POINT OF VIEW
would for a Combined Test. And if they rack up enough points to be in contention for a national year-end award, people might even be encouraged to compete at horse tri- als, which would earn more points toward that award, for the first time.
Q: Do you see this format further influencing the type or breed of horse that might be considered the ideal event horse? BM: Not unless these become an end unto themselves
with prize money. If they do, then yes, I would expect the type of horse to change—but I would not call it a change to “the ideal event horse” because, to me, the DX competitions are not eventing. WW: Honestly, it was designed for giving horses and riders experience; it’s a great way to stay tuned up. As to
The Voice of Experience W
endy Wergeles has organized the Event Derby for the past 20 years, first in Las Vegas and now in
Southern California. Wendy explains that her events are registered with
USEA as schooling events, which means she gets their in- surance and they give her email addresses in the Area to contact. “Now that they’re kind of acknowledging it as an accepted format, that might change,” she says. “I added Young Event Horse (YEH) competitions also—
whether a Warmblood will do better than a Thoroughbred, Warmbloods tend to do better in dressage as a rule. A Warm- blood might have an advantage since there’s only a two- minute jumping course, so there’s not much of an endur- ance factor. Sandra Donnelly, who’s involved in breeding Canadian
Warmbloods, brought a couple of students to the Event Der- by, including one who was competing Advanced for the first time. The next weekend she had a successful go at Advanced level. It can be a good building block for any type of horse.
Q: We’ve already lost the long format at the upper levels. Do you worry that eventing will be scaled back until it no longer exists? JB: Personally I love to be able to do my sport and get
more owners interested. Since I grew up show jumping, it’s a lot of fun. Right now this format is being used appropriately to get interest in the sport. Look at in- door eventing; there’s just so much change now. I don’t think eventing will ever
I’m licensed to judge that, but I usually hire someone be- cause I get overwhelmed organizing it too. The event of- fers the organizer an opportunity to advertise their cross- country course, too. After they spend a hundred thousand dollars or whatever to build Beginner Novice through Ad- vanced courses, it’s nice to give the course more use and exposure, without the ex- pense of running a full horse trial,” she adds. In the Event Derby, at each level she offers two classes. One, for example, is
Tristen Hooks, DVM, on Learning to Fly (Hol- steiner by Liostro) at The Event Derby® at Cottonwood Ranch in Los Alamos, CA.
Training level and the other is Training Open. The difference is the dressage test A or B. In the jumping, A goes at 300 meters per minute (mpm) over the jumping course, and B goes 325 mpm. At each level, the speed goes up 25 mpm per class. People can ride in as many classes as they want, and they can pick and choose, say three dressage classes and one jumping test. If they’re thinking of moving up a level they can, for example, do the Beginner Novice B class and Novice A class. She also allows post entries, so riders can decide on the day what they want to do with a horse. “I’ve had positive feedback over the years from all respects,” she continues. “It
would be a great way for people to try eventing without a lot of pressure. Since we run all levels you can start at Intro, which is like 20 inch jumps, and go up to Ad- vanced. For young horses or riders new to eventing, it’s a good opportunity to get out of the ring where they can just step over the little jumps at Beginner Novice level. Also for Advanced horses they can school without the physical trauma of a full horse trial.” It’s also a useful tool for training judges and other officials. Wendy has a friend who has been doing the courses for these competitions at Fresno County Horse Park. “She is now getting serious about getting licensed as a course designer, from working on this.”
48 March/April 2016
not exist—a lot of people have a lot of passion for it, so I don’t worry that we’ll never have event- ing. People love it and it has a good place in our equine industry, and obviously all of us take it se- riously. As far as the DX format is concerned, you have to be ready to chew what you bite off, and it could be opening up a can of worms. DB: I do not see any reason to clamor against the new format. I agreed wholeheartedly when [television personality] Gordon Ramsay explained to a restauran- teur he was helping that custom- ers will “vote with their feet, not their mouths.” If a new format is created on an official basis, it is up to the customers to decide. While we would probably not be very interested in running them for a number of reasons, if the ground- swell were to be significant, we would have no choice and that is okay. We are here to serve our cus- tomers, as long as it is in the best interest of the horses.
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