show facilities

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harrihjc

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Oerhaps this should be in competition riders, as there is a competition related question, but I also wanted to open this up to everyone...

Firstly, do you think centres should be allowed to run shows when they simply do not have the facilities to do so?

I know we have had a lot of rain recently, and things are never in the best state during the winter, but I don't think it's acceptable to run a show if you do not have a practice ring that is fit for use! People were warming up in the ring while people were walking the course or spending 5 minutes warming up when they went in to jump their round, which obviously means everything takes so much longer!!!

Here are my photos of the practice rings at the 2 places that hold shows locally to me...

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and the other (taken today when I went up there to see how it was before loading up the horses, funnily enough we gave it a miss!)

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Bare in mind, that I have not just taken a picture of the worst part, these represent the general state of most of the school, and neither are very big

Now, the other part of my question...
Where is there in South East Kent that actually has a useable area to warm up in!?
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I think the only way to get improvements is to not use places where the ground is so bad. If people pay to compete in places where it is unsuitable, they will contine to run the competitions on bad ground.
 
Are they actually running shows whilst the ground is like this?
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The best thing to do is to vote with your feet & don't go. To hold a show on that is ridiculous & the compete on it is dangerous & very stupid
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I have been going to keysoe twice a month for the past 2 months and the going there is perfect both indoor and outdoor. They have spent a fortune getting it like that, but worth every penny this time of year.
 
If it's unaffiliated then no-one can stop them running it in that state... unless people stop turning up! I hate going to one of my local venues (it's not "just a yard" either and also runs affiliated dressage) as the outdoor warmup gets like a quagmire in the rain. It wasn't quite so bad this morning when I went but I expect by the time they finish the show it will be all under water. I have another local venue that IS "just a yard" and the organiser/YO has put up signs abut starting unaff SJ as well as the dressage she has been running, but when I asked her when it will be starting she said it won't be until we have some decent weather so she can put a decent hard-standing car park down. The schools are good, the outdoor is rubber and then there's an indoor as the main ring, and it's all well looked after. But due to increased traffic for an SJ as opposed to a dressage show, she won't start running the SJ until she has sufficient facilities. That is the sign of a well-run show!
Those arenas look awful though!
 
The has to be that show at plum pudding ( correct me if im wrong ) ive been there once and was so dissapointed i never went back and that was in the summer. The outdoor warm up was awful- uneven dusty pete type stuff on the floor which now look sticky to the point it could pull something. The indoor was sooo small i feared to fart incase i jet propelled my horse through the wall!.

The venues i go to are cobham manor ( my fav as they have 3 spare areans on showday to warm up in ) i sometimes go to bluebarn but not been there for a while. I cant abide duckhurst as the warm up look like a crash scene from a disaster film. Limes farm is a lovely venue to have 2 large arenas ( usually indoor is warm up- it can get a little dusty in the summer tho ) and a large sand/rubber outdoor where the clases are held.
 
I think it depends on the level of competition and the frequency of shows at the centre. For example if they run something every week, then they could maybe afford to drop one if conditions are bad.
However if it is a one off, that they have had to bring in lots of outside resources (judges, first aid, toilets, event insurance spring to mind) I think they would have to go ahead regardless as it would be prohibitively expensive to insure against cancellation..once everything is there you might as well use it.

I have run shows and events in appalling conditions, although we have always moved things around to ensure the ground is safe. If one event is cancelled due to weather, the chances are every other event in the area will be too...so if you can keep your event open somehow, you are guaranteed a good turn out.

We completely relocated a fun ride at 24hours notice one year because of rain and flooding (never want to do that again!)
 
[ QUOTE ]
The has to be that show at plum pudding ( correct me if im wrong ) ive been there once and was so dissapointed i never went back and that was in the summer. The outdoor warm up was awful- uneven dusty pete type stuff on the floor which now look sticky to the point it could pull something. The indoor was sooo small i feared to fart incase i jet propelled my horse through the wall!.

The venues i go to are cobham manor ( my fav as they have 3 spare areans on showday to warm up in ) i sometimes go to bluebarn but not been there for a while. I cant abide duckhurst as the warm up look like a crash scene from a disaster film. Limes farm is a lovely venue to have 2 large arenas ( usually indoor is warm up- it can get a little dusty in the summer tho ) and a large sand/rubber outdoor where the clases are held.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes the first 2 pics are from plum pudding! Glad someone else thought the same as me! You must be quite local to me if you've been there before. Thanks for the suggestions, I'm starting to think its worth the extra travel time to go somewhere decent!

the watcher, there are shows held at both venues most weeks, either showjumping or dressage.
 
ha ha I thought that was malthouse for a minute! Glad to know its not just he south that has bad warm up! Weather has been awful tho, most places are suffering.
 
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