I have to admit it. I am a dressage geek!

I do have to admit it. I am a dressage geek. I simply love trotting about in circles, working on lightness in every step and then there are all the wonderful accoutrements. The soft buttery bridles with padded polls and nosebands, the bling on boots, the white polo wraps accentuating every stride. Oh. The fun of it all.

There are the mystical theorists, who claim to reinvent the wheel of dressage. The Germans, The Portuguese, The French, The British. It's all actually been done before. Explained before. Ridden before. Judged before. The grand old Masters and the new ones, the sport and the classicists. All of them bringing true essence to the world of dressage and oiling the wheel of dressage commerce.

But where are the $$ in competition? Why is this missing in this ancient discipline? Why for goodness sake is everyone still scratching their heads and wondering where are the sponsors.

I'll tell you where they are ~ home and not alone. In my experience working with many different companies who have gone into the arena giving prizes of all descriptions for a variety of events, the return on investment (ROI), simply is not there. It is not quantifiable at the very least. 

I can attest to many, many gift certificates that have been donated to events for prizes that are simply never, ever cashed out? It is like pulling teeth to have the dressage community get involved or show any loyalty whatsoever to a brand or sponsor. And I mean an old, infected tooth in an old horse's mouth that breaks off while you are trying to pull it. Riders sometimes win saddle pads and other gifts and quickly turn them around and sell them on Ebay. Not a problem. They won them after all. But there is no appreciation. No photos sent to sponsors. No thank-you notes. Event organizers sometimes have drawers full of unused gifts and certificates that they suddenly remember and give away randomly. 
Dressage needs to take a good hard look at events like HITS Saugerties who treat their sponsors as VIPs, sell their logo and brand at every opportunity.

The show is supposed to name sponsors. They will mention the sponsors over the tannoy they say. Doesn't happen. Not even when they know a representative of the sponsor is present on the show grounds. I've been to shows that promise a show program and been told at the gate they are all out and watch competitors sharing! What!!! Well worth the cost of that advertisement. NOT!

Eventing in Kentucky recently lost Rolex. Humm. Wonder what happened there?
Big sponsors and small have all had enough. There seems to be zero appreciation for the donations and the PR return is dismal. As a business it seems apparent you are far better off putting the funds into SEO and data collection, split tests and funneling. 

So big pat on the back for those that stick to it. As a competitor or event organizer realize this is going to become a bigger issue not a smaller one. Do the math. Can you hold that show without the sponsors?? 

Catskill Horse Magazine is Out and About

The show season is kicking in to high gear and Catskill Horse magazine is out and about hitting the showgrounds to bring you news on what'sgoing on in the horse world.

Last weekend dressage riders enjoyed some sweet success and great weather at Centerline Dressage Show held at H.I.T.S. Saugerties. Congratulations to local rider Sarah Casey in achieving the scores needed to attain her U.S.D.F. Silver Medal.

This Memorial Day weekend Dressage at Saratoga hosted by E.N.Y.D.C.T.A brings a wealth of talented riders together at the Yaddo Gardens by the racetrack where a host of vendors will also be offering horse lover delights under the big tent and competitors will compete for over $6000 in prizes. Sponsors of this event include Impressions of Saratoga, The Horse Studio, Beacon Hill Transportation, Marshall and Sterling, Cristo Demolition, Mrs. Pastures, Saratoga Horse Works, Trotting Park Designs, Thorobred Feed, Back on Track, Glen Geary Horse Watch, Pyranha, Eqyss, Yaddo Corporation, Rood and Riddle, GLC Direct, Satch Sales to name but a few. It is wonderful to see so much support for local shows. There are some super prizes that have been donated including bridles, saddle pads, horse bonnets.

Degas Dressage Bridles Donated by The Horse Studio

" Chairwoman Regina Cristo is wonderful to work with at DAS ( Dressage at Saratoga). We like to give back to our customers by supporting well run events like this one. The Horse Studio is also proudly involved in sponsorship of  the E.N.Y.D.C.T.A. L Program this season which is a learner judge program.  We love to be part of the educational process in our small way. It is good to see the heavy support for those programs in the region and we wish everyone a sunny, successful show at Spa City!" said Sally Price, Sales Manager at The Horse Studio. 

 It is awesome to see this show will incorporate Para-Equestrian classes for physically disabled riders.  These classes are practiced by equestrians with a wide variety of physical disabilities and these classes have been growing in numbers in recent years in order to create opportunities for all people with physical disabilities to compete and achieve their goals in equestrian sport. One of the riders competing will be Paralympian Donna Ponessa from NY, who competed for the USA at the Para-Olympic Games in London in 2012.

There will also be a lot of freestyle classes, which are a special spectator delight, and the show is fully booked with classes offered at every level through F.E.I.

Catskill Horse loves to catch up with local area equestrians. Riders competing from the Catskill Region include Scott Durkin, Meagan Davis and Nicholas and Isabel Ullman. And an extra special treat for this Editor, will be to see Willowview Hill Balou competing. I selected and imported this horse from the Elite Verden Hanoverian Auction in 1997 as a then green three year old. He is now an 'elderly statesman' in dressage having competed through Intermediare level and is school mastering  Rachel Rosengart at 4th level, after having been competed through F.E.I. by Jeffrey Lindberg.

Willowview Hill Balou with Grand Prix Rider Paul Alvin-Smith of Willowview Hill Farm in 1997

I remember my husband participating in this show at F.E.I. back in the '80's and back then it was held in deep footing in front of the Grandstand actually on the racetrack. The new location at Yaddo Showgrounds (entrance off Union Ave), offers much better footing for the horses. It is a beautiful place.

Catskill Horse will be covering lots of dressage events this season including Dressage at Stockade, H.I.T.S.Saugerties Centerline Dressage and the NEDA Fall Festival. We also hope to be at Northfield Farm in Otego, NY to cover the Athelas Therapeutic Riding Program Open House on June 7th and at some of the H.I.T.S Saugerties show jumping shows this summer.

If you have an event you'd like us to cover feel free to email us at info@CatskillHorse.org - we'd love to hear from you.