Competition entry rules

For each competition, it is essential to establish entry rules - prerequisites for athletes, horses, or combinations to take part in the competition. These rules serve to limit participation to athletes holding specific license categories and belonging to specific age groups. In this article, we provide an overview of the structure of competition rules and present the available options.

#General-information

#Outside-of-competition-hors-concours

#List-of-available-entry-rules-conditions

General information

Competition may have one or several rule sets. A rule set is a group of rules that an athlete/horse combination must satisfy in order to qualify. In the screenshot, there is currently one rule set that determines the minimum age of a horse, athlete, and athlete's license requirements, as well as the lifetime immatriculation requirement for a horse:

In order to modify or delete a rule set, please use the buttons provided within the rule set box (edit - green; delete - red). To create a new rule set, click on the Add button located in the upper right corner.
When multiple rule sets are established for a competition, it is required for an athlete/horse combination to meet the conditions specified by at least one of the rule sets. In certain cases, it may be necessary to have two or more rule sets due to differing license prerequisites for different age groups of athletes, as well as other distinctions such as horse type or age. The screenshot below displays two rule sets for an international Jumping event. These rule sets outline the following entry conditions: for riders under the age of 18, the minimum and maximum license levels are 08 - 16. For riders aged 19 and above, the license requirement is 16.

When competition is created, the rule set will be created automatically and can be changed by administrative organizer. Automatic rules follow the regulations established by KBRSF, Leagues and Regionals for participation in competitions.
The rule set is selected based on the organizing League (for LEWB and Paardensport Vlaanderen the rules may be different), on the level on competitions (national, regional etc), on the difficulty (height in Jumping, level in Dressage) and in some cases special conditions might apply, such as cups and series. When there are sections selected for a competition, for example, ponies, sections may also have definite requirements, such as age of rider and valid pony measurements for a horse.
In addition to competition-specific rule sets, there are several "global" regulations on athletes or horses. For instance, sanctions and suspensions. These global regulations cannot be altered or disregarded by administrative organizers. If an athlete has outstanding debts from previous events or invoices, or is under suspension from competing, these restrictions will consistently be enforced regardless of the competition rule set in place.
Restrictions on max number of entries and other limits imposed on a competition or the whole event can be added and edited via the competition edit form (max number of entries, max number of horses per athlete) or via the entry limits module that is located in Dashboard and in the bottom of the Schedule -> Classes and Fees page:

Outside of competition (hors concours)

When hors concours is allowed for a competition, by default the same entry rule conditions apply to HC entry as for the normal entry.
There is a possibility to set up exclusions from checks, for example, if the normal checks are set for the handicap level Niv 1 as a max level, outside of competition can be bypassed, when the exclusion for HC is switched on. That means that a combination with Niv 2 or Niv 3 can still enter the class, but only as HC (the checkbox for HC will be switched on and athlete cannot remove it). If combination qualifies both for normal entry and HC, the HC will be the choice of a rider, when doing an entry.
Click on "Excl. HC" to exclude condition from being checked.
Please note, only the maximum levels have exclusions activated.

List of available entry rules conditions

The following special conditions can be set for a competition.

Most commonly used conditions:

Athlete´s minimum and maximum age. Age for season is used.
Horse´s minimum age and maximum age. Age for season is used.
Horse´s / pony´s type (only horses, only ponies). Only officially recorded valid pony measurements are taken into account.
Horse´s life-time immatriculation (required / not required)

Specific rules on athletes:

Athlete´s League - can be LEWB or Paardensport Vlaanderen. Control is based on the sport licence
Athlete´s region. Control is based on the sport licence

Specific rules on horses:

Horse´s gender (only for stallions, for example)
Horse´s studbook - only for horses registered at specific studbook, for example, BWP or KWPN
Horse´s breed - only for horses with registered breed. Please note the breeds are not always recorded for a horse and for recently immatriculated horses only studbook is collected.
Horse must be an approved stallion

Specific rules on previous participation in competitions and winnings:

Limitations on the athlete's previous participation in competitions - no results during the specified period (e.g., 1 year) and on the specified minimum and maximum difficulty. For instance, it is possible to configure the period start date as 1.01.2023 - 31.12.2023, with a minimum height of 110cm. This rule implies that the athlete should have no results during the year 2023 at heights of 110cm and above.
Limitations on the horse's previous participation in competitions - same as for the athlete.
The horse's previous winnings - the horse's winnings should remain within the following range of total prize money allocated. For example, it is possible to configure the following rule: period start date 1.01.2023 - 31.12.2023; maximum prize money amount is 1000 EUR. This rule means that the horse's winnings during 2023 should not exceed 1000 EUR.