Riding club show needs an overhaul

[Expo]

I help out with events organised by a small, local riding club. This year, they have put on several Dressage events, a couple of Showing plus dressage things - Showing first, then Dressage afterwards and a couple of Showing plus Show jumping events. We’re now approaching the end of the summer season and time to re-do the programme/scedule for the coming autumn/winter season and next summer, and thinking we need to re-vamp everything to make the events more appealing. Numbers have been dropping off a bit, with some of the Showing classes having little interest. Strangely the in hand section seems more popular than the ridden events.

So we’re now thinking about how we can refresh the schedule to attract more people. Any thoughts from the HHO collective on what we should, or should not be including would be much appreciated.

We currently have classes for young stock, M&Ms, coloureds, first ridden, veterans etc as well as things like tack and turnout, young handler and fancy dress.

 

[maisie06]

When I ran a local RC one showing class that was always popular was Novice walk and trot - it worked as a step up from inhand to ridden showing with riders not having to worry about cantering as a group especially!

We also used to do a working hunter show, again with a lead rein/novice class for those having a bash for the first time.

Have you thought about a Le-Trec style event as these proved very popular too. I have noticed on the local scene that people have lost interest in showing as I think these days it's all too serious, you need a really good pony/horse to be in the ribbons and there is nothing for those with average family ponies once the pot hunters clear up at local level as going affiliated/county is getting so expensive.

 

[cundlegreen]

Having recently judged at a local RC show, where entries were very bad, I think some prize money needs to be given. The costs of going to any show get higher and higher, and I think the chance to win back your entry fee might encourage people to enter.

 

[Snowfilly]

Having avoided going to some riding club shows over the years here's some thing that would tempt me:

Decent judges and make sure you communicate beforehand who they're going to be!

Decent ring sizes. I've got a big horse and we often do in hand classes because we haven't got enough room to canter safely in a group in the ridden.

Be realistic about clothing. You see people all the time on here stressing about ridden shows where they haven't got a tweed / only got short boots and chaps / haven't got the proper tack. Don't be the riding club show that tells someone to leave the ring because their horse has got a synthetic bridle (it was a M and M class, rider as far as I know never returned to the show ring.) Say show gear not needed!

Think about the types of horses at your club. Maybe a best all rounder type, best condition, best rider, where you don't need a wonderful horse to win.

Don't have the judge ride and think about if you really need to strip the horses and trot up. If your members come on their own, this is hard without a groom.

Have lovely rosettes and run the show in a sensible fashion. I wouldn't think a it prize money but class winners getting money off photos always seems a good one.

And pool your members for new suggestions. Agree that Le trec would be good but you need lots of equipment and helpers to really make it work.

 

[Greylegs]

Having avoided going to some riding club shows over the years here's some thing that would tempt me:

Decent judges and make sure you communicate beforehand who they're going to be!

Decent ring sizes. I've got a big horse and we often do in hand classes because we haven't got enough room to canter safely in a group in the ridden.

Be realistic about clothing. You see people all the time on here stressing about ridden shows where they haven't got a tweed / only got short boots and chaps / haven't got the proper tack. Don't be the riding club show that tells someone to leave the ring because their horse has got a synthetic bridle (it was a M and M class, rider as far as I know never returned to the show ring.) Say show gear not needed!

Think about the types of horses at your club. Maybe a best all rounder type, best condition, best rider, where you don't need a wonderful horse to win.

Don't have the judge ride and think about if you really need to strip the horses and trot up. If your members come on their own, this is hard without a groom.

Have lovely rosettes and run the show in a sensible fashion. I wouldn't think a it prize money but class winners getting money off photos always seems a good one.

And pool your members for new suggestions. Agree that Le trec would be good but you need lots of equipment and helpers to really make it work.

Thanks for this. Some really useful pointers here. The venue is a goos local EC with an excellent indoor for winter and good grass or surfaces for dressage and showing so we've got plenty of space and good facilities. We do try to be realistic about people's animals and available tack. clothing etc and as long as people look as if they've made an effort - clean horse, as smart as possible etc - they're fine.

We don't pre-publicise the judges - good thought so might suggest that - judges don't ride and we don't ask anyone to strip for ridden classes as it's too much trouble as you've said. Prize money is a good idea, or other incentives such as photos of winners. i'll have a word with our club "pro" photographer and see if that's a goer. She's a keen amateur who lives locally and just does the pictures for fun, so might be worth thinking about. Maybe take pics and the club could reimburse printing costs?

We've considered some sort of handy pony/horse thing with LeTrec style obstacles and are looking at that for the winter season to see how it goes.

Thank you again for all the replies so far. All ideas considered.

 

[paddi22]

We ran a few shows during the year for our riding club tht got good feedback. One of them was jumping aimed at the lower levels but you have someone in the ring with you to guide you around, and if you have an issue you canschool ovre/get poles lowered if needed. We were losing out on a lot of the lower level jumpers, and when we asked them what was wrong they said they were afraid of getting eliminated or freezing in the ring. They said having someone there to encourage them would be great.

 

[little_critter]

Why do you keep jumping and Dressage separate? (You say showing + Dressage or showing + SJ).
How about some combined training and also allow people to enter just the dressage or just the SJ, or maybe have a clear round ring.

 

[little_critter]

We ran a few shows during the year for our riding club tht got good feedback. One of them was jumping aimed at the lower levels but you have someone in the ring with you to guide you around, and if you have an issue you canschool ovre/get poles lowered if needed. We were losing out on a lot of the lower level jumpers, and when we asked them what was wrong they said they were afraid of getting eliminated or freezing in the ring. They said having someone there to encourage them would be great.

I used to steward a clear round SJ ring, sometimes it would be a really really slow day. It was supposed to be £5 per go but if it was empty I’d get the odd person ask to pay £10 and use it to school round for 20 minutes. I figured there was no one else there and £10 is better than just turning them away.

 

[be positive]

Instead of prize money offer a free/ half price entry for a class at the next show, it will cost you nothing and may generate more entries as most people will want to use their prize, if you have the same people winning all the time you could limit the prizes given out to stop someone never paying for an entry.

Letting competitors know who is judging can allow them to stay away if it is someone unpopular and will also give you an idea who the competitors like/ dislike.

A class or two for novices where the judge has enough time to speak to the competitors and offer a bit of constructive advice on how they can improve their turnout or be able to do a second show may be popular, you could run it as the first class so they can use some of the tips later but you do need a judge who has a good attitude and enough knowledge to advise correctly, not all judges know as much as they would like to think they do so maybe consider bringing in someone from just outside the area.

 

[conniegirl]

TBH, for showing it’s been a fairly bad year, people have been wary about working on the hard ground for fear of splints etc.

For your showing classes, the M&M classes and coloured classes tend to be the most popular. Make sure you have classes that adults on ponies can do as well as a lot of shows limit ponies to under 16s and a lot of adults ride ponies.

Do you have a schedule for this years showing classes that we could see? Then I could perhaps suggest improvements.

The other thing you could offer is perhaps some low level qualifiers, so for example for equifest, ESUK, VHS etc, even the riding club champs.

Finally one thing I’ve found recently is that riding clubs are really bad at clashing with one another, for example, this weekend in my local area there are 5 local shows within a 40 min lorry journey. Last weekend there was one and it was a walk trot only show that I couldn’t go to as the restrictions on the classes meant I wasn’t eligbale for them. I can’t be in 2 places at once, let alone 5!

 

[Sussexbythesea]

When I ran a local RC one showing class that was always popular was Novice walk and trot - it worked as a step up from inhand to ridden showing with riders not having to worry about cantering as a group especially!

I think this is a great idea so many horses lose their cookies when cantering starts I know it puts me off although I’ve still done it I’ve had to retire a couple of times due to Horse getting over-excited.

Classes that qualify people for local championships are good. We’re lucky to have Sunshine Tour at Hickstead amongst others. I know I’ve entered certain shows to get the qualifications.

Other prizes at the actual show for people to qualify for overall like champs also get people entering multiple classes.
Particularly something that looks at you’re overall performance rather than just getting 1st and 2nd.

 

[TGM]

Do you have sashes for winners? Worth thinking about as I know a lot of low level showing competitors are dying to win a sash and I think many of them would prefer that to prize money.

Try and have classes that you don't need a specific type or breed for. Riding club horse/pony is usually a very popular class for this reason.

Make your schedule very clear so people know what is expected of them in the classes. Any age or height restrictions should be stated clearly, along with any requirements for tack, what sort of performance is required (ie walk, trot, canter as a group, individual show, jump one small jump, jump a course, gallop etc.) What puts a lot of people off is not knowing what is expected of them and putting themselves in a situation where they feel scared or embarrassed for doing the wrong thing.

Have a couple of classes that are designated 'Have A Go' classes, with a restriction on who can enter. Explain that these are for newcomers to showing and correct showing attire is not required (although competitors and horses should be clean, tidy and safe) and that the judge will give helpful tips and feedback at the end.

 

[Meredith]

Could you do an accumulated points trophy / rosette, say 4 divisions adults novice and open, children ditto with a minimum number of classes to be entered over the year? Perhaps increases the paper work but it might encourage riders to come regularly.

 

[Denbob]

Make your schedule very clear so people know what is expected of them in the classes. Any age or height restrictions should be stated clearly, along with any requirements for tack, what sort of performance is required (ie walk, trot, canter as a group, individual show, jump one small jump, jump a course, gallop etc.) What puts a lot of people off is not knowing what is expected of them and putting themselves in a situation where they feel scared or embarrassed for doing the wrong thing.

Have a couple of classes that are designated 'Have A Go' classes, with a restriction on who can enter. Explain that these are for newcomers to showing and correct showing attire is not required (although competitors and horses should be clean, tidy and safe) and that the judge will give helpful tips and feedback at the end.

This! Showing from the outside is really intimidating - having a slightly more informal and educational couple of fun classes and maybe have a class for people at the end of the year with a 'most improved' sash at a Christmas show?

 

[HeresHoping]

Agree with all of the above.

I've also PM'd you, OP, as my suggestions might be construed as advertising, although I'm not directly advertising and it wouldn't cost you anything extra.

 

[Pinkvboots]

Novice ridden classes are always popular at the riding club shows round here, they also do a points system to encourage people to every show in that season, then at the end they do an awards evening and give out trophies and small gifts to the winners.

Another thing that has gone down well is dressage lesson days so you do the test then the judge gives you a 20 minute lesson to show you how to improve.

 

[MagicMelon]

A lead rein class for RC members kids would probably be popular? What about working hunter? I only ever go to a showing show for working hunter (and I might then do another regular class). Style jumping (which you could possibly do round the WH course after you've run proper WH classes in the morning)? An adult handy pony class running all day? Offering sashes / small prizes / little trophies or even just really nice big rossettes (which then post pictures of on your social media pages prior to entries closing to try and make some hype).

 

[DD]

Equitation rather than showing classes used to be popular. Judged on riding ability turn out and schooling rather than conformation and pretty looks. divide into age of rider rather than height of horse.

 

[honetpot]

I think its been a bad year just about everywhere, unless you want to qualify for something its just been too hard and hot.
I always try and think of the customer. If you have one horse or pony how many classes can you do, if it just one its not worth the effort.
A clear lunch break, so some classes definitely not before 1pm or 2pm helps.
A clear round, then a class over the same height jumps with placings, perhaps timed, no jackets. Then put the jumps up, for the next clear round.
I have asked people about prize money and most would rather have a nice rosette, something with extra bling, the idea of a photo is nice.
I take entries on the ringside for the fun classes and make sure everyone gets something, you do not have to be an expert to judge it just kind. Keep it moving and do not have them walking round for ever. I have made a lot of money with those.
Be careful who you choose to judge. Sounds simple but some people have a very fixed view and can be very abrupt. If they judge at a higher level their may be just one animal that conforms to their standards, the cob class is a minefield, also the hunter class.

 

[DD]

COULD TRY SOMETHING NEW LIKE BITLESS RIDDEN CLASS. BAREFOOT RIDDEN THAT SORT OF THING. MIGHT ENCOURAGE MORE LOCAL PEOPLE WITH ORDINARY TYPE PONIES. hANDY PONY TOO.

 

[Orangehorse]

I think that being so hot and the ground so hard many people just haven't felt inclined to go to shows this year, so I would regard it as a blip. There have been some good suggestions though on how to attract more entries.

I must say that our local Riding Club shows have always been good. Nice judges, who aren't expected to ride, mostly (although some do).

Have you thought of a Foreign Breeds class, in hand and showing for Spanish/American breeds?

 

[AFB]

I'd really appreciate some fun classes - my RC does handy pony/games but making the SJ more interesting with a bogey fence, or a chase me charlie class would be great.

I think there's too much focus on the showing across our other local clubs and if you're not in to that there's very little to draw you there.

 

[Alibear]

Ribbons for highest place club member in classes can help too, makes members feel like they're getting more for their membership?

 

[Dubsie]

Always popular and easy to run are the prettiest mare, handsomest gelding, best mane and tail, best pair, best turned out etc, with if class sizes permit a junior section and a senior section. They only walk round so can have lead rein/off lead rein in same class. We keep the cost of entry very low for these classes to encourage more entries, so they'll come along for several goes at winning a rosette without masses of cost, and they're low effort classes to run in that you only need a judge and helper in the middle and one on the gate.

Daughter used to love things like handy pony, bucket elimination (she had a pony she could make jump the last bucket that everyone else swerves round) and chase me charlie, six jump grid (starts as low cross poles, they go down the line of 6 jumps and anyone knocking one out is eliminated) , but these all need more helpers on the ground.

 

[spottybotty]

I ran several shows successfully with big entries. Try and aim it at all abilities and push like crazy on social media. I hand ridden and in-hand BTO, new to showing/begginers Ridden and in-hand with feed back. Pick your judges carefully , find those that are sympathetic to those starting out in showing who will give constructive feed back if required without being harsh! Try and get judges that show to s decent level themselves or are on proper showing panels. For my in-hand ring I would have two judges so one am and another PM, the same with ridden. I also did a ring just for kids so first ridden tiny tots, open first ridden, lead rein, best junior rider, best hunter/riding pony etc. I did am championships in all rings and PM championships with decent trophies and sashes with donated prizes from the local tack shop. I also had "Wildcards" for RC members who had not necessarily came first or 2nd but showed good sportsmanship, riding skills or turnout, those given a wild card had their own championship at the end of the day.

 

[spottybotty]

I also had qualifications for Sunshine tour, everyone was desperate to try and qualify for their chance to compete at Hickstead! x

 

[Sukistokes2]

My RC used to do a dressage series , so that scores were accumulated on a league table. A lovely trophy was awarded at each level , you name was engraved on it and you kept it for a year.
I think nice rosettes and trophies are important. More important then prize money. Plus a helpful fun and friendly atomoshere

 

[Annagain]

We've tried combining training with competition. For dressage, we did a 1/2 hour slot where people warmed up in advance, did a test in front of a listed judge/instructor, had a brief 15 minute lesson to improve and then did the test again with 5 minutes for feedback at the end. It was also competition but rather than it simply being the best test winning, we worked out the improvement between the two test and the best improvement won.

For jumping, we did 90 minute group lessons of six at a certain height around a full course of jumps but only practiced little sections of it at a time (including jump off turns if appropriate) and finished with a full round (and a jump off if necessary) which was a competition. If we had more than six wanting the same height we split them into a better group and a not so good group.

They proved quite popular, especially at the lower levels. There's obviously a bit more of a cost involved but you know in advance whether you've taken enough entries to cover costs and can make a decision.

 

[Kat]

One club near me does an enter 3 and get a fourth class free offer - or it might be 5 for the price of 4 I can't remember but it encourages people to try more things.

The same show does a very novice showing class, walk and trot only strictly beginners/first timers but split to adults and kids as many adults get embarrassed competing against little kids.

They also have lots of heights of working hunter irrespective of the size of the horse. At the other show I go to WH is split by size of pony, then cobs and the horses just get novice and open both of which are too big for me. I want a tiny class.

Personally I like a riding club horse class.

I would like combined training, and arena eventing - again including titchy jumps.

You could try dressage pick a test as thar might attract people who want to do higher levels.

My club have a novelty class at the end, it changes each month sometimes games, or fancy dress, or six barrels or chase me charlie. They also have a dog classes at some shows.

A big thing is looking at the schedule critically. I would enter more if they didn't clash. And I certainly don't want to have fun in clear round jumping before my dressage but would love to after my other classes.