Chris Smith, an international showjumper as well as a producer of young horses and a highly respected coach, suggests some changes that could help British Showjumping keep riders on side
I was at Wales and West earlier this month and David Broome reminded me how, 49 years ago, he helped found the International Jumping Riders Club (IJRC), which represents showjumpers’ interests to the FEI.
If there’s one thing I think British Showjumping (BS) would really benefit from at the moment, it’s a riders’ committee.
This year’s tack rule changes generated bad feeling because a lack of conversation and explanation gets people’s backs up.
Currently, we are told we can direct questions via the AGM, but those need to be submitted in advance, so it’s not what you would term a discussion.
It’s very easy to put half a dozen people in the same room via the internet, so there shouldn’t be too many barriers to setting up a committee. It would help us to work with each other, rather than against.
When you don’t understand the logic behind a rule change, it’s harder for everyone to interpret. Often, the only reason I know the rules is by breaking them and I don’t break them on purpose! They’re just not communicated clearly.
Where are the stewards?
I don’t believe there was a single steward at Wales and West and that’s not the show’s fault – they’re assigned by BS.
It was a busy bank holiday, with the international at Wellington as well as three county shows, but Wales had three Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) qualifiers, so what would have happened if a rider had broken a tack rule by accident? Someone could have objected and a HOYS ticket might have been lost.
With so many new rules emerging, there should always be a steward at an important show to provide clarity and guidance.
Our HOYS qualifiers have been a regular subject of debate and at Wales the talent seekers, which incorporates the former seven-year-old final, definitely showed it needs review. There were 96 combinations entered and only six clears, and 22 retired. After walking it, I decided not to jump my seven-year-old, as it had the technicality of a rankings class.
Course-builder Raf Suarez took a bit of a hit for it, but what was he supposed to do? How do you build for seven-year-olds and more experienced horses with those numbers? It’s a class that doesn’t make sense. While it might attract fewer entries, would a seven- and eight-year-old handicap be a better idea?
How to avoid a big divide
It’s my belief that if we’re not careful, we’re heading for a big divide between our federation and riders. Riders are what keep the federation moving, from grassroots members who generate the bulk of the income, to professionals making a living from the sport.
You only have to look at the number of low-level weekday shows that are being cancelled, because of lack of entries, to see how BS is potentially missing the boat. While affiliated entries have fallen, the number of private training shows has increased dramatically.
These are often organised via WhatsApp groups and cost less money – maybe £15 for two rounds at 1.40m, compared to £50 BS – and they help you to produce a horse properly with no pressure and nothing going on its record.
When you’re trying to sell a horse, the first thing people do is type its name into ClipMyHorse and if they don’t understand why a horse has made a mistake, it can easily put them off. With training shows, a horse can learn without that risk.
Lier is a world-class facility and it runs two training shows every week, and they are absolutely rammed. You enter on Equipe and it’s their biggest earner, as there are no judges or overheads. Some people now are only doing training shows and internationals – it seems to be the way the sport is heading.
We definitely need to have much better conversations going forward. BS wouldn’t be a federation without show centres and competitors and at the end of the day, most of us want the same result: to produce horses to their best, enjoy good sport and earn a living.
● What changes would help keep riders engaged with BS? Write to us at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance to have your thoughts published in a future issue of Horse & Hound magazine
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