Show Jumping Competition Begins This Weekend in Coronado
On Friday March 14th and Saturday March 15th, starting at 2pm each day, the Coronado Equestrian Club will facilitate a two-day Horse Jumping Competition hosted by Castilla del Oro, one of the four riding clubs that host jumping competitions in Panama. Over two days of jumping events, riders will compete to take home ribbons and trophies. However they are also accumulating points that are tracked through-out the competition season. Year end awards are presented to the horse/rider combinations with the highest point totals for the year.Show jumping is an objective sport, in that the styles of the horse and rider are not judged as it is in Peruvian Paso. The goal is to jump the course with no faults in either the fastest time or the time closest to an "ideal time" specified for the course, which is based on its length. Horse/rider teams accumulate faults for knocking down, refusing a jump or exceeding the time allowed. Pairs are eliminated for not beginning the course within a specific time frame, going off course, exceeding the permitted number of refusals, or falling. This weekend, riders will compete in 4 age divisions pre-infantil, infantil, juvenil and adult. The age categories account for the young rider entering the world of competitive horse jumping, all the way to the professional, honing skills and ability. There is a tangible anticipation bubbling through the participant as this event kicks off the brand new jumping season for riders and fans.
The weekend will see new comers entering a jumping competition for the very first time, while older kids change age groups to enter new competetive categories, and those who have been working hard to improve skills get thier chance to showcase their best game.
On March 14th and 15th, children and adults will be competing over courses at the following heights (also called divisions or classes):
40 cm
60 cm
80 cm
90 cm (this competition has a separate pre-infantil division for younger riders, based on their age)
1 meter
1.10 (this competition has a separate infantil division for younger riders, based on their age)
1.20 (this competition has a separate juvenil division for younger riders, based on their age)
1.30 (adult division)
On Friday, the highest division (the 1 meter, 30 cm division) will be contested first, followed by the other divisions in ascending order of jump height from 40 cm to 1.20. On Saturday, the competition will start with the 40 cm class, then go through the divisions in ascending order of jump heights, ending under the lights with the 1.30 meter division.
The specifications for each class indicate how the class will be run. In this week's competition, there are several different types of classes. For all classes at the lower heights (80 cm and lower), an ideal time will be set for the course, and the competitors will try to jump clean in a time that is as close as possible to the ideal. For classes with higher jumps, there are other formats:
• Horses jump one round. Jumping faults are converted into seconds and the horse with the fastest time wins.
• Horses jump one round. The horse with the fewest faults (typically zero faults) and the fastest time wins.
• Horses jump a first round. All the horses with the fewest faults (typically zero faults) then return to jump a shortened "jumpoff" course. The horse with the fewest faults (typically zero faults) and the fastest time over the shortened course wins.
On Saturday, all categories from 90 cm through 1.30 meters will be run with first rounds, then jumpoff rounds, which is very popular with the spectators.
