Howden Centre Equitation Competition 2024

The Howden Centre Equitation Competition is an exciting opportunity for Centres to form Teams and compete against other Centres. The Competition is hosted online, meaning that Pony Club Linked Riding Centres across the UK and Overseas can take part. Members ride a Dressage Test and a course of Show Jumps. They are marked on their position and how they ride the pony/horse they are partnered with.

Centre Member Team Class

1.    Teams consist of current Pony Club Centre Members who are non-pony owning Members of the Centre they are representing.

2.    Teams are made up of four Members.

3.    All horses/ponies used must be owned by the Centre or on long term loan to the Centre for use in the riding school.

4.    Two competitors may share a pony/horse which may only be ridden twice in the same team. A pony/horse may be used in two teams in total. It is the responsibility of the Proprietor to determine if ponies/horses are fit enough to be used in two teams and manage their workload accordingly.

5.    Members who have competed in Area Competitions at Regional, Novice, Intermediate or Open level in the previous year are not eligible.

6.    Two riders will perform the Equitation Dressage 2024 Walk & Trot and ride a round of 8 show jumps (max 50cm).

7.    Two riders will perform the Equitation Dressage 2024 Walk, Trot & Canter and ride a round of 8 show jumps (max 60cm).

8.    All four scores in each Team will count towards the Team placing.

9.    Members must not be led or assisted by someone on foot at any time during the jumping or dressage phases. This includes verbal assistance from inside or outside the arena/field. Tests may be commanded.

Centre Plus Member Team Class N.B. Centres unable to form a Team may enter individuals and they will be joined with other individuals to create Teams.

1. Centre Plus Members must be current Pony Club Members of the Centre they are representing.

2. Teams are made up of four Members.

3.    Ponies/horses may not be shared and must be owned/loaned/leased by a Centre Plus Member and have been regularly ridden at Pony Club activities at the Centre.

4.    Members who have competed in Area Competitions at Regional, Novice, Intermediate or Open Level in the previous year are not eligible.

5.    Two riders will perform the Equitation Dressage 2024 Walk & Trot and ride a round of 8 show jumps (max 50cm).

6.    Two riders will perform the Equitation Dressage 2024 Walk, Trot & Canter and ride a round of 8 show jumps (max 60cm).

7. All four scores in each team will count towards the final team placing.

8.   Members must not be led or assisted by someone on foot at any time during the jumping or dressage phases. This includes verbal assistance from inside or outside the arena/field. Tests may be commanded.

 Dress 

1. Hats must comply with current Hat Standards as per this year’s Health and Safety Rulebook and be tagged. The hat cover should be dark blue, black or brown only. Hats with vertical plastic/metallic strips are permitted. If you require current hat tags, these can be purchased from Wainwrights.

2.    Long hair should be tidy and safely secured.

3.    Pony Club Centre sweatshirts, plain coloured sweatshirts (no hoodies) or a jacket to be worn (together with a white shirt and preferably a Pony Club tie or stock).

4.    Pony Club Membership badges can be worn.

5.    All competitors must wear gloves for both the dressage and show jumping phase.

6.    Jodhpurs to be beige, white, navy, or black.

7.    Riding or Jodhpur boots should be worn. Plain black/brown half chaps/gaiters worn with boots of the same colour are allowed.

8.    Jewellery is not recommended.

9.    Whips may be carried – a short whip in the jumping phase. If misused, to the Judges’ discretion, the rider will be eliminated. If a long whip is used in the jumping phase, 50 penalties will be awarded.

10  NO SPURS to be worn for this competition.

11. Body protectors: The Pony Club does not make the use of body protectors compulsory, except for all Cross-Country riding and Pony Racing whether it be training or competing. The responsibility for choosing body protectors, and the decision as to their use, must rest with the Members and their parents. Body protectors must comply with current Body Protector Standards as per the Health and Safety Rulebook.

  Saddlery/Equipment

1.    Plain saddlery is preferred but not compulsory.

2.    New equipment is not expected, but tack must be safe, clean, neat and tidy.

3.    Any normal riding bit is permitted. Hackamores/bitless bridles are not permitted.

4.    Martingales may be worn in the Show jumping phase (rein stops must be used) but are not to be worn in the Dressage phase.

5.    “Gadgets” are not permitted.

6.    Boots/bandages must be removed prior to entering the Dressage arena.

7.    Competitors must warm up in the tack being used for each phase.

8. It is the responsibility of the competitor and Proprietor/Team Manager to make sure that all tack is safe and well cared for.

 Entry

• Entries must be made via Horse-Events. Entries are limited to 70 teams in total and will remain open till 15th September. Once payment is made, your entry is secured. You can log in and access your entry at any time to add/edit Team Member names, horse names and upload video links.

• Late entries will be subject to a charge of £20 per team and no entries will be accepted beyond September 22nd as this delays judging.

• Centres may enter up to three Centre Member Teams. There is no limit on the number of Centre Plus Teams and Centre Plus Individual Members that can enter.

• Each phase and member must have a separate video on YouTube. i.e., one Team should have a total of eight different and separate video links.

•  Entry Fee – £42 per team (Centre or Centre Plus)

•  Centre Plus Individuals – £12

•  Late entry fee – additional £20 per team

How to film your videos

·       Dressage Tests – film from C, the judge’s position.

·       Show Jumping – film preferably from E (if not B).

·       If filming on a smartphone, hold the device in landscape orientation.

·       The camera person should be in an elevated position to the arena and must not zoom in on the rider. This is to ensure that the Judge can always see the whole arena/course.

·      If videos are filmed from a different position than stated, the videos may not be judged. The original sound on the videos must also be included, and the volume must not be turned down.

Scoring

·       Marked as per the Equitation Dressage and Equitation Show jumping 2024 score sheets.

·       Team – all four score totals are added together.

·       Individual scores will count towards individual placings. Individual scores are the percentage score of each phase added together.

·       In the event of a tie, the competitor with the higher collective marks will be placed higher.

·       If the total of the collective marks is equal, the individual teams/competitors will receive equal placing.

·       If any Dress or Saddlery rules are broken, marks will be heavily deducted (50 penalties), but members will not be eliminated.

·  Members must not be led or assisted by someone on foot at any time during the jumping or dressage phases. This includes verbal assistance from inside or outside the arena/field.

Additional important notes

It is solely the responsibility of the Team Manager/Centre Proprietor to ensure that all the videos submitted are correct. It is not the responsibility of the judges or the Office to check that videos work for the correct member or correct phase. If a technical difficulty is spotted during judging, it is the responsibility of the Team Manager/Centre Proprietor to rectify it within two days of being notified in order not to delay the judging process.

It would be impossible for us to know if the videos submitted to us are the first time the member has ridden the test or showjumping round, or the 10th. Therefore, you can film the tests as often as required and submit the best take. If you have forgotten to remove martingales/boots or the member is not wearing gloves, please refilm where possible to avoid marks being deducted. If you only notice this after submitting the videos, you may re-upload video links, but this MUST be before the video submission deadline of September 15th. Judges will only mark the videos provided. They will not search for the correct video on your behalf.

If you enter Teams that you are unable to subsequently find riders for, you are entitled to a refund as long as the Office is notified no later than 1st June. Requests received after this date will not be eligible for a refund.