Eventing Pippa Funnels article on letting covid 'dumb down' eventing

[Lexi_]

I'm not sure there were any more events 10 - 15 years ago, but the ones we had tended to be based on fences in hedge-lines and used lovely fixed features and on old turf. I think there may be more events today, but a lot of them are at purpose built sites and / or using portable fences in the middle of a field?

Yes, that’s what I was assuming had happened! Lots of one-off courses having gone and been replaced to a certain extent with the equestrian centre type courses running 2 or 3 a year. I’d just be interested to look at the stats if any old calendars are knocking around anywhere.

@ycbm - I didn’t realise the computerised results went back that far tbh! BE not being known for its technology skills and all that ?

 

[ycbm]

I've just remembered that it used to be against BE rules to run unaffiliated competitions over a BE course. That's how much power and control BE had and how much competition there was for dates. When BE realised that they needed the equitation centres to fill in for the traditional landowners who were dropping out, that requirement was removed.

 

[1523679]

I’m shocked at the abysmal volunteering experiences reported here, particularly considering the high cost of the events and the high entry fees. These are premium sporting events, they need premium volunteer management.

I’ve done event management in another amateur sport which relied heavily on volunteers. The golden rules:
- Volunteers are not employees. You ask them to do something; you can’t ever order them to do it
- Reward volunteers. In gratitude, in free refreshments, in discounted entry fees for future events
- For series or league events, you weren’t eligible for a series prize unless you’d volunteered at at least one fixture
- Volunteers are like competitors. If they don’t have a good event, they won’t come back.

 

[spacefaer]

I'd forgotten Savernake
There was also Wellesbourne
Does Wilton still run?

My main eventing time was in the 90s - a fact not recognised by BE who has a minimal record of my results (and some of which were wrong)
I evented professionally but did it entirely for fun - I always felt guilty sending out invoices for a job I'd have done for free ?

When it stopped being fun, I stopped eventing. I've competed since, casually, on both mine and friends' horses and it's been a nice thing to do, but I couldn't do it full time again.
I'm occasionally tempted to have another go but then I look at the costs and decide not to! For me, it's unjustifiable.

I used to compete every single weekend from March to October with occasional mid week dates as well. I never had to travel more than 2 hours from my Gloucestershire base and I never went to the same venue twice.

Maybe it's time that we bite the bullet and accept that eventing has to be more commercial to survive

 

[ester]

Wilton still runs, def a tougher track than some (based only on walking it though!)

 

[spacefaer]

Wilton still runs, def a tougher track than some (based only on walking it though!)

I loved Wilton - had some very good runs there - despite being put in the OI one season with a whole load of 5* riders giving their top horses a fun run ??

There was a double of corners with the points downhill towards the lorry park....

 

[teapot]

Well if this turns out to be true, I can see some riders being VERY vocal...

https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/germany-travel-ban-luhmuhlen-746403

 

[teapot]

Wilton still runs, def a tougher track than some (based only on walking it though!)

Not this year though

 

[ester]

No I wasn't including last year or this.

 

[quizzie]

I was lucky enough to start eventing in the era of "proper" 3 day events with the full roads and tracks and steeplechase before the XC

It was a very different experience to standard one day events, and you had to ride it and get your horse fit in different ways for the two different competitions.

I loved Wylye and Tidworth, which with Bramham, were effectively the qualification events for Badminton and Burghley. In those days there was a spring season (late March to early June) and an autumn season (August to first weekend October), and it was common to do a maximum of 3 or maybe 4 prep runs, then a 3DE ....horses then had a break in the summer, and repeated the pattern in the autumn.

I understand why the old 3DEs were dropped, but think that that was the start of the transformation of the sport into its modern version of portables/skinnies and professionals.

 

[LEC]

No I wasn't including last year or this.

Wilton has gone forever

 

[Ellibelli]

You could get some idea by looking up the results tables, which were computerised partly in 2000 (some of my results are missing from 2000 and none of the years before that show) and fully, I think, from 2002.

But I used to be able to do one event every 2 weeks at Novice height from March to September without travelling more than about 2 hours from home and I couldn't get near that now in a non Covid year, I think?

It used to be the case that being allowed a second date in the same year was something venues had to bargain with BE to get into the calendar. Now there are a lot of 2s and even one, or more, 3s.
.

I used to have the same aim of competing once a fortnight with a 2 hour journey limit, but couldn't always manage it. I think my views may be skewed a bit as BEDE are fairly local and there seems to be a lot more events in this area now, but as Roxlylola has pointed out, there are multiple events at single venues whereas they used to be one offs

 

[ester]

Wilton has gone forever

ah thanks that's another shame even if it was a fair hike round.

 

[teapot]

This is well worth a half hour of people's time - Lucinda Green talking to Eric Winter re xc courses

https://fb.watch/5HRT9Jh7xg/