Working Eq. Fall 2021 Info/Rules

Judges: Maria & Arielle Blackstone $60 per Adult Trial Entry/ $40 per Youth under 17 yrs.

Youth Division (7 to 17 years old as of 1/1/2021): May compete in any level up through Level 6. The Youth Division may be subdivided as follows:(1) Children- Riders 7 to 11 (2) Juniors- Riders 12 - 17

Introductory Level: must perform all obstacles at either walk or trot and must trot between obstacles.

Novice A Level: canter is required between obstacles, and changes of lead are through the trot. Obstacles must be trotted, unless required or allowed to be walked.

Novice B Level: canter is required between obstacles, and changes of lead through the trot are required. Obstacles must be cantered unless required or allowed to be walked or trotted.

Intermediate A Level: canter is required in and between obstacles, & changes of lead through the walk are required. Obstacles must be cantered, unless required or allowed to be walked.

Intermediate B Level: canter is required in and between obstacles, & flying changes of lead are required. Obstacles must be cantered, unless required or allowed to be walked.

Advanced Level: canter is required in and between obstacles, and flying changes of lead are required. Obstacles must be cantered, unless required or allowed to be walked, & one hand must be used on the reins exclusively.

GENERAL INFORMATION: Footing is grass. Gates open at 7:30AM. Limited to 30 total rides. Show MUST have at least 20 riders to avoid cancellation due to lack of participation. Refunds will be issued for show cancellation only, not for rain date nonattendance. Payment & registration due by 2 weeks prior to show. Liability waiver & negative coggins required at show check in. Register online & pay via Paypal or by mail to ERC @ PO Box 93, Etowah, NC 28729. This show is geared towards beginners & intermediate riders with a learning environment. Time allotted for judge feedback after each trial. Trials will be placed 1st through 5th per division. COVID 19: masks required in the registration area, social distancing encouraged.

RULES: 1. Show will follow the United States Rules for Working Equitation. See the www.USAWE.org website for

more info on rules & obstacles. 2. TACK: Appropriate, safe, and clean schooling attire is required. Show attire is optional. Boots with a heel are required. Helmets are required when mounted, including western classes for all ages of riders. *Waiving WE United Tack rules/requirements. 3. No alcoholic beverages are allowed on the show grounds. 4. No dogs are allowed on the show grounds. NO EXCEPTIONS! 5.Preassigned ride times will be emailed the week before the show. If you are not at the ring within two minutes of your ride time, you will forfeit that ride.

6. The same horse/rider combination may enter multiple levels but will only be scored for awards to their highest level entered.

7. No Refunds for no shows. No refunds for cancellations within 2 weeks of show date. It’s impossible to hire volunteers, judge, set up etc. and have people cancel a last minute.

SCHOOLING PRIOR TO SHOW: Riders will be allowed to hand walk their horses (no riding) on the obstacle course from 8:00AM- 8:45AM and then again during 15 minute scheduled ride breaks throughout the day. These times will be written into the ride schedule in advance. Obstacles will be numbered. Longeing of horses will be permitted in a designated area at the top of the showgrounds near the parking area. ERC will attempt to have obstacles out for members to school in months leading up to show.

SPECIAL ALLOWANCES FOR CHILDREN, INTRODUCTORY, AND NOVICE LEVELS: During Ease of Handling, competitors in Children’s, Introductory, and Novice levels are allowed three refusals (each penalized in scoring). If the third try is unsuccessful, the rider can, with the authorization of the Judge, move on to the next obstacle, and a score of 0 is given for the obstacle not completed.

OBSTACLES: Children’s & Intro Levels will have the option of doing 9 obstacles or all on course, decided ahead of time. Novice level & above will perform all obstacles.

SCORING: 13 Obstacles will be used for all divisions. The scoring rubric used to judge each obstacle performed during the EOH trial is identical to the rubric used to judge the movements prescribed in the Dressage Trial, as follows: 10 – Excellent, 9 – Very Good, 8 – Good, 7 – Reasonably Good, 6 – Satisfactory, 5 – Reasonable, 4 – Insufficient, 3 – Poor, 2 – Bad, 1 – Very Bad, 0 – Failure to Perform. The judge scores each obstacle performed on the EOH course on a scale of 0-10. In addition, the judge provides “Collective Marks” at the conclusion of the test for transitions/navigation, gaits, impulsion, submission, rider, and presentation. If the judge hears a rider using verbal cues to influence their horse, 2 points will be subtracted from their score for each instance observed. Failure to salute results in a 5 point penalty. For obstacles at which there is at least one major problem in performance, the judge(s) will not award a score higher than 4. A score of 10 is rarely, if ever, awarded. Half points are allowed in EOH trials in the United States.

DISQUALIFICATION: Since this is a SCHOOLING SHOW any disqualified participant will be allowed to finish the course and receive judges feedback as if they were not disqualified. DQ’d riders will not be entered into award rankings.**Competitors will be disqualified from the Ease of Handling trial for a variety of errors, such as: Going off course or crossing through the path of an obstacle out of order.Knocking over a key element of an obstacle without correcting it and completing the obstacle (for example: knocking over the jug before picking it up and proceeding without retrieving the jug), except at levels where a member of the ring crew is permitted to hand the dropped obstacle component to the competitor. Three refusals to perform the same obstacle (Intermediate, Advanced, and Masters levels). Switching the hands with which they are working obstacles (for example: picking up the jug with the right hand and ringing the bell with the left hand.)