Scottish BE Events??

I'd like to feel that BE were really DOING something in Scotland for our membership money - instead, its the volunteers that are busting their guts.

Too true BogPony. This is the overriding feeling I have.

Also Tricksibelle I think you speak aload of sense on this matter. Support the events we do have or we really will have nothing left.

Knowing what it is like looking for a new venue for Central Scotland there are so many factors to take into consideration for a venue. The vast amount of acerage that is required in the first place, most acerage needs to have another use for the other 364 days of the year it is not a horse trial venue! flat area big enough for dressage, ample parking, easy access for lorries, farming policy, other events which generate alot more income than horse trials and therefore take priority like pop concerts and game fairs which take a mammoth amount of setting up and takign down hence the land is not necessarily available when we need it!, hence we really should support those landowners who do allow us access to gallop across their land and the volunteer organisers that make it all happen for us.

Please I urge everybody to save up and make at least one trip to Burgie this year. The committee and doing a sterling job up there trying to give us some extra runs and really deserve our support.
 
Just to echo what has been said - Burgie try so hard and are very welcoming. I know it's a long way for many people but the going is usually very good and the xc well built at all levels. It's sad to see how quiet it is now compared with it's heyday when there were good entries for it's CCI classes and loads of trade stands etc not to mention a great evening social scene. The committee are trying so hard to keep it going and deserve support. I appreciate money is tight but sharing a lorry and making it a mini holiday is worth considering.

We ventured up twice last year with a young horse and he really benefitted from it. Our alternative was to head to events in the North of England which we seriously considered but having looked at the weather patterns and going at other events we decided to head North and it really paid off. Similarly we elected to go to Aswanley and had lovely weather and going.
 
Its all a bit depressing really - try finding Intermediate runs in Scotland. There are the grand total of 3 that I can find: Auchinleck, Floors & Eglinton.

We have made the journey to Burgie once to the last 3DE they held but it is just too far to consider going for a One day.... 7 hours ish:eek:

Such a shame about Brechin, although it is still a long way north for us we have been many times and have been rewarded by great going every single time - even last year. It was just about the only event we went to last year without the 'will it be on' debate before hand. If only we were nearer I'd run it!
 
Well said Gracemoran.

BE Scotland is on its knees. It needs action from its paid employees. The perception of the BE leadership south and north of the border by the BE Scottish membership is not good at best. I personally like our Regional Coordinator, but she is not a natural communicator. We need somebody who can communicate with potential new venue owners, engage the existing organising committees, promote the sport and who is widely supported north of the border.

We have lost several venues over the last few years, some of which are gone largely over personal fall outs. With the present hierarchy the sport is on a one way ticket, downhill. Mike Etherington Smith needs to have a proper look at Scottish eventing. Does he really think this seasons fixture list is acceptable? Action Mr. ES, or is this to be the progression of our sport in Scotland.
 
It is not just the cost of diesel etc.... it is the travelling time. I am self employed with my own business so I really cannot take time off during the week and if I do, I still have to arrange my patients to be looked after etc... I just cannot taken time off from work to travel the day before a Saturday event for those further away. Maybe those who are fortunate to have the flexibility with your work can do so. Sometime barriers are not just financial but time and work pressures too.

I hope to support as many events as I can but however, usually I am restricted to events that I can travel to on the day unless the event is on a Sunday when I have the option to stay night before, compete and travel home on the same day.

At lot of my friends went up to Wee Burgie last year and had a fab time but I couldn't go as couldn't get away from work on the Friday.

I would love to go to the three Burgie events but in reality, I think I will only manage Wee Burgie and have already scored off the Friday before it to allow travel time.

I am up to travel share where possible for the HHOers that know me in real life.
 
I wonder if enough Scottish folk got together, we could DEMAND some real action from BE. The situation is dire, to add to the list of causalities is Thirlstane a huge loss which I don't think anybody has mentioned before on this thread but apologies if I'm wrong.How on earth can BE justify asking for the same membership fee for someone wishing to compete horse/horses above novice up here in Scotland? While both our Scottish rep and JO have no doubt tried their best and indeed CSHT was greatly improved perhaps someone who is native to Scotland might fair better in trying to drum up new venues. With Auchinleck having had to cancel something like 6 times in the last 10 years (that's a guess) the number of available runs is pitiful and as the previous poster rightly said, many people aren't "professional" and cannot afford either the time or money to travel vast distances regularly.
 
measles said:
Some of us have already floated the idea of sharing transport and the offer of Voyager still stands so 5 of us could share diesel.
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If you are going to events further north of you, I would like to share transport if possible, if one of mine could stay overnight at yours, and I would pay for a stable, diesel etc???
 
silu said:
I wonder if enough Scottish folk got together, we could DEMAND some real action from BE. .
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Unlikely, Scotland is only a very small percentage of the whole BE membership, to "DEMAND" things you need clout and mass which we don't have in Scotland.
 
To give credit where it is due CSHT and their hard-working committee under JO took on Houston's date to become Scone 2. Ran CIC 2* at short notice and then added a 1*. As well as hosting some of the championships.

Spent a fortune building a large water complex and added hard tracks over the wet ground in the woods. Built a number of new permanent fences. Added an 80T track. Built between 10 and 20 new portable fences each year for the past 4 or 5 years. There was some generous sponsorship for the major projects but the portables were all built by two course builder volunteers.

Even with all these improvements entry numbers have been dropping over the years and this must have had an impact on their income.

Despite this dedication and effort the loss of the venue will have posed enormous challenges in finding and more importantly financing the setting up of a new venue. One can only hope that their efforts meet with success.
 
I think CSHT committee have worked very hard for many years and certainly I have appreciated their efforts and also helped where I could whether it be FJ at the event or painting the new portables etc... They are fab who have made such a important contribution to the Scottish calendar. It is devastating that their efforts over the years have come to the current situation. I just hope that they are getting some support and help from BE as they are trying to sort out a new venue

I just hope that a new venue for future years can be found as suspect it will be too late now for 2013 with all the prep work.
 
I am in total agreement about how much CSHT had improved over recent years having been competing there for more years than I care to remember. This makes the loss that much harder to bare. I also am in complete agreement with Smurf with regard to Scottish members having such little clout when it comes to BE. I wonder if anybody has approached some of our professional riders to see if they could at least try to put pressure on BE. With so few competitions available and dire at the higher levels eventually the professionals will see their number of pupils and demand for eventing type horses they produce, drop. What is the point in spending a fortune on lessons/talented horses if you might only be able to compete a handful of times at say pre novice level?
I certainly know of a few talented young riders in Scotland who have now decided to give up on BE and gone down the BS route and I can't blame them.
 
Can I just ask what it matters whether JO is Scottish or not? That man and his family have put blood, sweat, tears and thousands of pounds in his time and own finances into Scottish eventing - £1500 sponsorship for novice champs to name just one and this is how he is repaid? It is very easy to sit on these forums and pass judgement. It is people like JO we need to be looking after otherwise you will loose him for good.
 
Marmadukethethird said:
Can I just ask what it matters whether JO is Scottish or not? That man and his family have put blood, sweat, tears and thousands of pounds in his time and own finances into Scottish eventing - £1500 sponsorship for novice champs to name just one and this is how he is repaid? It is very easy to sit on these forums and pass judgement. It is people like JO we need to be looking after otherwise you will loose him for good.
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As one who worked with him from the start at CSHT I can vouch for the time and expense incurred by JO personally as I can for the rest of the committee's personal expenditure of both time and cash.

If you want to cause a worried frown on a committee member's brow ask them to calculate how much the event cost them. I was asked and stupidly did the calculations, wish I had not!! Put it down to an expensive hobby which hopefully gave a lot of riders pleasure.
 
I wholly agree with the previous posters if we want to help our sport why don't we as a group of riders/owners come forward and all work together to source new ground for events. It shouldn't be up to the select few to save our sport. And for the record I don't feel your nationality/or where your born is relevant to this discussion.
 
I think this has gone slightly off topic. 99% of eventers recognise how hard the committee at CSHT have worked at Scone and Balcarress. Referring to where someone is born is ridiculous.

We need to not tell BE what is wrong but what can be done to change a situation. We need to go to BE with positive suggestions. At around 6% of National membership we are not in a position to demand and stamp feet.

It seems that securing funding is the main obstacle for volunteer organising committees. I wonder if BE would 'underwrite' some events. What I mean is that if the committee can run the event and make it break even on normal years would they underwrite the event against unforeseen situations eg another outbreak of foot and mouth, exceptionally wet weather, a spring coming up in the middle of the XC course (aka at Eden Valley) . It's the unknows that cripple an event and why most people don't want to take on the financial responsibility for them
 
smurf said:
It seems that securing funding is the main obstacle for volunteer organising committees. I wonder if BE would 'underwrite' some events. What I mean is that if the committee can run the event and make it break even on normal years would they underwrite the event against unforeseen situations eg another outbreak of foot and mouth, exceptionally wet weather, a spring coming up in the middle of the XC course (aka at Eden Valley) . It's the unknows that cripple an event and why most people don't want to take on the financial responsibility for them
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I agree smurf...surely it is in BE's interests to have as many events running in Scotland as possible...even if there are only 700 Scottish members compared to more than 10,000 in England & Wales.

BE takes an affiliation fee - of £2000-3000 - off each event, does it not? They also take £££ from us as members. They need to be better at showing what they give back - if anything?!

We need to support the volunteer organisers and committee members in Scotland that have been the lifeblood of the sport.
 
Dear All,

On behalf of British Eventing I can assure you that we are doing all we can to provide our Scottish members with a full and well balanced calendar for 2013. I fully appreciate it is incredibly frustrating to still have TBC's on our website and we are working very hard to change these to confirmed fixtures. Believe me, it is equally frustrating for us as well.

We are very fortunate to have a number of organisers that are bending over backwards to help at this trying time. We are getting there, and very much hope to be able to announce all of the changes for the 2013 season at the beginning of next week.

Please could we ask for your continued patience to allow BE to provide you all with a balanced spread of fixtures and great venues for you to compete at in 2013.
 
Aren't there only two TBCs on the calendar - for the previous CSHT fixtures?
I'm not certain the TBCs are actually the cause of any frustration?
Cancellations maybe, but not TBCs surely.
We know the CSHT committee are working very hard to secure a venue.

I think possibly the frustration is that no one up in Scotland knows what BE is doing.
We all know exactly what the volunteer organisers that are bending over backward to help you are doing - they are brilliant at telling us - but I think BE needs to be more open and vocal about what it is proactively doing north of the Border...
 
bogpony said:
Aren't there only two TBCs on the calendar - for the previous CSHT fixtures?
I'm not certain the TBCs are actually the cause of any frustration?
Cancellations maybe, but not TBCs surely.
We know the CSHT committee are working very hard to secure a venue.

I think possibly the frustration is that no one up in Scotland knows what BE is doing.
We all know exactly what the volunteer organisers that are bending over backward to help you are doing - they are brilliant at telling us - but I think BE needs to be more open and vocal about what it is proactively doing north of the Border...
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Ditto this

BE - If you expect us to part with our cash to rejoin you have to give us a reason to want to spent ££££ on membership.

Scotland is a very 'leaky' place, there are all kinds of rumours flying about regarding more grass roots venues that are about to be axed. With the lack of info coming out of BE we have very little confidence that our membership will offer value for money.

BE Spokesperson - can you confirm that ALL fixtures, as afar as BE is aware, that are currently showing in the fixtures list will go ahead at all levels that they are currently advertised at?
 
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