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Riding arena and jumping etiquette

From: Anne

Dear Jessica, I enjoy reading your column & respect your sound advice & opinion. The barn where I board offers excellent horse care, nice people, wonderful trails, outdoor arenas and one large indoor arena for the winter. Unfortunately, there are two separate barns on the property & we share the indoor arena in winter which has not been a problem. This winter the other barn was leased to a new group. The new group does not exhibit the same etiquette we are accustomed to. The new barn has some very young & talented jumpers who erratically (no obvious pattern) jump 3 foot+ jumps and come very close to hitting the riders on the rail. Jumps are NEVER called and whomever else is in the ring must stay on the rail, sometimes pinned against the wall. I envision an accident waiting to happen.

I am not used to such defensive riding: I am a beginner/intermediate who is fortunate enough to have a very flexible schedule, and I have tried different times of the day, but this is an all day affair in winter. My ride is completely restricted to the rail and the close calls upset me & my horse, and I do not have a pleasant ride.

What is the proper etiquette for jumping in a shared arena? The people who jump in my barn have always called their jumps & I am happy to get out of the way. Do I have the responsibility to watch what everyone else is intending because they are not calling their intentions out loud, then get out of the way? Its very difficult when there are two or three riders jumping different courses at the same time. Is this something I need to deal with as part of my learning curve, or does the jumping rider have some responsibility to watch where they intend to jump & end up? These riders typically ride very close, so my horse's ears are pinned & hip is starting to shift. I have politely asked for extra personal space, but I am ignored and quite honestly I am beginning to not be so polite. Or do I need to find a new barn? Thank you. Anne on the rail


Hi Anne! Reading your letter, I must say that I, too, envision an accident, or several accidents, waiting to happen.

You say that there are two barns on the property. Are they owned and/or managed by the same people? There obviously needs to be some coordination between the two, since the riders at your barn appear to have a solid grounding in riding arena etiquette, whereas the riders at the second barn... appear to be in dire need of a remedial course in manners and safety.

If you're going to be safe riding in this arena, something has to change. This isn't about your learning curve, it's about a group of riders who have atrocious manners and no consideration for anyone's safety.

Jumpers usually do have the right-of-way - for safety's sake - but the very least they can do is to call their jumps (ALL the time - individual jumps (e.g. "Heads up the oxer") AND lines (e.g. "Heads up, outside line" or "Heads up, diagonal"). They should also make it their habit to avoid crowding the riders who are on the rail. All riders should warn others when they are approaching from the rear and intending to pass. Passing can be done safely as long as the passing rider calls a position - that is, says "Passing, inside please" or "Passing, rail please" - and then leaves PLENTY of room, beginning to pass at least 10' behind the other horse, and going around it at a distance that won't trap the rider on the rail against the wall, or cause the two riders' stirrups to come into contact.

Most arena etiquette is just good sense, safety and courtesy: Don't block the flow of traffic, don't stand in the doorway, and don't open or close sliding arena doors without the riders' permission. If you're longeing, do NOT crack your whip. When you're jumping, always call your jumps and your lines. If you're passing another rider, call a position and pass long and wide. Be aware of everything that's happening around you, be aware of the other riders and horses at all times, maintain a safe distance between horses (10' or more). Make allowances for novice riders and green horses, even if you have the right-of-way. Avoid collisions by turning, leg-yielding, or stopping, even if you HAVE the right-of-way. If any rider is in trouble - rearing or bucking horse, runaway horse, rider coming loose, rider falling off - that rider has ABSOLUTE PRIORITY and everyone else should halt and STAND.

PROMOTE SAFETY and BE CONSIDERATE OF OTHERS - DON'T ALLOW YOUR ENJOYMENT OF THE ARENA TO RUIN ANOTHER RIDER'S ENJOYMENT OF THE ARENA.

You are right - what's going on now is dangerous. Something does need to be done, but not by you. The person in charge - that is, the person who owns and/or manages the facility, or the person who is paying for the liability insurance on the facility (and thus has a vested interest in keeping the number of accidents down) - should be the one to "lay down the law". If you or other riders were to direct your complaints directly to the riders from the other barn, the responses you get would probably not be very satisfactory. Some inconsiderate young riders are well brought up and WILL listen, apologize, and change their ways ("Gosh, I had no idea, I'm so sorry, I won't do it any more") but others, less well brought up or simply more full of themselves, are likely to react in less helpful ways ("You're not the boss of me" or "Yeah, who died and made YOU God?").

Talk to the facility's owner or manager, and explain that what's going on is both unpleasant and dangerous. If other riders wish to accompany you when you talk to the owner, well and good, but for the sake of clear communication, agree in advance that you (or, at any rate, a single individual) will do the talking. The owner or manager should be receptive to your complaint. The solution may be as simple as the manager calling a general meeting and reminding ALL of the boarders at BOTH barns about the rules that they agreed to when they signed their boarding contracts. If the offending riders continue to behave dangerously and put others at risk when they ride in the arena, they may need to be assigned certain hours during which they can have the arena to themselves, as opposed to other designated times each day when there will be NO jumping allowed, and the other boarders will be safe in the arena.

If all else fails, you probably WILL need to "vote with your feet" and take your horse elsewhere, but you and the other concerned riders should first have a go at persuading the owner or manager to put things right. It would be a shame for the considerate, polite, safety-oriented riders to be the ones who leave!

Jessica

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