Tips for IEA zones

[celine.eq2023]

Hello! I am doing my first IEA zones next March (it is my first year doing IEA) and I was wondering if anyone could give tips on how to bring my A game.
I had a really good season, I got a lot of points and a lot of good ribbons. My regionals went ok, I wish I rode a bit better but given circumstances I did well. I really want to put my best foot forward and be the best rider possible.
Does anyone have tips on how to make sure you do your best and be the best version of yourself possible, and also how to navigate an arena with hard spacing?

I got cut off a lot at regionals which made it really hard to ride, and also my horse didn’t like it at all, so I think that’s why I got a lower placing than I expected. I also realize that it will definitely happen again no matter where I show, so I need to learn to navigate it better.

[MHM]

I have one piece of advice for everybody, but especially people who do IEA/IHSA/NCAA shows.

Do not ever, and I mean EVER, post so much as one single step on the wrong diagonal.

There is so much about that IEA process you can’t control. The horse you draw, the tack it wears, the schooling session, the others in the class, etc., etc.

But you have absolute total complete 100% control of whether you ever post on the wrong diagonal.

Don’t take a chance on making a bad first impression on the judge the second you get out of the walk.

Good luck!

[celine.eq2023]

We didn’t get judges comments and I’m kinda confused as to why I got 4th place. I thought I did well, my eq was nice, I showed off to the judge a bit which I don’t normally do and it went well.
Can you tell me which reason is the most likely why I got marked down?

• I half seated for like 2 seconds at the end because my horse spooked and started shaking her head.
• Except for the time I showed off I was really hidden.
• I had to make some awkward turns because the spacing was an issue
  Thank you lots!

[zany1]

IEA alum here! In my experience, with certain judges, IEA is a game of luck to a degree. Obviously, you have the luck of the draw with what horses you get. Depending on your zone, this may be a bigger or smaller factor. But some judges are great at looking past the differences between the horses and their abilities and really focus on the rider and their technique, while other, newer judges have a harder time with that and you often see patterns with them where they are consistently pinning the same horse/same quality of horse in the top throughout all the classes. This is not to say you did nothing wrong, as there are always things to improve upon but know that sometimes there are things out of your control that you just have to roll with. The best thing you can do is get yourself seen at your best gait with that horse as much as possible. Like, let’s say the horse you draw has a really smooth trot. When they call for sitting trot, try to get good, long passes in front of the judge where you are sending the horse into a nice working trot and showing off your position. There is usually always one advantage that the horse you draw has, whether it be a dressage background for lateral movements or great transitions or a smooth canter, so try to pick up on these things ASAP and think about how you can demonstrate them to the judge.

Best of luck, have fun, and enjoy it with your team!

[mroades]

this advice is so strange to me. I judge a LOT of IEA and IHSA shows. I have never considered eliminating a rider who comes up on the wrong diagonal for one step. It would be a tie breaker at best. Not saying more than one step is ok, but I prefer that to one who stares down at the shoulders of the horse for 5 strides until they are sure.

[Tackpud]

Congratulations on qualifying for Zones! That’s quite an accomplishment!

Always enter the ring prepared to be watched like a hawk from the first step in the ring on. Have your turn out as sharp as possible - boots shined, clothing neat and fitting, helmet firmly fixed on your head with chin strap against your chin, and number positioned directly in the center of your back. From there, show yourself as the winner. Claim your spot in the ring and show yourself off to the judge. Be sure you’ve practiced any tests that may be asked, and understand the true meaning of soft contact. Control those things you can - where you are in the ring, how you look in front of the judge and when you think they aren’t watching.

[risuenaVT]

I have no advice about IEA, but I will say that I ride in a boozy adult league modeled after IHSA/IEA with catch riding and all that shit, and I had one show a couple of years ago where I was having a great ride on a horse that was a good draw for me, and then we got cut off and my horse tried to murder the other horse. It wasn’t my fault, I think the judge knew it wasn’t my fault and me and my horse got to gallop around the ring for a lap until I got him back under control.

And that’s the thing with catch ride leagues - you don’t know the horse. Others don’t know the horse either, so you have to do the best you can with the horse you got and with how others are riding in the ring around you (and hey, my boozy adult team had a show today and one of my teammates literally got bucked off in the warm up for her class - the horse got pulled, my teammate got a new horse, but like how do you come back from that?)

I think mostly I would say just try not to compare yourself to everyone else - I know that’s super hard when you’re literally being judged against everyone else in your class, but I still do better and am happier when I judge myself against other rounds I’ve had, or how well I’ve been doing in lessons. Sure, sometimes I have a great round and get last place, sometimes I had a meh round and get third or something. But as much as I want to get first or second, I try to focus more on the quality of my rounds. Because also, every show I’m competing against different people and a good round against one group might be third place, against a different group might be first or out of the ribbons - it all depends on the competition.

So focus on how you think you did and what you can improve and what you did well. Don’t worry so much about your placings. And, in the meantime, since it’s a catch ride league, ride as many different horses as you can.

[Tha_Ridge]

@risuenaVT

I have no advice about IEA, but I will say that I ride in a boozy adult league modeled after IHSA/IEA with catch riding and all that shit, and I had one show a couple of years ago where I was having a great ride on a horse that was a good draw for me, and then we got cut off and my horse tried to murder the other horse.

Um, where does such a magical thing exist?!

[Arelle]

If this series isn’t near you, IEA for Adults is a thing now.

I’m shocked the OP already had regionals - I ride IEA as an adult and we still have two shows left for the dressage season and our hunt seat regionals aren’t for at least another month.

I will say - in my experience, it varies widely based on the judge and since we weren’t there watching the class as a complete picture or watching how the judge scored… the OP is not going to find a good answer from CoTH.

A lot of the judges are really good about “judging past the horse”… meaning if they can see that you, as a rider, did all of the correct things - they should ignore if the horse has a come apart. There are a few judges I’ve been unimpressed with this season who seemed to be judging as if the classes were traditional horse shows, with the riders getting the “good” horses rising to the top of the placings and the ones with the “traditional school horses” getting the short end of the stick. In one dressage class, my feedback was that I needed to work on “my horse’s relaxation through his neck and back with improvement expected over time”…

The best tip I can give the OP seems to be what you already know - you need to navigate a ring better. If you’re continually getting cut off, that tells me that you’re not spatially aware of what’s going on around you. Keeping tabs on the other riders - who is coming up on your inside, which horses are moving faster/slower than yours, etc - is a huge part of getting one shown to the best of their ability. Utilizing corners and different paths to get good spacing is hugely important and I wish more instructors taught this skill in group lessons at home.

[RoughOut]

Check out Alumni Equestrian Events! It’s IEA/IHSA for adults. It’s fun.

This year’s nationals classes will be held at Gladstone along with the Alumni Tournament of Champions. I love going and pretending I’m fancy lol

[celine.eq2023]

What if I am super aware of my space and always have at least 20 ft in front of me but then someone cuts across the arena right in front of me, if someone pushes me into the fence. Should I try to find a new place even if it means taking awkward turns?

[Tha_Ridge]

@RoughOut

Check out Alumni Equestrian Events! It’s IEA/IHSA for adults. It’s fun.

Thanks, I’ll check it out! I rode NCAA in college, not IHSA, so I’ve always wondered if I’m excluded as I am from regular 'old IHSA alumni stuff.

[Arelle]

You’re doing something wrong if someone is constantly cutting you off; this is where you need to talk to your trainer to figure out how to ride that better in the future.

I had a flat class in December that was not great – I was on a horse known to kick and had a lot of riders in the class that were more novice than I am. It meant that I had to keep a vigilant eye out and I was cut off multiple times - when that happened… we slowed, we took awkward quarter lines, and overall - it negatively affected my placings. I totally understand what you’re talking about and sometimes it’s circumstantial - but usually it means finding a different position on the rail away from the riders that are doing that. I find a lot of the more novice riders who “cut across the arena” are usually taking the shorter lines and if you stick more to the rail for half of a lap you’ll find that they’re halfway across the arena from you and you can at least get shown for a little while.

[risuenaVT]

It’s the National Capital Adult Equitation League, so Maryland and Northern Virginia: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=100064507937637

It’s a ton of fun and I love that it seems like everyone is supportive of one another - at a show yesterday, a couple riders had refusals and we were all cheering for them when they got their horses over the jumps, even though they were on different teams

[Sarah616]

OP, what division do you ride in? There is some specific advice that can be given depending on the level you are riding in.

[fivestrideline]

@Arelle

You’re doing something wrong if someone is constantly cutting you off; this is where you need to talk to your trainer to figure out how to ride that better in the future.

Agree. With the caveat that we have all had that one rider who seems to have a magnet on us and you can’t get away from them . But this should be a rare occurrence.

Ring craft is a skill all its own, especially for group flat classes. Getting cut off more than once means you need to work on your spacial awareness and make good plans (this takes practice! You’ll learn to predict the choices of others, good and bad, over time). A small ring with jumps not torn down can make this hard, but that’s usually not the case for IEA or IHSA. These are great things to practice in your group lessons, so definitely ask your coach! And bring them videos of your classes to remind them what happened.

Lastly, it’s hard to tell from your post (I’ll go read again), but it sounds like you got a lower placing at regionals than you were expecting? Remember Regionals is a collection of the best of your region, so in theory you’re up against better competition than any old meet. It’s normal to place “lower” with each step up in competition until you’re really solid at that level. Zones will be even more competitive (you’ll often be up against people who show the A circuit much higher than their IEA level), so go into that with metered expectations for your first year. It’ll be SO fun though, no matter the placings! Good luck!

[2bayboys]

Hey OP, no offense but unless you were watching everybody else in the class (I hope not, since you should have been focusing on your riding and your plan!) then it’s really difficult for you to judge if you were placed appropriately or not. All of your competitors qualified to get there too! Your coach is the best person to give you feedback on anything specific that happened in the ring and how you might have done better.

[showhunter66]

There is an art to riding a flat class well. Number one rule is you need to be seen! If the judge is sitting right up next to the rail then use that quarter line. Be aware of traffic and ride to the empty spots. Find the blind spots in the ring ( maybe a corner that’s slightly blocked from judges view) and use those spots to your advantage if you need to make minor adjustments. Most importantly relax and have fun. It’s a huge accomplishment to have made it this far. Congrats!

[findeight]

@celine.eq2023

hat if I am super aware of my space and always have at least 20 ft in front of me but then someone cuts across the arena right in front of me, if someone pushes me into the fence. Should I try to find a new place even if it means taking awkward turns?

Do you drive yet? Flat classes are very much like driving in heavy traffic. You constantly check everything around you, know where all the cars around you are and “ drive ahead of yourself”. Anticipate whats coming up- is your exit coming up and you will need to change lanes? Traffic merging with you? That stop light ahead turning yellow? This gets easier the more you drive but when you are a new driver, it can be overwhelming.

Like driving, riding in a crowded flat class means you need to be alert and aware of everything and everybody. You want to maintain the same speed as the majority of others in the class and, NO, you don’t want to make “ awkward turns” because if you do, you will cut off somebody else.

Going to get on you a little bit here…you are new to the sport and young. Take this as a lesson in how many hours of practice its going to take and how many shows you will need to go to if you really want to get good at it. IEA is more complicated because nobody is on a horse they know well, its the same for everybody but its never as smooth as a big flat class where everybody is on their own horse and can predict exactly how that horse is going to go. Catch rides are crap shoots, you need to do the best you can with the horse you have. Its very, very hard but will eventually make you a more thoughtful rider.

Go to more shows, go in more flat classes.

Except for Show Jumping, this is a subjectively judged sport. Its a judges opinion. The judge here pinned you 4th because they thought 3 other riders were better. Ask your trainer what it was the riders did better then you? Better leg? Quieter hands? Better transitions? Did you, maybe, look down causing your shoulders to slump?

Or were you just not as experienced and so not as polished as they were? And, as noted, they may have handled the class traffic better because they have more experience doing it? Does your trainer have any thoughts?

Really, trust us here, you WILL get better if you stick with it and go to more shows to get polished. Also. 4th at Regionals is nothing to be ashamed of, any ribbon at a higher level then you have been doing is a win for you. How many were in the class?

[LSBC]

You have a lot of great advice here! Here are the things that helped me as an IEA rider who went to Nationals (once upon a time) and an IHSA rider:

• Use the quarter lines to showcase yourself to the judge, especially if they are on the rail. Try to pass in front of the judge as many times as you can.
• Stick to your spacing. Don’t make any weird circles or turns and get caught in a group. Find your place on the rail and keep it.
• Take advantage of the few minutes before your class to get to know your horse. Ask the horse holder for any information and study your horse description. See if they will flex and frame up.
• Show off your intricacies! When the judge asks for a change of direction, inside bend to turn and use a little leg yield to get back to the wall.
• SIT!! Do not let your butt get out of the saddle in the canter or the sitting trot, no matter what.
• If your arena has a mirror, look at yourself BEFORE the class starts, but not during.
• If your trainer gives you advice during the class DO NOT look at them.
• Be careful about your diagonals and leads. If your horse needs to be set up for something, take that time to put them together and ask for the transition. A judge won’t penalize you for taking your time to do something correctly - you don’t have to make the change the second they say.
• Be sure to be well turned out, but not flashy. Clean your boots meticulously.

It would work towards your advantage to practice fake flat classes in a busier ring so you can get used to your spacing. Also practice on different horses as well! See if you can organize an IEA lesson with other zones qualifiers.