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."
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Thanks! --Amanda
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