The OEA's Rule of the Month
Welcome to the OEA’s Rule of the Month, where, with TD Peggy Hambly, we profile key rules of Eventing and keep you up to date on any critical rules changes you need to know about!
Tack check
Question: Hi Peggy – I’m pretty new to eventing and one part of the day that I’m always worried I’ll get wrong is Tack Check. How can I make it less stressful for me and my horse?
Peggy’s guidance:
Here are a few tips to make Tack Check easier.
Always keep a few things in mind. At National Shows in Ontario, almost always, the tack check person is a volunteer, trying to do their very best for the show and to keep it going on time, keep the officials happy, and help the competitor. It isn’t an easy job and there they are, in the sun, the rain, the wind working away just because they love our sport. Truly, we can’t thank these wonderful people enough. Please, always be grateful for them and pleasant to them. We can’t do this sport without many, many volunteers.
You can choose to have your Tack Check as soon as you reach the warm up or just before you enter the ring. Keep in mind, that you must allow yourself enough time to correct anything not right before your ride time.
Our Rule Book states that there must be a Steward appointed to check the dress and saddlery of each competitor BEFORE dressage phase, and there MAY be a tack check before show jumping or cross-country, so look to see if that’s happening at the competition. This can be found in Article D115 of the Eventing Rule Book. I highly recommend that you take a good look at Article D114 and D115 and Annex 2 so that you are aware of what is and isn’t allowed regarding helmets, dress, spurs, whips and saddlery. This would be well worth your time.
Should you run into a problem and feel that you don’t understand, or the steward is having difficulty, do not be afraid to ask them to radio the TD. The TD should be happy to come help sort things out. This also would serve you well with issues of what you can and cannot do in the warmup ring. Again, take a look at the Rule Book.
Something to always keep in mind is that the officials are there to help you. When the judge is judging they are not accessible, but you can always request the TD.