Warm Up Fence Configuration to Maximize Limited Space

At the IEA show I stewarded on Sunday, Jennifer Mastronardi, show host and coach of the Middle Georgia IEA Team, set up the two warm up fences in a configuration I had never seen before.

We had rain and below-freezing temperatures the day and night before the horse show, so we had to move the show, including the warm up area, into the covered arena at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers, Georgia.

Space was tight, and we needed to make use of every possible inch of usable arena space. Coach Jennifer's configuration, shown below, fit the bill.

Here is how you ride this warm up pattern:

• Enter the warm up area from the left hand side of the diagram and track left toward Fence 1. You have the option of going directly to Fence 1 or making a circle in the bottom half of the warm up area.  

• After Fence 1, continue on the left lead along the rail, then turn left across the diagonal and execute either a simple or flying change (determined by the needs of the horse), and proceed on the right lead up Fence 2.

• After Fence 2, continue on the right lead along the rail, then turn right across the diagonal executing another simple or flying lead change and ending up at the main show ring in gate.

A few notes about this configuration:
The two warm up fences are placed right up on the rail, which allows the maximum amount of usable space, but also allows no space along the rail between the warm up area and the main show ring for coaches to stand and coach their riders. To fix this issue, during fence classes, the coach of the rider in the show arena stands in the in-gate area along with the show steward. No other individuals are allowed inside the warm up area.

During flat classes, coaches and riders are allowed to stand along the rail that runs between the warm up area and main show ring, but are asked to exit the area once the flat class begins lining up to allow the first rider in the next fence class to begin her warm up.

Using this warm up pattern, we were able to make a large IEA show run continuously all day long with no noticeable delays and finish at a reasonable time.

I love learning new ways to make IEA shows run smoother and more efficiently. Do any of my blog readers have a different warm up configuration you prefer? Please share in the comments.

And a huge thank you to Jennifer Mastronardi and the Middle Georgia IEA team for putting on a well-run show and inviting me to be your steward. :-)

Amanda Garner is an Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA), Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA), and Georgia Hunter Jumper Association (GHJA) steward, schooling show judge, head coach of the University of North Georgia IHSA Equestrian Team, and owner of Epiphany Farm, LLC in Dahlonega, Georgia. She is also a member of the IEA Board of Directors and the author of "A Parent's Guide to the Interscholastic Equestrian Association."

If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to like and share on Facebook.
Thanks!  --Amanda

CPI 2015--Olympian Michael Page Steals the Show

I spent last weekend in sunny Wellington, Florida stewarding the College Preparatory Invitational Horse Show (CPI) along with IEA National Steward Sue Wentzel.

The CPI is a great opportunity for high school students who are aspiring to ride on a college team. The CPI offers:

• Five levels of hunt seat flat and fences competition (18 inches to 3 feet) in a horse-draw format similar to IEA and IHSA

• A college fair attended by representatives of some of the most prestigious equestrian schools in the nation (do the names Hollins, Sweet Briar, or SCAD ring a bell?)

• College scholarships for high point rider and high scorer on the written horsemanship test

• The opportunity to experience the Wellington equestrian scene first hand

But hands down, the highlight of the 2015 CPI horse show was our judge, three-time Olympian and Pan American team rider and winner of the 1956 Medal Final, Michael Page.

Before the show started each day, Mr. Page met with the riders to explain his note taking system and asked show management to post all of his judges cards after the show so riders could see the decision making process behind his placings.

Mr. Page also tested every single rider in the flat classes. Tests he used included:

• Extension and collection at all three gaits, 

• Work without stirrups, 

• Circles and half circles,

• And my favorite ring direction at the conclusion of each class: pat your horses! Those of you who do NOT pat your horse will be eliminated from the ribbons! The judge is watching!

And before you think each flat class lasted three hours and ran the horses to exhaustion, I should tell you he tested the riders as a group all at the same time, including the circles and half circles in a class of 9-10 riders. The classes ran about 10 minutes each, pretty standard length for a flat class. If you thought you could go in there and sit pretty and win, you were in for a big surprise.

At the conclusion of the show Sunday afternoon, Mr. Page addressed the riders and parents at the awards ceremony then spoke one-on-one with judges cards in-hand to every rider who approached him.

Mr. Page is not only a fantastic horseman, he is also a class act.  Oh, and did I mention he's judging the 2015 IEA National Finals in Wellington this April?  ;-)  

Amanda Garner is an Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA), Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA), and Georgia Hunter Jumper Association (GHJA) steward, schooling show judge, head coach of the University of North Georgia IHSA Equestrian Team, and owner of Epiphany Farm, LLC in Dahlonega, Georgia. She is also a member of the IEA Board of Directors and the author of "A Parent's Guide to the Interscholastic Equestrian Association."

If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to like and share on Facebook.

Thanks!  --Amanda

CPI judge Olympian Michael Page addresses the riders after the show

Ideal Class Order for an Efficient IEA Show

For today's blog, I share my preferred order of classes for IEA shows, which I would argue allows for the most efficient IEA show.

My Preferred Order:
Morning Schooling--2'6" and 2' fences and flat horses

Class 6 Varsity Open Equitation on the Flat
Class 7 Varsity Intermediate Equitation on the Flat
Class 10 Future Intermediate Equitation on the Flat
Class 1 Varsity Open Equitation Over Fences
Class 2 Varsity Intermediate Equitation Over Fences
Class 4 Future Intermediate Equitation Over Fences

Schooling Break--Cross Rail and Beginner Flat Horses

Class 9x Junior Varsity Beginner Equitation on the Flat WT*
Class 12x Future Beginner Equitation on the Flat WT*
Class 9 Junior Varsity Beginner Equitation on the Flat
Class 12 Future Beginner Equitation on the Flat
Class 8 Junior Varsity Novice Equitation on the Flat
Class 11 Future Novice Equitation on the Flat
Class 3 Junior Varsity Novice Equitation Over Fences
Class 5 Future Novice Equitation Over Fences

*optional WT classes

My Reasons Why:
1. This order ensures that no riders are entered in back to back classes, so you don't have anyone rushing to dismount from one horse and mount another in the short amount of time between back to back classes.

2.  This order allows riders to do their flat class first, which gives them a chance to warm up and get moving, especially on those cold horse show mornings.

3.  This order allows two schooling sessions: 2'6" and 2' flat and fences in the morning followed by a second cross rail and beginner flat session half way through the day. This way the upper level horses can get their classes done in the morning and go back to their stall, while the lower level horses get to "sleep in" and do their classes in the afternoon.

4.  This order helps the grid creator to avoid using horses in back to back classes without too much difficultly.

5.  This order places the beginner classes immediately following the cross rail/beginner schooling break, which allows the beginners to ride immediately after the horses have been schooled by professionals or skilled schooling riders, giving the beginners the best chance for a positive experience. Many class orders place the beginners at the very end of the day (when the horses may be tired or cranky) requiring beginner riders to ride through some horse issues that they may not yet have the skills to handle effectively.

The Class Order I See Most Often:
I see many show prizelists with classes listed in this order:

Varsity Open over fences 2'6"
Varsity Open on the flat
Varsity Intermediate over fences 2'
Varsity Intermediate on the flat
Future Intermediate over fences 2'
Future Intermediate on the flat
etc...

With this order, the last rider in the open fence class is also in the open flat class, so the flat class riders have to wait for her to dismount her fence horse and mount her flat horse and get in the ring. This is not ideal time wise, and is also unfortunate for the rider who may feel rushed to get into the ring for the flat.  It seems that almost every time I'm stewarding a show in this format, during the downtime between open fences and open flat, someone asks me why the show isn't moving.

This back to back rider conflict occurs throughout the day in all divisions that are not split into multiple sections. To be fair, if the divisions are split into sections it's possible to ensure that a rider in the B section of fences is not in the A section of flat, which can help alleviate this problem at some bigger shows.

Also, many of the same horses are used in the flat and fences portion of each division (i.e many of the same horses are used for open flat and open fences, etc.), so you are more likely to have horses going in back to back classes.

In Conclusion
There are many possible class orders a show manager can choose for an IEA show.  This is just my personal favorite and one I think works well. If any of my readers have an alternate order you use for your shows, I'd love to hear it.  Please post in the comments.

Regardless which class order you use, I would argue, the key to an efficiently run show is not having any horses or any riders entered in back to back classes.

Good luck and happy showing!

Amanda Garner is an Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA), Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA), and Georgia Hunter Jumper Association (GHJA) steward, schooling show judge, head coach of the University of North Georgia IHSA Equestrian Team, and owner of Epiphany Farm, LLC in Dahlonega, Georgia. She is also a member of the IEA Board of Directors and the author of "A Parent's Guide to the Interscholastic Equestrian Association."

If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to like and share on Facebook.
Thanks!  --Amanda

Epiphany Farm--What's in a Name?

Today is January 6th, the twelfth day of Christmas, also known as Epiphany.

An epiphany can also be defined as, "a moment of sudden revelation or insight."

The name of my barn is Epiphany Farm. I'm often asked how I came up with that name, so, today being Epiphany, I thought I would share my story.

I grew up riding and showing horses and when I was ready for college, my parents encouraged me to get a good degree and a good job so that I could afford to have horses on the side. School always came easy to me. I was a strong student and I made good grades, so I decided to follow that plan.

I got a bachelors degree and then a masters degree. I rode on my school's IHSA team and showed my personal horse while an undergraduate student, but I didn't major in equine science or any other horse-related field.

After graduate school I was offered a well-paying job in my field out in Los Angeles, California. So off I went with my amateur horse, Nick, in tow.

I loved my new career and was making good money, but I was working such long hours that I didn't have time to ride my horse. I kept him at a nice full-care, full-training facility and my trainer rode him regularly while I sat in an office all day. Basically, I felt like I was working all the time to pay the bills and she was having all the fun, lol.

After a couple years of this arrangement I simply wasn't happy, and I knew the only solution was to work with horses full-time.  But the realization that I wanted a career in the equine industry wasn't my epiphany. I had known that all along.

My epiphany was that I was capable of actually doing it. You see, I was very fortunate growing up. I always had nice horses (not super expensive, just nice and kind and forgiving) as well as very knowledgeable trainers who did things the right way, proper horsemanship from the ground up, no shortcuts or gadgets. As a result, I enjoyed a degree of success as a junior and amateur rider. (on a side note, in my old age I've started to realize it was no coincidence that my horses were nice, kind, and forgiving because my trainers were knowledgeable and did things the right way.)

But back to my story, I was in awe of my trainers and never thought I would ever be as good as they were. My epiphany occurred after a phone conversation with my IHSA coach from college. I held my breath as I told her of my desire to start my own farm, fully expecting her to patiently explain all the reasons why I shouldn't do it. But her reaction was something to the effect of, "well duh, I can't believe you haven't done it sooner." Whew, what a relief. So with her blessing off I went. Walking away from a good paying job in a growing field to start a horse farm. I've never looked back and never been happier.

Happy Epiphany!

Amanda Garner is an Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA), Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA), and Georgia Hunter Jumper Association (GHJA) steward, schooling show judge, head coach of the University of North Georgia IHSA Equestrian Team, and owner of Epiphany Farm, LLC in Dahlonega, Georgia. She is also a member of the IEA Board of Directors and the author of "A Parent's Guide to the Interscholastic Equestrian Association."

If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to like and share on Facebook.
Thanks!  --Amanda