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Post by hp on Apr 30, 2007 15:22:07 GMT
Having been at a show yesterday where the ground was more reminiscent of late August than April are we going to struggle this summer showing ponies on grass? ?? The going at this particular show was awful, not may i add that this was the fault of the organisers, merely the unusual weather conditions we have experienced this year. It was both rock hard and slippery beacuse of the flush of grass!!!!! Is it time there were more summer shows held on all weather surfaces? Would there be enough venues around the country? The welfare of my animals is paramount and I shall be choosing my shows very carefully this year if this strange weather continues. What do we all think?
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Post by meeeeeeeeeee on Apr 30, 2007 15:43:19 GMT
God what we we have done years ago, horses would have been expected to stand up to more work and less wrapped in cotton wool,
i mean flat classes should pose no problem,
jumping alot on this ground would be risky, but i think horses and ponies are too wrapped up nowadays they need to dos ome proper work and they shouldnt struggle on this !!! If they do what use are they
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Post by johnwayne on Apr 30, 2007 16:03:05 GMT
Totally agree Meeeeeeeeeeeee. How long are the ponies on the move in the average class anyway? The 'go round' - a few minutes; individual show - another couple of minutes; final go round and lap of honour - another couple. Ok, so you have to warm up, and that's where good sense should play a part. I'm not talking jumping classes here, just flat.
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Post by five on Apr 30, 2007 16:58:41 GMT
hmm, its fine when the going doesnt resemble a cobbled street like ring 2 did at malvern on saturday. I agree that flat classes should not pose a problem when the ground is managed. But, the ring on saturday was horrendous.
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Post by was there on Apr 30, 2007 17:02:34 GMT
Rings 2,3 & 4 had been watered for the whole week prior to the Spring Festival, I don't think there is much more the nps could have done, other than cancel the show. In fact lots of exhibitors came to say that the going was far better than they expected.
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Post by laus on Apr 30, 2007 17:11:14 GMT
God what we we have done years ago, horses would have been expected to stand up to more work and less wrapped in cotton wool, i mean flat classes should pose no problem, jumping alot on this ground would be risky, but i think horses and ponies are too wrapped up nowadays they need to dos ome proper work and they shouldnt struggle on this !!! If they do what use are they Im sorry to read this! you have to take into account that the ponies these days are not the lightest of sorts not in comparison to what they should be!it does not matter what type of work you do on hard ground it will still damage the ponies joints in the end! when you especially consider the weight of the pony the saddle and rider. try doing it yourself and see how comfortable you would feel? if i showed that quote to a vet they would be horrified!
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Post by meeeeeeeeeeee on Apr 30, 2007 17:53:23 GMT
if a pony cannot at least stand a small amount of work on this ground then in my honest opnion they should not be bred as do not serve a purpose other than just tolook pretty in the ring, my only exception tothis rule would be show ponies,
Hunters are expected to hunt of frost, and m & m go on rugged hardy mountains, so go ahead and tell your vet ....
a proper animal with sound breeding, sound limbs should be fine !!!
I know my vet wouldnt pass one that could only manage 10 mins on this ground in a show ring !!! not worth having !
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Post by meeeeeeee on Apr 30, 2007 17:56:09 GMT
you telling me carraige horses and people who hack out on roads dont damage the joints etc then ? i know carraige horses that are worked and trotted for miles on the roads theyare bred for the work and are generally gelderlander types, i think you will find most roads harder than most rings !!!!! Sound fit horses should not have issues
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Post by armada on Apr 30, 2007 18:01:05 GMT
I'm not a big fan of artificial surfaces, I think horses should work on the turf whenever possible, BUT!!! that is ground conditions permitting, and I have missed shows because of either too hard or too soft (ie; very deep and wet going) when having to ride in a not very large ring with a load of other horses slipping and sliding about also. my animals have always hunted during the winter, sometimes over not the best going being from lancs, the Holcombe country was very much moor and plough, and shown during the summer on sometimes hard ground. I have never had leg problems, but was and am always very careful my animals fitness and condition are suitable for what I ask them to do on the ground I require them to do it on, if I'm not sure, I would rather give it a miss than screw their joints up for the sake of a ticket or rossette. The onus is on you as a responsible owner to decide what is suitable for your animal having taken all the factors into consideration.
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Post by Pressue on Apr 30, 2007 18:12:09 GMT
With the pressures of gettings ponies qualified for HOYS, Olympia and RIHS - which today seems to be the be all and end all for so many people it is very easy to forget the welfare issues of continually travelling ponies, competing on concrete ground and less of all the heat!!
How many ponies this weekend did two shows on the trot? -now by looking at results there are alteast a few that did a full day at NPS Malvern and then went on to NPS 14 and Towerlands! - too many shows, too much together and too much pressure!
We really need to take along hard look at our Showing season? For me September and October have now become the best months for our ponies YET the constraints of HOYS mean that by then the season for most has finished? -
Hate to think what July and August will bring this year - I certainly will not overdoo my animals - with that in mind I have to say a big thumbs up to NPS at Malvern this weekend where the Winter Circuit is now becoming very popular and so it should where ponies can show on surfaces and travel in more acceptable temperatures
How many good ponies will be lame by July - I hate to think!
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Post by morts on Apr 30, 2007 18:45:07 GMT
Rings 2,3 & 4 had been watered for the whole week prior to the Spring Festival, What with a watering can ? That ring certainly hadn't seen any quantity of water on it for some considerable time ! The cattle field at the farm next door has smaller divots in it then ring 2. Going was diabolical in ring 2 and only slightly better in ring 4 due to better grass cover !
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Post by manes&muzzles on Apr 30, 2007 18:57:59 GMT
I hate to disagree but if you happen to win you have to do a championship and then if you win that there is another championship and so on.
Also if you have big moving ponies they seem to hit the ground harder and I know what 'hp' is saying if its only April and the ground is already like concrete what will it be like later on in the year.
And meeeeeeeeeee I defo do not agree, it seems as the competition is getting better and there are more in the class the judges seem to have you going round forever.
Its not a case of wrapping them up in cotton wool its just I am worried about the ponies throwing splints and I haven't even ventured into the workers yet.
think ring 1 was had the best going, it seemed quite springy.
Also the ponies aren't used to this ground or weather as we are in England and it never used to be this hot, so times are changing and the ponies will need to evolve with the weather because of Global Warming.
This time a good few years ago I was at PUK Winter Champs in 6 foot of mud so don't tell me the M&M's should be used to this ground.
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Post by blackknight nli on Apr 30, 2007 19:12:39 GMT
I took 2 ponies to NPS14 on Sunday but found that the going was so solid and rutty underfoot that i only competed 1 of them, the other got 'ridden in' then stayed on the lorry. I just feel the season is going to me a long hard one on their limbs if this weather persists so chose to save him for another time...
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Post by God forbid on Apr 30, 2007 19:31:19 GMT
I have to say that I agree totally with hp!!!!!! Are you really willing to risk your pony just for the chance of a rosette? If so then I am sorry then you really don't deserve to own them. It may be that it is only a flat class and that ponies should stand up to it but in reality the world has changed and ponies cannot cope as well as they could 50 years ago. And not just ponies - show me a top class hunter that would actually see the hunting field!!!! My ponies will be staying at home all season if the ground stays as hard as this.
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Post by johnwayne on Apr 30, 2007 21:23:09 GMT
But what do we all ride on at home? How many of us have fabby surfaces & proper schools?
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Post by not too much on May 1, 2007 7:39:54 GMT
The hard ground is my biggest nightmare i physically feel sick when i hear the horses trotting and cantering on rock hard ground but seriously what can we do, i try not to ever do more than i class and if possible work them at home on the school so there is no need to work in as i feel that is when a lot of the damage is done. Shows like arena uk, addington, and the superb working in arena at hickstead have set examples of what people expect for the future i would willingly pay extra entry fees if there was a good riding surface at the show whether this is in the form of artificial or just watering intensly enough the week leading up to the show a sprinkling here and there is useless how many of you would pay extra for good going the shows cannot change the weather but they can give us better surfaces if we are willing to pay more saves on vets bills, leg ice etc
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Post by not too much on May 1, 2007 7:47:56 GMT
Meant to say show commitees cannot change the weather but if extra funds were available could pay to get someone to water the ground daily leading up to the show.
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Post by morts on May 1, 2007 8:28:08 GMT
At Malvern the irregation system wasn't even connected up !
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Post by was there on May 1, 2007 21:01:25 GMT
When we arrived in the afternoon the water irrigation system was going full belt in rings 2 & 3, so you must be blind.
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Post by kubwa on May 1, 2007 21:20:09 GMT
The novice ridden ring was positively sticky in places! Not sure what ring it was, even though I had it written on my hand...
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Post by busybusy on May 2, 2007 9:38:20 GMT
Whilst I would never choose to compete on hard ground, if the ground is not poached and there is a fair covering of grass it is not too bad for a fit pony carrying the correct amount of weight, (both body and rider!).
It is the rings that are rock hard, with little vegetive cover and poached that concern me.
With workers, hopefully the various societies will ask course builders to keep under the max heights and legnth of course when the ground is not good!!!
Whilst I accept that we all enjoy showing, it baffles me when I see a good pony who has all its qualifications (ie summer champs, RIHS and even HoYs) still out competing every weekend!! Why???
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Post by abe on May 2, 2007 11:53:37 GMT
I'm pretty sure that the irrigation was connected up at Malvern because the ring that the workers is usually in doesn't get watered by the system which is why they switched the rings over so the jumping was in a ring that was watered.
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Post by julie on May 2, 2007 12:13:10 GMT
the walkway between the ring and the whp ring was strewn with blue and yellow thick pipes so unless it was all for show something was being watered!
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Post by abe on May 2, 2007 12:24:52 GMT
Oh maybe it was down this weekend or something because a friend of mine is on the commitee and does workers and they told me that as the 'usual' worker ring wasn't watered they had swapped over the rings (i think it was ring 4 and 5?).
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Post by ping on May 2, 2007 13:33:26 GMT
People don't top and roll their land like they used to. Some surfaces are pretty dead to ride on as well. Very disappointed in the outside surface at Towerlands. Anyone know whats happening to the Copper ring at Windsor?
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Post by water water on May 2, 2007 14:25:54 GMT
Just driven past Newbury Showground and they re definitely watering there
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Post by Rockstar on May 2, 2007 14:47:06 GMT
Just driven past Newbury Showground and they re definitely watering there Thats good to hear. We do get spoilt with lovely surfaces over the winter. I am dreading seeing what the ground will be like in June/July if this weather carries on. Mind you, at the end of May last year we were in a bog-fest and people were moaning about the wet ground pulling legs/tendons!! Some shows just dont have the funding / time to water religiously enough for a week before their shows. The one my mum and I run for example is on a public park - there is no way we can water daily before the event, even if we had funds / equpiment. The council do their best to keep it nice for us but we are at their mercy!
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Post by busybusy on May 2, 2007 14:51:47 GMT
I would still like to know why people keep competing in qualifiers after they have actually qualified. I can understand if it is their area show, or a local venue. Quite often you see already qualified ponies still competing in a qualifier a long distance from home!!! Are these lucky owners of these winning ponies addicted to red rossettes and championships? Perhaps there is a good reason that I have overlooked?
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Post by dressage amazed on May 2, 2007 22:09:39 GMT
A friend of ours who competes her baby dressage (winning at present 8 classes on trot and 2 advanced horses is absolutley gobsmacked that showjumpers and dressage horses would never compete on the grounds we do.She cannot understand it. She was so impressed by the high standard she taught on the Connemara Study day and thought it was such a shame some of them were expected to go out this season on this ground.
Her conversation today with one of the olympic team vets though was they had never seen so many tendon problems in dressage horses at the moment. The have the technology to fix joint and bone problems but are tearing their hair out with tendon probs. This goes to show that if there is a good covering and watering we should be ok. We should never knock any of these shows because they do not always have access to the money needed to make sure the rings are suitable. We will just have to choose carefully. Hears hoping everyones ponies will have a safe and enjoyable season. x
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Post by what do we do on May 3, 2007 7:48:31 GMT
I am baffled by the fact people dont think ponies should go out once they have qualified but can do as many shows as possible trying to qualify surley the ponies health is more important than qualifying. I have been very lucky 2 of our ponies won and were champion first time out 1 an intermediate and the other a section D the intermediate has not been to another show since however she has a judge that loves her at a show this weekend which is a 3 hour drive away but at a show with good surfaces so what do we do stay at home or go at the end of the day we want to show our ponies, the D has done 2 other shows because my daughter needs to get used to him it is her first season on him we cannot be expexted to stay in until the RIHS. The moral of the story is to show your ponies respect look after them the best you can and enjoy your showing stop chasing round the country like lunatics pick your shows and if you get your ticket fine if you dont its not the end of the world, ps we still have 1 not qualified he has done 4 shows 2 on surfaces 2 on grass he is so lazy he needs no working in but we still have not shown him every weekend as i dont feel it is fair.
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