Are we a dying breed

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I wont tollerate badly behaved ponies. High spirits fine but not bad behaviour. They get the chance to stand at the end of the line by themselves. If they still don't behave then I have no qualms about sending them out -especially stallions! Imo stallions should be the best behaved of the bunch! 9/10 they are in the ring with geldings which are usually shown by kids. An adult might see the risk around them but kids dont tend to and wpuldnt get out of the way in time. They need to be under the thumb - not dull and boring, they can have zest and va va voom but they have to be behave and have manners.
 

dollymix

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I personally think it is because showing is so subjective. At least with dressage you get scores and feedback. With showing it can be as much about “who you know” as whether a partnership deserve the win (in my humble opinion!)
 

Lexi 123

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I have just checked the entry numbers at our local county show, when we went every year class number entries were in the 50's with 30's forward this year number of entries are in their low twenties at best and fewer will present. Is it just the showing world that is dying or are the general horse owners older with fewer young people involved. Is it the IT age thats having that affect so more youngster prefer virtual to reality
Less and less people seem to be owning horses now a days It probably because the uk is leaving the European Union. People are selling there horses as a result
 

Wheels

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You see to me dressage is just as bad as showing okay you get numbers on a sheet but it is still subjective and although some write an essay some do not explain their marks in the comments box and a sheet may just contain smart pony well ridden. Or not on your side today but shows promise etc

What is the training and examination process for a showing judge? Is it the same as dressage that they go to training days and take exams at various levels?
 
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What is the training and examination process for a showing judge? Is it the same as dressage that they go to training days and take exams at various levels?

For Shetlands, Welsh and Dartmoors you go to an assessment day. If you get through that you spend 2 years probationing and do 2 shows each year as a probationer. If your reports come back good you go onto an intermediate panel for a few years so you can judge anything but Hoys classes and Royal shows. You get through that without complaint you can judge anywhere.

Ror you pay a fortune to go to an assessment day and if you get through that day you can judge. Same with Chaps too I think. Just a one day assessment.

NPS you go to an assessment and exam day.
 

whiteflower

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For me it's the timing thing. I used to show alot but nowadays class sizes are really hard to predict. If the classes only have a couple of horses in need to get there early just incase but may end up waiting around for hours if the classes are massive and it really does vary. Having sat around with horses on lorries for hours on end bored, in terrible weather I just can't be doing with it so much now. It takes up a whole day whereas a dressage test will take a couple of hours. In the old days I knew most classes would be at least 10 competitors so could make a good guess but now days they often have no entries for classes at all.
It's a difficult one and don't suppose there is really a good answer but I do know I'm much more likely to go to a show if my class is first or second of the day so I have a good idea of time
 

honetpot

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I think perhaps you right about the trailer test. The mums now who would once have gone out and towed with the family car, now have to take a test to tow. My trailer cost me £500, and is light so you can tow with up two ponies with a large car, when I started it was a Mondeo, but I have never had to take the test. The same with the lorry, I had a cheap 7.5tonne that I would usually take ours on and anyone else who wanted to tag along, again with no extra test.
A show was a day out, I used to go through all the schdules and work out how many classes we could do with each pony.I think my favorite was a large local show, they had the space to do showing, whp, sj, gymkanna, dressage and had a mini x country cross that you could go round.
I have given up on youngstock classes, everything has to be so blooming fat and the cost makes it no longer viable.
 

maisie06

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I have just checked the entry numbers at our local county show, when we went every year class number entries were in the 50's with 30's forward this year number of entries are in their low twenties at best and fewer will present. Is it just the showing world that is dying or are the general horse owners older with fewer young people involved. Is it the IT age thats having that affect so more youngster prefer virtual to reality

Many people I know, including myself have given up with horses, due to the rising costs of everything and the horrible wet winters, of the people that I know who have had old horses PTS no one has replaced them...sign of the times I think. I posted the other day that we have lost so, so many local shows around my way too.
 

SO1

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I think there are several reasons.

Dressage has had an image change, you no longer need a flashy warmblood, cobs and non conventional dressage horses are rising through the ranks and BD are doing champs for natives and cobs. To do well in showing you need something true to type and with good conformation, dressage is more open in terms of age and types of horses. People may be swapping to dressage as they now have a better chance as the classes are more open, they have amateur options and there are no age restrictions. For someone with an average horse that is well schooled who does not want to jump dressage is probably a better option than showing as you are more likely to do well than in the show ring.

The agricultural show were a shop window for breeders to show off their stock and I wonder with the internet and videos breeders don't need to display their stock and travel so far now to promote them.

I like the county shows and the buzz around them but it is expensive - Royal Windsor is £60 to enter and most other county shows are not less than £30 per classes. I have a limited budget and time and will tend to go for a county show as I like being part of the big show and the rings and surfaces tend to be better. I have also noticed they tend to be quite bunched together so Herts and Surrey were the same weekend and only two weeks after Windsor I wonder if better scheduling so less clashes would help increase numbers.

I can't afford to go to lots of shows so if I get an early qualification I would not go to other shows until the championship due to time and money and if I can qualify for two things at the same show even better. Last year I started moved from doing M&M and am doing the SADL veterans and these classes seem well supported there was 52 in one ridden class at Windsor last year. The judges and stewards are friendly and they are amateur classes so I think that encourages people to enter and of course the final being at Olympia.

I also think that eventing has grown in popularity with the grassroots classes and BE80 making it more accessible to people. Most of the young people I have come across on yards seem to have ambitions to event. Dressage and Eventing I think is where it is all happening at the moment. Showing is also a very British thing so equestrians from other countries who may come here would tend to be interested in dressage, eventing and SJ, and British people are looking for a career with horses who might want to travel and work overseas then getting into one of them would give you more career options. Showing is not televised and I expect sponsorship opportunities are limited and the dress code is very traditional, maybe young people want something that is seem as more sporting and fashionable.

I would also add I am lucky enough to have a pony who is comfortable with the busy atmosphere of a county show, he doesn't seem to have a problem with rock bands, hot air balloons, the red arrows, cows or donkeys and he is good cantering around the ring with large number of horses and ponies. However coming across a log or wild rhubarb leaves out hacking is terrifying.
 

Mule

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I remember the first time I brought the beast to my local agricultural show. He is naturally very calm so he wasn't bothered when a fleet of horse drawn carriages went past us. That was until he saw a shetland coming towards us pulling an old style gypsy caravan. He zoomed backwards, straight down the warm up arena. I was glad I knew the steward because I nearly fell off from laughing:D
 
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Gloi

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One of the main things that put me off showing was the traffic. A lot of the big shows involved me travelling up and down the M6 and having a few incidents where I wa stuck for hours in a jam with a young pony in the trailer really put me off. I also had an incident where the trailer blew a tyre in a contraflow and by the time I could get to somewhere to stop the other tyre on that side was red hot. The workmen were great with me helping to change the wheel etc but it really put the wind up me. I also had a couple of ponies that did really well and I think once I had won things I wanted to, it got it out of my system a bit.
 
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