We all started eventing somewhere. For me, it was back when I lived in Michigan, trotting around local dressage and hunter shows, and then moving up to unrecognized horse trials. Those first few ribbons I won are still hanging in my room to remind me of where I came from. Today we have a guest article on the topic of starter horse trials from Charlene Eurick, who is well connected to top eventers in California. Thanks for writing this Charlene, and thank you for reading.
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Photo: Lexie Thacker (4th Place/Intro Division B) getting some sage advice from her coach, Jennifer Wooten-Dafoe. This was Lexie’s first event, and she finished on her dressage score of 39.0
Have you ever seen an “Intro Level” division at a horse trial? I hadn’t until this past weekend at Shepherd Ranch Horse Trials in Santa Ynez, California and I’ll tell ya, there should be more of ’em! Watching those cute pony kids (with a few adults thrown in) riding cross-country on their Saints disguised as horses was such a treat! The jumps are so little that even the small ponies can get around and it’s a nice step before Beginner Novice. Cross-country was 1,300 meters with 12-14 jumping efforts set at 20-24 inches high, with a water option. At 300 mpm, you could probably make the time trotting.
As I watched the warm-up, I guessed that most of these riders don’t get out of the arena very often. There were some really little kids on some really little ponies and the adults looked like they probably hadn’t gone Advanced. They left the start box with either an ear-to-ear grin or the “What am I doing and where do I go?” look but they finished looking happy and confident while the relieved parents and coaches jumped up and down and cheered. Ok, so there was a bit of drama when “Itty Bitty Cocoa Puff” was eliminated on cross-country, but all-in-all it was a good day.
Without many opportunities these days for riding in the open, it was great to see so many have the chance to go cross-country without the pressure of a jump higher than 24 inches. Of the 27 entries, 18 finished, and both the A&B divisions ended on a score of 30.5 (not too shabby).
I hope this division will be offered by more organizers and I think it would be a great addition to the USEA recognized divisions. I’ve seen enough scary riding at the Beginner Novice level to know that many of those people would do well with some experience at an even lower level. What a great way to draw people from other disciplines and get kids started really young. It’s terrific to see happy new Eventers and seriously, what’s more fun than watching a kid on a pony?
