British Breeder Magazine May 2020

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Above all, please ensure you stay safe and
adhere to the government guidelines, avoiding
unnecessary travelling and maintaining social
distancing. We have designed this year’s
evaluation with that in mind!
The first section
The first section of videos will cover the part of
the assessment you normally complete with the
vet and nutritionist, as well as the conformation
assessment you normally complete in the
indoor school. For this, you need some hard
standing, and a straight bit long enough to
show as few steps of walk and trot. You will
show your youngster standing up and in hand
walking and trotting away from and towards
the camera.
The second section
The second section of videos will cover the walk, trot and canter
assessment you normally complete in the indoor school. We are not
able to support ridden assessments at the moment, so movement will
only be judged loose, which is why the age maximum is 4 years. In
order to comply with Government guidelines on safe activities, we
won’t be able to assess loose jumping this year.
For this part of the assessment, you will need to get some footage of
your youngster on both reins in all three gaits. Try and get as much
footage side on as possible, as this makes it easiest to assess.
For this part, you can use an arena if you have one available, but if
not, a flat paddock with short grass is equally fine. Think about the
practicalities of having to catch your youngster in a large field, and
choose one that is not too big, with good, safe fencing. Please avoid
anywhere with long grass or tall weeds (or get them mowed, first), as
this will obscure parts of the movement.
The walk is usually best
shown in hand, make
sure you take long and
active strides, as this
will encourage your
youngster to do the
same.
The trot can be shown
loose or in hand, or
you can opt for a
combination of the two.
The canter will need
to be shown loose. For
foals, you can either
let both mare and foal
loose, or you can take
them both to one side of
the arena or paddock,
hold on to the foal while
you move the mare away
to the other side, then let
the foal loose who will
then usually canter to join
his or her mother.
Happy Filming! If you have any questions or want some further advice, we are only ever a phone
call away, so do not hesitate to get in touch!
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