Grades, Performance Formula & Trophy Points.
Some South West members are not competitive & just enjoy riding through new areas on an organised, safe route. Organisers of Pleasure rides are more than happy for riders to not be competitive & just ride slower (although within minimum speeds) & enjoy the day. However, many riders like to combine the thrill of the ride with an added competitive spirit!!
At the end of a GER (Graded Endurance Ride) a grade will be awarded to each rider depending on how they did. Basically the grade is calculated based on level of class entered (novice, open or advanced) distance, speed & results of the vetting carried out within 30 minutes of the horse finishing the ride.
Grading charts can be found here: egb.myclubhouse.co.uk/Cms/Spaces/RULES/10+Grading+Tables Be careful to choose the correct chart for your class! What they show is the maximum & minimum speeds you can go & what the heart rate (beats per minute) taken by the vet should be to get each level of grade. Grade One is for optimum speed & low heart rate rising through to Grade Four for either higher heart rates &/or slower speeds. On the grading charts ‘comp’ means Completion so your efforts are recognised but perhaps you just missed out on a grade on this occasion. Eliminations are given for very slow speeds, excessively high speeds & high heart rates. An Elimination could also occur if the vets think the horse is not sound or healthy. Eliminations are rare but they are necessary to uphold the very high levels of welfare we expect in our sport.
Some Ride Organisers also award Performance Formula points alongside Gradings. The formula used for calculating this result is,
Speed x 2 - minimum speed x 100 divided by Heart Rate
This means riders can be ranked in order of their achievement, unlike gradings where many riders could all achieve the same grade.
Our highest level of competition is Competitive Endurance Rides, in these rides the riders compete directly against each other so are awarded 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc based on the position they are in at the finishing line plus successfully pass the post ride vetting
Finally, all successful riders will be awarded trophy points for each ride. The trophy points are made up of distance completion points with bonus points for grading. More details of how trophy points are calculated can be found here:
The points are added up at the end of the season in order to award trophies. All members are eligible for both Group & National Trophies!! More details of the South West trophies available are below.
A running total of your points throughout the season can always be found by going onto the ENDURANCE GB > RIDES > RESULTS page, enter your name & add up your points!!
EGB SW list of trophies.
Darkness Shield donated by Mr & Mrs Dark awarded to the best registered pure bred arab or anglo arab in the SW with the highest number of points achieved in any category of ride in the SW excluding Competitive Endurance Rides
Anwar Arabians Challenge Trophy donated by Thirza Pierce awarded to the overall Arab Champion (registered pure & anglo) decided by the highest number of points in all rides
Prince Merlin Trophy donated by Dr & Mrs Claridge presented to the best registered part bred arab gaining the highest points in all categories of rides in the UK
Hairy Harry or Harriet Award donated by Mrs S Martin for the SW horse & rider combination with the most points, the horse not to be registered with any breed society & not an Advanced rider
The Heather Trophy donated by Heather Palmer awarded to the registered native pony gaining the most points in all EGB rides
The Leo Trophy donated by Janet Lander for the rider with a home bred horse with the highest number of points in all rides
Laila’s Reward Top Mare donated by Mr & Mrs Sherry awarded to the mare achieving the highest number of points accumulated at any SW rides
The Shiera Shoe donated by Mr & Mrs I Williams & Miss A Williams awarded to the mare achieving the highest number of points accumulated at any Competitive Endurance Ride, nationally or internationally
Kernow Award will be presented to the horse & rider combination achieving the most points who are residing in Cornwall & both competing in their first full season at Open Level in SW rides.
Devonian Award donated by Mr & Mrs B Adams will be presented to the horse & rider combination achieving the most points who are residing in Devon & both competing in their first full season at Open Level in SW rides.
The Cheffy Trophy donated by Mr D Cheffy awarded to the top male rider gaining most points from rides in the SW
The Jigsaw Puzzle Trophy donated by Mr & Mrs Bullion presented to the veteran horse or pony 18 years or over, to be decided on the highest number of successful kilometres accumulated at rides during the year
The Moluq Trophy donated by Christine Pinder awarded to the veteran rider with the highest points in all rides
Associate Member Trophy for the Associate Member with the highest number of kilometres from all Pleasure Rides in the SW.
Junior Rider Trophy donated by Mrs S Mann awarded to the junior rider with the most points gained from all types of ride anywhere in the UK
The Young Rider Achievement Award donated by Mrs V Cooper & Mrs L Hinings given to the young rider with the highest mileage in all types of ride anywhere in the UK
Blue Zephyr Memorial Trophy donated by Dr & Mrs Claridge awarded to the novice junior SW member gaining the most points in all EGB rides.
Novice Trophy donated by Mrs D Honor to the rider with a novice horse in its first season with the most points from all Novice Rides
Novice Level Challenge Shield for the SW horse & rider both of whom must be at Novice level with the highest number of points gained only in Novice Graded Endurance Rides in the SW
The Peter Hawkey Forage Trophy donated by Peter Hawkey awarded to a rider in their first season of EGBSW membership gaining the most points from all levels of membership
Open Level Challenge Shield for the SW horse & rider of which one must be at open level with the highest number of points gained only in Open Graded Endurance Rides in the SW
Silver Mistrahl Cup donated by Rachael Claridge awarded to the senior SW international rider gaining most FEI points
The Spirit of Westwood Award donated by Catherine Woodford for the SW horse & rider combination to achieve the highest number of kilometres successfully completed in SW rides
Glory Trophy donated by Lyn Allum awarded to the SW horse gaining the most points in its first season of Competitive Endurance Rides.
The Grey Medlar Memorial Distance Rider Trophy. Donated by The Chisholm Family for the SW rider successfully completing the most kilometres during the season on one or more horses in any EGB ride.
Advanced Level Challenge Shield for the Advanced SW horse & rider combination with the highest number of points gained only in Advanced Graded Endurance rides
in the SW
The Yakamin Trophy for the South West Overall Champion donated by Sue Speed awarded to the horse & rider combination achieving the highest points accumulated at any rides nationally.
The Crew of the Year Award. Donated by Nicky Sherry.
South West Branch Young Volunteer of the Year Award donated by Frances Webster to the Junior or Young person who has supported EGBSW throughout the season.
South West Branch Achievement Award donated by Mrs V Cooper & Mrs E Hinnings to the person or group who has made the largest contribution to SW Endurance during the year.