New SJAI rules should help IJM league

By Michael Slavin

Along with its announcement of a new sponsor for its National League (IJM Timerframe) the Show Jumping Association of Ireland has also published its most detailed set of rules yet for the 25-year-old series.

The changes devised by its National Competitions Committee should go some way towards ironing out a number of problems that have bugged this premier event for some time now.

For one thing they have faced the problem of late starts head-on by demanding that shows running a League round start the day in their main arena with a drawn order event that has a determined number of starters.

In this situation the riders will know what time they are jumping and there will be no excuse for not arriving on time. If judges stick to their guns, the new system should work. The goal is to have a definite start time of no later than 2.00 p.m. for the League Grand Prix. And that makes a great deal of sense from everyone's point of view.

The SJAI has also firmed up its declaration programme, leaving riders the leeway of getting on the list anytime from Monday through Thursday of the week before the event. In order to ensure that there is a minimum of no-shows, they have introduced a deposit system whereby riders must put €300 in a refundable kitty from which penalty fines will be withdrawn for any failure to take part in a Grand Prix for which they have declared. This too is good sense.

For too long the sport, which takes itself very seriously, has not been serious enough about putting its best foot forward where it matters most at the coal face of its outdoor competition year - the Grand Prix circuit. With superb backing from its new sponsor and a set of rules with some bite in them, the way is now, open for a new beginning; lets hope everyone pulls together to make it work.

However, there is one caveat; what about the rules for shows and their entry into the League list? The absence of such rules got the SJAI into a whole mess of trouble two years ago when it was uncertain if a new show qualified as a points gaining venue. There is no sign of written rules on this matter in the new document jest published. One can only hope they are in the making.