New mode at the World Championships for Young Show Jumpers: Optimum time and lower obstacles for five and six-year-old show jumpers

If you want to be successful at the World Breeding Jumping Championships for Young Horses, you no longer have to be as fast as in previous years. At the beginning of May, it was announced that the fastest time would no longer be the deciding factor. Instead, the five-year-olds now have to come as close as possible to a defined optimum time. This is to prevent the five-year-old horses from being overly stressed in the race against the clock.

Judy Ann Melchior, host of the World Championships and partner of Christian Ahlmann, favors efforts for horse welfare, but also warns that the competitive character must not disappear. It is important to avoid extremely fast rides.

Please fly lower

The World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) and the FEI have now published a further change to the format: In the five-year-old age group, the obstacles in the qualifying rounds are now only 1.20 meters high instead of the previous 1.25 meters.

The two qualifying rounds are not against the clock. The first round of the final features 1.25 meter high jumps (previously 1.30 meters). All clear rounds start in the second round, again over 1.25 meters, where the aim is to hit the “optimum time”.

Even the six-year-olds have to jump lower

The six-year-olds start over 1.30 meters (formerly 1.35 meters) in a two-phase jumping competition against the clock. In the second qualifier, the riders will compete against the clock over a 1.35 meter course.

The world champion is the rider who reaches the jump-off in the final over 1.35 meters (formerly 1.40 meters). There, faults and time decide the title.

The decision for the seven-year-olds follows the same pattern, except that, as before, obstacles of 1.40 meters in height have to be overcome.