- What does AEL stand for?
- AEL stands for “Athletic Equestrian League”
- Who can join the AEL Equestrian Team?
- Equestrian athletes in 4th-12th grade who wish to compete in practical horsemanship are encouraged to join our team.
- Additionally, there is a “Minis” division for 1st-3rd graders and an “Adults” division. Since Minis and Adults do not count into the team totals, White Iron Equestrian is not currently accepting riders for these divisions. This may change in the future.
- How will each rider’s practical horsemanship be judged?
- Riders are judged against a set of standards in three phases. 1) on the flat, 2) over fences, and 3) an unmounted practicum.
- Each rider receives a flat score (40 points), a fences score (40 points), and a practicum score(20 points)
- All three scores are added together for their score for the day
- Does the rider need a horse?
- Riders in the AEL ride the “host” team’s horses, they do not bring their own mounts.
- How large are the classes at the AEL Competitions?
- Riders will be judged in a group of six riders of the same level. Their flat phase will be ridden in a group setting. They will proceed to the over fences fences phase, then directly to their practicum phase.
- How will I be judged?
- Each athlete is judged on a scored basis. Score sheets are standardized and are available on the AEL website. Each Athlete takes home a copy of their score sheets that includes the judge’s comments. This gives each rider a good understanding of how they placed and what needs to be worked on in order to improve their score.
- The Flat phases are scored on eight standards, and receive a score from 1-5 on each standard.
- The Fences phase, each rider is required to complete eight tests. Each obstacle (jump or ground pole) or set of obstacles are one test. This phase is scored from 0-5 on each test.
- In the Practicum phase, each rider scores between 1-20 points.
- Each athlete is judged on a scored basis. Score sheets are standardized and are available on the AEL website. Each Athlete takes home a copy of their score sheets that includes the judge’s comments. This gives each rider a good understanding of how they placed and what needs to be worked on in order to improve their score.
- What are the levels of riders at the AEL Competitions?
- AEL divides riders into Beginner, Advanced Beginner, Novice, Intermediate and Open.
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