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Date: 12th August 2017

 

Running order of Divisions:  CIC1*

 

Arena: 260ft x 170ft

 

Starters/Clear Rounds: 

CIC1* – 19/3 (16%)

 

 

The Course Designer did well to create an interesting track, in a relatively small arena with two Cross-Country jumps in it. Often you do not always know the exact placement of the Cross-Country jumps until you arrive on site and changes have to be made to the initial design.

 

It is important to take your time in these circumstances to ensure you still end up with a balanced course, with equal amount of jumps, and combinations, jumped off different leads. The end result may not have been what you would have wanted in the first place, but a good flow, and balance, within the course has to be the first priority.

 

There were five oxers compared to eight verticals in this course and most notably two sets of verticals, on one stride, in each of the combinations. This is not a good balance. However, reading the Course Designer’s Evaluation sheet, this was possibly due to the limit of jump material available. The triple bar, an easy jump, could have been made into an oxer and the other pair of wings used to make one of the verticals (perhaps 4b?) an oxer. However, it is good to read that there are plans to up-grade the material for next year. 

 

Fences 4 through 7 requires two right-angle turns. When incorporating these into a track it is important to have enough room for competitors to have three straight forward strides on landing, three in the turn and at least a minimum of three, if not four straight strides, to the approach of the next jump.

 

On paper the distances in the triple combination looked a little short for this Division. However, the ring is crowned in the middle to help the run off of water in times of rain. Therefore, the competitors would be riding ‘uphill’ to this combination. As it also comes out of the in-gate, and with the ring on the smaller size, the Course Designer has quite rightly taken all these factors into consideration, and shortened those distances. 

 

 

Richard Jeffery

USEF Eventing Show Jumping Course Advisor

 

GMHA Festival of Eventing Results - Click Here

Forms and Publications

GMHA Festival of Eventing CIC1* Show Jumping Course Evalutation

GMHA Festival of Eventing CIC1* Show Jumping Course Evalutation

GMHA Festival of Eventing CIC1* Show Jumping Course

GMHA Festival of Eventing CIC1* Show Jumping Course

Resources