Only 4 Weeks Til The Waredaca Classic Three Day Event!

We took a break last week but we are back with a bang with an overview of endurance day! If you have never competed in a classic three day before, read on and have all your questions answered, or hopefully at least most of them!

We all know that the draw of The Classic is endurance day. The thrill of the chase is truly exhilarating but there is a lot to consider and manage other than just galloping and jumping all the things! The morning of, depending on what time your phase A start time is, you may want to consider skipping your horse's grain bfast and restricting/slowing hay consumption. You will also want to have assembled all your items for the assistance area by steeplechase and the 10 Minute box. Suggested items for each are...

Assistance Area by Steeplechase - everything can fit in a 5 gallon bucket for easy carrying

• Halter with number and lead (chain or rope halter if necessary)
• Shoe pulling tools
• Hoof pick/Packing/Rubber glove/Diaper/Vet wrap/Duct tape to wrap foot or hoof boot (test fit before competition on unshod foot)
• Water for rider
• Small towel
• Scissors
• Spare reins
• Hole punch

10 Minute Box

• Everything from assistance area by steeplechase
• 2 buckets/2 sponges/2 scrapers filled with cold water (one bucket can be the one used to carry assistance area items) - I suggest getting ice if the weather is warm
• Smaller bucket and dosing syringe to offer water/rinse horses mouth
• Extra set of shoes with studs already in matching what horse is wearing
• Magnetic dish and wrench
• Towel(s) - multiple if the weather is wet
• Cooler for horse if weather is cold/rain sheet if weather is wet
• Chair/Jacket/Water for rider
• Spare gloves for rider if weather is wet
• Spare bell boots
• Tape for boots (if using)
• Different bit/bridle if needed

No more than an hour before your Phase A start time, you will want to put your things in the 10 minute box. Advise your helpers that they will then move these items to the Vet Box after you leave the 10 minute box for XC (Phase D). You then prepare your horse and yourself as normal for XC as you would at an event. The difference is that you do not warm up for Phase A. Phase A IS your warm up. Do not be late for your start time of A, so arrive (mounted) a few minutes before your start time to walk around and be ready to go. On Phase A, you will warm up yourself and your horse by mostly trotting but you should plan on having a little canter as well. 

Plan to arrive at the start of steeplechase (Phase B) about a minute early so you can take a breath, refocus, and shorten your stirrups if necessary. There is a 1 minute break built into the timing but you don't want to risk costly penalties (1 per second) by being late and this time will be eaten into if you are late (so don't be late!). Have a helper be here (with your assistance bucket) to check your shoes before and after Phase B and to assist you if needed. The end of Phase B IS the start of Phase C, so keep that in mind (next week we will share some helpful endurance day timing tips).

Phase C is recovery from Phase B so it is longer than Phase A and you can walk some to allow your horse to catch their breath. The penalties are the same as for Phase A (1 per second) so plan on arriving at the 10 minute box about a minute early (again, don't be late!). Arriving several minutes earlier than this is unnecessary and means you didn't allow your horse the recovery intended on Phase C. If you arrive late, you will still have 10 minutes in the 10 minute box and your Phase D start time (XC) will be adjusted. The 10 minute box is for cooling out the horse and allowing the rider to regroup and focus on the task at hand (XC). Next week's timing tips will also include more specific guidelines on timing in the 10 minute box, but a helpful overview from Max Corcoran can be found here on the groom/helpers responsibilities in the 10 minute box and vet box. Most riders like to get on 2-4 minutes before the start of XC to prevent being late to the start box (again, don't be late!).

As mentioned above, your helpers should move your 10 minute box items to the vet box while you are out on XC. After a double clear XC round (as I know everyone will have), you will arrive at the vet box and cool out your horse. Max also goes over this process in the aforementioned article but you can also find helpful tips here. 

Another great reference article on an overview of the day is this one by Cindy Collier Rawson. The second part of the article specifically covers endurance day.

 

We hope you found this post helpful and next week we will share those timing tips from the great Chris Donovan to ensure you have a successful endurance day! Please comment with any questions or if you would like any other topics covered as we count down to The Classic!

 

 

 

Only 6 Weeks Til The Waredaca Classic Three Day Event!

Last week's post discussed choosing the right studs for any situation. This week let's talk about nailing the dressage test.

As we all know practice makes perfect so don't underestimate the power of preparation! Familiarize yourself with the test you will be performing at The Classic so you can start practicing movements. You can find the dressage tests for each level of the classic three day here. Next month in The Classic, Beginner Novice will compete in the small 20x40m arena whereas the Novice, Training, Modified, and Preliminary divisions will be riding in the larger 20x60m arena. If you are competing above BN and have not ridden in a large ring before, you may be quite surprised to feel that the diagonals and long sides feel much, much longer. Finding a large ring to practice in or creating one at home with poles for the corners and cones (or other markers) for letters can really help you be more comfortable in the ring. Remember that a huge part of dressage is accuracy, so making sure that your transitions are timed perfectly and your geometry is accurate can definitely improve your score regardless of your horse's natural affinity for dressage.

Using a dressage ring diagram you can visualize your test to map out your movements. This makes it much easier to be accurate when you are practicing your test while actually riding your horse. For example, in the Novice Three Day test, the second and third movements are 20m working trot circles performed in each direction at X. The first circle is to the right and since it is being ridden in a large ring, the four points of the circle you should touch are X, 2 meters before S, 4 meters before G, and 2 meters after R. For the second circle to the left, the four points are X, 2 meters before V, 4 meters before D, and 2 meters after P. Being able to visualize this on paper by literally drawing out the shapes first can really help with accuracy under saddle. Other things to consider when mapping are the leg yields at Training and Modified and the serpentines found at Modified and Preliminary. Knowing exactly where you should be crossing the quarter line mid way through your leg yields to space out the movement evenly or where you should cross the centerline and touch in the loop of your serpentines can make you look like a pro. Another consideration is centering movements over a letter. For example in the BN test, the first movement has a trot-walk-trot transition over X with 4-6 walk steps. This means you should walk 2-3 steps before you get to X and trot 2-3 steps after. Many people make the mistake of walking when they get to X. Impress the judges by nailing this first movement and you are off to a great start.

Having someone watch your test and give you feedback is also invaluable. Your coach, a clinician, or barn buddy can help be your eyes on the ground to help you improve your movements and accuracy. Another great option is finding an opportunity to do a fix a test at a local schooling show. Sign up to do your test at least twice and the judge can give you feedback in between your rides. If you are local, you can sign up to do this at our last Taproom Thursday of the year on September 21st.

We hope you found this post helpful as we countdown to The Classic. Please comment if you would like any other topics covered in the future. Up next week, an overview of endurance day!  

Only 7 Weeks Til The Waredaca Classic Three Day Event!

Last week's post discussed starting to think about packing and recruiting help for at least endurance day. This week's post is all about studs!

Whenever you feel like there is a likelihood your horse may slip, either on the flat or jumping, you may want to consider using studs. However, choosing studs is a very personal thing. There are three factors to consider when choosing studs: the footing conditions, the level of competition, and the individual horse.

Not to oversimplify footing conditions, but smaller and sharper studs are used on hard ground, larger and chunkier ones are used on soft ground, and on sandy soil you may find you don't need studs at all even if the ground is wet. If you use large blocks on hard, dry ground, the studs will not be able to easily penetrate the surface and could cause bruising to the foot, and if you use tiny points or road studs on wet, muddy, soft footing, they will not provide much grip at all. In general you want to use the smallest studs possible to achieve the desired result. You don't want to interfere with the horse's natural footfall and it is better to under-stud rather than over-stud, especially at the lower levels. There is such a thing as too much traction and you don't want the studs to grip so much that the horse can't get its feet off the ground quickly. Generally you will have smaller studs in the front feet than the hinds. The horse's jumping power comes from the hind end so that is where the traction is important. You want to minimize jarring and torque on the front limbs and know that horses' front feet should slide just a bit on landing for shock absorption. When pointy studs are necessary it is wise to put a duller/blunter stud on the inside compared to the outside. You can use different studs on the inside and outside of the hoof as long as the difference in the height of the studs is minimal.

The level of competition will greatly impact stud selection. The faster you ride and the bigger the jumps, the more control you need and the larger the studs you might use. On any given day, under the same footing conditions, experienced riders will probably not be using the same studs for their training level horses as for their advanced horses. Using studs at the lower levels (N and below) is often not necessary, or perhaps you only use studs behind. However this can be affected by our last factor, the individual horse. 

Some horses hate to slip at any level and could lose confidence, or perhaps they have bar shoes with or without pads which can feel like ice skating on even relatively perfect footing. Other horses may overreact to studs and hate the feeling and prefer smaller ones. This is where knowing and listening to your horse is vital to making the right decision.

Always put on protective boots before putting studs in and the boots stay on til the studs have come back out. It takes only a split second for a horse to accidentally stud themselves causing injury. An ounce of prevention truly is worth a pound of cure.

Lastly, this article on EN by AJ Dyer is a great resource so go check it out!

We hope you found this post helpful, please comment if you would like any other topics covered in the future! Up next week is dressage test practice tips so you can nail your test at The Classic!