moley087
Active Member
Hey,
Article i wrote a little while back, which explains the slightly dated first para, which I would be interested to hear your views on. Slightly long but do please take the time!
Let me tell you a story. I was looking forward to watching the Hickstead Derby in my student house, providing I managed to change the program from Come Dine with Me, when I was informed that it was not going to be shown on terrestrial TV anymore. I took the bold move of wandering into my local sports bar, in the centre of Reading, and asking for it to be put on. They duly obliged and I spent the next thirty minutes in debate with the landlord regarding the action. He had two main issues. Firstly was that they keep doing the same thing i.e. jump the same course and knock the same fences down. Secondly he was dubious that the fences were, as I claimed, bloomin massive and that a horse wont simply jump whats put in front of it. After my attempts to explain the technicalities of striding and bascule (a mistake on my behalf I will admit) he simply shook his head and muttered that it was a sport for fairies and toffs before returning to Page 3. I would like to report that this was simply one persons view but it is time to face facts ladies and gentlemen, British show jumping (and Eventing to a lesser extent) is in major trouble.
24,000 seats not sold at the European finals on home soil. Many people were unaware the event was even occurring. The majority of newspapers failed to cover it and if a report was written it was crammed at the bottom of a page. And I dont blame them, newspapers write about what the public want to hear and the public dont care about show jumping. Thats why they arent sending any reporters to the upcoming W.E.G. And why the Hickstead Derby was dropped by the BBC. The British public is bored by show jumping. It wasnt always like this though. Im sure many members of a certain generation can still hum the opening bars to the coverage of the Horse of the Year Show which occupied prime time coverage on terrestrial television. When the likes of Stroller and Ryans Son, the Whitakers and Harvey Smith went crashing over imposing obstacles in front of large terrestrial television audiences. Now we have to scroll through to find British Eurosport or attempt to find an elusive highlights package online.
However there is one beacon of light and that is the BBC bringing back the Alltech Olympia Puissance class to primetime television with impressive viewing figures. Indeed a friend of mine stumbled across it channel hopping and begrudgingly admitted to being impressed by it. This is because the Puissance has three major draws for a non-equestrian viewer; speed (classes dont last for hours on end, indeed the building of the wall in between rounds helps to create not only a sense of scale but also adds drama to the overall spectacle), simplicity (whoever jumps highest wins) and excitement (man + horse vs. wall). This cocktail leads to viewing figures and increased interest in our sport which can only be a good thing.
So what do we do? Do we continue in the same vein as we are now and watch the sponsors slowly drift away from the sport? Bury our heads in the sand whilst the prize money seeps away and the general public loses any vestige of interest? I disagree; it is time the sport that I dearly love moves with the time and modernises. We need to look at other sports and see what they have done to boost popularity. Take the great British institution of cricket. Test cricket now has a popular but rebellious younger brother, one that discards the traditional whites for more garish colours and goes by a name with numbers in it; Twenty20. I dont like cricket but I have watched a couple of Twenty20 matches and it is simpler, quicker and more exciting than its distinguished older brother. So perhaps equestrian sports can take a leaf out of crickets book?
Indeed Eventing has already made an attempt at modernisation. A cumbersome three day event (which is difficult for a broadcaster to give full coverage to) is compressed into a shorter time span and called Express Eventing. Although it hasnt had the easiest baptism few question the soundness of the concept. Naturally the Cross Country phase loses some of its traditional fear factor but its positives as a spectacle far outweigh its negatives. It is located within an arena so is spectator friendly. Excitement is easier to maintain as the score is more apparent to the novice viewer. It is broadcaster friendly in that it doesnt last anywhere near as long as a full three day event. The dressage element is more entertaining with a bit of Aerosmith Walk this Way in the background. All of these add up to a more exciting overall viewing experience. So as Express Eventing has begun to transform the sport into a more manageable format perhaps show jumping should try the same.
Therefore I suggest that show jumping should take a deep breath and look at its novelty classes as a way to move forwards. Firstly let me explain my reasoning. We equestrian people enjoy sitting down to watch a Grand Prix because we love to watch horses in full flight, we understand the technicality of the courses and the partnership between horse and rider. However the bloke in the pub rarely cares about that, he wants to turn the T.V. on and be entertained. And show jumping is entertaining. You can hear the buzz as a rider approaches a Puissance wall. Ive watched a Six Bar competition on YouTube (other file sharing sites are available) and the crowd are electric. I remember watching a Knock Out at Olympia a few years ago and being enthralled by it. These are examples of short, simple and exciting pieces of show jumping. They may not conform to a purists idea of what show jumping is but they are something that a casual watcher would enjoy. And remember that is the person that British Show Jumping now needs. Someone who will watch a broadcast and think to themselves that entertained me, Id like to see that again. With an increase in viewing figures the likelihood is that sponsors will come back to the sport bringing with them a much needed cash injection.
I am not suggesting a complete overhaul of show jumping as a sport but simply being more aware of our audience. We need to divert attention towards more spectator friendly formats in the hope that this will eventually lead them to watching our Nations Cup teams. Show jumpings stature will then rise again. Someone needs to go to Trafalgar Square and put up a Grand Prix oxer to show people what show jumping is about. Excitement, speed and simplicity are all in abundance within the sport if we look in the right places. Lets dust off the Six Bar and Knock Out formats and put them where they can be seen. Now is the time for someone put the show back into show jumping otherwise it will be too late.
Article i wrote a little while back, which explains the slightly dated first para, which I would be interested to hear your views on. Slightly long but do please take the time!
Let me tell you a story. I was looking forward to watching the Hickstead Derby in my student house, providing I managed to change the program from Come Dine with Me, when I was informed that it was not going to be shown on terrestrial TV anymore. I took the bold move of wandering into my local sports bar, in the centre of Reading, and asking for it to be put on. They duly obliged and I spent the next thirty minutes in debate with the landlord regarding the action. He had two main issues. Firstly was that they keep doing the same thing i.e. jump the same course and knock the same fences down. Secondly he was dubious that the fences were, as I claimed, bloomin massive and that a horse wont simply jump whats put in front of it. After my attempts to explain the technicalities of striding and bascule (a mistake on my behalf I will admit) he simply shook his head and muttered that it was a sport for fairies and toffs before returning to Page 3. I would like to report that this was simply one persons view but it is time to face facts ladies and gentlemen, British show jumping (and Eventing to a lesser extent) is in major trouble.
24,000 seats not sold at the European finals on home soil. Many people were unaware the event was even occurring. The majority of newspapers failed to cover it and if a report was written it was crammed at the bottom of a page. And I dont blame them, newspapers write about what the public want to hear and the public dont care about show jumping. Thats why they arent sending any reporters to the upcoming W.E.G. And why the Hickstead Derby was dropped by the BBC. The British public is bored by show jumping. It wasnt always like this though. Im sure many members of a certain generation can still hum the opening bars to the coverage of the Horse of the Year Show which occupied prime time coverage on terrestrial television. When the likes of Stroller and Ryans Son, the Whitakers and Harvey Smith went crashing over imposing obstacles in front of large terrestrial television audiences. Now we have to scroll through to find British Eurosport or attempt to find an elusive highlights package online.
However there is one beacon of light and that is the BBC bringing back the Alltech Olympia Puissance class to primetime television with impressive viewing figures. Indeed a friend of mine stumbled across it channel hopping and begrudgingly admitted to being impressed by it. This is because the Puissance has three major draws for a non-equestrian viewer; speed (classes dont last for hours on end, indeed the building of the wall in between rounds helps to create not only a sense of scale but also adds drama to the overall spectacle), simplicity (whoever jumps highest wins) and excitement (man + horse vs. wall). This cocktail leads to viewing figures and increased interest in our sport which can only be a good thing.
So what do we do? Do we continue in the same vein as we are now and watch the sponsors slowly drift away from the sport? Bury our heads in the sand whilst the prize money seeps away and the general public loses any vestige of interest? I disagree; it is time the sport that I dearly love moves with the time and modernises. We need to look at other sports and see what they have done to boost popularity. Take the great British institution of cricket. Test cricket now has a popular but rebellious younger brother, one that discards the traditional whites for more garish colours and goes by a name with numbers in it; Twenty20. I dont like cricket but I have watched a couple of Twenty20 matches and it is simpler, quicker and more exciting than its distinguished older brother. So perhaps equestrian sports can take a leaf out of crickets book?
Indeed Eventing has already made an attempt at modernisation. A cumbersome three day event (which is difficult for a broadcaster to give full coverage to) is compressed into a shorter time span and called Express Eventing. Although it hasnt had the easiest baptism few question the soundness of the concept. Naturally the Cross Country phase loses some of its traditional fear factor but its positives as a spectacle far outweigh its negatives. It is located within an arena so is spectator friendly. Excitement is easier to maintain as the score is more apparent to the novice viewer. It is broadcaster friendly in that it doesnt last anywhere near as long as a full three day event. The dressage element is more entertaining with a bit of Aerosmith Walk this Way in the background. All of these add up to a more exciting overall viewing experience. So as Express Eventing has begun to transform the sport into a more manageable format perhaps show jumping should try the same.
Therefore I suggest that show jumping should take a deep breath and look at its novelty classes as a way to move forwards. Firstly let me explain my reasoning. We equestrian people enjoy sitting down to watch a Grand Prix because we love to watch horses in full flight, we understand the technicality of the courses and the partnership between horse and rider. However the bloke in the pub rarely cares about that, he wants to turn the T.V. on and be entertained. And show jumping is entertaining. You can hear the buzz as a rider approaches a Puissance wall. Ive watched a Six Bar competition on YouTube (other file sharing sites are available) and the crowd are electric. I remember watching a Knock Out at Olympia a few years ago and being enthralled by it. These are examples of short, simple and exciting pieces of show jumping. They may not conform to a purists idea of what show jumping is but they are something that a casual watcher would enjoy. And remember that is the person that British Show Jumping now needs. Someone who will watch a broadcast and think to themselves that entertained me, Id like to see that again. With an increase in viewing figures the likelihood is that sponsors will come back to the sport bringing with them a much needed cash injection.
I am not suggesting a complete overhaul of show jumping as a sport but simply being more aware of our audience. We need to divert attention towards more spectator friendly formats in the hope that this will eventually lead them to watching our Nations Cup teams. Show jumpings stature will then rise again. Someone needs to go to Trafalgar Square and put up a Grand Prix oxer to show people what show jumping is about. Excitement, speed and simplicity are all in abundance within the sport if we look in the right places. Lets dust off the Six Bar and Knock Out formats and put them where they can be seen. Now is the time for someone put the show back into show jumping otherwise it will be too late.
