Best venue for Area Festivals South/South West

Notimetoride

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Options are :

Moreton Dorset - did last year - venue really didn't suit pony
Crofton Manor - looks super spooky with a zillion advertising banners
Mount Ballan - currently seems like best option
Sparsholt - been told its spooky as there is a pathway next to the arena
Hartpury - no idea if its good or bad

Any advice and info would be much appreciated
 

milliepops

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Have you been to any of these venues at all or no?

I'll be doing more than one as hoping to upgrade to AM during the season, for me Mount Ballan is not bad since they resurfaced the main arena, lots of banners around it but set back from the test arenas and there are several warm ups *but* make sure you take a helper because the timing always seems to go to pot even at big shows :(

Hartpury will be an interesting one, I'll bet it will be chocka because it's one of the last and really easy to get to... personally I like the surfaces and the organisation... I think they will have to put some classes outdoors but I'd bet the higher profile ones will be in the big indoor which some horses go well in but others find the atmosphere a bit oppressive.

Can't speak for the others, I was also aiming at some further north :)
 

Notimetoride

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Ive seen Crofton, MB and Moreton. Only actually ridden at Moreton though. We were last on, in the furthest arena, most people had gone home so pony panicked and we had to retire. Really lovely venue but just not suited to us. Yes, that's why I like the look of MB as its a bit more spread out and theres nothing (banners)right next to the areas. Just hope we don't get stage fright again and have a repeat performance of last year or else ill be hanging up my riding boots I think !
 

Notimetoride

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Oh dear. Watched a few more tests at Sparsholt on you tube and I quite like the look of it. It looks quieter there than Mount Ballan and not quite so vast. Crikey I just don't know ??
 

ihatework

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Oh dear. Watched a few more tests at Sparsholt on you tube and I quite like the look of it. It looks quieter there than Mount Ballan and not quite so vast. Crikey I just don't know ??

I've got a spooky one but she went very well at sparsholt which surprised me
 

j1ffy

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I did Regionals at Mount Ballan last year and it was fine - one warm up for each arena so they weren't too busy, my horse had a look at the banners but not too bad at all. It ran on time when I went!

I did a normal BD show at Sparsholt in October and did a test in each of the outdoor arenas. We had a dire time as my boy tripped in the warm up and (I discovered later) pulled a pec muscle, but that was just bad luck. Neither outdoor arena was spooky! I watched a test in the indoor and it also looked ok to me.
 

Notimetoride

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I did Regionals at Mount Ballan last year and it was fine - one warm up for each arena so they weren't too busy, my horse had a look at the banners but not too bad at all. It ran on time when I went!

I did a normal BD show at Sparsholt in October and did a test in each of the outdoor arenas. We had a dire time as my boy tripped in the warm up and (I discovered later) pulled a pec muscle, but that was just bad luck. Neither outdoor arena was spooky! I watched a test in the indoor and it also looked ok to me.

My only worry with MB is the sheer vastness ! My pony naps terribly if she is too far away from wherever she would rather be (yes I know it's probably a confidence issue). I wonder if Sparsholt is a bit smaller and not quite as intimidating ? I had been told it's spooky there but no-one else seems to think it is
 

Justturnedfifty

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Options are :

Moreton Dorset - did last year - venue really didn't suit pony
Crofton Manor - looks super spooky with a zillion advertising banners
Mount Ballan - currently seems like best option
Sparsholt - been told its spooky as there is a pathway next to the arena
Hartpury - no idea if its good or bad

Any advice and info would be much appreciated

An hour further on from Hartpury is Allens Hill - had fantastic Area Festival last year, with great reviews. The walk way alongside the main arena is closed off, so both arenas run equally well, no huge scarey banners or flags. Ran completely to time, free tea and coffee vouchers for riders and their crew, free carrots for horses (!) mounted prize giving and if you didn't want to hang around for your sheets, envelopes were left for you to write your address on so your sheets could be sent to you. Arena walks in the morning, 2 warm up arenas and they do have proper stables for over night visitors. Allens Hill is junction 7 of the M5 if you are coming from the South West or junction 6 if approaching from the North. About 20 minutes off motorway junctions.
 

j1ffy

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My only worry with MB is the sheer vastness ! My pony naps terribly if she is too far away from wherever she would rather be (yes I know it's probably a confidence issue). I wonder if Sparsholt is a bit smaller and not quite as intimidating ? I had been told it's spooky there but no-one else seems to think it is

The arena at MB is vast so maybe a concern. Sparsholt arenas are all separate and quite closely fenced, with the warm up arena in between the outdoors with the indoor on the side. It's generally a bit more compact. It depends what triggers the napping I suppose! At Sparsholt you'd be more likely to have sight of the warm up, unlike at MB.
 

mavandkaz

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sparsholt is my local venue. been with several different horses for various things, all have settled really well.
I presume warm up will be in the large outdoor, with tests running in the indoor, and 2 others outdoors. all are within site of each other, and the walkway only really runs along side the large/warm up arena. the top arena is by the lorry park, but again never had any issues.
current horse is a nosey sod and he likes to have a good look around and watch the horses out in the fields so not great for him, but again if they run it as I described above, it wouldn't be an issue for the test, just the warm up.
 

Leaping

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When Sparsholt have had summer regionals there, they have used the indoor and office arena for warm up and then the big outdoor has had two arenas running in it and using the car park arena as the warm up test arena.

The issue is with all of these is that most (Crofton, Moreton, Sparsholt) is that they will have two arenas running, and if you end up with a time near a break or end of class you could end up in the furthest arena on your own.

It sounds like its worth getting there in time to do the arena walk whichever venue you go to, so then the horse can see the banners/judges boxes/white boards and you can take your time to acclimatise them to the arena.
 
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