HSI Sport Horse Foal Championship 2016

The Championship, with a very generous prize fund of €30,000, aims to identify, evaluate and reward breeders who have bred a foal that has the potential to be competitive at the highest International level in the disciplines of show jumping or eventing.

This year there will be 6 regional qualifiers with separate sections for potential showjumping foals and potential eventing foals.   Foals will be permitted to enter one regional qualifier but will not be confined to entering the qualifier in their own region.  €3,000 in prize money will be on offer at each of the qualifiers where 4 foals will be selected for the Final; the best show jumping type colt and filly, and the best eventing type colt and filly.

The final will take place on the 26th August at Cavan Equestrian Centre where a pot of €10,000 will be on offer and two Champions will be named, Champion Showjumping Foal and Champion Eventing Foal. There will also be a special prize for the overall best traditionally-bred foal. The Showjumping Champion colt and filly will be offered free entry into the Cavan Elite Foal Sale taking place on the 22^nd September at Cavan Equestrian Centre should their owners be interested in selling their foals.

Foals must also be registered in a studbook (pending DNA where this can be verified by the studbook is acceptable) that is a member of the WBFSH or Weatherbys and must be shown with their dams.

Entry Forms

CLICK HERE for an Entry Form for the HSI Sport Horse Foal Championship Qualifier at Coilog Equestrian Centre

CLICK HERE for an Entry Form for the HSI Sport Horse Foal Championship Qualifier at Wexford Equestrian Centre

CLICK HERE for an Entry Form for the HSI Sport Horse Foal Championship Qualifier at Galway Equestrian Centre

CLICK HERE for an Entry Form for the HSI Sport Horse Foal Championship Qualifier at Tubberbride Stables

CLICK HERE for an Entry Form for the HSI Sport Horse Foal Championship Qualifier at The Meadows Equestrian Centre

Criteria for entry

• Foals must be registered in a studbook that is a member of the WBFSH or Weatherbys (pending DNA where this can be verified by the studbook is acceptable) and must be shown with their dams.
• Foals are only permitted to enter one regional qualifier but will not be limited to competing in the region in which the owner resides.
• Foals must be entered in either the Showjumping Section or the Eventing Section.  They cannot compete in both sections.
• The dam’s passport should be available on the day for inspection.
• All foals must be a minimum of 6 weeks old to compete at the Final.
• All foals must be named in order to compete in the Final.

Classes

• All classes must run on a pre-entry basis. Entries will be taken by the show/venue and will be required 2 weeks prior to the event.

• All classes must be held a prominent arena at the show with a suitable surface to cope with adverse conditions and a suitable loose movement pen (20x40m) or an indoor arena which should be fenced off 20m by 40 m.
• Shows cannot schedule or hold other foal classes as part of the show;
• Entry fees should not exceed €40.

Please note foals need to be kept on their lead at the venues except when being shown loose in the arena.

Competitors

• Foals must be lead to and from the arena, and only turned loose when requested to do so by the judges.
• The judge’s decision as announced is for the qualifiers and Championship is final, the only exception is where the pedigree of the foal is not subsequently confirmed by DNA.
• Pedigree points allocation are based on the information provided by the owner on the completed entry form and these points allocated in the qualifier will not change retrospectively for the qualifier, but they may be updated for the final should additional information be forthcoming.
• Foals must be registered & microchipped for the qualifiers and must provide their passport for the final. Prize money will only be provided after pedigree confirmed by DNA and passport details are verified.

Prize Money

Regional Qualifiers (€3,000 per venue)

Final (€10,000)

In addition €1,000 will be awarded to the best traditionally-bred foal and €1,000 towards prizes in kind, sashes etc.

Preparation

It is important for the foals to be well prepared for the classes. To practice for the championship it is wise that the foal has been familiarised with the headcollar and leading at a young age. During the events the foals may not have lost all of their foal hairs. The judges will only examine the quality of the foal and does not pay attention to colour or coat. During the classes a foal’s health is more important than show condition coat. Completely shaving the foals is not recommended, because shaved foals are more likely to get a cold when they are outside in bad weather.

These classes are not traditional show foal classes, they are for potential performance animals. Any evidence of foals having been over-fed or pushed to grow and develop unnaturally, which could be detrimental for their future bone development and general wellbeing will be penalised.

Evaluation

Foals will be presented to the judges accompanied by their dam. All foals must be paraded as a group at the start of each class before the individual evaluation of each foal.

During the individual presentation the foal is positioned in front of the judges with a halter, in order to evaluate its posture and conformation. The mare will be kept at hand during the foals movement evaluation. The foal can then be judged freely on walk, trot and canter as indicated by the judges. When all the foals are evaluated, the judges will announce the Regional Champion and the Reserve.  The judges will describe the positive attributes of the foals to the audience and provide an assessment as to whether they think the foal is Eventer type or Showjumper type.

Judging Criteria:

There will be two judges for each category of Show jumping and Eventing.

Foals will be judged according to the following criteria.

1. Functional conformation
2. Walk
3. Trot
4. Canter
5. Overall athleticism and balance
6. Pedigree

The judges will be provided with pedigee and pefomance information for each of the foals.

Scoring will be judged out of 100 and will be based on the following traits:

System for Evaluating Damline Pedigree

Performance damline pedigree will be assessed by the studbook prior to the class.  Points for pedigree will be based on the ISH Star Rating system, for 3 generations on the dam line.

The points awarded for each of these ancestors will be based on the individual’s ancestor’s own performance or its progeny’s performance component of the star rating criteria, whichever is highest.

For example a foal whose dam is eligible for a 4 star rating for her own showjumping performance and a 3 star rating for her progeny’s showjumping performance will be considered to be a 4 star mare out of an available 5 stars.  Her foal will receive 4 points for this dam.

Where 5 pedigree points are available for an ancestor they will be awarded as follows:

Where 2.5 pedigree points are available for an ancestor (i.e. the maternal great granddam) they will be awarded as follows: