Eventing

Note: These are rules and regulations are for eventing competitions in Sweden. I am not very familiar with rules and regulations in other countries so I can't guarantee that these are valid in any other country.

Eventing consists of 3 parts, dressage, cross country and show jumping.

The dressage tests in eventing are different from the ususal dressage tests so you can't use a regular test for an eventing dressage set up.

The cross country course can consist of about 30 obstacles of different difficulty levels and sometimes the course offers different ways to tackle the obstacle. The fastest way is often the hardest.

The show jumping is similar to "regular" show jumping in many aspects. It's designed to test the horse's ability in a different manner then the other parts of eventing.

Difficulty levels horses
H90
H100
CNC 1*/CCN 1*
CNC 2*/CCN 2*
CNC 3*/CCN 3*

Difficulty levels ponies
P60
P70
P80
P90
CNCP 1*/CCNP 1*
CNCP 2*/CCNP 2*

The P60-90 and H90-100 relates to the height of the obstacles and they are ridden in the same manner as the CNC and CNCP.

The CCN and CCNP levels are related to the international CCI levels. The competition are on during three days. Dressage on the first, cross country on the second and show jumping in the last.

The CNC and CNCP levels are related to the international CIC levels. The competitions are often one day competitions with all three test ridden on the same day. Some times it can be a 2 day competition and very seldom 3 day competition. The CNC and CNCP are ridden in another order than CCN and CCNP. Here the dressage starts it all but then the show jumping is second and the cross country is the last to be ridden.

Dressage
All (eventing) dressage classes for ponies can be judge by only one judge. For horses there must be three judges for CNC 3*/CNN 3* but for lower levels it is okay to only have one.

Riders equipment
Riders must wear a helmet with a working cheek band. Riders are supposed to wear a large number bib (in cross country) that can be seen both from the front and the back. If it is a one day competition the number bib should be worn during the dressage test and show jumping as well.

Dressage
Riding jacket and breeches should be worn in dressage. More information on dressage clothing can be found in my dressage post. In horse classes spurs (max length 35mm) must be worn from CNC 1* and higher. For pony classes spurs (max length 15mm) must be worn from P90. In horse classes CNC 2* and higher, the riders may use a hat or bowler hat instead of a helmet in the dressage test.

Cross Country
A helmet must be worn and should preferably have a smooth surface. Safety vests are mandatory for every one. A shirt or sweater is often worn, long sleeves are recommended to protect the skin in case of a fall. Riding boots or jodphurs with half chaps are allowed. Riders must wear a Medical Card around their left arm. Long hair should be worn up and away from the face and neck as much as possible. Jewellery, facial piercings and earrings are not recommended during the cross country. Spurs are optional, max length for horses is 35mm and for ponies 15mm. If a whip is used it may not be longer than 75cm.

Show Jumping
Riding jacket and breeches. Turtleneck shirt or shirt with collar. At national or higher competitions a tie should be worn if a shirt with traditional collar is used. Riding boots or jodphurs with half chaps are allowed. Safety vests are allowed to wear under or over the riding jacket (all riders under the age of 19 MUST wear a safety vest). Spurs are optional, max length for horses is 35mm and for ponies 15mm. If a whip is used it may not be longer than 75cm.

Policemen and militaries are allowed to ride in their uniforms, with a helmet.

Horse tack
During all riding a saddle with stirrups and girth are to be used. A saddle pad or numnah should also be used. It is allowed to use a crupper on ponies. Bridles may only be made of leather but reins can be made of leather coated with rubber or textile like materials with leather pieces. Horses manes and tails may be braided. Fly bonnets may be used during cross country and show jumping and in some cases also in dressage tests (in the Olympics in London 2012 they were allowed to use it in the eventing dressage). Boots, leg wraps and leg protection are allowed in cross country and show jumping but NOT in dressage.

Dressage
The saddle must be of English type. Half pads and sheepskin pads is allowed. In lower classes (up to P90 and H100), breastplates and stud guard girths can be seen in the dressage tests. Bridles should also be of English type. In CNC 2* and above it is allowed to use a double bridle

Cross Country and Show Jumping
The saddle is usually of English type as is the bridles. Running martingales are ok to use. Hackamore bridles and gag bridles are both allowed in show jumping. In cross country gags are allowed but hackamore is ONLY allowed on horses from CNC 2* and higher.

Obstacles
As in Show Jumping obstacles are marked with red markings on the right and white markings on the left. They can be used not only on obstacles but to mark mandatory passages. Then they should sit on poles that are about 1.80m. On some obstacles (especially slim ones) it may be necessary to use bendable "marking pins" so that they won't hurt a horse that happens to touch them. On wide obstacles both the front and the back obstacles should be marked. The number of the obstacles is clearly marked.

Obstacles in cross country may be solid or possible to knock down. They should look natural and may not be formed so that they can be harmful.

Examples of suitable models
There are a lot of models suitable for eventing since it depends on what part of the eventing that you want to depict. Here you can find the ones I gave as examples for show jumping. They could also be shown in cross country and here is the ones I gave as example for dressage.

A Breyer Flash rr Sophie Nordstrom I believe.

I think that Breyer's traditional Flash would work well, especially for a scene galloping between obstacles or approaching the next obstacle.

My Ancient Gold, Breyer Tr. Akhal Teke OF

Breyer Tr Lonesome Glory mold could be standing in a starting box before getting the start signal for the cross country.

Stable logo

I want to have a logo for my stable. I want it to be quiet simple and clean. Besides using it on my website and perhaps use it on breeding certificates and things alike, I plan to print a copy to have on the arena wall in my photoshow set ups. That is if I can figure out how I want it to look.

First of all I need to find the right font. I have three that I like:

Font: Cambria

Font: Capture It

Font: Gabriola

The next thing I need to figure out is what layout I want. Should I have plain, all black, text and horse on a white background like the ones above. Or should I try a coloured background?

Coloured background

 Or should I have a white background with black text and coloured horse and line?

Black text on white background with coloured horse and line.

 Or should I just have a coloured text?

Coloured text on white background with black horse and line

Since I have a hard time deciding I appreciate any input or ideas =) Both on fonts, colours and layout.

Animal update

It was such a joy to be home and spend time with my dear animals. I've missed them a lot and can't wait to be home with them again :)

My little fjordhorse looks something like a fluffy teddybear and so does Poppes. Okay, it's not that bad this year since we haven't gotten snow more than a day or so and it hasn't been very cold. Still both of them are a bit fluffier than usual.

Since we haven't gotten any snow we've gotten plenty of rain instead... That means that the pastures are very wet and muddy and pretty much looks terrible. The horses don't move around as much as usual and that means that they are VERY alert and spirited when riding. Nike has shown again and again that he doesn't know his own age and still thinks he is like 15 years younger or so =) It's nice to see that he is still going strong.

Nike who will turn 25 in June.

Poppes is also quite spirited although he doesn't show it the same way as Nike does. He also had a terrible looking mane since no one had pulled it since I did it last time I was home.

It's kind of my own fault. My mother takes care of him when I'm away studying (as it's far from home) but due to problems with her hands she's unable to pull his mane. She offered to cut his mane with a pair of scissors but I won't allow her to since he's got such a thick mane it would look weird to cut it without thinning it out. But I pulled it a little shorter than ususal so it won't be too terrible when I return home again =)

It looks like Poppes is dirty in this picture but actually it is his fur that is kind of wavy on his neck making it appear wet or dirty on pictures.

My sweet little dog is as sweet as always. He was so happy when I got home he didn't really know what to do or where to go. It's too bad we haven't gotten a lot of snow because he really loves it! At least he has had the oppurtunity to play with his two dog friends, Loke and Devil. He loves his friends and is almost completely knocked out when they go home after a weekend playing.

When his friends have gone home he pretty much sleeps on the couch for hours =)

Taking up my spot on the couch =)

Our sweet little cat, formerly known as Smulan is now called Svante since we found out that she was actually a he. His testes dropped rather late which led to the confusion. Anyway he has grown big and a little fat. He proves to be a very sweet and social cat who loves attention. Not afraid of dogs, at all, no matter how big or small or how much they chase him. He is very active and playful and although he might bite a little while playing he very rarely uses his claws.

Svante is still a little smaller than the regular cat and he might not become as big as a "normal-sized" cat since he has been small the whole time but he's still so cute. He will be castrated in a few weeks and then he will be let out. Right now we won't let him out as we don't want to cause any unwanted kittens since we know that unspayed female cats lurk around the neighbourhood.

Photoshow results January

One of my goals this year was to start showing with the IMEHA. Right now I show in the green division since I haven't done a whole lot of photoshowing. I only showed in halter classes but I want to show in mold classes and maybe some other too, later on =) 33 of my models showed in different classes for January. Some did good, even great, and some did not as good but I'm quite happy :)

19 of my horses did not place at all. It's kind of understandable since my photos aren't great and even though it is the green division, it is quiet competitive.

Among the horses that did good:
Shaniqua took sixth in her class.

Shaniqua, Arabian Mare (Cl. Arabian Mare OF)

Ancient Gold took fifth in his class and so did Bluebelle, Question and Sadeek in their classes.

Bluebelle, Clydesdale filly (Tr. Bluebell OF)

Treasure took fourth.

Treasure, Welsh Sec C stallion (Tr. Cefnoakpark Bouncer OF)

And among those who did great:
Blueberry took third place in her class along with Chocolate and Lady Louisain their classes.

Blueberry, mustang mare (Cl. Cloud's Legacy Sitka OF)

Viking took second.

Viking, fjordhorse stallion (Breyer Tr. Henry OF)

Acuatico and Giant Snowstorm made me very proud and took first place in their classes.

Acuatico, mustang stallion (Tr. Blue Suede Shoes OF)

But the two that made me most proud was; Athame, who took first in her class and went on to become Division Reserve Champion Arabian, and Ayers Rock Brigadör who also took first in his class and went on to become Division Reserve Champion Drafter.

Athame, Arabian mare (AA Sabiha OF)

Ayers Rock Brigadör, shire stallion (MM Brigadier rep. A. Gustafsson)

I'm very happy to see the results of my horses and I've already begun uploading more pictures so that I have more horses to show and I'll hopefully be able to show in more classes next month =)

So many naked ponies!

So, I unpacked my poor victims modelhorse bodies from the body box. I didn't think they were so many... But it turned out that there were 25 naked or almost naked horses.

An older picture on some of my bodies.

To some that might seem like a small number, but to me, who is not very good at painting, haven't finished a horse in quite a while (I don't count the T.I.B.B.P medallions I painted for my friends for Christmas) and don't actively collect bodies, 25 IS a lot! They are in different states of naked, ranging from in need of prepping to only detailwork left. Most of them are in the "have one layer of paint" stage and have a loooong way to go...

But I've been struck by inspiration and before it goes away again I sure hope that some horses will be less naked than before.



I just realised that I haven't included my naked resins... Sigh... Oh well, I'm not good enough to paint them myself so I'll blame it on that =P