Post by Ashlee on Feb 8, 2012 0:00:39 GMT -5
I would like the opinion of the RCHA competitors. As I get ready to post the new RCHA shows for the new year there are a few things that have come to mind that I think I may have found a solution for.
Mainly this - there are two divisions in each of the four disciplines which are "Limited" divisions, where your horses' eligibility to enter the division is based upon it's previous performance with the RCHA.
Last year I switched up the points and earnings systems a bit because the classes were getting so huge it was getting harder for horses to title up, so I made things a little easier.
However, with horses titling up sooner that means they're moving out of the Limited classes faster, particularly Novice Limited. I have horses that have earned their Champion title in 3-4 shows because they're showing in two divisions and typically the Novice Limited divisions have smaller classes.
There is also the issue of punctuality I guess you could say, I don't expect everyone (especially myself) to be so on top of their records that once a horse reaches Champion title they move the horse out of the Novice Limited divisions. I know we have horses that are showing in divisions they may not still be eligible for but their owner may not realize yet because perhaps they haven't gotten around to updating their records recently.
So this was my idea ... perhaps it would be a better idea to make the Novice Limited divisions for horses in their first year of showing with the RCHA, kind of like First Year Green Hunters. This should help solve two major problems: it would no longer require the need for owners to stay punctual on when a horse reaches their Champion title AND more importantly, I'm hoping it might help balance entry levels out a little more between the divisions.
If you think about it, if a horse only shows in one discipline - take Cutting for example, and they have never shown in the RCHA before, they are most likely showing in the Limited Cutting and Novice Limited Cutting divisions. Once that horse reaches it's Champion title (which can happen in a mere month of showing) it is going to move to either Open or Prime Time if eligible. Both divisions, especially the Open divisions are already quite large to begin with. If we change eligibility to first year showing in the RCHA then it will allow these horses to have a full year of showing against other horses which have the time amount of experience as they do and give them a better chance of placing over that first year.
What do you guys think? (especially Meaghan) As always, I value everyone's opinion. The RCHA is huge, even with a limited number of people showing in the association many of us have pretty large show teams.
Also, if you have any other suggestions or concerns you'd like to bring up feel free to post here or PM me.
Mainly this - there are two divisions in each of the four disciplines which are "Limited" divisions, where your horses' eligibility to enter the division is based upon it's previous performance with the RCHA.
Limited: Open to horses who have earned less than $350,000 lifetime earnings in the RCHA.
Novice Limited: Open to horses who are untitled with the RCHA.
Last year I switched up the points and earnings systems a bit because the classes were getting so huge it was getting harder for horses to title up, so I made things a little easier.
However, with horses titling up sooner that means they're moving out of the Limited classes faster, particularly Novice Limited. I have horses that have earned their Champion title in 3-4 shows because they're showing in two divisions and typically the Novice Limited divisions have smaller classes.
There is also the issue of punctuality I guess you could say, I don't expect everyone (especially myself) to be so on top of their records that once a horse reaches Champion title they move the horse out of the Novice Limited divisions. I know we have horses that are showing in divisions they may not still be eligible for but their owner may not realize yet because perhaps they haven't gotten around to updating their records recently.
So this was my idea ... perhaps it would be a better idea to make the Novice Limited divisions for horses in their first year of showing with the RCHA, kind of like First Year Green Hunters. This should help solve two major problems: it would no longer require the need for owners to stay punctual on when a horse reaches their Champion title AND more importantly, I'm hoping it might help balance entry levels out a little more between the divisions.
If you think about it, if a horse only shows in one discipline - take Cutting for example, and they have never shown in the RCHA before, they are most likely showing in the Limited Cutting and Novice Limited Cutting divisions. Once that horse reaches it's Champion title (which can happen in a mere month of showing) it is going to move to either Open or Prime Time if eligible. Both divisions, especially the Open divisions are already quite large to begin with. If we change eligibility to first year showing in the RCHA then it will allow these horses to have a full year of showing against other horses which have the time amount of experience as they do and give them a better chance of placing over that first year.
What do you guys think? (especially Meaghan) As always, I value everyone's opinion. The RCHA is huge, even with a limited number of people showing in the association many of us have pretty large show teams.
Also, if you have any other suggestions or concerns you'd like to bring up feel free to post here or PM me.