Going Advanced
 
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Tips for moving up to Advanced
 
This is an article I wrote for the Florida whips newsletter with information on moving up from intermediate to advanced. Some of you may remember my Florida debut advanced at Live Oak in 2004 where I won the Richard Portman Sportsmanship Trophy. I think they gave it to me for my dramatic roll over in the gulch. Probably the crying cinched the trophy for me ! Was I glad that the intermediate division became more popular. The jump from prelim to advanced is huge, however, if you have conquered intermediate and are considering moving up this spring, here are some tips. Advanced level competition can be ADS, USEF or FEI rated. Of course with all these organizations, there will be registrations of horse and driver required and these registrations take time to process so plan on getting your paper work done in December or January. The rating for each show can be found in the omnibus or on line. ADS rated shows like the Black Prong HDTs 1. you will only need to be an ADS member for $ 75 per year or $ 1000 for life USEF rated show like Southern Pines CDE : 1. you need to be a USEF member and pay the discipline and high performance fees. Here are your options : a. Life - $ 2500 (no high performance of discipline fees) one time fee b. Platinum - $ 85 plus $ 200 HP fee ( no discipline fee) yearly fee c. Senior - $ 40 plus $ 10 driving fee plus $ 200 HP yearly fee 2. Your horse(s) needs to have a USEF number either a. yearly registration $ 75 b. life registration $200 3. and your horse needs : a. a valid FEI passport $ 300 b. a valid national passport $ 50 c. a negative coggins with flu vaccination certificate FEI rated show like Live Oak (the national singles and 4 in hand championships) and Sunshine State : 1. you need to meet all the USEF requirements above and also have 2. FEI driver registration $15 yearly 3. FEI horse registration $ 15 yearly 4. Must have a valid FEI or USEF national passport 5. Passports must be revalidated every 4 years ( $ 175) 6. National passports can be upgraded to FEI ( $ 250) All this information was taken off www.USEF.org and www.americandrivingsociety.org Ok..so now you have your paperwork done. Lets drive but before you can start you have to have a vet check. The first inspection is in the stall. This is usually announced and in the schedule. You need to have your passport available, your bridle number and competitor number and either you or a representative to hold the horse with his halter and lead. Make sure your stall is clean, waters topped off and clean and your horse has plenty of hay. The second inspection is the jog. You must again have your passport and bridle number and pony measurement card if applicable and horses must be presented in a bridle. Turn your horse out as if you were showing him in hand. He must be spotless and look the part of a top level competitor. We turn out in dressage bridles or hunter bridles. I have seen people turn out in western bridles but I think this is a mistake. This is where the judges make their first impression of the quality of your gaits. You want them to say, wow look at that dressage horse with suspension and impulsion. Presentation in a blinker bridle is within the rules but looks as if you have forgotten your in hand bridle and is a bit unfair for your horse, would you be able to float like a butterfly next to a partner without being able to see them ? You do not need to jog your own horse. If you feel a someone else can show your horse better than you can, let them ! So you made it through the jog…on to dressage but what is your test ? All advanced competitions use the FEI dressage tests. Here is the link to the official FEI dressage tests http://www.fei.org/Disciplines/Driving/Rules/Pages/Dressage_Tests.aspx. You can also find this at the ADS site under forms and from the USEF site. Test 6A is for pony pairs and multiples Test 7A is for single ponies and horses Test 8 A is for Horse 4s and tandems Test 8 B is for Horse Pairs Test 9 is for single ponies and horses Test 10 is for pony multiples These tests require the driver to show a greater degree of collection and extension in the trot, one handed movements, smaller circles and more transitions. Test 9 includes canter and 10 m collected circles, Test 8A requires leaders to show shoulder-in. Lamps are required at advanced. Most carriages have lamp brackets but if yours doesn’t, you may need to have lamp brackets made to fit your carriage. You must also carry a groom with a single at advanced. If you drive a pair or multiple, you are used to this but if you drive a single you may have never taken a groom. Flash forward to cones, you must use the same carriage for dressage and cones. Cones are set at 160 cm for singles and all ponies, pairs and tandems 170 cm and 190 cm for 4 in hands. Minimum carriage widths for horse singles and tandems and all ponies is 138, 148 for horse pairs and 158 for horse 4s. You can have any width carriage you want but the cones measurement does not change so you want something as close to minimum as possible to give you more clearance. One problem…what if you hit a rock or bend your axle in the trailer and your 138 cm carriage now measures 137 ? You get the big E so make sure to check your vehicle width occasionally. You can also use a carriage with extendable axles like the Doe Run or the Pacific for all 3 phases. They have presentation packages that can be removed for marathon. Speeds, of course, are also increased at this level and are usually 320 meters per minute for horses and ponies. Now the fun part….Marathon. If you are competitive on marathon at intermediate, Advanced is not a huge difference. You may have an F gate. At championships, there may be more technical routes Minimum carriage weights are now required. Horse teams 600 kg Horse pairs 350 kg Horse tandem/single 150 kg Pony Teams 300 kg Pony pair 225 kg Pony tandem/single 90 kg Minimum Width is 125 cm The courses can be longer in distance and have up to 8 km so your horse needs to be fit enough to finish in hot weather, deep sand, rain or mud. This may seem like a lot of information but don’t be discouraged. Your first advanced is the hardest and you feel like you have forgotten everything but just remember what it was like to be at your first CDE. Everything was new and of course you forgot some very important piece of equipment, paperwork, rule, ect. And what did you do, asked your neighbor for help. That is exactly what you should do at your first advanced. Request to be stabled next to another advanced competitor or ask an advanced driver to be your mentor for the show. Remember my first advanced with the roll over…before I was even standing up, 4 advanced drivers (one from my own class) ran into the hazard, had me up, horse untangled, dusted me off and sent me on my way, even though I was ready to go back to the barn. I could have never finished my first advanced without help so don’t be afraid to ask for help. Chances are, the person you are asking has been in your position before. “The most important thing to remember is to be prepared so you can concentrate on driving your best.” Quote from Wendy Wares, USEF director of driving. http://www.USEF.orghttp://www.americandrivingsociety.orghttp://www.fei.org/Disciplines/Driving/Rules/Pages/Dressage_Tests.aspxshapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1shapeimage_2_link_2