As IEA season approaches, some coaches have contacted me about stewarding their shows and asking me how they can run their shows more smoothly. So I decided to do a couple blogs for IEA coaches (and team parents and riders too!) giving some suggestions for running smoother, more efficient shows.
Today's blog post gives ten suggestions to help the morning schooling session run more efficiently while also allowing each horse the schooling time he needs to perform at his best.
1. It is helpful to split your show day in half and hold two separate schooling sessions: a 2'6" and 2' schooling session in the morning followed by the 2'6" and 2' fences and flat classes, then a cross rail and beginner flat schooling session at mid-day followed by the cross rail fences and flat and beginner flat classes in the afternoon.
2. Decide beforehand whether your morning schooling session will start with 2'6" or 2' and make sure everyone who is providing horses knows this so there is no confusion as to which horses should be tacked up first.
3. Ensure that the horse providers know which heights their horses are jumping beforehand so they know when to school. Don't forget the alternates have to school at their highest height even though they are just an alternate.
4. Have enough qualified schooling riders so that you don't have horses standing around ready to school, but missing a schooling rider. Make sure the schooling riders know the course and any special tests that you would like them to school (trot jump, halt, etc.). The schooling riders should be professionals or experienced juniors or amateurs who can give the horse the schooling he needs to perform well.
5. If you are using two rings (a show ring and a warm-up ring) you can allow horses to warm up on the flat in the warm-up ring before entering the show ring for their official schooling session in front of the steward. You can even have a cross rail in the warm-up ring for them to hop over. Flat-only horses can also get started in the warm-up ring before entering the show ring for their required flat school in front of the steward. Please remind your horse providers that they can begin in the warm-up ring, but all horses must school in the show ring in front of the steward.
6. Tell your horse providers prior to the show day that the warm-up ring will open 15 minutes prior to the start of official schooling so that at schooling start you will have some horses already warmed up and ready to enter show ring to school in front of the steward.
7. Ensure all horses are wearing name tags so they can be identified by the steward and competitors. The name tags should be big enough to be legible from a distance and preferably be on both sides of the saddle pad.
8. Have a dedicated gate person who is responsible for getting the horses into the arena and keeping the number of horses in the ring at one time to a safe number (for an average-sized arena I prefer no more than six horses at a time). The gate person should communicate with the horse providers to make sure all horses are on their way to the ring in time for their designated schooling session.
9. Prepare a schooling list for your steward and gate person listing the horses by their highest fence height, including the alternates. Have your gate person check off the horses as they enter the ring so he/she can keep track of who hasn't schooled yet. You can also give a copy of this list to your announcer and he/she can announce which horses are needed at the ring.
10. Have your gate person confirm spur/crop usage against the horse description sheet as each horse enters the ring. The steward will also be checking this, but it is much easier to catch and fix any discrepancies at the in-gate.
A few notes in conclusion:
The morning schooling session can make or break your show. The most important thing you can do is communicate with your horse providers in the days leading up to the show so there is no confusion on show morning.
Also, never rush through the schooling, even if it is running long and your show start time is delayed. Every horse needs a certain amount of time to prepare for the show day, and if you rush through the schooling you may create more problems later in the day, such as horses being pulled due to lameness or behavioral issues that could have been avoided by having adequate warm up time.
If you enjoyed this blog post, please take a moment to like/share on Facebook. Thanks! --Amanda
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| Steward Monitoring Morning Schooling, photo credit Doug Dershimer |
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