Curiosity-Young Event Horse Series??

[hneventing]

So I have gone and gotten a 2, now 3 year old dutch warmblood gelding. He's a little on the smaller side (funny seeing as his dam was 16.1 and his sire 16.3), he's around 15hh now as a 3 year old. I have lightly started backing him, but am focusing on him lunging, etc. to build up muscle, etc. before the challenge of having a rider.
Anyways, he is going to be my event horse, once ready, so I was looking into the Young Event Horse series they do each year. For the 4-year olds, which he will be doing next year I believe, require him to be doing W/T/C under saddle, but also be able to jump 2'9", and up to almost 3' for the championchips.
Now, I know it's not a huge course or anything, but I have always been a firm believer of horses starting to be seriously worked at four, not jumping till late fours, even fives. Keeping in mind he is a DW, and so a later developer than a TB or some other breeds.... I know many WB's do the YEH series, but im just curious as to what everyone else thinks?....

[GotSpots]

This topic has been hashed around a number of times - do a search and you'll find the threads. General consensus is that for some, their horses are ready and it's an appropriate test at 4 and at 5. I had a Hanoverian who was huge (and still is) and ready to go as a four year old and did spectacularly well in the YEH classes as both a four and a five year old and now, at 8, is going very comfortably at preliminary. For others, they simply aren't developmentally ready to answer those questions as a four or five year old: I have a sport-bred TB who was the gangliest four year old I've ever seen, and had no idea where his feet were. He wasn't ready for a 20 meter circle, let alone a YEH class. He didn't do much until his five and six year old years, though now he is gorgeous and fancy.

It's designed to be a way to help identify strong young prospects, not necessarily as an Intro to Eventing class - and it's pretty hard to see much scope or promise over 2' jumps - thus it's not always appropriate for every horse, depending on where he/she is developmentally. In short - the class isn't going to be perfect for everyone, and not everyone's horse is going to be ready. If it is an appropriate set of questions for your horse, than I think they are wonderful classes and a great way to recognize breeders and breeding programs, and the quality keeps going up and up every year.

[deltawave]

I agree with GS (as usual). There is just no telling whether any given 4yo or 5yo is going to be ready to do that sort of thing, and no real need for them to do so in reality, unless you're really gunning to get the sire's name out there, etc.

It's more of a "showcase of fancy prospects" than an "introduction of green horses to the sport". For a nice, friendly intro into the sport your baby is probably better off spending his formative years happily toodling around, hopping over logs, splashing through water, and learning to go cheerfully up and down hills, in and out of the woods, etc. If he's pretty precocious and handling things, maybe a few unrecognized/starter events so he can see the world without any sort of pressure or need to be jumping anything remotely big.

I do think the tests have gotten decidedly tougher since the series started. I did the 5yo version with my now-9yo mare, and it was nothing a horse going BN couldn't easily have handled. Now at the season-finale class and even some of the qualifying classes the horses are doing banks, ditches, water, and some fairly solid jumps. It's neither good or bad (IMO) when applied to the entire universe of 4yo's and 5yo's. It is just another type of class. My own opinion is it's more of a beauty contest than anything. :) It's too soon to know if the cream of the YEH crops are rising to the top of the sport in reality. I know one of the bigger winners from a few years ago is no longer quite sound, but that's not to say that's the norm--this is ONE individual horse that I happen to know.

I don't have any qualms about jumping young horses or giving them a job, within reason. And if you want to do the series for experience, it's probably fine if the horse is reasonably capable. The dressage tests are easy-peasy and for some horses bigger jumps and even XC "questions" are just very, very mundane even at that age--particularly those ridden by pros. I did it with the intention of having fun and supporting the concept but only when my horse was 5. There was no way she was ready at 4.

I'd recommend you go watch a few and see how you like it. It's not for everyone, and certainly not a necessary step for any horse or rider.