The Horse Show Season Is In Full Swing ~ Are You Dancing?

There is much to celebrate this summer as we see the Covid restrictions lifted in New York and the horse show event calendar fill up with neat offerings. 

The uncertainty of how many riders are keen to return to competition haunts every show organizer and has done for months, but based on the events ongoing it appears that just like the pent up demand for dining has restaurants busier than ever, show entries are overflowing the digital sign up software bin.

File Your Entries Early.. Jump To It!

 

Whatever the discipline all tracks lead to a bumper year for entries and competitions need to add more rings, classes and dates to ensure they cash in on the demand.

A huge thorn in the sides of organizers is the one of lack of volunteers. Folks are simply so busy getting back to family vacations and gatherings, graduations and travel opportunities that signing on for arduous days as a volunteer are not high on their priority list.

Most riders are anxious to make up for lost time with their competition schedules and get their horses dancing in the ring. Perhaps you are one of them. The reality is you'd better get your foot in the stirrup early and get your entries in, because if you want to play you most certainly will have to pay more than ever for the experience. Event costs have surged since Covid, and the demand for venues and dates, vendors and volunteers have set a keen competition world alight of their own.

You don't need to have a degree in rocket science to have figured out this was coming when you think about it. Organizers claiming the climbing numbers of entries as 'inexplicable' are simply out of touch with what clinicians, coaches and competitors have been saying for the past 12 months, " We want in!"

 

Swinging into summer..

 

As a competitor if you know you are going to scratch a competition or class, be kind to your fellow equestrians and do it as early as possible. The waiting lists are long and the demand shows no sign of abating. We all want to help our event organizers map their course. Let's show up, sign up and sign out on schedule.

 

End of Year Championships Giving You Wrong Sort of Blues?

Do you feel you were unfairly judged at a championship? Did the scores reflect the average of the scores you attained during the year? Was your horse's performance as good as it had been previously? Was the judging accurate and fair?

IT ALL BEGINS HERE 

Our thanks to Willowview Hill Farm for the use of this photo of their DWBx Gambol's Georgy Girl

As the show season winds down the year end championships showcase the culmination of the a lot of hard work and dedication from equestrians in all disciplines. The horses may begin to look a little weary, the riders are stressed, and the judges are tired. Championship classes are traditionally scored stiffer than regular classes as we all know. The variety of scores though are sometimes hard to decipher.

There are always disappointments during these events, but hopefully they come because of rider error or plain bad luck and are not the responsibility of show management or judges. I appreciate that judges work very hard and do a sometimes thankless task, but in the world of sport horse breed championships I think the judges should be scoring the same animal similarly throughout the season. After all, given that a bad performance may happen occasionally, the horse and his conformation have remained the same. How can two or three judges at an event score the horse almost identically and another miss the mark by a wide margin.

Low scores in regional championship year end events that result from poor judging harm the industry. As those owners, handlers and horses move on to the national events and horse of the year award points it is imperative that their championship scores are not adversely low perhaps because a judge is to put it kindly, misguided or at worst acting with political favor. Horse breeders measure their breed choices and their own young horses by these very important scores, and keeping the playing field (arena) level and accurate is critical.

So a shout out to all regional championship show managements, please check back over the scores in your breeding divisions over the past few years and be careful to eliminate judges that score outside the curve ( either too high or too low), and protect the breeders in your area from being adversely affected. Bad judges should be weaned out. There are plenty of dedicated, knowledgeable judges out there that would be delighted to attend your next event. While I realize that we can say about low scores  " That is Showing, " at this level there is no reason to have judges that don't know or in some cases deliberately down score at a major event for political reasons. This is a seriously expensive arena to trot around, and owners deserve better.

Press Coverage - All Press Coverage is Smart Business Sense

Over the years as a competitor I ( and our breeding farm, Willowview Hill Farm International), have been blessed by many super publications featuring our farm, clinics, horse breeding program, barefoot riding program and so many more events. I have always been most grateful for their help and the reporters efforts. As a veteran reporter/writer, I have personally also covered many major and minor shows, events, inspections, clinics and the like for some of the leading equestrian publications worldwide as a journalist. So have worked both sides of the aisle, so to speak.

Press coverage is a valuable tool that any farm owner or competitive rider should not overlook. It is in effect, free public relations and advertising/marketing. If you want to fill your next event, whatever it is, getting the handle on handling press is an important step to building your reputation and raising your business profile. The Editor will try to dispatch a reporter that has some knowledge of your particular discipline. This is an advantage to you, because the report will be more in depth. You may receive a call in advance asking if you have interest in having your private event covered, or in the case of public events the press may just show up. It is usual that press passes ( meaning free access and an ID to say so), will be requested in advance, especially if the reporter needs to travel.

Remember. All publicity is good publicity. Journalists and photographers are not out to do you harm. Well maybe if they work for the National Enquirer,  but generally not in the horse press. In the equestrian world the editors are not out to post horrible photos or describe in a distracted diatribe what went wrong. The journalist will conduct an interview or two or eighty, pull out what they consider the most interesting to the target audience, quote a few key points perhaps and generally try and give their readership an accurate feel of the event.

Anthony Bourdain says ( and I paraphrase), " Once you agree to work with that bitch, the TV, you know it ain't gonna begin with her making you look good. Quite the reverse. The best TV is of..." - Well, you get the picture. I can understand that sensation sells. Maybe that is why some people are so shy or nervous about having press coverage of their events. The notion that their business will be 'exposed',  their dirty laundry aired. Nothing could be further from the truth. Well again, unless there is horse abuse or staff abuse or something terrible going on.

But having said that, reporting is not editorial/advertising. Well, at least not in the better publications. The reporting should be objective and the photos clean and representative of the days events. For this reason do not expect the reporter to 'run by' his report to you, or share the photographers photos. It is not a 'write UP', it is a report. It is up to the Editor of the publication to ultimately determine the size and content of the piece of work published.  Occasionally in difficult situations the Editor may require approval of the publisher ( sometimes not).

A Shady Spot and Attentive Staff Are Always Appreciated

Covering events often involves a long drive, airport headaches, poor hotel food, long hot and dusty days, electronic hiccups and many more issues. There is nothing glamorous about it. You have to just love it to do it. It is time, paid and sometimes unpaid out of someones busy schedule.

Press expect to be given VIP treatment. Fed, watered, wined, dined, sheltered, given best parking which is usually the closest ( making it easier to tote and retrieve all the required equipment for the photographer), complete access to all areas of the event etc. and the management should provide time to talk with them, introduce them to key participants and point out areas of interest. Provide them with a press pass ( so they can go anywhere without charge, sit down out of the sun in a VIP tent somewhere,) give them a show program or two, and a big welcome. At one of the major events I just attended the professional Show Manager went even further than the average.  This very very busy key show personnel member, personally took me around on her golf cart and took time to introduce me to all the key organizers, judges, announcers, major international riders, vendors etc. made sure I was cognizant of every last food and watering hole and bathroom on the extensive grounds. She kept an eye on my needs all day, fed and watered me and continually updated me on the show changes and generally went out of her way in every aspect, as did all the staff on venue. As a very experienced Show Manager, this was not her first rodeo. She was well aware of the boost to ongoing events a report from even a small press house, can provide. Needless to say, we'll cover this event again.

So don't overlook this valuable tool or you'll find yourself complaining when your next event isn't as popular or doesn't fill as fast as you'd hoped, or your business model isn't growing as fast as you'd thought.  Your career may not take off as you'd like if you don't take time to take the interview and to be friendly to the volunteers and staff at the venue and make yourself available to the press in attendance. Respect the hard working journalist.  Press is free - and there is not much in life you can say that about.