redwood valley combined training association

[caf.]

last day for show registration; be sure to get your entries in if you haven’t already! remember, this is the second to last chance to collect points for this season!

[withtheroses]

Competition Entry

Username: ♥rose♥
Barn Name: Rose Crest Stable

Horse: Moonlit Waters
Level: Intermediate

Horse: CE Sing it Sharp
Level: Training


Total Entry Fees: 450c
Bank Account: Bank account: Swoopity Boopity

[OutFoxed]

Competition Entry

Username: OutFoxed
Barn Name: Foxtail Stables

Horse: Himmlischer Tanz
Level: Modified
Horse: Ash Wine
Level: Training

Total Entry Fees: 300c
Bank Account: :x:

[caf.]

The Novice horse trial has concluded. Congratulations to the winners!

In first place, earning 750c and 80 leaderboard points with a score of 31.37 penalties, is Silver Sea Stables' Miss Affirmative.
In second place, with a score of 43.16 penalties, is Redwood Valley Equestrian Centre's Filler Horse 7.
In third place, earning 375c and 45 leaderboard points with a score of 52.13 penalties, is Silver Sea Stables' Bronze Moon.
In fourth place, with a score of 84.24 penalties, is Redwood Valley Equestrian Centre's Filler Horse 2.

Unfortunately, Redwood Valley Equestrian Centre's Filler Horse 10 fell during the cross-country phase of the competition and was eliminated.
Unfortunately, Redwood Valley Equestrian Centre's Filler Horse 6 went off-course during the stadium jumping phase of the competition and was eliminated.

The Training horse trial has concluded. Congratulations to the winners!

In first place, earning 1,000c and 80 leaderboard points with a score of 44.32 penalties, is Rose Crest Stables' CE Sing It Sharp.
In second place, earning 700c and 60 leaderboard points with a score of 45.74 penalties, is Silver Sea Stables' Mind Over Matter.
In third place, earning 500c and 45 leaderboard points with a score of 76.40 penalties, is Crestwood Estate's CE Edge of the Water.

Unfortunately, Cavallo Stables' Over and Out was pulled up in the dressage phase of the competition as he appeared to be injured. Strangely, the on-site vet could find nothing wrong with him.
Unfortunately, Crestwood Estate's CE Riverside King fell during the cross-country phase of the competition and was eliminated.
Unfortunately, Foxtail Stables' Ash Wine went off-course during the cross-country phase of the competition and was eliminated.

The Modified horse trial has concluded. Congratulations to the winners!

In first place, with a score of 45.86 penalties, is Redwood Valley Equestrian Centre's Filler Horse 1.
In second place, earning 825c and 60 leaderboard points with a score of 46.92 penalties, is Foxtail Stables' Himmlischer Tanz.
In third place, with a score of 143.97 penalties, is Redwood Valley Equestrian Centre's Filler Horse 6.

Unfortunately, Redwood Valley Equestrian Centre's Filler Horse 3 fell during the stadium jumping phase of the competition and was eliminated.
Unfortunately, Redwood Valley Equestrian Centre's Filler Horse 4 and Cavallo Stables' Sticks and Stones both took too many refusals during the stadium jumping phase of the competition and were eliminated.

The Preliminary horse trial has concluded. Congratulations to the winners!

In first place, with a score of 51.96 penalties, is Redwood Valley Equestrian Centre's Filler Horse 3.
In second place, earning 950c and 60 leaderboard points with a score of 63.95 penalties, is Silver Sea Stables' Beat The Gun.
In third place, with a score of 81.18 penalties, is Redwood Valley Equestrian Centre's Filler Horse 10.
In fourth place, earning 550c and 35 leaderboard points with a score of 133.90 penalties, is Crestwood Estate's CE Cutting Edge.

Unfortunately, Redwood Valley Equestrian Centre's Filler Horse 8 and Cavallo Stables' The Winter Sea both fell during the cross-country phase of the competition and were eliminated. The Winter Sea suffered a small laceration in the accident, but she appears to be recovering well.

The Intermediate horse trial has concluded. Congratulations to the winners!

In first place, with a score of 38.48 penalties, is Redwood Valley Equestrian Centre's Filler Horse 1.
In second place, earning 1,400c and 60 leaderboard points with a score of 52.36 penalties, is Cavallo Stables' The Dead Sea.
In third place, with a score of 54.97 penalties, is Redwood Valley Equestrian Centre's Filler Horse 3.
In fourth place, with a score of 57.99 penalties, is Redwood Valley Equestrian Centre's Filler Horse 7.
In fifth place, with a score of 106.79 penalties, is Redwood Valley Equestrian Centre's Filler Horse 11.

Unfortunately, Rose Crest Stables' Moonlit Waters was rushed to the vet hospital after he was found in his stall with a severe skull injury on the morning of the dressage phase of the competition. Luckily, he appears to be recovering well.

The following horses advanced in level after this week's horse trials:

Silver Sea Stables' Miss Affirmative advanced to the Training level.
Rose Crest Stables' CE Sing It Sharp advanced to the Preliminary level.
Cavallo Stables' Over and Out advanced to the Preliminary level.

The following horses incurred vet fees this round:

Cavallo Stables' The Winter Sea incurred 150c in vet fees. Thanks to RVCTA insurance, this amount was reduced to 25c.
Rose Crest Stables' Moonlit Waters incurred 500c in vet fees. Thanks to RVCTA insurance, this amount was reduced to 375c.

Click here to see how your horse did and why!

♥rose♥, as a personal aside, what on earth is it with Moon and getting himself into all kinds of trouble?? thankfully, there's a brand-new show season just around the corner, and i have no doubts he'll be back to his former glory soon.
only one more show cycle to go before the 2018 fall season comes to an end! make this round count!

Show entries are now open until Saturday, December 22.

[withtheroses]

Yikes I think Moon was a little stir crazy, and decided bonking his head on his stall walls was a good way to burn energy the night before the dressage phase. Also dang Melody is Preliminary already?? She has only been Training for two shows 😂

[caf.]

yes indeed - you only need two shows at training and novice in order to advance! the idea behind the system is that some horses are so talented and brave, it would be a waste to hold them at the lower levels for too long. in fact, i do believe RVCTA's system is much stricter than the USEA's; i could be wrong, but i think there is no prerequisite for Training at all. as the owner, it is to your discretion when to move the horse up; training, past performance, and high-point standings are all things to consider for you as to when is the right time to up the stakes. remember, you're always welcome to move a horse back down; if Melody has a bad run at Prelim, you can always return to Training for awhile!

poor Moon - even in a computer-generated horse show, they still manage to be funny, unpredictable creatures. best of luck with Melody, and here's hoping for Moon's speedy recovery!

[caf.]

hi everyone! just a quick reminder that the last show of the fall season closes tomorrow - if this one doesnt run, it’ll count for next season instead. remember, however, that this is the last opportunity to gain points for high point awards! the cycle will run if at least three players (myself included) enter. happy holidays!

[OutFoxed]

Competition Entry

Username: OutFoxed
Barn Name: Foxtail Stables

Horse: Himmlischer Tanz
Level: Modified
Horse: Ash Wine
Level: Novice

Total Entry Fees: 300c
Bank Account: :x:

Knocking Ash Wine back down, if that's allowable - just seems to be struggling with the higher level, which is a shame. Hopefully the next season will be better.

Wow, I'm so sorry rose to read about Moonlit Waters. I hope he recovers quickly and achieves his true potential.

-

Good luck all! Happy Holidays!

Thank you caf. for hosting such splendid events! It has been wonderful to take part in these weekly trials.

I would love to find a way to participate more, maybe a 'special event' or horse trial that requires more involvement than a simple entry form could be brought in every once in a while; entry form with an added written or art portion to give bonus points to the horse's stats/chances of getting a clear round. An extra credit sort of deal; questions (maybe like those used in the invitationals) with 300 (or less, or however) word answer gives a bonus or helps negate a negative event that would otherwise knock the horse from a successful round. The same could be used with a piece of art - maybe a specific line-art/color-in could be used with at least 5 colors used. That way it's not a competition of scoring the entries, but a minimum set with specific outcome, an extra effort to help the horse.
(I hope that makes any sort of sense, my brain is a bit scrambled currently, x.x)

[withtheroses]

Competition Entry

Username: ♥rose♥
Barn Name: Rose Crest Stable

Horse: Moonlit Waters
Level: Intermediate

Horse: CE Sing it Sharp
Level: Training


Total Entry Fees: 450c
Bank Account: Bank account: Swoopity Boopity

[caf.]

@rose, thank you for entering Moon - it slipped my mind entirely last week that i'd stated myself that RVCTA injuries couldn't incur any required off-time! good on you for remembering, aha.

@OutFoxed, no problem at all with Ash Wine; certainly no reason to rush him along if you don't feel he's quite ready!

as for more involvement, i'd certainly like to find more ways to let everyone do a little more when they want to. of course, i want to keep most of it pretty easy, since we're all busy, but i wouldn't mind having a competition now and again that requires some extra input on your end. perhaps it could be something i implement with the FEI levels, when they come in?

as for what you posited about optional "extra credit prompts," i am certainly amenable to the idea. perhaps each completed prompt would count as an "elimination save" that would prevent the horse from being knocked out of competition? those would be fairly easy to track on the leaderboard sheet, so i don't mind that at all. i would, however, want to make it so that there is a 15-25% chance that a save fails, and that certain events - spooks, bucks, lost shoes, and so forth - aren't applicable to saves. i just want to be careful about allowing players to rack up a huge number of bonuses that prevent anyone else from edging into the winning positions. alternatively, i could put a limit on how many saves any one player could rack up to prevent that? all just ideas, here - let me know what you think!

i'd like to ask real quick about the roleplay, since it seems like it hasn't picked up yet. is it simply that everyone's busy at the moment and doesn't have time for it, or is there something i can improve that would make it more attractive to you all? please feel free to be honest with your criticisms - i haven't really roleplayed in well over three years, so if someone else has better ideas that would draw in more attention i'm perfectly happy to take some input or hand over the project altogether!

another thing i was mulling over last night when i saw your post was FEH/YEH. originally, i wanted those events to be akin to futurities; just a sort of natural progression for young eventers before they enter the official horse trial scene. however, the Beginner Novice competitions and the potential addition of dressage-only or sporthorse conformation classes seems to cover that niche. i wrote up a little something last night on a different sort of FEH/YEH event, and i'd love to know if you all would be interested:

"Future Event Horse/Young Event Horse would be an annual or bi-annual event very similar in form and function to the Mustang Million event, in which players write and draw various training prompts for a horse and later roleplaying a competition. The real-world Future Event Horse/FEH competitions are classes for yearlings and two and three-year-olds, which involve a halter class and a free-jump class for the older horses. The Young Event Horse/YEH classes are for four and five year olds, and involve a halter class, dressage test, and jumping/gallop test. The RVCTA YEH/FEH events would be very similar in structure and form.

The event would begin similarly to Mustang Million in the auction phase; a number of weanling eventing prospects (anglo-arabians, warmbloods, sporthorses, and thoroughbreds, namely) would be auctioned off. These horses would be pre-registered in RVCTA; non-RVCTA members and RVCTA members who wished not to participate would be able to adopt the horses at an increased price. Uniquely, however, the horse's stats and personality would be hidden until age four (as weanlings tend to be gawky and overall difficult to predict); each horse would come with a backstory and a description of its appearance at the sales, which is all the players would have to go off of until they fully matured. Obviously, this does require some involvement from Syd, as she'd have to create the adopts and release the stats.

For each year of the horses' lives, a list of prompts would be released, asking for descriptions of various milestones; sale day, delivery day, first bridling, and so forth. There is no minimum number of prompts, so it is possible for someone to complete the event with no writing or art whatsoever; however, as each prompt yields a certain number of training points, it would be impossible to win any real prizes. At the conclusion of each "year," the horses will compete in a YEH or FEH class respective of their ages and age one year. As the horses grow older and older, the prizes get larger and larger. Any horse that completes the program through age five is automatically qualified for the Preliminary level.

The competitions themselves are partially computer-generated and partially generated by player input. The horse's starting score is determined by its physical stats, personality, and training; however, players will roleplay the competition scenes, which will add bonuses and random events according to the horse's described performance. Players that put more effort into their competition posts will usually receive higher scores.

The contest itself would last around four months, hopefully during the summer. Participation is, of course, not at all required, but highly encouraged (and highly incentivized, with a number of exciting prizes)."

obviously, it's very much a work-in-progress right now. does that sound like something everyone would enjoy, or too much work? i tried to make it a little more structured and a little less work-heavy so that it's not a massive commitment, but of course i completely understand if it's a little much for the association at the moment.

anyhow, show results will be up in just a bit, followed by the official end-of-season awards for our high-point champions! happy holidays, everyone.