Does it really?
How do we know that it doesnât mean that the short format makes it easier to patch up or cover up soundness issues and keep the horse running regardless?
Also, thereâs the risk factor of XC. It exists no matter how sound the horse is. Under the long format, there were top riders who would (habitually) retire horses from the long format at around age 14. Then the horse would go on to hunt or do HTs. So now you can keep a horse going for another 4 years or so. Is that in the interest of horse welfare, sending it out more times on tracks with a significant risk of serious or fatal injury.
Look how we talk about racing - is it âhorse welfareâ to keep a horse racing for a long time and year-round?
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