Dear Sir,

It is the intention of the International Cavalry Association to hold an international ‘Movement by Foursl’ competition. The difference is, we will be doing it by camera so that teams worldwide can take part on their own horses without incurring massive costs and logistical problems. With this in mind I thought I would take this opportunity to invite Parson’s Hors and ask whether you would like to enter a team.

Please find below the outline rules which will assist you in understanding the concept of the competition:

‘MOVEMENT BY FOURS’

THE RULES FOR AN INTERNATIONAL ‘FORMATION BY FOURS’ COMPETITION
COMPETITORS DRESS:
The dress of any team taking part in the military Formation by Fours competition will be the higher dress code for their national cavalries dress or the dress applicable to the period of cavalry their unit portrays. No other type of dress will be accepted on pain of disqualification.
HORSE TACK:
The mounts of the team will be of the correct saddlery related to their national army or period of portrayal. If civilian saddler is used this will lead to penalty points being added to their final score.
TURN OUT:
Dirty tack, saddlery, equipment or poor turnout will not be tolerated. Penalty points will be awarded on a scale by the Adjudicator in attendance. In extreme cases this may lead to the test being postponed to another day where the maximum penalty points will be carried over to the next day of judging.
SIZE OF TEAM:
The team will be a minimum of 4 mounted competitors (SECTION). There is no upper limit but it must be appreciated that numbers will not increase a score but all riders will be regarded as one unit and will be judged accordingly.
ELEMENTS:
The written test will be created BY the team 3 months before the return date for the competition. The included elements must be taken from the cavalry drill manuals of the Nation. Complexity and difficulty will be a factor in the points awarded. However, how those elements are executed by the team will be the deciding factor. The more complicated the less chance of success in execution. Nonetheless, innovation and lateral thinking in presentation will be viewed in a positive way. This is something for the teams to consider on their tactics for their performance.
ARENA SIZE:
20MX40M This can be either a professional ménage or a grass field. The only conditions are that dressage letters are laid out on the arena as per normal dressage competition.
DATE AND VENUE OF COMPETITION.
The date of judging will be the 1st of October 2013.
The date and venue of the test will be set by the teams taking place for their convenience. The only factor being the time they have to present their Formation by Fours to the Judges, the return date set by the Judges for the end product and the availability of the National Adjudicator selected by the Judge to represent them at the test.
JUDGING AND ADJUDICATION:
The Judges will be appointed by the ICA to carry out their duties. In each country the local judge who will be part of the main judging panel will also take on the duties of the Adjudicator to judge those elements required of the position.
LENGTH (TIME) OF TEST
Whilst it is hoped to give the teams competing as much time as possible to display their skills and manoeuvres a time limit for the total test will be set at between 7 and 10 minutes.

LIST OF REQUIRED ELEMENTS
Whilst it is expected for each team to put forward their own test, they will be expected to include the following required elements that are found in most cavalry manuals worldwide:
• THE SECTION WILL ENTER THE ARENA AT ‘A’ AND PRESENT TO THE JUDGES AT ‘C’ ON ‘B X E’ LINE.
• TURN ACROSS THE SCHOOL
• TURN AND CHANGE ACROSS THE SCHOOL
• INCLINE ACROSS THE SCHOOL
• MINIMUM OF 2 TWENTY METRE CIRCLES AT BOTH ENDS OF THE ARENA IN HALF SECTION
• 4, HALF TEN METRE CIRCLES IN SINGLE FILE
• 1, 2O METRE CIRCLE IN FULL SECTION
• 1, 20 METRE CIRCLE IN HALF SECTION
• PACES AND TRANSITIONS. WALK, TROT CANTER WILL BE DEMONSTRATED
• HALF PASS MUST BE DEMONSTRATED IN BOTH OPENING AND CLOSING OF RANKS
• INCREASE AND DECREASE OF PACE MUST BE DEMONSTRATED WITHIN WALK AND TROT
THE CAMERA WILL BE 3 METRES OFF THE GROUND AND FAR ENOUGH BACK FROM THE ARENA TO HAVE BOTH CLOSEST CORNERS IN SHOT.
NO OUTSIDE PROMPTS WILL BE ALLOWED OTHER THAN WORDS OF COMMAND FROM THE SECTION LEADER
MUSIC OPTIONAL
TESTS WILL BE SUBMITTED IN WRITING 3 MONTHS BEFORE THE COMPLETION OF THE TEST. 2 REVISONS WILL BE ALLOWED DURING THAT PERIOD BUT NOT LATER THAN 30 DAYS FROM THE TIME OF COMPLETION
HORSE LEG PROTECTION MAY BE WORN WITH WRITTEN VETERINARY SUPPORT.
ALL TESTS WILL BE RETURNED BY MIDNIGHT GMT ON THE 30TH OF SEPTEMBER 2013
THE WRITTEN TEST WILL BE SUBMITTED WITH THE ENTRY FEE BY MIDNIGHT GMT OF THE 30TH OF JUNE 2013.
FEE FOR TEAM ENTRY WILL BE $75 US WHICH WILL BE PAID WITH THE SUBMISSION OF THE TEST


Stanley J Watts
President