[Janet]

http://prc.usef.org/reports/USEFSear...EV&compyear=12

EV141.13 (440-12) 12/1/2013 1/19/2013

EV141 Cross Country Scoring [CHAPTER EV-3 Rules for Horse Trials] change to read:

1. b) Falls –
(1) First fall of competitor in which the competitor lands on his/her feet and remains standing (Beginner Novice and Novice) 65 Penalties
(2) Second fall of competitor (Beginner Novice and Novice) Elimination (RF)
(3) First fall of competitor (Training, Preliminary, Intermediate and Advanced) Elimination (RF)
(4) First fall of horse Mandatory Retirement
*to facilitate accurate administration of EV105.3 (Loss of Establishment) Competitor Falls
will be denoted as “RF” on official score sheets and results.

It goes int effect NEXT year.

[ellemayo]

Hmm... I guess now is the time for me to practice falling off and landing on my feet

[lmlacross]

The implication being that a first fall at BN, N in which the rider doesn't land on his/her feet still results in elimination?

[Janet]

yes, that is the implication.

[Kairoshorses]

So if I land on my feet then teeter onto my bum, I'm out? Sigh.....

[Jeannette, formerly ponygyrl]

Stick that landing! Even if, ahh, that isn't necessarily the safest thing to aim for.

Sigh. I certainly believe that automatic elimination for all falls doesn't build a safer sport, so I guess this is sort of a step in the right direction. Drop, tuck, and roll, self-assess, then leap up and get back on is safer than trying to land on ones feet, but situational judgement is so out of style these days.

[vineyridge]

Stick that landing! Even if, ahh, that isn't necessarily the safest thing to aim for.

Sigh. I certainly believe that automatic elimination for all falls doesn't build a safer sport, so I guess this is sort of a step in the right direction. Drop, tuck, and roll, self-assess, then leap up and get back on is safer than trying to land on ones feet, but situational judgement is so out of style these days.

Ruined a knee landing on my feet. No offense, but this is STUPID. Tuck and roll makes a for a much safer landing, but now no one will try to do that--or learn to do that.

[lmlacross]

Ruined a knee landing on my feet. No offense, but this is STUPID. Tuck and roll makes a for a much safer landing, but now no one will try to do that--or learn to do that.

You think? Maybe it's my advancing age, but my propensity toward self-preservation is likely to outweigh the forfeiture of my entry fee. I suppose I can't assume that others are wired the same way.

[caballero]

Tuck and roll makes a for a much safer landing, but now no one will try to do that--or learn to do that.

Some of us of a, shall we say, more advanced age will still try to minimize the pain of falling even if it maximizes the pain in the wallet.

[deltawave]

Ruined a knee landing on my feet. No offense, but this is STUPID. Tuck and roll makes a for a much safer landing, but now no one will try to do that--or learn to do that.

Yep--struggling to stay on my feet and holding the reins so I could get back on cost me one ACL.

[Beam Me Up]

I'm pretty neutral on the 1 fall rule generally, but this seems hard to enforce--probably lots of people will hop back on, and time will be wasted debating whether the landing was foot/knee/butt. I feel bad for the officials.

[retreadeventer]

1. Hang on for dear life.
2. If you have to let go, stop the horse first. Then....
3. Touch down with both feet in bounds and stick that landing!
4. Use the reins for balance and to make sure you stay on your feet! Who cares about your horse's poor mouth!?

[eqsiu]

I actually thought the one fall rule was okay. Mainly because I fell and suffered a severe concussion (six days of blackout), and the people I was riding with didn't notice anything wrong. I thought it was unfair to give laypeople the responsibility of determining whether a rider was okay to remount. However, I've had many falls where I was hanging on for dear life and then had to give up- and just set my feet on the ground. I believe this was proposed due to the general lack of injury in BN and N falls?

[SunNSand]

I agree that this could potentially cause some serious injuries.
The BF was exercising a horse at the track and it jumped over a shadow. He tried to hold onto the horse and land on his feet. Ended up taking a hoof to the helmet, was totally knocked out, took a trip to the hospital where they told him he had a sever concussion. He missed 2 weeks of work because of the headaches, dizziness and nausea. He comes from a racing family and now owns, trains, and exercises his own horses on top of having a full time real world job.
At 65 penalties is it even worth trying to stay on your feet anyways?
Tuck and roll should be taught as a basic riding skill. I learned the hard way

[PonyGal08]

Ruined a knee landing on my feet. No offense, but this is STUPID. Tuck and roll makes a for a much safer landing, but now no one will try to do that--or learn to do that.

And I broke my leg... a paratrooper break... requiring two surgeries and hardware. If I had landed on my fat rear I probably would've been better off. Stupid rule.

[FitToBeTied]

This is a bad rule and will put a lot of pressure on the jump judges.

So a person lands on their feet and then sits back on their butt. By rule they are eliminated. Of course, what is going to follow is arguing with the JJ and pressuring the JJ to be allowed to continue.

Or how about the person that lands on their feet and then puts one hand down to steady themselves. Elimination or not?

What do you do if the person pops off on the other side of the horse, lands on their butt and gets up quickly before the judge seems them on the ground? Eliminated or not?

Dumb rule and not thought out well. I had no problem with the one fall rule. You fell off your horse and your out. Clear and easy. People that argue against it should practice more at home so they don't fall off their horse. And yes I have come off my horse during competition.

[yellowbritches]

4. Use the reins for balance and to make sure you stay on your feet! Who cares about your horse's poor mouth!?

Or your shoulders. I've trashed my delicate, persnickety shoulder a few times holding on for dear life after taking a tumble.

I don't know what to say to this new "rule." I rather they just eliminate the whole thing in general, at least at the lower levels. This just seems....silly.

[asterix]

I'd rather that they addressed the gaping loophole about falling off in warmup or a previous horse than this. Any rule that starts introducing a "ok/not ok" fall distinction seems like trouble.

[SunNSand]

How are the short riders with giraffes for horses going to get back on anyway? The jump judge can't help them. I guess they better teach their horses to let them mount from a xc jump

[sarah88]

I have to say i think this is just silly. It will be difficult to enforce and I could see getting hurt worse bc you are trying to land on your feet. Plus, really I am in favor of you fall and you are out. It is a competition, if you cant stay on ya don't get to play the game. And I understand that at this level it is probably bc people were wanting to be able to continue to 'school' their young horses around a xc course, which i get. but again I think not having a uniform rule is just asking for trouble.