I wasn't going to post.. but SWSJC..

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MissDeMeena

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Now i know that most of you will say, well don't go, no ones making you...

But i just feel SWSJC take the p!ss..
Lets compair them to The Hand, only in terms of staying over night (not rings to compete in)..
SWSJC charge you a £40 joining fee, ontop of entries..
The Hand charge no joining fee..
SWSJC, £55 for 2 nights stabling, plus £13 for two bags of bedding.. for that you get a tiny stable where your horses arse touches one end and his nose the other end, he can just about stretch out for a pee if he stands diagional across it..
I was lucky in where my stable was, but 75% of people wern't, and their horses were bedded in ankle deep mud..
Not to mention the loos which were over flowing on the first day, and by the evening of the first day, they were out of loo roll...

At The Hand, it cost me £20 for one night, bedding was already in the box, so unless i wanted to top it up i didn't need to buy any.. the box was huge!! (bigger than the one he's used to at home) and the whole area was dry...


So, not counting entries..
One night at SWSJC £84.50, living in deep mud..
One night at The Hand £20, living like a king..

Please tell me why people keep going back to Bicton???????
 
You've summed up why I go to Dorset for multi-day BSJA shows not Bicton.....

Takes about the same amount of time for me to get to either, but Dorset doesn't charge a joining fee and lets you stay an extra night free if you are going on to another local show before/after theirs.

My trainer was asking why lec and I go to Dorset not Bicton, and the joining fee etc really does put us off Bicton!
 
But it's not just the joinging fee.. the joining fee just rubs salt into the wound once you get there..
The state of the stables are really bad.. there's no taps for running watter, just huge water bousers (sp?) which end up flooding the place even more than it already is from the weather..

I mean how hard would it be to put up a line of proper taps.. that would help loads with the flooding!!
 
The Hand is beautiful now....just a shame about the warm up they will insist on us using, preferring to leave all the other facilities as decoration.

As for Bicton, can't comment on the flooding/tap issue, all I will say is Dorset was lovely last year - come and join us in August!
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I decided not to go to Bicton this year. Got fed up with it! You are right, the Hand is beautiful now, but don't forget that they have spent millions on the place, whereas Bicton has always been the same, it's always got the same people there and they have such a huge amount of entries they don't see the need to improve their facilities!
 
i never understood why you had to be a member anyway, wales and west do this. surely once you are a BSJA member (which costs enought) you should be able to jump at a BSJA show. when we were on ponies i had to pay for a BSJA junior and non jumping member then at bicton etc i had to be a family member.
 
I agree with all thats been said. My reasons for not going very often is a) the joining fee b) the unfriendly staff, they will never let me change my class if I'm having a problem c) the horrible warm ups d) the huge classes and the long waits e) Have to walk for miles f) Switching classes to other rings

I could go on......................!!!!

I go occasionally because its pretty local and to see my friends but thats about it really.
 
Dixie.. i wasn't even going to go into the horrid warm ups (again, i was lucky as all bar one of my classes were in the main arean).. Of the one class that i did jump in a different arena, they changed their mind 4 times before they decided which arean to jump in.. which links me into the unfriendly staff.. i am hard of hearing, so everytime there was an anouncment over the loud speaker about a ring change for my class.. i wouldn't hear it quite right, so would go to the sec. to confirm what i thought i'd heard... after the 4th time, i could tell they were getting quite p!ssed off with this... Not my fault!! they were the ones changing their mind every 5 mins...


I quite understand that The Hand has had millions spent on it (buy its very rich owner) and i wouldn't ask Bicton to even start to compete with that.. but with the amount they charge, you'd have thought they could give a bit back to the competitors.. or if not, then drop their fee's a bit!!!
 
I have to say the Sjers down the road from me love it at Bicton guess weather did not help but I have never gone for the cost reason. I object to spending that kind of money in extras and things like membership when I might only get to use it once.
 
Yes, I agree they really should drop their prices a bit. I will be having a week in Spain this year instead of having a weekend at Bicton - yes really!!! Haven't been down there this year, but weren't they supposed to have improved all the warmups over the winter?
 
Bicton and Wales & West charge membership to get around paying Business Rates. If it is a 'Club' I think they are either exempt or reduced. But W&W only charge £1 membership for Cricklands (unless they have changed it) so they don't need to charge £40 to get around this loop hole.

I have never show jumped at Bicton. I did enter once but my horse severed it's artery in it's back leg and I was unable to go. Inspite of a vets letter and enough notice they would not refund a single penny of the entry fees or stabling. Back then I didn't know about the BSJA rule that said they have to refund 50% of entry fees if you cancel with 48 hours for any reason.

I won't ever go there because of that attitude. I've had it happen to me at W&W and they credited all the money back on to my account
 
never been to bicton but have heard stories and it has made me stay clear.
W&W i love, great place, friendly and like dieseldog i had to pull out of a show just before hand and they refunded everything (said couldnt do stable unless it was refiled, but it was) in returning cheque even got a note saying hope horse is better soon.
 
see I have good experiences of Bicton, yes the membership is steep if only doing one show but if you do all 4 then it is £10 per show. I normally with Dan jumped in either the Arena or Newberry so the warmups weren't bad at all really (jumped in a lot worse). There was previously always taps when I went the bowsers must be a new thing, and the stables although small (when you have a 17h2) were no smaller than what I have had at the likes of Blue Chip, W&W, Stoneleigh, Devon County and the like. Although I will admit for not really liking the new style ones which although slightly larger don't allow the horse to put it's head over the door, which is fine for a 15h2 like Fleur but not a 17h2 like Daniel, but I have been lucky to go in the permanent stables on a few occasions.

As for the staff always found them helpful and on numerous occasions have had classes/horses swapped etc. One time when Dan was injured a few days before I withdrew by phone 24 hours before start of first day and brought vets letter down on first day. they couldn't refund stabling but did refund my entry fees. One show I gave up on day 2 of 4 as Fleur wasn't playing ball and I was refunded my entries for the last 2 days which I didn't jump. Although annoying you can understand if they are a little short with people if they are asked for the 50th time which class a ring is in. Normally though they put notices on the outside door to notify you of ring changes. I take it this wasn't the case this time?!

You have to be careful with weather yes as can make or break a show but I have had some great shows there and will happily go back time and again. Hey even the stable managers go out of their way and have even been known to tow me out of a sticky spot on one occasion at 11pm at night and lending me a torch when I arrived at 1am on another occasion when I only had miniscule torch with me!

Shame you had a bad show Claire but I promise you it can be great, just seems you got the raw end of the deal along with some horrid weather on this occasion.
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Hi, Entry fees are so much lower than at Hand and you win more money! Also it was my fault the classes moved because they wanted to put the senior foxhunter and 1.15 in kings which i said needed to be changed to newbery. If it was left in Kings it would have lost entries. I wanted to make sure the had a good ring as 1.20 is not as nice in that ring. Sorry for bothering! The club hire the showground and its not cheap. We do what we can with what we have but obviously its hard when its not our ground! We have had a run of bad luck with the weather last few shows which hasn't helped. The staff are helpful if you approach them in the right way!
Hand have cancelled their august show.
 
Ps the new loo block I think is complete now and will be alot nicer. Thats also down to the estate, but they don;t look after the old ones anymore. I do keep on to everyone to keep them supplied with loo roll!!
 
Bicton swsjc is friendly, staff r efficient volunteers & do everything possible to make yr show fun, I am sick of people moaning & gripping, when did u last offer to help a stint doing collecting ring stewarding might make u realise how much hard work and how much abuse u have to put up with u might even learn something. The water bowsers r better as they flow quicker, the only reason it gets wet around them cos people too lazy to turn them off, stables adequate for my 16.3 we have been in much worse elsewhere, toilets & showers r recked by drunken competitors why should they clean up yr sick, loo roll thrown everywhere etc would u do that at home I have every respect for bicton its staff and its competitions we have a great time and really enjoy our stay. Please clean up after yourselves, turn taps off, you will notice its much better for everyone, a thankyou to the staff also goes a long way my son even gave his easter egg to a collecting ring steward who was so nice & helpful to say thankyou. WE LOVE BICTON
 
Wales & West has improved a lot, we only 1 hour away & refused to go ever again a few years ago staff were shut behind thick glass ignoring everyone, classes changed at last minute without telling u then when u missed them u could not get refund, it is a lot better but does not have the same vibe as bicton swsjc, we love going there, staff friendly, efficient, classes good, safe environment for my children to play at night, horses seem to love it, swsjc go the extra mile to make your show a lovely weekend away, stables r adequate, rings r great, yes some warm ups r not brilliant but we have been in much worse elsewhere, the only thing that spoils a lot of these shows r the element of drunken chavs taking up competing, all they want to do is drink & party allnight then wreck public areas such as the loos & showers send them back to Essex!!!
 
we keep going back to bicton swsjc cos it is friendly, good classes, efficient organizing team, good prize money, lowish entry fees, horses staff & competitors enjoy the atmosphere, yes hand is lovely he has spent millions on it but entry fees high, no atmosphere, a commercial venture whereas swsjc is a non profit making self running staffed by volunteers club hence the membership fee, they also have their own fire service, medical cover, security patrols etc we can jump in the morning & go to the beach in the afternoon, I have never in many years attended such a friendly and enjoyable show, thats why we go (also the competitions r good something for everyone) Just watch out for the very few u get at every show throughout the country now who r only there to get rat faced & wreck the place if u go to scope make sure u have good locks on yr lorry we never feel safe there.
 
With regards to spending money on improving facilities, swsjc dont own bicton and are therefore limited to what they can do ie warm ups taps etc. There are pros and cons to all really. I havent been to wales or bicton this year but i know bicton is cheaper and u get more prize money like some1 said earlier but i love the all weather ring at wales and although the staff are alot nicer these days I HATE it when W&W decide to change rings and dont tell any1 so people end up missing classes and losing money. My opinion is i will go to either if I need to but generally prefer county shows or Dorset, Hand, Weston Lawns etc.
 
I have been going to bicton since a junior doing the under 11 classes and am now jumping the u21 classes and in those years i have only ever missed 1 show. Bicton is a great show with a friendly atmosphere people ready to help you if you need to, those who are unhappy with the show need to know that everyone who works there does it for nothing as they are volunteers, also people moaning about the mud, how can the staff change the weather it is not within their power. i for one along with many others i know will continue to support bicton.
 
I have been going to Bicton for years and have never had a bad experience; I always find the staff by far the friendliest and most helpful, all the rings well-built and even friendly competitors.
I don’t think you can compare SWSJC to The Hand, as already mention SWSJC don’t own Bicton and therefore make best with what they can…. not having millions to spend on their facilities and being limited due to English Heritage restrictions. Most of the staff there are volunteers and I think on occasion they are entitled to be a bit frustrated with people who are late at turning up and in turn rude and out of order.

You can pay £10 extra for a larger stable and if you take your own bedding (like me) it works out cheaper. I agree they can be a little on the expensive side but no more then W&W, Weston Lawns and The Hand.

It sounds like you had an unlucky time with the weather and lets face it, unless you were at a show that weekend where you were jumping on a surface then it would have been the same anywhere!!!

But as you say if you didn’t like it then its best not to go again, but I love the venue and I cant wait for the upcoming August show.
 
I have never posted on here before, but some of these comments about Bicton made me so cross, I felt I had to!

I love going to Bicton, and in fact go to every show regardless of what else I miss.

The staff are great, try being nice to them, and they will be nice back. As the previous poster said they are volunteers and if we don't appreciate people who make our sport possible we could lose it completely.

As far as mud goes, not only do the organisers have no control of the weather, Bicton is on such fabulous soil that it dries out remarkably quickly anyway. The team at Bicton put huge amounts of effort into the going, both in the rings and the warm up arenas and as has been said previously, if you don't like it don't jump! Last show, it was so wet, if they had wanted to they could have cancelled, but they carried on when others wouldn't have bothered.

Comparing Bicton to the Hand is very unfair, SWSJC do not own Bicton, it is not a permanent show centre and beside that it has not had access to the £££££s spent at the Hand recently.

Furthermore, what annoys me is complaints about the stabling facilities. The water bowsers were a brilliant new addition, Bicton has a problem with water pressure, again outside the organisers control. The taps are still there if you are that worried about getting a little wet and are not careful enough but it is much much quicker and easier to use the bowsers.

If you don't think that the stables are big enough, then pay a little extra for a bigger one! If you don't like temporary stables generally then you will find yourself a little limited by which shows you can go to!!

Okay, rant over, I hope I have made my point. Personally I love Bicton and I will keep going to every show come what may. I think I am very lucky to have such an amazing facility so accessible to me.
 
I hope you realise what you sound like: "Some jumped up spoilt bratt." You sound just like someone who has gone to Bicton and jumped like crap= not Bicton's fault!!!

You complain about the weather, mud and riding conditions. What, are your horses made of gold? They live in mud!!!! In the shitty weather!!!! and if you and your horse were good enough it would not matter if the ground wasn't perfect. Anyone can canter to a fence across a £30,000 surface and do a pretty good job, it's out and about that sorts the men from the boys, why do you think that most people have the jump at the bottom on the derby bank down........coz they don't know how to ride it.

It's about time you winging diva wannabe top riders who think that just because you have matching numnah's with yr name on that your better than Bicton,had a reality check............YOU HAVE ALL THE GEAR BUT NO IDEA!!!

Bicton and all the crew do their best and I don't envy them having to deal with you lot. We take 6 horses everytime and we swap classes a bit etc and as long as u are polite and ask nicely, the office staff will help u out. Surley you can undersand that your not the only one at Bicton swapping classes, there are 500+ people all trying to do the same thing, and THAT is why they have to move classes to different rings, coz people keep swapping and changing the numbers in the class. The stables are fine and at least there is water and toilets.

If you are going to slag off Bicton, don't bother going- we don't need your attitude there!
 
I think Mr Ellery, you need to learn how to read... and your friend who's just started another thread on the subject..

I've not once complained about the ground in the rings!!
Being an eventer, i'm more than used to riding in the mud, as are my horses..
My gripe was with the cost of it all!!
 
Well i don't live in the SW and have never been to Bicton but if the post above is the way they speak to their clients I for one will make an effort to never go there.
 
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Wales & West has improved a lot, we only 1 hour away & refused to go ever again a few years ago staff were shut behind thick glass ignoring everyone, classes changed at last minute without telling u then when u missed them u could not get refund, it is a lot better but does not have the same vibe as bicton swsjc, we love going there, staff friendly, efficient, classes good, safe environment for my children to play at night, horses seem to love it, swsjc go the extra mile to make your show a lovely weekend away, stables r adequate, rings r great, yes some warm ups r not brilliant but we have been in much worse elsewhere, the only thing that spoils a lot of these shows r the element of drunken chavs taking up competing, all they want to do is drink & party allnight then wreck public areas such as the loos & showers send them back to Essex!!!

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The last comment is completely uncalled for and does actually greatly offend me. I really don't think there is any need for that kind of comment particularly in one of your very first posts. And yes I am from Essex and wouldn't dream of trashing anything.
 
I have been going to Bicton for some 20 years, i am now in my early thirties, and in my opinion you have no idea what you are talking about!! Bicton is a non profit making club, run by volunteers , incase you dont know what this means , it means these people are unpaid. Every penny that is made goes back into the facilities and the club etc. Bicton is for its members. I have showjumped nationally and Bicton is a friendly and safe environment , i would rather be at Bicton than Wales with my children any day. From what I see facilities are soon to be improved. Any one reading this, please ignore this person she has absolutely no idea. Bicton is a fab place to be . We cant help the weather.
 
At he risk of bumping it again - I know!!!!!

Look we get it. Bicton is either a love it or hate it type of place. Those that hate it don't go, and those that love it have it all to themselves.
 
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