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Post by WKponies on Jul 10, 2014 11:21:28 GMT
As the title would suggest this weekend my son (8 years old) will be taking part in his first county level nursery stakes class after deciding first ridden is not for him and that he wants to jump and gallop!! He's had experience and done well at club level in the workers, but I was just wondering if anyone could offer me advice or at least just calm my ever increasing nerves! I'm concerned that it's going to be a big step up for him and that he isn't prepared enough with him still being a FYFR. We've been doing a lot of jump practice the last few weeks and he has his show well versed including the extension (which is my son's favourite part). The pony is a little on the lazy side so cantering round the whole course might not happen on this occasion, but on the plus side I am confident he'll look after my son and not get fizzy, strong etc. One of the things I'm concerned about is that I've had to put him in a wilkie to give him extra steering, as the pony can be a little tricky and will occasionally duck out, but I was wondering in light of the recent posts if I will be frowned upon for this. I'm not too worried about it affecting placings though as all I want for this weekend is for my son to get round confidently and enjoy it. Also should I expect all of the jumps to be full up and spooky i..e. lots of fillers etc? Unfortunately the pony has measured out of the tiny tots class at 124cm, as this would have been a better suited class for him. Alternatively can you enter H/C in the Tiny Tots just to give him the experience? Any advice would be greatly appreciated Claire
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Post by janetbushell on Jul 10, 2014 12:59:02 GMT
Most shows that take entries on the day will allow HC competitors providing the judge is happy to do so, however if you enter HC you cannot then enter any WHP competitively on the same day.
Also look out for shows with "training stakes" classes which will give him experience at different heights.
Not all the fences will be at full height & usually the first fence is nearer the minimum height. Fillers will be used but whether or not your pony thinks they are "spooky" will really depend on what the pony has seen & been schooled over & there will be a double, as well as a change of direction during the round. There will be a minimum of 7 fences, but there could be a few more (8 to 10 is often the average)
Hope he enjoys himself.
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Post by WKponies on Jul 10, 2014 13:30:31 GMT
Thanks for the reply, he's entered into the 60cm training stakes and then the open nursery stakes, so looks like going h/c in the tiny tots is out of the question but from what you have said the 60cm training stakes wont all be full up height and width so he should be ok with that. I can always withdraw him from the Nursery Stakes if its too much for my son. As first time out I just want him to have a nice positive experience to build up his confidence, although I think its more my confidence that's the problem not his :-)
Doubles are fine and he's seen and been over most things now, the pony just takes advantage of my sons nerves, I tend to find once he's over the first fence and in the flow he's fine so the first fence being the smallest would be ideal.
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Post by lolalou on Jul 11, 2014 20:59:58 GMT
If he does not canter the whole course or shows any sign of what looks like a gallop it absolutely fine. As long as he enjoys the experience and comes home safely a good day will have been had, you can always build on that at later shows. A Wilkie is a good idea if that helps his steering, safety first, I am sure it will not be the strongest bit you will see in the ring.
My daughter in her first affiliated first ridden workers which was at the NPS Spring Festival some years ago trotted the whole course, she was totally in control, did a fab little round and had a smile on her face - she was third in a very strong class and we were over the moon.
I do think you are right to wait and see the build of the course first, they can differ so much from show to show, I know there are height guides but some still build low and some full up.
Good luck.
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Post by sunnylynn on Jul 17, 2014 14:55:18 GMT
As an aside, if he is finding first ridden showing a bit boring, is he a member of your local pony club?...my daughter loves PC stuff. We done showing for a while but she got bored of it, at the time I done all showing and a bit of local level jumping but on reflection she may have been a little more interested in showing if I'd mixed in a bit of pony club stuff too....
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Post by bubbles1822 on Jul 17, 2014 21:43:18 GMT
Training classes are supposed to help jockey and ponies confidence so hopefully if you get a nice judge and plenty of time has been given for these classes I've see them swap straights for cross poles or just a pole to help the pony and jockey... Especially for the little ones...
Good luck and have fun!! Ive just started jumping and at 20 I tell the pony the course as we are going think she probably thinks I'm mad!!!
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Post by nici on Jul 30, 2014 9:54:40 GMT
How did your son get on with his classes? And did you by any chance get any pictures of the jumps in the training stakes class?
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Post by CarolineNelson on Jul 30, 2014 10:19:00 GMT
How did your son get on with his classes? And did you by any chance get any pictures of the jumps in the training stakes class? Nici - the Training Stakes Track is a proper course in a proper ring with all the usual fillers, a double, a change of direction etc that you would expect. The difference is that the Judge is usually someone like myself who is s trainer as well as a judge - and who can offer help if needed and advice after the round, if the competitor wishes to hear this. Also, the pony is NOT judged on it's Conformation - the rider goes straight away into the Individual show (still with boots if the pony wears them). Fom experience, I've found that the rider jumps a careful round,then falls to bits with relief and doesn't ride the 'show' (which has to be navigated round the jumps) half as well as they jumped the round! So basically, it's training and practice under competition conditions and it's a jolly good idea. From a Trainer's perspective, I love the class.
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Post by nici on Jul 30, 2014 10:32:19 GMT
How did your son get on with his classes? And did you by any chance get any pictures of the jumps in the training stakes class? Nici - the Training Stakes Track is a proper course in a proper ring with all the usual fillers, a double, a change of direction etc that you would expect. The difference is that the Judge is usually someone like myself who is s trainer as well as a judge - and who can offer help if needed and advice after the round, if the competitor wishes to hear this. Also, the pony is NOT judged on it's Conformation - the rider goes straight away into the Individual show (still with boots if the pony wears them). Fom experience, I've found that the rider jumps a careful round,then falls to bits with relief and doesn't ride the 'show' (which has to be navigated round the jumps) half as well as they jumped the round! So basically, it's training and practice under competition conditions and it's a jolly good idea. From a Trainer's perspective, I love the class. Thanks Caroline. My daughter entered her first training stakes class last weekend and I was shocked by the fences, which were a lot more solid and XC-like than I had expected for training stakes - I had expected fences to be more encouraging. I've posted photos of the first 5 (which is as far as she got before elimination) in a separate thread as I'm interested to know whether these are typical training stakes fences, in which case we have a lot more preparation to do before trying again, and the preparation needs to be on XC courses rather than RC WHP courses, which tend to be more pole based, at least at our local RCs. Oh and the judge didn't speak to any of the competitors after their rounds, not even the few who managed to complete the whole course without being eliminated. Competitors were sent out immediately they were eliminated / completed their show.
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Post by CarolineNelson on Jul 30, 2014 11:01:34 GMT
That's a shame and to me, not the essence of the "Training Stakes" class. But, don't be disheartened. Preparation at home is key.
Fillers are easy to create and with a bit of imagination and some family / yard fun and a lot of usey uppy household gloss paint, all sorts of spooky things can be painted onto safe, solid ply. Remember that the child sees the spooky 'house', the spooky huntsman hiding in the wings and his 'hounds', the 'trees', the Farmyard 'sheep', 'pig' ducks or whatever. The pony merely sees swirls - (hounds) white sausagey shaped blobs with black bits on (sheep) a dog sized pink blob (pig) etc!
Actually, I very much like the inclusion of some rustic fillers etc even at this level. Hollow, poley fences are not what WHP is about.
However, some venues disallow the use of real greenery which means may have been the case here - it also means that the coursebuilder or his assistant has to do clever things with the artificial variety!
Have responded to your thread with the photos. Apologies to Mr Dinks for gatecrashing his thread.
I would mention that, when 'judging' Training Stakes, I have been known to lower a pole with the coursebuilder's assistance, maybe move a filler to one side etc. in order to give confidence and get the rider round. As long as it doesn't take toooo long. Confidence is the (should be) the middle word in the very useful concept of the Training Stakes.
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Post by nici on Jul 30, 2014 11:25:43 GMT
Thanks Caroline, feedback much appreciated. I fear not much confidence was built on Sunday morning, with only 4 out of 9 or 10 getting past fence 5, and only 1 clear (at least I think it was clear, as the horse did stop at one fence but then jumped from a standstill). We didn't stay to watch the 70cm and 80cm classes to see if they had a higher completion rate, but instead headed off to a local RC show to restore confidence via the clear round ring and a lovely mini eventing class with higher but more inviting fences. The child and pony do actually hunt and had been jumping real hunting fences including a big hedge the previous weekend at a hunt clinic. Maybe we'll stick to the real thing in future as the jockey prefers hunting to showing anyway and was very cross with me for entering her in a show, which meant she missed out on a hunt ride where she could have practised her hedge hopping skills!
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Post by CarolineNelson on Jul 30, 2014 12:43:20 GMT
That's a lovely picture and a super 'shape' over the fence!.
Please don't let daughter be put off showing / a WHP class by one bad experience. You have a smashing pony and all the right gear. . . if she strikes a balance all well and good. Same comment would apply to Mr Dinks and his son who after all, started this thread !
To be honest, whilst I was incredibly fortunate to be born into showing, studwork and a farm, at her age I just wanted to muck about bareback, hunt, do PC stuff and help with the general farm and studwork. Quietening weanling foals a speciality!
Then the competitive bit kicked in and I cut a career as a trainer & producer. There were many less such 'producers' about then and those who were, were skilled horsemen and very helpful. I consider myself very lucky.
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