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.
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| 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.
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