THE BRANDON SUN • WINTER FAIR • MARCH 2023
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ARENA: The arena is the stage. Westman Place has a ca- pacity of more than 5,000 spectators and during show time; it is filled with people, TV cameras and, in the arena, the obstacles surrounded by decorations (flowers etc.) which may distract the horses. COMBINATION: A combination is a series of two or three fences sep- arated by one or two can- tering strides. If the horse refuses one fence of the combination or runs out between two elements, the pair has to jump all two or three fences again. A com- bination is considered as one obstacle (with two or three difficulties). COURSE-DESIGNER: Sets the course and ob- stacles according to class specifications that will test the horse and rider as well as provide entertainment for the audience.. ELIMINATION: After a second stop (re- fusal) or a fall of the horse and/or the rider, the pair is eliminated. JUMP-OFF: It’s the “tie-break”: the jump-off takes place at the end of some Table A class- es to decide between the competitors placed equally after the main round. The jump-off course is shorter and different to that of the first round and is against the clock. MIXED: Show jumping is one of the very few sports in which male and female competitors (both horses and riders) compete in the same classes. OBSTACLES (fences or jumps): There are two major types
Brennan McCullagh and his horse WKM Xenia compete in the 2019 Royal Manitoba Winter Fair Grand Prix. (File/The Brandon Sun)
of obstacles: wide (spread- jumps) and vertical. The latter is a fence comprising at least two poles arranged vertically. On the other hand, a spread is wide as well as high. It may be wid- er than it is high and be lower at the front (rising) or the same height (paral- lel). A spread with two el- ements is called an oxer. A rising spread with three or more elements is called a triple-bar. A normal course comprises between 11 and 14 obstacles. A combina- tion of jumps is considered as one obstacle. STRIDE: One of the main difficul- ties of show jumping lies in the way the riders will
manage the strides of their horses between the fences. One cantering stride of a horse covers approximate- ly 3.50 metres. The rider can shorten or lengthen the strides in order to adjust their number between two fences so that the horse can jump the obstacle in good conditions, taking off nei- ther too close nor too far. TABLE: Different scoring sys- tems are used to place the competitors at the end of the class. The most com- mon is the “Table A” where jumping faults or the first refusal generate four pen- alty points. Time faults may be added to the final result: one point for every four
seconds over the allowed time. In “Table C” classes, jumping faults are convert- ed into seconds added to the time taken to complete the course. WALKING THE COURSE: Once the course has been built, the riders are al- lowed to “walk the course” with their coaches in order to memorize the design the route, to calculate the number of strides between the obstacles positioned close together and to locate the short-cut and other way to save time in case of a speed-class or in view of a prospective jump-off.
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