Organisers: how long before the start would you arrive? Minor rant!

Zeb93

Zeb93

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 February 2012
Messages
191
Location
Scotland
Visit site
Hi all,

I was at my area RC dressage qualifiers today. I was first on, with two horses 20 mins apart so arrived with plenty time (an hour and a half) so I could have both warmed up before first test. We arrived to find the gates padlocked and no one around. I phoned the show secretary to get a snooty 'You do realise it doesn't start until blah time??" Someone eventually turned up half an hour later cue me running very late!! It then transpired the person tagging hats and checking passports wasn't going to be there until half an hour AFTER my first time (apparently hat tags not required for warm up classes - but not very helpful when limited time between tests!) Followed by a lot of performance with the scores not the most stress free day out! Is this normal? I would have thought for area qu's stewards would arrive well in advance of the first time? Or do I need to alter my warm up plan to fit it into less time in future?

Luckily the ponies improved things. Novice debut for my ex-racehorse with respectable scores and 2nd and 3rd, narrowly missing qualifying in the rider test sadly. I did the prelims on my mums horse for 3rd and 5th so good day out from that point of view!

Sorry for the lack of grammar/punctuation - I am shatteres. Chocolate orange cake on offer and gratuitious pretty pony pic of Finn:

946426_10151519457798208_1123524485_n.jpg
 
I show not dressage but generally tend to plan to around an hour and a half before class and I think for RC dressage where you have to add in the hat tagging and passport checking you weren't obscenely early.

I often used to be first to arrive at local shows with my old horse as had a very set routine with him and would be on my own so had to factor in extra time for that. At least it means you park near the front.

At least you had a good day and always love a gratuitous photo of a horse.
 
I would expect to be allowed acces to the site one hour before 1st test especially if said test was a warm up not an actual qualifier. Most of the volunteers would have to deal with their own horses before leaving to travel to the event. Would suggest that if you feel your horses need particularly long warmups then perhaps check beforehand with secretary to see when site would be open.
 
Last edited:
Same happened to me at a RC event. I was on at 10 and first in the ring, and I got there at 8 (ahead of schedule) and there was no one to open the gate til some random member who happened to (almost) know the code showed up at about ten past 9! Meanwhile I'd handed over my phone to phone the person in charge to find out the code as the person had actually forgotten it. Luckily, I knew her number was on their website as I'd had over an hour to kill:p:rolleyes:

Well done on your places tho, it worked out well for me that day as well as I was second at our first ever dressage test. :)
 
Given that for a RC event the organisers are unpaid volunteers and unlikely to be based on site I wouldn't of expected any one to be there more than an hour in advance.
 
when I organise competitions I always aim to arrive one and a half hours before the start.
Vodkagirly--thank you for being understanding. We are all unpaid volunteers.

As an organiser nothing riles me more when you have been up since the crack of dawn, on the show field before anyone else having probably travelled for an hour, and last to leave and competitors moan about the time it takes to get results out, saying "oh I've been up since 7am and got to go home"
We all want to go home and do not deliberately hold up results being posted. Competitors would be the first to complain if you rushed results and got them wrong.

Not to mention the fact that for weeks before the event you have had no social or family life as you have been organising the event, then have to do all the clearing up after everyone else has gone home.
 
Last edited:
Vodkagirly said:
Given that for a RC event the organisers are unpaid volunteers and unlikely to be based on site I wouldn't of expected any one to be there more than an hour in advance.
Click to expand...

TGM said:
I would expect to be allowed acces to the site one hour before 1st test especially if said test was a warm up not an actual qualifier.
Click to expand...

Yeah I appreciate the hard work of volunteers and wouldn't have expected everybody to arrive early! It would even be ok if no one was there but place open so we could get parked/unloaded and start tacking up. I have volunteered for my club before so know theres always people complaining! Just found it frustrating as made the morning a bit manic.

In future will consider lunging at home or only taking 1 then might be more stress free!
 
Sorry to hear of the stress- I often end up at places before the organisers but that's usually at a centre so I can atleast get sorted first. Well done for holding it together to get the good results :)
 
I organised our RC show today and was there at 7.20am. First test at 9.00am. The first judge arrived at 8.00am :eek: and first competitor was there not long after her.

I however wouldn't expect anyone there more than a hour before the first test and wouldn't have been impressed with people asking me for numbers etc. at 7.30am as was there to set up.

That said, I wouldn't have given anyone times only 20 minutes apart!
 
At our RC the first person of the organising team arrived at about 7am with the first of the competitions starting at 9:30 (possibly 9am)
 
I arrive 1 hour before the first competitor is due in the ring for our dressage events. But as I know most of the people entering I sort times so those with further to travel have later times, those with two horses have time between them etc etc :-)
 
If this was a qualifier was it an area event. I can see how someone may well arrive early as some may be travelling a decent distance & be unsure of journey time etc. If I was first on & travelling some distance I would probably be there too early as I would dread being the person everyone was moaning was too disorganised to be there on time. I would always aim to be somewhere a good hour before I was due on to allow time for checking in, hat tagging tacking up, warming up, loo etc.
 
I think you may find that the site is only allowed to be opened at a certain time. Certainly when we run our winter dressage we are often there as organisers waiting for someone to unlock the gates but we can't open them ourselves as keys are help by the site owner/manager?
But I do think an hour before first test is probably standard for most people especially as the majority who have more than one horse usually have someone on te ground with them who can fetch number etc while they warm up. Perhaps worth checking with your team manager another time if you need a particularly long warm up/have two tests that close together as they might be able to swap you with another team member?
 
When I ran my endurance ride, the first vettings would be 8.30am, to start at 9am, so I had to have the stewards/helpers/vets/farrier briefed, sorted by 8am latest. In reality despite setting up the venue the day before I'd be on site from about 5.30am to be around for campers/coralling, answer questions, deal with hiccups etc. So in your case the gate would have been open.

However, with using unpaid volunteers you try to be realistic aboutwhen they are needed. Checkpoint stewards for late on in the course would not be there early, they knew when they had to be ready for, when the helper briefing was & beyond that they don't get there too much earlier as they are giving up their day off & it will be a long day for them. I've arrived (being one of first horses to start) at a venue to find the gate wasn't open yet. Now I would ring organiser day before & find out what time they expect it to be open from. If I needed more time to warm up, when I put entry in ask not to be in first 10 horses. Most organisers / secretaries go out of their way to accomodate requests.
 
I have had the pleasure of competing at RC area team dressage in the past in the same RC area that I suspect you have been competing in. When I did them last (a few years ago now as got fed up of the waiting and travelling) I had nearly four hours between my warm-up test and team test. Then the wait for the scores.... :rolleyes: Believe me that wait can be bad but don't blame the organisers, it is due to the rules/scoring. It is not just like a normal dressage competition where you can get the scores/results out promptly.

I have seen several different but experienced clubs run these area events and they all have the same long wait. It is hard enough to get any RC volunteer to run the area qualifiers in this neck of the woods.....

I do run RC shows and can be on site anything from an hour to 90 minutes ahead of the first horse. Depends on how much set-up I need to do on the morning and size of show that I am putting on and how near home it is. However, if I was aware that the gate was locked, I would have probably asked for the venue to ensure that this was unlocked by a certain time.
 
I have done secretary for registered eventing and have always been there 1hr 45 approx before the first test - often at events people need to walk the xc course and there might be one or two competitors there first, but it is really important they can get their numbers before they have to get their horses ready, and from years of grooming i know how long it can take to get a sharp horse studded up, ready, lunged and warmed up for a test!!
 
I like to arrive at least an hour before competing - allows me half an hour to get me and pony ready and half an hour to work in. That said, because I HATE the feeling of running late, I'm usually there earlier! (It's daft, but even if I know I will still have plenty of time, I get really panicky)

I used to be on the committee for our RC and running events = a ruddy long day and lots of stress. If the first test was at 9 then we would be there absolutely no later than 8, and usually there would be someone there at 7.30. We use a big facility centre though so gates already open anyway.
 
I'd have been annoyed in your shoes. I would expect ONE of the officials to be there to unlock gates at least 90 mins before first test? The organiser sets the start time, if it's too early for them to get there before the competitors then make it later?!
I fully appreciate that RCs rely on volunteers, but they don't all have to arrive early, just one or two. I used to be a showing groom, and showing people arrive VERY early!
Last year I took my pony to a local RC unaffiliated 3 phase competition similar to ODE. We were issued with individual times for each phase, without much time in between. As the pony is grey, needs plenty of working in for sensible dressage test and I'd never been to venue we went in plenty of time. I was dumbfounded to find gate locked when we arrived! The organiser arrived soon after us, but with jumping course to walk, numbers to collect, pony to tack up and work in and smart dressage turnout required it was a close thing!
I organise affiliated TREC competitions, and always expect to arrive well before any riders. Just have to catch up on my sleep after the event!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top