They are looking for more codependents! I would take it as a compliment to your training that they consider FEI to be the obvious next step.
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I did a lifetime ago (different discipline/different country). Then and there (and I believe thatās still the case now over there), you had to go 2* to qualify for developing riders programs, training weekends, working with the national team vets, etc. It opened a lot of doors - particularly as a young rider.
I donāt think I would in the U.S. nowadays - particularly in a discipline like eventing where the shows are likely not going to be run that differently if they have FEI sections or not.
Unless you are chasing world ranking points for bragging rights (which is then easier to do here as FEI sections tend to be much smaller than in Europe and so youāll typically place āhigherā).
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@RAyers I think the difference here is for someone who has done FEI in the past and has no big goals either personally or with their specific horse what is the value which is different than for someone who has never done FEI what is the value
For the latter, I think the goal setting is quite probable as a āreason to do itā. It certainly was a goal of mine when I had a horse who I thought could get there (he didnāt, but it still made the goal list). That kind of goal can keep you waking up at 5 am to ride before work or going out to the barn at 8 pm after work. For someone who has a solid prelim horse who just isnāt going to make the leap up to intermediate, an FEI event can still be a reasonable and exciting goal rather than ājust running Prelim again.ā For someone with a quality Prelim/Intermediate horse who might not do Advanced/4*/5*, having some solid FEI results on paper could make the horse more attractive to a junior/young rider looking to do that pipeline, as the horse would be shown to be able to meet the qualifications.
I think itās totally reasonable that you, specifically, might not see any or limited value in it though!
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Personally, itās a gauge of my training program. Iām not as competitive as I once was, but I am still very intentional with my training and I like to compete at that scale to know where I compare.
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For the long formats, you are going to do a much longer XC and then show jumping afterwards, unlike many national events. So itās a different goal and as someone else said, if you go to that big prestigious event, feels like a big accomplishment.
For the shorts, Iāve too often seen the exact same XC for the FEI and the national. I wish that werenāt the case. I was told by one CD that the extra cost isnāt about getting a different XC, itās for the qualification and needing to pay FEI officials.
For me, thatās not really worthwhile as an amateur.
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I appreciate the thoughts! It is a good exercise to see what folks think and feel.
The interesting thing to me is that the perception of function of the FEI levels is different than the past. This is fair as the sport is different than the past. But, so far, nobody is coming up with a piece that I have missed in thinking about competing FEI.
I also might consider it if I was developing a horse for sale and needed the record to bring in the sale price I was looking for.
Likewise if I was campaigning a stallion or mare that I wanted the performance accreditation for breeding purposes.
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I could/ would never pursue that level in eventing (X country terrifies me) but have that as a pie in the sky day dream goal for dressage (or potentially SJ, but there are more dressage shows offering FEI levels that are closer and accessible to me than SJ). The only draw for me is as a personal goal, to be able to say I did it and competed at that level. I donāt imagine I will ever have the funds to be competitive at that level (as in attending multiple shows at the level, chasing points or rankings, etc). Just something to keep working towards since Iām a goal oriented person.
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I actually had this thought/convo the other day driving home from a clinic. I was asked what my goals where, a 5*, a 2*, a 1*? My answers where maybe to a 2* or 1*, probably a no to anything higherā¦ but asking me the same question using the national levels, prelim or modified, where more likely a yes. I was then asked why?
I felt the FEIs were just alot of money & paperwork for a similar experience.
Though, I do wish I could do the technical questions of a 5* at like a training level heightā¦ I really like the technical stuff & havenāt found a sport that scratches that itch of the technicalnessā¦
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Iāve had this convo with multiple people recently! We want the technicality of Adv/Intermed/Prelim but at T/N/BN heights. I think it could be a huge hit for those who may not ever want to jump higher (or have the horse to do so) but want to do things like full coffins, combos, etc.
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Take up hunting or team chasing. https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/from-team-riders-to-team-chase/
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As the level increases, the technicality increases. Eventing is not only about the height of a fence: 5* is only 1.20m xc. Unlike SJ, the terrain is also highly influential. It takes time and training to build up through the levels.
A major changes is the speed across country, which obviously means a combination has to be more adjustable, more balanced and quicker in reaction times as they move up the levels, which generally means more experience.
The technicality moves up too. It is logical. At the lowest level the water jump may just be to pass between the flags through the water. Then an obstacle may be placed a few meters before the water and the jump becomes elements A&B because when the horse sees the water, it will influence how the horse jumps that first element. Then moving on up, the A element is placed closer to the water, even to jumping over and directly into the water - which is far harder to do. Then another obstacle is placed after the splashy bit and becomes element C because riding through water will affect the stride into that third element. Getting harder, place the third element ever closer to the water. Harder yet, introduce an obstacle in the water, to jump out of and into water and the problem is now becoming seriously challenging. Then the several parts all strung together, at increasing speedā¦ Then throw in curves, slopes, light and shade to add to the technicality.
A course that included an 80cm obstacle jumped directly into water, onto an 80 cm obstacle set in the water, onto another 80cm obstacle set one or two strides beyond the wet bit would be highly technical and I personally would give odds that no combination would make it through. At 80cm, many combinations donāt even make it between two flags on either side of a pond.
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@Willesdon you are right. But maybe there is a way to create the same feel at 0.80m for experienced horses and riders? I agree that distances and such can not be set the same simply due to the physics of the efforts. A 1.0m A/B bounce into water is totally undoable at a lower height/level because there is not enough āfence massā to slow the horses. I will add that there is a very specific intentionality in fence design and building to help the horse that riders donāt generally recognize. And some low level fences become very dangerous to upper level horses because the horse no longer reads the question correctly.
But, still, it would be cool to figure out how to give experienced low level riders the chance to experience what it feels to run an upper level course without the size. Kind of a taster flight.
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I love watching those helmet camera videos! We donāt have much of that in the western US though.
Iāve done one whopping CCI**-L and approximately one bajillion prelims, including multiple appearances at AECs. I would love to do at least one more 2* before Iām done with the āupperā levels, but this time Iād like a clear XC and less SJ rails. My horse unfortunately took exception to the ditch on XC day and my back unfortunately took exception to existing and let me (and subsequently my horse) down on SJ day.
I wanted to do a 2* because I could. The same way people look at mountains and go āI want to climb that.ā Iām in my late 30s and while I would theoretically love to go intermediate, and that is easily within the scope of my horse, I think Iām at the point where I need to accept that Iām just not brave enough. Prelim is still a challenge, but sometimes I want MORE challenge, without wanting to pee myself, as Iām sure I would when confronted with a max intermediate table.
A 2*-L gives me 2 extra inches of show jumping (1.15m) and ~2 minutes more of XC, plus a course that I know for certain will be on the more technical side (unlike say, AECs last year, which I honestly thought were a bit soft for a national prelim championship). And as an amateur, it sure feels nice to say that I did an FEI. And even more to say I did an FEI on a horse I got for free as a failed show jumper and developed myself up the levels.
Itās probably not worth the money, especially since I donāt need it for any sort of theoretical qualification, but I do plenty of other things with my horses that arenāt worth the money either. Whatās one very expensive show in the grand scheme of things?
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So you look at it as a cost per minute of XC? 
You make good points. I appreciate the personal vision. In my case I go do A show jumpers to do the 1.15m (lot more bang for the dollar in my area). And if I want a long, more complex course, move up to OI.
Donāt sell yourself short about intermediate. I just turned 60 and doing this on a self made horse. One thing Iāve learned is that the bigger you go, the more you have to trust your horse, accept the fear, and just focus on balance. You canāt control the jump. Thatās the horseās job.
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I get the thought on the distances and why some things wonāt work, but others I disagree with. Sure, at N or BN some wonāt get through the water, but plenty of us have horses who donāt blink. Weāve schooled jumps in water or on mounds, full coffins, related distances and terrain - even though it would never be seen at our level. Thereās no reason this ātheoretical special event/level/whateverā couldnāt have a small jump on a mound, a skinny, a jump in water, a full coffin, a small chevron or a small drop into water. I say that as someone who has schooled all that at smaller sizes. I right now am happy to keep moving up and luckily have a horse to do so on, but heās going to top out at some point or Iām going to say ānope, too bigā.
So while some riders or horses going BN/N are green or struggle with the things as is (a ditch by itself, a water crossing, etc.) there are plenty who have experience at the level and donāt. Right now my goal is a N3D, but I think something like we are describing would be a lot of fun to get the experience.
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One issue with trying to make a Novice āadvancedā course is having jumps that fit the correct specifications. For instance, most event sites wonāt have a chevron that is skinny and only 0.9m high. You can, of course, use schooling obstacles and even show jumps (Jump for Joy jumps and the like) to set up things to school at home.
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Bragging rights, less money, more judges and a worry about false positives from environmental contamination in FEI drug testing.
Go for it, enjoy the bragging rights if you decide to do it!
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