Intermediate is for riders who jump 2’ at IEA shows. They are not permitted to have shown above .90m at any show with traceable results (A shows, any local shows with point recordings. Camp or in barn shows don’t count). Sometimes riders are placed into this division because of their prior show results or their general riding ability, sometimes they have moved up into this level by either 1) earning 22 points or more the year previously, 2) having done 2 years at the previous level, or 3) placing top 10 (I believe) at Nationals in the previous level. There is one jumping level below intermediate (novice, or cross rails) and one above (Open, or 2’6). There are two additional flat levels below Novice, Walk/Trot and Walk/Trot/Canter.
Getting cut off usually punishes the rider who breaks gait, unless it was very obvious that the rider doing the cutting off was out of control and caused your horse to do something beyond your control. I like to tell my riders to keep up with the flow of traffic. If you are constantly doing the passing, you are likely going too fast. If you are constantly being passed, you are likely going too slow.
10 riders can feel like a lot, especially in a small place. If the arena is small, do your best to pick your spot and stay there. Try to avoid CIRCLES at all costs. Circles tend to get you stuck in the middle or the ring or constantly having to repeat getting spread out.
The first thing the judge sees when you enter the ring is your position and presentation. The second is your control over the horse. Walk into the ring like you know you belong and you know you can ride that particular horse to the best of your ability. Make sure you create a good walk from the beginning. If you can, when you enter the ring, make a path to get in front of the judge so that they write down your number early on their judges sheet.
I would disagree adamantly with the poster above who says to ask the horse holder about their horse. Many times it is a middle or high school aged rider who may or may not actually know the horse. They may give you wrong or bad information (this horse was in my lesson last week and it went SO FAST!) or they might unknowingly try to overload you with info (make sure you do XYZ to pick up the trot and PQR to pick up the canter and switch your whip to this hand here and blah blah blah). Your coach will have watched the horses even if you haven’t been able to, and will have gotten information about the horse in the coaches meeting. That said, try to watch as many horses as you can, and once you know the horse that you are riding, take a minute to study them if they go in a class before yours.
I am a little confused about planning for Zones, unless you are going as a team rider. Most regionals send the top 1 or 2 riders for individual classes to Zones. However, most of the information you have received in this thread applies to all IEA shows, and will help you going forward
(Scribbler, I only replied to your post for the clarification of what Intermediate means… the rest of the post is obviously not aimed towards you!)
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