Just wanted to remind everyone that, as per the rule changes approved at the AGM last year (at the 2014 AGM, so, as per last year’s update of the Rule Book), I’ve updated the points calculations for Set Speed Rides. Also, there are now three separate ranking levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold rather than a single amalgamated list for all levels. Whatever level you enter is where your points will accrue. If you ride Bronze level at one ride, and Silver level at another, your horse will appear in each list with the relevant points from that level. (Note that this is as per the original rules – this is not a rule change but an application of an existing rule.)
Silver and Gold level year end points from Graded Set Speed rides have a bit of a bonus attached. So if you are qualified to ride at a higher level, you will receive slightly higher year end points (including those points going towards the Overall rankings) for actually entering the higher level. However, you are still completely free to ride at any level you choose.
If you are looking to maximize your year end points, you would usually get more points for riding towards the lower end of Silver or Gold than for the higher end of Bronze. Or another way of illustrating it is that a Grade 2 finish in a Silver ride is more valuable than a Grade 1 in a Bronze ride. For those of you who understand the standard OCTRA points system which uses Chart 1 from the OCTRA Rule Book, a Grade 1 finish in Bronze is equivalent to a ‘1st place out of 5 starters’ finish. A Grade 2 in Silver is equivalent to a ‘2nd place out of 7 starters’ finish. A Grade 2 in Gold level is equivalent to a ‘2nd place out of 9 starters’ finish.
Placed Set Speed rides are calculated the same as most other OCTRA disciplines, using Chart 1 from the OCTRA Rule Book.
To get a feel for how the points work in practice, have a look at the results from the 40km (25 mile) Graded Set Speed ride at Aprilfest, and also at the two ranking lists that are up (no results yet for any Gold level entries).
Bronze Level Set Speed Rankings
Silver Level Set Speed Rankings
I’m happy to answer questions if anyone is confused by it all.