110 and novice 90cm qualifiers plus.....

Get Involved

If you are a pupil ask permission from a senior member of staff to put a poster up on a notice board, advertising that you are hoping to set up a riding team. Ask for potential members to sign up. Get potential members to fill in a form detailing their riding experience, details of their horse/pony and whether they are members of equestrian organizations etc.

Find a member of staff or a parent who has an interest in horses, and supports your idea.(For instance this could be a member of the P.E Staff)

Go to the Principal with a list of pupils and supporting teacher and /or parent. Ask his/her permission to set up a team. Following his/her agreement it is recommended that you set a date for a riding assessment rally.

It is recommended that you find a qualified Riding Instructor who is prepared to hold practices and help your chef d’Equipe to select teams for competitions. (this person will be the Team Trainer.)

With the agreement of the school principal, send out a form to each rider's parents explaining what you are aiming for, practice times, dates of competitions, financial implications (explaining if parents or the school pay for entry fees/ training ?) etc. There must be a return slip on the form that parents must sign, agreeing to be present and responsible for their own child at competitions and practices.

You must nominate a Chef D’Equipe who is able to go along to competitions with the team, walk the course and advise each team member on how to ride it. If for any reason this person can not attend a suitable replacement must attend in his/her place to be responsible for the team on the day.

If your schools cannot field a full team of three, preferably four members there is the facility in most leagues to enter a team which consists of team members from two (maximum) schools. This team can be placed in the competition on the day but will not gain league points. However check specific league rules prior to entry.

In conjunction with the team league, there is also an individual league. Individual competitions are entered on the day of the competition, but team competitions are entered in advance.

Please see the specific rules for the competitions and note the height that you will be asked to jump. This tends to be from 90cm to 1m for the open team and individual competitions. There may be a fence or two raised to 105 but ONLY in the jump off round. The 110 qualifier and final is set at 110.

Many venues run Novice team and individual competitions as well, aimed at less experienced riders or horses. The height of these competitions tends to be maximum 80cms, but check with the venue. There is also an individual novice 90cm qualifier and final.

The main Interschools league run over the school year in Ireland is the Equestrian Inter Schools show jumping League. Other leagues are run by different equestrian centres also. It is worth keeping an eye on equestrian centre websites for details of these. These can also be seen advertised in the Irish Field and the EII facebook page.

There is also The All Ireland Interschools Show Jumping Championship, held every year at the beginning of May and The All Ireland Hunter Trials Championships held every year in March.

You will find further information on the Equestrian Inter School league by visiting www.equestrianinterschools.ie this also has dates, contact names and numbers for the All Ireland Interschools Show Jumping Championships and The Hunter Trials Championships.

By clicking on the link, info/results, on that website you will find the list of competitions, together with contact numbers for the event organisers, the league results to date, the league rules and a generic entry form.

All competition enquiries should go to the Venue organisers. Their contact details are listed with the competition dates. All enquiries regarding Rules, Competitions and Results queries, should go through the National Organising committee.

All Official Photography of rounds can be found on www.jumpinaction.net and can be purchased online by clicking Gallery Pages on its website. The Jumpinaction team is present at most league competitions also and photos can be printed and bought on the spot. Other photographers attend other events and the organiser can be contacted to ask which photographer is present on the day. Competition Venues, Results and Dates are liable to change. So keep checking the listings for any changes.

During the summer the British Interschools Championships are held in Hickstead in England, home of the Hickstead Derby. For the past number of years Ireland has been represented at this competition with great success links.

TRI Equestrian Store and Jumpinaction.net are the official sponsors of the Open Interschool Show Jumping League. Click on www.equestrianinterschools.com for more information.

For more information on most upcoming interschools show jumping fixtures see the calendar.

National Schools Equestrian Association http://www.nsea.co.uk looks after interschools competitions in great Britain.