So, for all you oldies (or riders of old horses) out there, here are the rules!  (By the way, EVERYONE CAN ENTER, not just geriatrics, but if you are not 50 or older, your horse needs to 18 or older.  Please read ALL the blurb below, BEFORE you enter.  Ignorance of the requirements is no defence, sorry!!)

This is an ONLINE event.

1.  You choose your tests from the level that you nominate in.  Enter on www.nominate.com.au under Dressage and ONLINE.
2.  You get to do ONE test from that level, BUT you get to do it twice for the price.  So you can do it once at the beginning of the month and then work on it with the feedback from the judge, and then do it again the next month.  Video them as per the videoing rules below.  The date of videoing must be AFTER you nominate and pay, and BEFORE the end of February 2024.
3. Upload your video as Unlisted, and send the Youtube link and your Nominate receipt screenshot or similar to cct6327@gmail.com anytime between January 1^st and March 1st, at midnight, Qld time
4. When you send the link and proof of payment, the link will be sent to the judge who will contact you by email to arrange a time to chat on the phone while they are watching the test.  Our judges are VERY experienced (we are so lucky), and are generous with their time and knowledge.
5. Here are the levels you can enter
   1. Prep/Prelim Ridden Dressage tests, including Freestyle, Para, FEI tests
   2. Novice/Elementary Ridden Dressage tests, including Freestyle, Para, FEI tests
   3. Medium/Advanced Ridden Dressage tests, including Freestyle, Para, FEI tests
   4. FEI Ridden Dressage tests, including Freestyle, Para, FEI tests
   5. Drive-W Driving test (contact Corby for copy, you can longrein this test)
   6. Drive-1 Driving EA Challenge or Dressage test (on EA website, or contact Corby for Small pony test)
   7. Drive-2 Driving EA Challenge or Dressage test or FEI test, and above

(email cct6327@gmail for copies of any of the Driving Challenge tests and rules or send a facebook Messenger PM to Corby Cunnington to discuss)

IF YOUR HORSE DOES NOT HAVE AN EA NUMBER, just put some zeros in, instead.

10. NOTE FROM HOME – an important part of Geriatric Dressage is the imaginative ‘Note from Home’.  There are no gear or dress restrictions, except where safety and horse welfare is an issue.  BUT, if you deviate from EA/FEI rules, you must ask for ‘permission’ in your Note from Home.  Judges may choose to ‘accept’ your note, or perhaps give you a handicap, depending on what you are asking for.

Examples – ‘Dear Judge, please excuse Jillian from doing sitting trot.  I am forgiving, but not THAT forgiving.  Signed, Jillian’s horse…’ OR ‘Dear Judge, please allow my mother to use a running martingale and neck strap in her test.  Her last Bone Mineral Density test result was as shit as her score from this test is likely to be.  Signed, very loving and caring daughter….’.  THERE ARE PRIZES FOR THE BEST NOTES FROM HOME.

11. You must be a member of the South Burnett Equestrian Group.  You can have ‘real’ membership for $35 for the  year, or ‘online’ membership for $15 for the year.  The cheapest EA-affiliated Club membership in Oz, we reckon…  Contact Corby for a membership form.
12. Yes, you can dress up, but not as Lady Godiva, please…  Coats, whites and plaits not required
13. Yes, you can enter more than one level.  Yes, you can enter more than one horse.  Yes, a horse can be entered by more than one rider/driver.  Yes, the same horse can do different disciplines.  Yes, you can enter a pair and/or four-in-hand in the Driving classes.

Arena requirements for videoing

Tests must be conducted in an approximately 60m x 20m arena (for ridden tests and for Drive-W and Drive-1 for small ponies) or 40m x 80m (for Drive-1 and Drive-2), either in a specifically constructed arena or a grass paddock

Arena boundary must be clearly demarcated by a portable dressage arena or similar, or cones or other obvious safely constructed boundary

Arena letters must be clearly marked and in the correct position around the arena

Video requirements

Videos must be taken from C for all ridden tests or Driving Dressage tests

Videos must be taken from B in a 40m x 80m arena in Drive-1 and Drive-2 Challenge Tests

Videos must be taken from B in a 20m x 60m arena in Drive-W and Drive-1 for Small Ponies Challenge Tests

Videos must be clear with minimal shaking

Videos must be taken in one continuous viewing – movements cannot be cut and pasted together

Videos are not to be edited to include effects or enhancing

Appropriate zooming is highly encouraged to assist the judges. Riders/drivers may lose marks if the judge is unable to accurately view the movement

Submitted videos must have been taken AFTER the date the nomination has been received through www.nominate.com.au, and before the end of August

Videos must be UPLOADED to Youtube during the months of January and February

Callers are permitted in all tests

Protective Headgear: For all riders/drivers/backsteppers, EA approved and yellow tagged safety helmets must be worn at all times

Body protectors are compulsory for all drivers or backsteppers under 18 years of age, or Disability Drivers, and encouraged for everyone else, riding or driving

Dress: Formal attire is not required. Riders may wear any colour pants and shirt, so long as they are tidy and sunsafe. Drivers and backsteppers need to be tidy.  Shorts are not permitted.  

Horse Identification Numbers do not need to be worn.

Yellow EA helmet tags must be visible, for all riders, drivers and backsteppers.

ENQUIRIES TO cct6327@gmail.com or through Facebook messenger to Corby Cunnington.