USEF Rule change proposals

[FLeventer]

The division between T and P has been a constant thorn. Either make the jump up or dont. Its not that hard. I did it, a lot of other people do it, and not many people ever feel prepared.

You just figure it out. First prelim I did as a teen. It was the same as training for me back then. All the jumps looked the same in my brave youth.

I jumped back up the levels a few years ago after eventing nothing past training for a few years. Lots of young horses and sales horses, so they sold before the preliminary move up. I did my prep and the xc was the easiest part. I went slow, it was also the first event of the season, and got around with a foot perfect round and hit my distances.

You dont have to make time at prelim for the first couple times. Take the longer path to a combination or slow down farther out until you can jump it more out of stride. Eventually it becomes easy to just have a good ride.

I see jumps better at prelim than I did at training. I ride better at the level because I know that my room for error is much less, so I refrain from making foolish mistakes.

If people want it so badly, use black flag options on the T/P level we have now. This modified is just further dumbing down the levels. Either buck up and make the jump to the next level or dont. Its a simple thing really.

[Winding_Down]

FLEventer, I sort of agree with you. I wish we had more options at the levels now - we used to have them a lot. It would be more economical and provide riders with ways to be make courses tougher at training and provide them with a time advantage. I can see why course designers do not use options that much - there are more jumps and then more $$ involved. But building an entirely new level is far more $$. I never see options at training and below and very VERY rarely below FEI.

[Janet]

[QUOTE=Winding Down;8284700]
FLEventer, I sort of agree with you. I wish we had more options at the levels now - we used to have them a lot. It would be more economical and provide riders with ways to be make courses tougher at training and provide them with a time advantage.[/QUOTE]

IIRC, course designers are discouraged from using “options” at the lower levels on the basis that “If it needs an option, it is not appropriate-for-the-level in the first place”.

[tle]

My problem with having many options at the lower levels is that it doesn’t REALLY do what it is intended to do at the upper levels. Options are supposed to allow for riders to take an easier way through a combination but be penalized with time faults. When the optimum time is based on 400mpm, is there any options short of circling back to the barn that would truly enforce time penalties and thus do what an option is supposed to do?

[Highflyer]

[QUOTE=tle;8285503]
My problem with having many options at the lower levels is that it doesn’t REALLY do what it is intended to do at the upper levels. Options are supposed to allow for riders to take an easier way through a combination but be penalized with time faults. When the optimum time is based on 400mpm, is there any options short of circling back to the barn that would truly enforce time penalties and thus do what an option is supposed to do?[/QUOTE]

For most people, time isn’t really a factor until they get to Training or Prelim anyway, though. I’ve had stops at BN/ N and still made the time easily.

[tle]

Exactly, which is why I don’t think options at the lower levels are going to make much of an impact.

[Highflyer]

I think they’re mostly to introduce new questions at the smaller height in a competition setting (ie for their own sake, not to really change the standings.)