Course Design

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Course Design

• Created by
• Eduard Petrovic

FEI International Course Designer
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Course Designers have a Responsibility toward

• The Horses
• The Riders
• The Show
• The Spectators
• The Sponsors and the
  continuity of
• The Sport

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Good Course Designers

• Are good horsemen with excellent knowledge about
  horsemanship and the sport.
• Must take the responsibilities of the job very
  seriously.
• Have an ability to organize, set priorities, and
  manage details.
• Are well educated, experienced, independent,
  honest responsible and diplomatic personalitys
  which can use tact and skill in working with show
  officials and their assistents.
• Are flexible enough to manage with anything that
  might come up.

Horseman, is not a man with a horse
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Course Designers MustAlways Consider

• Safety, is the first and last.
• Producing fair, fun and dramatic sport.
• Promoting horsemanship by always rewarding good
  training and riding.
• Presenting the sport in a beautiful and natural
  way.
• Directing the future of the sport.

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The Course !

• Every course should suit
• The level of the show.
• The kind of class it is.
• The purpose of that particular class.
• Level of the horses and riders at the show.
• The size of the arena.
• The weather conditions and the footing.
• The time schedule for the ring that day.

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Jumping Courses are Tests of

• The level of education and training of the horse
  and rider.
• The degree of communication and cooperation
  between horse and rider.
• The riders judgment and concentration.
• The horses skill,galloping performance, boldness,
  carefulness, , balance, and concentration.

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What is a Course?
Knowl-edge

• All courses are different.
• Many factors importand to make a good course

Material
Color
Footing
Sun
Distance
Track
Height
In-Gate
Arena
Type off obstacle
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Elements of a Course

• The courseline.
• Type and positions of obstacles. Especially the
  position of combinations and related lines.
• Obstacle construction.
• Distances used between obstacles.
• Dimensions of the obstacles.
• Type of cups and top poles used.
• Speed and measurement for the time allowed.
• Footing, towards the in-gate.

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Difficulty Factors

• Obvious
• Height of the jumps.
• Width of the jumps.
• Distances between the jumps.

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Difficulty Factors

• Subtle
• The line.
• The type of combinations.
• The type of obstacles.
• The approach to the obstacles.
• The decoration and the spectators.
• The time allowed.

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Difficulty Factors

• Subtle
• The obstacle material.
• The colors and the background.
• The length of the course and number of efforts.
• The balance and flow of the course.

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Combinations

• Use variety.
• Dont put in problems.
• Save distance problems for special
  circumstances.
• Watch the number of spreads.
• Careful with the approaches.

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Think about the Consequences!

• How big are the risk for mistakes?
• What will be the result of a mistake?
• Can you make the price of an error more
  educational and less of a punishment, especially
  for the horse?

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What Makes a good competion?

• There are no crashes.
• Every competitor has the chance to finish the
  course.
• Every competitor up to the standard and without
  an error can produce a clear round.
• Weaknesses in training or riding mistakes must
  produce faults.
• Faults are educational and not punishing.
• Many competitors have only one fault, and the
  faults occur all around the course.

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STATISTICS

• Evaluating your Jumper Course
• Watch every horse go.
• Keep track of fences that come down.
• See where the four-faulters had trouble.
• Look for balanced results.

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The Course Designers Job
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Taking a Course Designing Assignment

• Be sure of show dates, location, specific
  duties.
• Request a written contract, the schedule, and a
  sketch of the arena(s) with dimensions, and
  locations of entrance/exit, judges box, and any
  permanent obstacles or features.
• Confirm details of arrival and departure days and
  times, lodging, transportation, expected weather,
  ring crew, copy machine, etc.

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Essential Tools of the Trade

• Measuring tapes and wheel.
• Map wheel and calculator.
• Appropriate clothing - with rain gear always!
• Blank course plan sheets, pens, pencils,
  highlighter, white-out.
• Rule book(s) and Schedule.
• Laptop and printer
• Plans for at least the first days classes.
• Lots of energy, enthusiasm, and knowledge.

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Arriving at the Show

• Meet the Organizers.
• Check for any schedule changes and update your
  time schedule.
• See the arena(s) and check their size, footing,
  lighting, and any irregularities.
• Meet with your assistants/crew.
• See if a tractor and trailer are available for
  your use.
• Locate and try out the copy machine.

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Getting to Work

• Make a detailed inventory of the material you
  have to work with.
• Finalize your first days plans and make copies
  for the crew.
• Explain your system of working to your
  assistants.
• Build the course.
• Confirm when everyone will arrive the next day.

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Course Plans
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Drawing Plans 1

• Preliminary Work
• Make a good plan of the arena in scale.
• Make a masterplan draw lightly with a pencil,
  the lines, combinations, and single obstacles.
• Do most important class of the day first.
• When youre satisfied with the lines and the
  obstacles positions, then draw harder with your
  pencil.
• Now you can work on the other courses for the day

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Useful Tips

• Work in scale!
• Use color to differentiate between the different
  courses on one piece of paper.
• Use circles, squares, underlines, etc. for
  copies.
• For obstacles to be added later, use dotted
  lines.
• Use large circled numbers for the first course of
  the day.
• Stay consistent for the sake of your helpers!

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Drawing Plans 2

• Next steps
• Decide the materials to be used for each
  obstacle.
• Decide on the distances and heights and spreads,
  including those for extra obstacles to be built
  but only used later in the day.
• Decide who is doing what and make enough copies
  of the final masterplan plan for all your
  assistents.

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More Tips

• Work first with pencil.
• Dont forget importand sponsor obstacles, maybe
  also must be part of the jump-off.
• Learn how to make simple and easy changes to the
  course that will make different and more suitable
  courses for later classes. You will need a lot
  of practice and thought.

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Drawing Plans 3

• Final Steps
• After the course is built, draw if nessesery a
  new masterplan with all fences in their actual
  positions
• Use the masterplan and make a plan for each
  class of the day showing the class information
  and with arrows and numbers showing the course
• Make more copies of each courseplan for your
  assistents.

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What Needs to be on a Course Plan

• Class name and number.
• Fences numbered and with arrows to show
  direction. Start Finish.
• Table, Speed, Length of Course, Time Allowed,
  Time Limit, Jump-Off information.
• Indicate Option Jumps, Closed Combinations.
• Helpful items day, time, in/out gates, show
  name, class level.
• To make them special use logos,

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Course Plan Copies

• How many?
• Keep a copy of your Masterplan.
• Make just enough Clean Copies of the plan for
  each class for the judges, the in-gate, and the
  press or office if requested. Keep one extra
  filed away just in case you need it!
• Prepare plans showing the adjustments and
  dimensions for each course change during the day
  copy these for each of your assistents in the
  arena.
• Avoid making more copies than you need!

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Course Plans for Big Events

• The Press and Television
• Need plans ahead.
• Need dimensions.
• Need distances.
• Need the Time Allowed.
• Spectators
• May need a plan for the start list
• Leave out dimensions
• Commentator
• Likes to have a plan with dimensions.

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Building a Course

• From an Empty arena
• to
• Ready for the First Horse

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Lay Out the Rails

• Make a list of the poles you need one for
  verticals, two for oxers.
• Put poles on the ground walk the distance
  between them so you are as close as possible the
  right position.
• Look at the course as a whole.
• Nows the time to make any needed changes to the
  course!

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Buillding obstacles

• Put poles on the ground, one for verticals ,two
  for oxers and so on.
• Measure distances, spreads and cross measure
  them.
• Put the wings on the ends of the laid out poles.
  
• Put first poles up as the top poles (at the
  correct heights) on each obstacle.
• Keep the wings straight.
• Again, cross measure the lines and combinations
  so they are straight.

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Fill in Decoration

• Add the walls, gates, planks to each obstacle.
• Determine spacing of elements.
• Add flower boxes, take-offs, etc.
• Add plants or to sides of jumps.
• Add start and finish markers, flags and numbers
  to obstacles.

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Finish the Course

• Check for proper cups. (And that no extras are
  lying around.)
• Put straightest and lightest poles on top of each
  jump and mark them if nessesery. Re-check
  heights and spreads again.
• Check and regulate with different cups
  theeasibility of poles.
• Walk the whole course to see all the details.
  (the jump-off too!), and re-check the distances.
• Measure courses and calculate the time allowed.
• Cross off (or take the flags off) unused jumps.
• Be sure of your spare materials.

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Jump Offs

• Considerations
• How many jumps?
• Left and Right balance.
• Verticals and oxers.
• Turns with oxers.
• Inside turns.
• Galloping performance
• One combination

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Jump Offs

• What makes a good one?
• exciting for the audience without being
  dangereous.
• Suitable length.
• Balance of left and right.
• Turns before and after jumps.
• Place to gallop.
• Angled approach.
• Optional distance.
• Inside/outside option.

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Start and Finish

• Things to Keep in Mind
• How they work.
• Changing them between classes.
• Moving them for the jump-off.
• Width of Start and Finish lines.
• How far away from the jumps.
• Straight or angled?
• Positioning the flags.

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Becoming a Course Designer

• Walk courses, study the masterplan and watch
  whole classes to study how they ride.
• Ask designers what theyve done and why.
• Volunteer to assist a variety of designers.
• Work at a variety of shows.
• Travel out of your area to watch assist.
• Read the classic books on horsemanship.
• A lot of experience as competion rider