Sunday, September 8, 2013

The 2013 Telus Battle of the Breeds, Jeopardy Jumping

On September 5, 2013, attended the Spruce Meadows “Masters”, a horse show of international acclaim. Typically held the week after the September Labor Day long weekend there is plenty to see and do, and horse shows all day long.

One of the events was the Battle of the Breeds. This is where different breeds compete against each other in different events, earning points by proving their versatility. One of the classes was Jeopardy Jumping. In Jeopardy Jumping the riders direct their horse around a course of jumps, but unlike regular jumping events there are 2 jump choices, a lower one and a higher one. Each one is assigned points according to difficulty. If the jump is cleared the horse earns those points, if not no penalty is given.

Arabian, PA Sebastion

Immediately after completing the course the rider was given the option of attempting the Telus bonus jump, worth 100 points if successfully jumped, and penalized -100 if not. Most riders did not attempt this jump and of those who did only a few went clear. The jump was a vertical but had phone booths on either side and I think the reflection in the plastic walls might have distracted the horses.

Quarter Horse, Little Boy Blue

It was a real treat to watch and to see the different breeds compete. The small Shetland ponies proved how brave and hardy they were. While some of the larger breeds, such as the Friesian and Gypsy Vanner struggled.

The results for the Jeopardy Jumping event declared team Appaloosa as the winner, and team Arabian as second.