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Madeleen’s pupils are riding their own classes, and Claire’s pupils are riding separately. Both sets of pupils will ride at the same time, but in different arenas. Claire’s pupils have all been entered in the following three classes: Dressage, Cones and Utility.
The DRESS CODE for all three classes is the same: please wear your Horse Dynamics T-shirt (tucked into your pants), or else a tidy tucked in shirt. You may wear a tight fitting long sleeve t-shirt underneath if it is cold. A hard hat is an absolute essential, but will be provided by Horse Dynamics if you don't have. The ideal would be horse riding pants (preferably black or khaki) and shoes as well. Gloves are optional, but finish off the picture and make you look more professional. It is also nice to colour co-ordinate your dress, so e.g. a grey Horse Dynamics T-shirt with black writing would look good with a fitted grey jersey, beige or black pants, black gloves, black riding shoes and your black hard hat. Conservative colours (beige, white, grey, black, cream) are traditionally chosen, so please, no fluorescent pinks and greens! Dressing neatly shows respect towards the judge and points to the professionalism of you as a rider and the yard as a whole.
DRESSAGE CLASS – The first rider starts at 8am. Riders will ride their dressage tests individually in the dressage arena at specific times. Please wait at the entrance to the dressage arena AT LEAST 15 minutes before your test is due to be ridden, which means you need to be at Horse Dynamics about 30 minutes before your test is due. Claire will help you onto your horse, and when the previous rider comes out of the arena, you will be taken in and Claire will read your test for you. If you are NOT waiting at the gate when you are called, you will forfeit your test! We would like to try and keep things running according to schedule, do not want to run late and cannot confuse the judge by riding out of order. If we are running a bit late, do not wander off, please remain at the gate so that when you are called to mount your horse, you are in the vicinity! Please memorise your tests very well before the show, so that you know the pattern you intend to ride. The canter part of the test is optional, if you feel you do not want to attempt it, you may just TROT the canter piece, but you will obviously not receive marks for the “canter” section of the test then.
The individual times for the tests are as follows:
- Amashini (riding Callboy) at 8am
- Trishini (riding Orion) at 8:15am
- Claire (riding Callboy) at 8:30am
- Elke (riding Smokey) at 8:45am
- Ulandi (riding Callboy) at 9am
- Ryan (riding Orion) at 9:15am
After the last dressage test, we will all go to the grass field for the next two classes.
The CONE CLASS will start with everyone meeting at the entrance (gate) to the big grass field at roughly 9:45am, and we will ALL walk the course together once. After we have walked the course, you will be expected to remember it yourself. No one will be allowed to call the course for you while you are riding. You will all ride the course, starting with Amashini, then Trishini, Claire, Elke, Ulandi and Ryan (in that order). Claire will help you onto your horses (which will be standing at the gate) and when the judge blows the whistle/rings the bell, you will start your course of cones. Remember that the course is timed (fastest horse with least amount of penalties wins), and you are penalised for riding the wrong course and bumping cones over. Please be standing in the vicinity so that when it is your turn to get onto your horse, you are ready. Claire will help you mount your horse while the previous rider is doing their course.
When everyone has ridden the cone class, riders and horses will then immediately move down to the UTILITY CLASS area (also in the big grass field). This will be at roughly 10:45am. Claire will walk the course with everyone and explain the pattern of the test. After she has done this, you will be expected to remember the course yourself, and be standing ready at your horse to mount at least one rider before you are due to ride. This is NOT a speed class, i.e. is not timed. You will receive marks for performing the individual tests within the class correctly. The competitor with the highest score wins. The judge will be looking at accuracy of patterns (e.g. did you ride the pattern of the barrels correctly, did you go through the “passage” of poles correctly, did you bump poles/cones/bending poles, did you start on the correct side of the first bending pole, did you skip bending poles, did you remember in what order to do the individual tests, did you skip a test...) and the judge will be marking your position, seat and ability to control the horse at the same time. In real showing terms, the utility class is also called the “working riding” class, which implies that you need to be able to work with your horse and make him listen to you under various circumstances. This is the idea of this class, and we would thus also like to see if you can remember one or two basics of what was taught to you in your lessons. There may possibly be a few “surprise” tests to test your horsemanship. This class will also be ridden in the same order as the Cone class: first Amashini, then Trishini, Claire, Elke, Ulandi and Ryan.
We are aiming to be finished with the Utility class at 11:45am, so that everyone, Madeleen and Claire’s pupils, can then participate in the STICK HORSE CLASS which will take place in the Dressage arena when Madeleen and Claire’s pupils are finished with their classes. Please participate in this fun class! Any stick horse will do, whether he is made of a broom with a teddy tied on the end, or whether he is a fancy “thoroughbred” hobby horse! We will have a Race, and also give a prize for the Prettiest Stick Horse, and Funniest Stick Horse! Real horse riders and non-riders alike are allowed to enter the stick horse class.
After the Stick Horse Class is the big PRIZEGIVING, which will occur just next to the dressage arena. Please be there in the audience, sothat when you are called out, you can come up to the prize table immediately! You will receive your dressage and utility tests as well as any rosettes that you won in your classes. We will be giving a first, second and third place rosette out to the competitors of the Dressage, Cone and Utility classes. Remember that the idea of the day is to showcase what the pupils have learnt in the last 6 months in a friendly competitive spirit and enjoy the time with family and the horses. We will continue to braai and socialise after the prizegiving, so please feel welcome to join us and have a chat! The horses will be put into their stables after the show, so you can go and give your trusty steed some attention and carrots when the prize giving is over.
Looking forward to having you all with us on Sat 5 June! Remember that participation in the show is not going to cost you anything more than the usual Saturday lessons would have cost you. We will be charging each person as if they were just having their normal single 45 minute lesson for the day.