Ugh. My first show is this Saturday. Some light rain is supposed to fall right around when I will be riding XC. I do not have holes drilled for studs. It’s only BN and I’m told most things will be geared toward early season small jumps, but I am a little concerned about jumping on wet grass. Dressage and stadium are on sand, so I’m good there. Hopefully it’s one of those shows where they let you ride XC out of order if you’re ready, but if not, how slippery is wet grass?
Quite slippy, but variable depending on length of grass, soil type etc etc. BN is about 80cm? The actual jumps should be fine, just plan your hills and corners and don’t push for the time. 
They wouldn’t run it if it was dangerous. You can get premade shoes with stud holes, I probably would put studs in for next time, just for peace of mind really.
Wet grass can definitely be slick, but it’s usually worse on top of rock hard ground (such as early morning dew on concrete-baked ground in August). If it has time to soak in (provided it’s not an inch or more of rain!) the horse will dig into the ground. Sometimes takeoffs and landings will get chewed up, but over small fences it’s manageable.
Light rain for BN xc wouldn’t scare me without studs. Go slow, trot where you need to (tight turns), and let your horse figure it out. Good for them to learn, really…life isn’t always perfect.
It’s supposed to be light rain, and I might get lucky on time since it’s supposed to come in right around my ride time. It’s been drizzling on and off for the past two days, so it won’t be falling onto hard ground. No tight turns in this course and very little terrain. I’d say we’ll take it slow, but he kind of goes onto autopilot after the first few fences and settles into a nice pace that I hate to upset.
I normally have studs, but after my last show last year where it poured and we were up to our ankles in mud, I decided I would not show again in those conditions. It’s just not worth it to me. I did not factor in this situation…oops.
[QUOTE=tbchick84;7568808]
It’s been drizzling on and off for the past two days, so it won’t be falling onto hard ground. [/QUOTE]
Light rain shouldn’t be a problem at BN unless it is on really hardpacked (think clay) soil. Under those conditions it acts like grease, but if there is already moisture in the soil (or it’s loomy soil or sandy soil) it shouldn’t be too bad.
The other problem would be wet grass, with a red clay base (think AL and GA). It is very slick, too.
I agree with the other posters about wet grass on hard, dry clay being as bad, as red clay. I agree, if you need to do so, then take it slowly.
Also, pay attention to your line on the approach and landing. Last week at Penny Oaks, I chose the line that was not as chewed up or a bit deep. Since Tess was coming off a year sabbatical for a suspensory injury, I was very careful about the footing on the take off and landing on cross country. Sometimes, it meant jumping the higher side of the jump, but I felt that it was safer footing.
Good luck this weekend!!
