EXPERIENCE EVENTING - FACT SHEET Entry deadline extended to Monday, May 25 via e-mail Please email your completed entry form to
[email protected] - fees can be paid when you arrive at event. The Horse Park is very excited to present the Experience Eventing weekend, coming up May 29-31. We have had a lot of questions about this new format and would like to clarify some details. This event is an opportunity to school all three disciplines in an a la carte format, over 1, 2 or 3 days. We will be using the same XC and stadium courses as the EI Horse Trials last weekend with the addition of Starter level. That means that we’ll have something for everyone from beginners to Preliminary, green horses to school masters.
What experience levels is this designed for? Courses will be set from Starter through Preliminary. The Starter course will be small and friendly enough for even the least experienced – perfect for giving the sport a try or bringing out a green horse. Along with Starter, Beginner Novice and Novice courses will be on the "derby" or east XC course. For more advanced riders at Training and Prelim, this is a rare opportunity to school on the Park’s west xc competition course – come try our new obstacles like the popular Seahawk Corner and sunken road! Use this flexible weekend as an opportunity to sharpen skills and prepare for upcoming events. Who are the featured professionals? Lisa Boyer is our dressage instructor for Friday and Saturday and Fran O'Reilly is our dressage judge for the combined test on Sunday. XC course walks will be done by Todd Trewin and Meika Decher. Jordan Linstedt is our guest speaker at Saturday's dinner, where she will be talking about her recent Rolex experience. XC and stadium courses were designed by Todd Trewin (same courses as the EI Horse Trials). What if a rider is unable to come with a trainer? We strongly encourage riders to come with their own trainer. However, for those who are unable to do so, we will help match riders with trainers for XC on Saturday, and have a questionnaire that will help determine the rider’s experience level. Fees for training will be negotiated directly between the rider and instructor. Please let us know if you’d like to be considered in our pool of available trainers. (Note that on Saturday, we plan to have an "on-call" trainer available at the stadium course for those needing
assistance.) Do I have to stay the entire weekend? No - riders can stay one day, two days, or all three. Format the weekend however works best for your needs. As an option, you can also ride the trails if you don’t want to train. How do I pick activities? This is a very flexible event, riders and trainers can pick and choose in any combination that works with their goals. Choose from schooling dressage tests, stadium jump rounds, and XC courses. Can I school a different dressage test? Yes, if you can provide the test sheet for the judge. Note that the test must be ridden in a small (20m x 40m) arena. Please make a note on your entry form which test you plan to ride. How many stadium schooling rounds can I ride? The courses will be set up all day, every day. Riders will receive a ticket for each pre-paid round. Tickets may be used on any day for any division. Additional tickets will be on sale at the office, or riders may pay $10 cash at the gate. What is the schedule for stadium jump heights? Friday will start at 12:30 with Prelim and will work down to Starter. Course closed at approximately 8:30pm or dusk. On Saturday, we will start low (Starter) and move up to Prelim by mid-day. Then, we’ll move back down the levels. Sunday will begin with Starter at 9 and move up to Prelim - course will close around 2. If time permits, coaches may change jump heights to fit individual needs – so long as the jumps are put back to the proper height when done. Find more detailed times in the entry packet. How will ride times be determined for XC schooling? We will schedule blocks of time for each trainer, based on the number of students in that particular group. Blocks of time will be figured at 10 minutes per student. For example, a trainer schooling with 6 students would have 60 minutes. Each trainer can choose how to use that time and the east or west XC course. What types of schooling can we do on XC? On Saturday, riders will school the XC obstacles at the trainer’s direction – school individual obstacles, ride an entire course, or do a combination of both. All riders must be with an instructor on Saturday. On Sunday, XC schooling will be over a set course (same as EI Horse Trials) which is flagged and numbered; riders will be scheduled at roughly 3-5 minute intervals. Schooling must generally stick to the set course, but riders may pick and choose obstacles in their path (change levels, skip jumps, etc.). Instructors are not required, though coaching is allowed.
What is the Combined Test on Sunday? This is an opportunity for riders to compete for a ribbon riding one dressage test and one XC round. Ribbons will be awarded to sixth place. Where can I stay overnight? We have 22 RV hook-ups that can be reserved on the entry form, or there is free camping in the parking areas (no hook-ups). The Park’s shower building has three showers that can be used at no cost. There are also several hotels just minutes from the Park. How many stalls are available? We have 260 stalls available – and will fill up the Park’s 10’x10’, light, airy and horse friendly stalls first. Each stall comes with one bag of shavings and additional shavings are available for $9. Can I bring along a non-eventing rider? Yes! Those not riding in the event are welcome to ride the trails and use the non-designated arenas. Guests must fill out the standard Park registration forms and pay the user fees. (In other words, they don’t have to fill out an Experience Eventing form.) Who is organizing Experience Eventing and who will benefit? This event is sponsored and organized directly by the Horse Park as a fundraiser. Proceeds will go towards operation, maintenance and improvements to the XC courses. Remember, the Park is a 501(c)3 non-profit and relies on donations and volunteers to operate! We’d hope that all riders and trainers at the event will lend a hand in some way. Do Park members receive a discount? Yes, current members receive a 10% discount on all their entry fees!
Find entry forms and tentative schedule on our web site wahorsepark.org If you still have questions, please feel free to email
[email protected] or call at 360.913.3291
