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Discussion on What makes a good horse show? | |
Author | Message |
Member: Imogen |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 2, 2005 - 3:13 am: Wasn't sure where to post this - perhaps Dr O can move it if there is a more suitable place?I am (not on my own!) running the local horse show this Saturday. Now, of course lots of things are fixed by tradition/the people involved and can't be changed, but I just wondered if people here have any views on what makes a good show from the competitors' point of view? Ours is a traditional small agricultural show with horse showing including mares and foals, ridden hunter and working hunter, cattle, showjumping, stalls and attractions, tea tent etc. We do our best to start on time, one of our main problems is people parking badly (especially horse boxes) and then refusing to move/straighten up. We also have to be pretty careful about safety in the showjumping practice arena and sometimes have problems trying to avoid overcrowding/people queuing up for the pocket in the practice arena. Beyond that, I know delays annoy people and we try to keep everyone informed on the PA but it's always a difficult decision when to start a showing class if a competitor is late but you are pretty sure they are on the show ground. Looking forward to your comments... All the best Imogen |
Member: Canter |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 2, 2005 - 8:22 am: Hi Imogen, here are a few thoughts that may help out:~r.e. the bad parking-can you have someone direct traffic & show people where to park to avoid the situation all together? ~keep classes on time!! If you want to give some leeway, perhaps posting notice that says something like a class will only be held up for xx minutes IF a delayed competitor has someone at the ring to tell the judge they are on the way ~Enlist all your friends to help. Have someone at every arena/practice area directing traffic, monitoring safety. Be sure to give each one some sort of name tag that gives them the "authority" to direct people. ~If possible, have a vet, a farrier and a doctor on hand for emergencies ~Try to provide plenty of places for people to go to the bathroom. I remember being late and rushed for a class several years ago because the line was so long Good luck...it's a huge undertaking but a lot of fun. Several years back I helped out at a local equestrian team meeting at the barn I was at. We had a blast, but what an exhausting day! Dealing with 50+ teenagers, their horses and their mothers wore me out for a week. Fran |
Member: Christos |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 2, 2005 - 9:33 am: Hi, Imogen,I think the most important is that horses have some warming up - preparation space completely separated from the general pulbic where only riders and trainers are allowed. Sadly, this is not always observed in local shows. Delays can ruin a show, so I believe tolerances should be clearly printed in the rules. I am always fond of rules that disqualify anybody who does not behave, from parking wherever one feels like to foul language or creating any kind of mess. Best of luck, Christos |
Member: Aannk |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 2, 2005 - 10:43 am: Imogen,Both ideas above are good ones. Another idea that may help is ticketed warm ups where you charge for warm ups in a maintained area. Also, during warm ups, post the direction the fences are to be jumped, and have a person monitoring the arena and give warnings to those who don't follow the rules. Post the rules in BIG letters, such as which side to pass on, calling fences, whether to walk on the rail, who has right of way, etc. It is also good to have an area designated for lunging. Alicia |
Member: Warwick |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 2, 2005 - 12:20 pm: Hi ImogenI always think that a really good announcer makes a huge difference at a show. By that I mean someone who speaks clearly and has a sense of humour. If possible, it's nice to have them give a short blurb about each horse as they enter the arena instead of just giving a name. Plus lots of information type announcements on what is happening when and where, parking regulations, award ceremonies, refreshment and washroom facilities, and the like. Also whippers-in and tack check stewards who are really on the ball and in the right place. Hope it all goes well and you have sunny weather. Give us an update next week! Cheers Sue |
Member: Mrose |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 2, 2005 - 1:28 pm: Hats off to you, Imogen. Running a show, even a small one, is a big undertaking. YOu've gotten some good advice. I hope you have some good staff to help you. Did you get pre-registries, or is it a "pay as you go" show? I always found that having a cut off date, or for a small show a cut off time, for class entries helps. Stick to your schedule, there will always be someone who will be unhappy about class order, or something, but just apply your rules across the board and know you can't please everyone!If you schedule classes to allow some time for tack changes it helps. Here we have western and english classes, so we try to have all the english classes in the a.m. and western in the afternoon, for instance. There are some excellent show manager programs for the computer. If you do this more than once, I would highly recomend using one of them. They really help to keep track of entries, etc. Have extra copies of class entries for office help, the judges, and the stewards. ('Even for a small show a class steward is a good idea - infact, a couple of them. One to act as assistant to the judge, and another to stand at the gate and check equipment (does it meet regulations?) compare entry names and numbers, etc. Entries should be at the gate two mins. before each class and ready to go in so you don't keep the judge waiting and don't have big gaps between classes. If you have a good PA system and can do so, give a 5 min call before ea. class. At the 2 min. gate time call off all entry numbers of people who aren't at the gate & give them 1 min. to get there. It's a lot of work, and definitly a "learning experience" Don't let people "get to you." Just keep your cool. Have fun....glad it's you and not me! |
Member: Canderso |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 2, 2005 - 5:04 pm: Hi Imogen,Keeping the show on time is probably the hardest thing to do. I suggest that when you bring the judge his/her coffee or whatever, give them an update on where they are with the time. Happy judges are more prone to give higher marks, which makes competitors happy. So do whatever you need to do to keep judges happy - make sure they are comfortable and very well watered and fed throughout the day and don't forget that judges need breaks too... For yourself, keep in mind that people are pretty wound up with nerves and such, so when they are 'less than polite and forgiving' realize it is not personal and keep smiling. Good luck! |
Member: Imogen |
Posted on Friday, Jun 3, 2005 - 2:20 am: Thanks all for the great advice. We are definitely trying to improve the issues regarding safety in the practice arenas with extra stewards.However, I think you (apart from Christos...) all come from cultures where people routinely obey rules whereas here the national sport is that rules are for breaking which adds interest to the whole enterprise! Enough voluntary help to run a show is always a problem - if we had more parking stewards we'd have less trouble there, that's for sure, but how many of you would stand in a field directing traffic for 4 hours? In England they just put up poles and twine and people park along the lines neatly but that would NEVER work here. We do have a separate warm-up space in an adjoining field for the showing though unfortunately with over 200 horses entered just for the showing, never mind the showjumping which is "enter on the day" it is never enough... I agree about the PA, unfortunately my favourite local helicopter pilot with a black-and-white film "British forces" accent is away, so we are going to give a few different people a "try out" and see what happens. And thanks Sue for the very good advice to me. I have to admit to having been impatient last night with a man on the phone who wanted to know who the judge was and how many competitors were in his son's class... I mean, you compete against who happens to be there on the day, that's what sport's about! One sad note - the cattle classes are down again this year. Unfortunately with the vast administration involved in moving cattle off a farm at all these days (we actually have to have our own official EU herd number for show day...) and the blood testing for TB and brucellosis, it is just more trouble than it is worth for the farmers now and we have to coax entries to come at all. Thanks all, I'll let you know what went wrong or right for other show organisers. I'll add one note of my own. Our show has a fantastic tea tent run on a voluntary basis by local ladies (A plate of ham salad, bread and butter, and trifle for 7.5 euros...) which I think is key. Yes, lots of the showing people bring their own picnics, and we also have a burger-and-chips van and an ice cream van and a bar, but the tea tent is where everyone catches up with people they didn't see for 6 months so I think that having "old fashioned" catering where people eat socially together is a very important part of the successful show. All the best Imogen |
Member: Imogen |
Posted on Sunday, Jun 5, 2005 - 4:48 pm: Hello all, just to let you know the show ran off very well as the weather was kind - it has been very wet here recently but it dried up enough for us to run and apart from a few showers the day was good.The main problems we had were kids who had entered their ponies into the wrong height classes because the classes are these days listed in metric units (centimetres) as well as the hands and inches measurement. So we had some last minute shifts of class which is always a bit confusing for organisers and judges. Otherwise we had some lovely children who decided to take their water pistols bought at the stalls behind the hedge adjoining the showjumping arena and then fire them at the horses while they were jumping... so we had to put security along the hedge all day which was annoying since we are always pushed to find enough volunteers. And the awful litter from the stalls (plastic bags and fast food cartons) blew across the showjumping arena and had to be picked up all day long... not a lot to be done about that unfortunately. I think the big success was that we took advice on who to ask to judge the pony classes. Both ladies were excellent, highly professional, encouraging to the children and treated them intelligently, not in a patronising way. So the classes ran pretty much on time and the kids were happy. Needless to say the adults moaned about the amazingly patient ridden hunter judge who is in his sixties but rode every horse including the nasty ones with great competence and charm. Several people sidled up to me and told me he was a crooked rider due to an old hunting injury and wasn't getting the best out of the horses but to be honest I thought most of them went better ridden by him than with their owners! One bold fat little pony decided to roll in the middle of the lead rein class, causing great surprise and distress to the 4yo child riding it. Even more surprise was caused to the pony by the adult leading the pony behind who delivered a sharp kick to its rear end which got it off the ground VERY fast! So, moral of the story, pick your judges... and I have the greatest respect for all our judges, including the ever-patient showjumping judges who take it upon themselves to double as commentators. Hats off to these people who only get paid expenses and spend their weekends educating and encouraging the rest of us! Best wishes Imogen |
Member: Dyduroc |
Posted on Monday, Jun 6, 2005 - 11:05 am: Imogen, I've been following this post and was delighted to read the show went well. Congratulations to you, the judges and all the volunteers who made it possible.Thank goodness you were able to find volunteers to police the hedge area--water pistols being fired at horses in the jumping arena had 'disaster' written all over it! Good lesson on learning to expect the unexpected! dyd |
Member: Warwick |
Posted on Monday, Jun 6, 2005 - 12:05 pm: Sounds like a great day, Imogen, and glad to hear the weather cooperated for you. Your shows are so diverse in terms of the classes that are offered. I remember competing in the pony classes as a kid in England and when I lived in Australia I noticed a similar system there.Years ago when I live in Alberta, I judged the provincial pony club dressage championships and had a wonderful day. Although a lot of the older kids rode some really lovely horses and performed some very good tests, it was the wee ones on the fat little ponies who really stole the show. Dressage tests certainly take on a whole new meaning when they enter the ring! It was the most fun I've ever had judging tests. Cheers Sue |
Member: Jojo15 |
Posted on Monday, Jun 6, 2005 - 1:18 pm: I love hearing about how things are done in different places. Imogen tell me, what class is it where the judge actually gets on the horse. I've only entered a few shows in my life, but mostly watch the big dressage shows or arena jumping, but never saw where a judge participates. Sounds interesting. I bet where you are the parents aren't as obnoxious as they are here in the states. |
Member: Mrose |
Posted on Monday, Jun 6, 2005 - 10:45 pm: Sound like a fun show, Imogene! Our local show got rained out. I have to say I've never had to contend with water guns...as a contender or one of the staff. Glad you had enough people to be guards!We have classes where judges have the option of riding horses in the class, and classes where the participants have to switch horses, but neither one is done very often. I think it would add a lot of interest to the class! Congrads on a job well done! Have you already volunteered for next year? |
Member: Imogen |
Posted on Tuesday, Jun 7, 2005 - 1:59 am: Ridden Hunter classes are the ones where the judge rides the horses. They start with the usual walk trot and canter followed by the judge making an initial ordering of the class.Then each rider does a short individual show, then the judge rides them, then the saddles come off and they are trotted up in hand for conformation judgement, then the riders get back up and they go around again while the judge decides the final order. They are great fun to watch but very tiring for the judge! I think our judge rode something like 42 horses in the day. By the way, we did do dressage at this show one year - unfortunately the only place that was flat enough on that particular field was beside the bouncy castle which led to some interesting shapes in the tests... also there wasn't enough room for competitors to go around the arena before their test. My own mare was not going ANYWHERE near letter K... we did try to add dressage again this year but it is very hard to get a field at all and unfortunately we can't get one with enough room /flat space to do dressage as well as the other activities and the inevitable car parking. All the best Imogen |