Scone Horse Trials

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MagicMelon

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So how did anyone get on if competing yesterday? Anyone competing remainder? Spectated yesterday and seemed like a great replacement for Blair, actually preferred how much more space there was (bit of walk places especially to the grassroots SJ ring!) but looked to be going well. Hope the weather stays good!
 
Watching on CMH.

How is it set up for xc viewing?
We're thinking of making the trip next year and camping but don't want to treo all that way to find you can only see one fence at a time.
 
Lots of people there for the first Scone trials are raving about it, officials, competitors,trade stands, spectators…
All the people competing in showing classes, and the amateur eventing riders from Ireland who won Celtic challenge
are particularly over the moon…..so huge congratulations to all involved in the organisation….
 
I was there on Wednesday to groom for a friend who was competing in one of the Grassroots classes, and yesterday to spectate, and I thought it was pretty good. The Grassroots was away from the main event area, and the road signs for that left a bit to be desired, but was as well organised as you’d expect.

The main horse trials bit is nicely laid out, less cramped than Blair was, and plenty of variety in terms of food outlets, spread all round the site. The trade stands were also good. My only criticism was that there weren’t enough portaloos.

Unfortunately, I can’t go at the weekend to see any more, but I’ll certainly be back to spectate again next year. I really enjoyed it, and the organisers have done a cracking job.
 
Nicnac said:
It's a 9 hour drive for me but guess fly to Glasgow and rent a car is possible. Defo one I'd consider but is it midgey?
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It's less than an hour from Edinburgh too by car; all else fails could train Edinburgh to Perth (takes a bit longer) and then you're super close. It looks great!


Interesting London 52's running in the 4*S - think the only team horse entered.
 
It was more expensive than Blair for a trade stand, and the spaces or shedding were all 3m multiples, I only bought a 4m stand 2 years ago, and so didn't go.

How was the trade stand side of things? I considered going just to look around but broke a metatarsal yesterday so am not going anywhere!
 
I've really enjoyed Scone. I found the location and space better than Blair and thought there were loads of toilets all over the place including proper ones with hot running water which was very much appreciated. Well done team Scone
 
sbloom said:
It was more expensive than Blair for a trade stand, and the spaces or shedding were all 3m multiples, I only bought a 4m stand 2 years ago, and so didn't go.

How was the trade stand side of things? I considered going just to look around but broke a metatarsal yesterday so am not going anywhere!
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I know one trade owner extremely well, they always went to Blair and immediately booked stand at Scone, they are absolutely delighted, owner rang me this morning at 9am and said it’d like Badminton packed with people, they have not stopped since setting up, and are all actually very tired now….
Lots of trade stands, and very well organised…
 
Oh no, I saw the show jumper get loose from the collecting ring. Very very sad.
Otherwise, Scone has been great, straight drive in, no parking queues, no long wait to get on/off the A9,a lovely course with great visibility for spectators, and a much improved members area. Plus the weather has been perfect.
 
I was up yesterday from Glasgow (by public transport!).
So sad to hear the news later about the two horses - condolences to all involved.

Trade stalls were mainly busy when I walked round but it seemed to be the matchy matchy saddle pad ones that were doing most business.

One wee tip for anyone going today - if you want an ice cream go to the Orkney experience trade stand. It is delicious stuff, much better value than the vans.
 
I'd love to go up one year, it sounds like they have done a great job.

If anyone is further South and fancies a bay out today or tomorrow, Wellington International is on and is also a fun day out!
 
Marshpiper said:
I know one trade owner extremely well, they always went to Blair and immediately booked stand at Scone, they are absolutely delighted, owner rang me this morning at 9am and said it’d like Badminton packed with people, they have not stopped since setting up, and are all actually very tired now….
Lots of trade stands, and very well organised…
Click to expand...
Also I liked that the trade stands were quite spread out around the site, so it didn't feel as rammed as Blair. And I love the cross country course being closer to the main site. So much easier to wander around and dip in and out, plus the big screen!
 
I’ve been very impressed with Scone. Love that the XC is a bit quicker to get to!

I’d say that is seemed to spread people out much better than Blair did. The rings also seem more horse friendly to me - the atmosphere in the main arena and the 2 second arenas at Blair were very intense for horses, but all 4 arenas at Scone seem less mind blowing, I don’t know why! Something to do with the layout of the trade stands and lots of trees dotted about.

I will say I miss the spectacular scenery of Blair - the mountains all around, the white castle on the hill, the crazy hilly cross country etc is pretty irreplaceable. However as one has done an amazing job of pulling together an event that feels like it’s been running for years.

So sorry to hear about the fatalities. The ground is very hard, we noticed.

ETA: Two minor complaints. The campsite is right next to a major road so is pretty noisy with traffic - at 4am on Saturday morning a lorry driver thought it was very funny to blast his horn all the way past. It was quite funny tbh but some won’t have seen the funny side!

Other complaint is lack of Joules event tops. Sold out of everything but child and massive sizes by Saturday morning at 9.30!

Last is an interesting observation. The first water (fence 7) caused chaos in the 2* and then weirdly in the 4*L too - a fairly innocuous looking log with a drop into the water then canter out over the skinny hedges. But there were loads of sticky jumps and a lot of refusals and even falls.

Partway through the 4*L, we realised that there was no pipe flowing into the water - so it was glassy still. A lad got the job of splashing his rake in the water every time the whistles went for another horse, and with ripples on the surface it jumped way better.
 
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Did they have the rest of that game fair and the showing classes or was it just eventing and show jumping?
 
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