So how was the Expo?

Well if nothing else we have added 3 new forum members, so welcome & hopefully we will hear more from you. It does sound very much a mixed reception & Keysoe is known for being cold. I would have made more effort if it had been at Addington, but I have other commitments anyway. It does sound though that some of the exhibitors got a raw deal - This was a charity that really needs supporting and getting behind not used as an add on to try and win people over. - That comment alone is quiet sad & wont do anything for the organisers reputation.

Can stallion owners not band together & form their own Expo? There must be a wealth of experience amongst you all.
 
Well I attended yesterdays "event" for want of a better word.

The Positives
* Chance to see several stallions under one roof.
* Chance to speak to the owners and riders of the stallions.
* There were a few nice stallions there and it was good to see some of them in the flesh.
* All the owners/riders/exhibitors were very easy to speak to and gave a lot of good information on their services.
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* Informative trade stands.

The Negatives
* The organisation was nothing more than diabolical and substandard. The website was dire for a start, so I guess to see what happened yesterday should have been no surprise!

*Where was all the 2,000 people that was promised to the exhibitors? The most I counted was 50!

*You could not see stallions up close because you could not find out where the stallions were stabled.

*The exhibition of some stallions was nothing more than a train wreck, with handlers and riders on the ground.

*Nobody knew who was coming in with what.

*The commentator has to be the worst I have ever had the pleasure in hearing, or not hearing as the case was from yesterday. The person had no appeal and was unable to keep the attention of the audience.

*No signs anywhere to tell you where anything was. To say it was the “biggest event in British Breeding” is nothing more than fantasy.

*The catalogue was a very poor example, with breeding missed out on certain stallions etc.

*What happened to the auction? There was nothing advertised to tell you anything about it and I felt sorry for the National Foaling Bank regarding this.

My final supposition on this whole event was the following – The idea was great, the organisers were nothing short of amateurs at the most! I felt VERY sorry for all the exhibitors who have paid good money for empty promises, they were entitled to much more than what they paid for! That aside I think the exhibitors have to be congratulated at giving this idea a shot, even though they have been very badly let down by the organisers.

Lastly I hope the organisers have a very good lawyer since they used the catalogue to air dirty laundry, in my view that has to be THE most unprofessional thing I have ever had the displeasure in reading. Totally Totally the wrong place and time to do something so stupid, at an event that is supposed to be encapsulating British Breeding, and just shows the attitude of the organisers to have done this. All that did was detract from the purpose of the event! This again showed the complete unethical conduct of the organisers, and the fact that they used the catalogue in this way and gave no regard to any of the exhibitors that were advertising in it!

After seeing what happened yesterday, if I were an exhibitor, I certainly would not be paying several hundred pounds next year for the same thing. The idea is great but an event like this needs to be organised by people who know what they are doing (as these people very clearly do not).

I feel very sorry for those who exhibited at it because as I said above, they have been let down badly by the organisers! However, one can only hope that each of them has got some business out of the event, as that is the minimum they deserve from it all, and I would like to thank those who took the time to speak with me.
 
How sad to read the disappointed reviews above, and I do hope that the exhibitors got some business despite the poor organisation of what was indeed a good idea.
I don't know anything about dirty laundry because I haven't seen a catalogue, but surely if these people are professionals in the breeding world this must be a mistake? It would make them look total idiots in the majority of people's eyes to do such a juvenile trick, especially as anything on paper would be a field day for litigation!
Congratulations to all who showed stallions, we paraded ours at the South West Equine Fair and in a minute arena with two thousand (yes, 2000 not 60 plus!) spectators, even our laid back chap was uneasy and didn't perform to his best until he settled. Some stallions didn't appear the following day because it was just too much for them, so I agree parades are a useful way of testing your preferred stallion's temperament.
I hope if this event is repeated it is not the obvious fiasco it sounds this time, the idea is good in principle.
 
I am disappointed by many of the comments on here and the suggestion that some of the stallion owners are taking their stallions home due to lack of public.

Firstly I am a small time breeder of show jumpers - I have 3 Grade A mares with top class european blood lines and I select top class stallions. I do this totally as an expensive hobby. I have no business interests in the horse world whatsoever. I do however have a lifetime experience in running events.

My first question is how many of those criticising have ever run an event? How many have risked several thousand pounds of their own money running an event?

Yes there were problems with the loudspeakers system. The organiser hired the facility and the sound system from the show centre. It should be up to scratch if they hire the facility out for this type of event. The same goes for the catering and possibly the signage - it is a major equestrian centre running regular affiliiated events. The centre owners knew what was being planned.

Is it the organisers fault that one of the arena helpers walked in front of John Whitkaer's Horse? Was it the organisers fault that a rider fell off? Was it the organisers fault that one of the stallions knocked its own leader over? Was it the organisers fault that several of the stallions were presented by people who were not up to the job?

To the stallion owners I would say that in the last 15 years I have only used a british based stallion on two occasions. It is possible this year that I shall use all british and certainly one of those will be as a direct result of yesterday's event.

I could not possibly read this forum without being aware that Ken Rehill has upset numerous people. That is a pity, and I do not condone his behaviour but he has some very valid thoughts on British Breeding. He was also brave enough to run this event knowing that he had enemies.

The fact that we have so many stud books is plainly ridiculous. The grading of stallions is also ridiculous - I have been to the gradings of several major sport horse societies and frankly it is pathetic. The communications at yesterday's event was poor but it was fantastic compared to stallion gradings! Maybe it has changed in recent years but what I saw up to three years ago has stopped me wasting time and money attending gradings or even taking much interest in British stallions. Adverts for 'top class show jumping stallion' which on investigation mean a 10 year old in Discovery classes do not help. Nor does the fact that a newly imported stallion can get a grading via a telephone call if it has the 'right contacts'.

In France I can obtain information about stallions, their relatives over many generations and the performances of all these family members. Details of progeny and their performances and independently produced (ie not from the stallion owner) thoughts of the best crossings and good/bad points of the respective stallion. How much more helpful that is to a mare owner and ultimately how much better for the stallion owner if he is used by suitable mares and thus produces better stock as publicity for him.

How nice it would be and how much better for the future of british breeding if those involved could pull together. Yes, let us tell the organisers what was wrong with the Expo, but in a constructive way so that next year's event is an improvement. If the stallion owners do pull out and fail to support such events maybe next year I will be back to European stallions!

Unless someone else is prepared to organise and back an alternative event surely it would be much better we support it rather than kill it.
 
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I am disappointed by many of the comments on here and the suggestion that some of the stallion owners are taking their stallions home due to lack of public.

Firstly I am a small time breeder of show jumpers - I have 3 Grade A mares with top class european blood lines and I select top class stallions. I do this totally as an expensive hobby. I have no business interests in the horse world whatsoever. I do however have a lifetime experience in running events.

My first question is how many of those criticising have ever run an event? How many have risked several thousand pounds of their own money running an event?

Yes there were problems with the loudspeakers system. The organiser hired the facility and the sound system from the show centre. It should be up to scratch if they hire the facility out for this type of event. The same goes for the catering and possibly the signage - it is a major equestrian centre running regular affiliiated events. The centre owners knew what was being planned.

Is it the organisers fault that one of the arena helpers walked in front of John Whitkaer's Horse? Was it the organisers fault that a rider fell off? Was it the organisers fault that one of the stallions knocked its own leader over? Was it the organisers fault that several of the stallions were presented by people who were not up to the job?

To the stallion owners I would say that in the last 15 years I have only used a british based stallion on two occasions. It is possible this year that I shall use all british and certainly one of those will be as a direct result of yesterday's event.

I could not possibly read this forum without being aware that Ken Rehill has upset numerous people. That is a pity, and I do not condone his behaviour but he has some very valid thoughts on British Breeding. He was also brave enough to run this event knowing that he had enemies.

The fact that we have so many stud books is plainly ridiculous. The grading of stallions is also ridiculous - I have been to the gradings of several major sport horse societies and frankly it is pathetic. The communications at yesterday's event was poor but it was fantastic compared to stallion gradings! Maybe it has changed in recent years but what I saw up to three years ago has stopped me wasting time and money attending gradings or even taking much interest in British stallions. Adverts for 'top class show jumping stallion' which on investigation mean a 10 year old in Discovery classes do not help. Nor does the fact that a newly imported stallion can get a grading via a telephone call if it has the 'right contacts'.

In France I can obtain information about stallions, their relatives over many generations and the performances of all these family members. Details of progeny and their performances and independently produced (ie not from the stallion owner) thoughts of the best crossings and good/bad points of the respective stallion. How much more helpful that is to a mare owner and ultimately how much better for the stallion owner if he is used by suitable mares and thus produces better stock as publicity for him.

How nice it would be and how much better for the future of british breeding if those involved could pull together. Yes, let us tell the organisers what was wrong with the Expo, but in a constructive way so that next year's event is an improvement. If the stallion owners do pull out and fail to support such events maybe next year I will be back to European stallions!

Unless someone else is prepared to organise and back an alternative event surely it would be much better we support it rather than kill it.

[/ QUOTE ]Very well said I couldnt have put it better myself.
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I think the 1st event will have some teething problems,i think this can be expected,After all im sure No venue runs 100% smoothly
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. I think because KRH organised it it was bound to get run down.I couldnt get there but hope next years will get bigger and any teething problems can be addresed. Looks like divided opinons.
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My biggest issue was with stallions being shown with riders who didn't show them to their maximum potential. And the inequalities in the amount of commentary some stallions (didn't) get.
 
Reading these posts it is apparent that every problem with this event has been due to some UNNECESSARY problem or shortfall with the organisation; which sits squarely at the feet of the organiser. Who would run such an event without testing the sound system? Without appropriate advertising? With a catalogue full of innaccurate self justification and dirty laundry; but without stallion pedigrees? With the promise of a charity auction that was arbitrarily postponed to the following day? Signage for an event is, of course, generally the responsibility of the organiser. Even if the organiser feels that the centre is responsible, its another pretty obvious thing to be checked and corrected the night before.

As for support; this is a business venture, run as such. It should not require the measure of loyalty that, say, a PSHP parade could expect. Everyone who attended paid top rate for the privilege; they were entitled to receive what was promised. Those who mistrusted the information given and did not attend, or who attended and were not happy, should not be urged to somehow give the organisers the benefit of the doubt; these were not forgiveable "teething troubles."

If keeping faith were required it should come from the organisers, I think; but far from having the good of British breeding or the satisfaction of his paying clientele at heart, the organiserhas chosen profit over promises. This appeared on COTH a few days ago; the thread now heavily pruned by the moderator, I think, as Mr Rehill became abusive when someone suggested that Kannan had gone to France as he was owned by a French based syndicate;

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The reason that Kannan is going to the Poitiers Salon des Etalons, rather than my Expo in the UK, is very simple. Kannan is likely to sell 300 breedings in France this year, whereas the maximum he could ever sell is 150 in the UK. The better breeders in the UK will use him whether he's at the Expo or not.


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It's what Americans would call a "no brainer", you show your stallion off in the market in which he's most likely to sell the most, it's really not that complicated. Arnaud and I spoke about it earlier this year and agreed it was for the best, as we both want the best return on our investment.

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There you have it. The organiser regards this as a business, but secondary to his other interests. We too should view it in business terms and not accept such contemptuous treatment.

Lets hope that the concept of a big, glitzy stallion show continues; though of course it isn't a new thing and other successful events have run and are running (in front of an audience of 2000, you said, Henryhorn?), but in a form we can all happily support and run by organisers we can trust.
 
I have organised top international competitions and I have also been involved in others as a chief FEI steward for both show jumping (including World Cup Qualifiers) and dressage in several countries.

All the grievances listed in this thread are solely down to organisation or more appropriately the lack of said organisation and professionalism.

No one has ever said that this type of event was a bad thing, in fact from what I remember of the numerous deleted threads, the thoughts were that it was a necessary event for the forward development of British Breeding. That is not and never has been in question.

All of the negatives mentioned above are simple basic needs when organising this type of event, in fact they are the basic needs for running any event from unaffiliated competition, pony club rally right up to Olympic and World Cup competitions. There is no excuse when the basics have not been met. What it actually is doing is proving that the organisers have gone into this with no intention at all of producing a top class platform for anybodies stallion. That to me is a total misrepresentation to those that paid good money for something they obviously did not and were never going to receive.

This is what is published on their website

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To our British and Irish breeders, we extend a very warm welcome to the largest stallion Expo in the British Isles.
You will find over 100 stallions from the UK, Ireland and Europe, including young talents, performers and confirmed sires all under one roof. Additionally there will be over 30 trade stands, with exhibitors including AI centres, Embryo transfer centres, Stud farms, Stallion owners and agents, Studbooks and Nutrition companies.

The Expo will take place over the weekend of 13th and 14th February 2010, with the stallions being shown on both days.
You will get to see each stallion presented for 5 minutes on both days, in a superb environment, over fences, on the flat or in hand.
On the Saturday we will hold a Gala evening, with champagne and a presentation of four top dressage stallions who will perform to music.
We have already booked World Champions, European Champions, National Champions and Olympians as well as stallion approval winners and top young performers from all over the UK and Europe.

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Now I would like to know how many of you that have posted on this topic have actually attended a stallion parade in Europe, or an international competition anywhere. I find it difficult to believe that after all the hype surrounding this event and all the promises that were publicised in the run up, there are still those who actually feel this was an event for British Breeders and stallion owners to be proud of.

When you are assessing the success or failure of any event, you have to have a comparison in order for you to make a valid conclusion, this I feel is what is lacking when it comes to some of the posters. Was it a good day out (with your picnic and fold up chair), or was it a top class platform that promoted British Based stallions to their fullest, as promised.

Hmmmmmmm I know what conclusion I have made.
 
Saturday evening was a complete fiasco. It degenerated into a few stallions being ridden round an empty ring, no dressage to music, no auction and a couple of dozen confused spectators who had waited and frozen for several hours for nothing. Not good.
 
Sport horse, what a great post.

I have been reading this thread with interest, as I would very much like to have gone this weekend but am unable due to work commitments

In France there is an event called the Salon des etalons. It was started a few years ago and is in principle very similar to the Expo. I went to the first Salon and they experienced many the same teething problems as the Expo appears to have had yesterday. The organizers learnt from the mistakes and now the event is very much part of the calendar for breeders of sports horses in France. I really hope the Expo follow the same path, learn from their mistakes, build on this weekend and comeback next year bigger and better.
 
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Saturday evening was a complete fiasco. It degenerated into a few stallions being ridden round an empty ring, no dressage to music, no auction and a couple of dozen confused spectators who had waited and frozen for several hours for nothing. Not good.

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Phew, glad I went before then. It did sound a bit ambitious to say the least in the scheduling. At least the champagne would have been nicely chilled.
 
I totally agree with Sport Horse, yes there were teething problems, yes it was very cold but I thought it was a brave attempt to do something a bit different.

I took 2 of my stallions and was very pleased with the interest shown in using them. They are not there today but please don't think that was because I was disappointed. Like many showjumpers at this time of the year we are about to embark on a lenghty tour and are at home preparing to go, so we were only ever able to commit to one of the days.

I very much hope that this becomes an annual event, sure there are some improvements to be made but if it runs I will be supporting it again.
 
I feel I have to reply to some of the comments made.

Sports Horse wrote
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I am disappointed by many of the comments on here and the suggestion that some of the stallion owners are taking their stallions home due to lack of public.


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Why would anyone want to risk keeping their stallion at an event where the sole purpose of it being there was to show it to the public. If the public is not there then the stallion is far better off being in its own stable, without the possible risk of injury, or infections/viruses being picked up or spread.

gref14a wrote

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I totally agree with Sport Horse, yes there were teething problems, yes it was very cold but I thought it was a brave attempt to do something a bit different.


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Are you not aware that the PSHP have been holding stallion parades in the UK for several years, it is nothing new or different. In fact their 2010 parade is being held on 21st of March.
 
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How many have risked several thousand pounds of their own money running an event?

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I cannot see how the organisers risked any of their own money. They had a facebook page, which was free. They had an old website they used, which did not cost them much. The entry fees for the stallions and tradestands would have easily of paid for the hire of the facilities, catalogue and other associated costs.

The organisers made no effort to pay for ACTUAL advertising. That is not a "teething problem", that is trying to maximise profit.

SSS if the show had run well then nobody would have cause for complaint regardless of who ran it. It was a fiasco, pure and simple. If the organiser has so much enemies then you would have assumed that this would have pushed him to make sure all the "i"'s were dotted and "t"'s were crossed, to show everyone they were wrong about him. Instead he put his own agenda before the whole event and those that paid to be there.

Stolensilver last night sounded like a complete and utter flop! I am so glad I went home when I did if that was the case. I say again, its the participants I feel sorry for, not the organiser.

Can I just add that I think there is a need for something like this, but run by someone who has the interests of British Breeding at heart, that can promote it in such a way that it does become an annual event.
 
Quote "If the organiser has so much enemies then you would have assumed that this would have pushed him to make sure all the "i"'s were dotted and "t"'s were crossed, to show everyone they were wrong about him." - I hve just pm'd something with the exact same thoughts. I did not attend, so I am not in a position to comment. What I do hope is that the charity does not suffer because the Auction was postponed until today. I do have misgivings when I read some of the posts only to see the user has only just joined...well lets hope they carry on contributing. I really dont know what to think because I thought KR had more sense then to give any of his "knockers"
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the chance to score one up on him! But I repeat why waste so much knowledge, why are you guys not working together to run an Expo yourselves?
 
Sorry Cruiseline perhaps I should have said ' at this time of year'. Unfortunately March is just too late for us as either the horses, the rider or all of them tend to be abroad competing by then. However I am sure there are plenty of stallion owners who can attend other parades, its probably only a few of us that can't.
 
I don't post on here very often and I am certainly no authority on breeding. However, I do have experience of running equestrian and non-equestrian events and have been to my fair share of competitions, parades, demos and fairs.

I went to the expo yesterday, primarily to see a friend who was going and I hadn't seen for some time.

Yes, it's good to have somewhere to show off British stallions. There were certainly a few there that impressed me and I would never have known about otherwise.

Things that would be fair to say were teething problems included running a bit behind schedule and lack of a good car parking attendant.

Keysoe is notoriously cold and has a dark arena, which added to the wintery ambience. The organiser would maybe not have known this when booking. I reckon a few blow heaters and a lighting rig would help, but that depends on what sort of budget is available.

However, there were a number of things that really should have been thought about beforehand that made the event less than impressive.

Someone said in an earlier post that the centre should have been responsible for signage. I'm sorry, but I have yet to encounter a venue for hire that includes signage for your event in their package. But, the venue was responsible for the catering in the restaurant, so perhaps a system to reduce the shockingly long queues could be discussed between the venue and organisers if the expo is being held there next year. A seperate queue for drinks only orders, for example.

The commentary was awful. I've been to Keysoe for numerous events and the PA system is fine, unless you get someone inexperienced on it. Why the organiser (i believe) did the commentary (or rather mumbled the commentary) when he had a professional commentator on site, I have no idea. Personally, I'd have booked the pro commentator beforehand.

Information, when it could be heard, varied wildly between animals. At first, I put this down to perhaps owners not supplying anything, but at one stage later in the day (while a dressage stallion was on) I spotted the "commentator" walking around chatting to people at the side of the arena. Sadly, it was a horse I would have liked to have known more about.
A set information sheet of questions for each entrant could have solved this problem. Five minutes is a long time when there's no commentary. And, I don't recall anything being mentioned about the progeny of any of the stallions there. Perhaps it was mentioned, but I just couldn't hear it due to mumbling.

Although the arena was decorated with swags, I expected flowers. The show jumping fences were in dire need of a good lick of paint and the construction of the fences was awful, poles just thrown up in any way. More than one stallion jumped false fences.

The stewards' attire could have also been thought about. Branded sweaters/coats and black trousers of the arena party staff at big internationals always looks smart.
Here, dirty jeans, muddy boots and scruffy coats were the chosen ensemble.
And I would expect a centre of the ring commentator to be dressed in a suit or a warm tweed outfit for winter.

I was suprised that there were not more incidents of jump stewards being run over. They didn't pay any attention to where horses were in the arena and regularly got in the way of animals.

There was a distinct lack of advertising for the event and the facebook page didn't even say where it was being held. I also couldn't find anything about how the youngsters, performers and legends categories were decided. Age you may think? If so, why was a five-year-old, albeit a very nice one, put in with the performers.

The idea is there for a good event, and of course organisers want to see some return. But if you don't treat you participants well and give them what they are paying for, you'll have no event and no return whatsoever.

Sorry this is so negative, but I did feel sorry for the stallion owners and tradestanders.

If this event is to continue, I hope an experienced event organiser and a proper PR/marketing company are employed to take it to its full potential.
 
I went yesterday and had a good day.

The weather was FREEZING but there is nothing that could be done about that I guess! I dont think there were many mare owners there, esp if you took out all the stallion owners and their helpers. You couldnt really hear the commentry and there was obviously some confusion with which horses were which!!

On the plus side I think it was really interesting to see all the stallions in one location. We went to see them in the stables which was nice. I met the lovely Adonnis in there and Wolkenderry. Both looked lovely and were very chilled out and friendly. Sadly we missed seeing them going as we were late
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I think it was a good idea and was a shame that more people didnt turn up. It will be interesting to see what the stallion owners think. I think it was valuable to see the boys and talk to owners and other people. I also met Touchwood from on here and she seemed lovely!

So onto the boys, the stallions that stood out for me were-

Chilli Morning- I thought he looked mega and he was my joint favourite of the whole day. He just looked awesome, went nicely and really jumped.

Grafenstolz- I didnt expect to like him but I did. He looked good.

Monte Carlo- Looked very impressive but was rather excited, esp when he ditched his leader!

Peppermill- Had springs in his feet thats for sure!

Temple Akropolis- Again, I didnt think I would like him but he was very impressive in the flesh and over a fence.

Treliver Decanter- Was my other favourite of the day. He was so amazing in real life. The pics of him just dont do him justice. Really impressed with him. Such lovely paces and real presence in the arena, not to mention his beautiful colour.

Uptons Deli Circus- Was lovely. He just looked so honest, like he would do anything for his jockey. I asked to take him home with me but his owners said no!! Cracking little horse.



So for me it was Chilli Morning and Treliver Decanter, they were both mega.

I hope that they do it again, just with a few changes!!

Well done to all the stallion owners.

Vicki
 
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Sorry Cruiseline perhaps I should have said ' at this time of year'. Unfortunately March is just too late for us as either the horses, the rider or all of them tend to be abroad competing by then. However I am sure there are plenty of stallion owners who can attend other parades, its probably only a few of us that can't.

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Thank you for your explanation, it is understandable that some of the horses will have had prior engagements to fulfil.

However if your intention was only to attend one day of the events, was this information passed on to mare owners by the organisers at any point. It will be a real shame (not to mention the expense) if people have turned up today to see your stallions only to find out that you were never intending for them to be there on the second day and the organisers were fully aware of this fact.
 
From my point of view as a stallion owner it was a success. I had a lot of interest in my stallion and people saw him who may not have had time to make the journey to view just one stallion.
There were definite teething problems which other people have outlined already but I hope these can be addressed by next year.
From the mare owners point of view I feel it would have been better to have all the dressage stallions together in the morning and the Show Jumpers in the afternoon (or visa versa) as long as the school was harrowed again after the jumpers!
I would also like to take this oportunity to give a huge thank you to Mat Burnett for presenting Decanter so beautifully both in hand and under saddle, he has only been riding him for 3 weeks and did an amazing job.
 
Well there were a few mare owners present! And, while I have already agreed with many of the comments about the organisation of the event, one thing we found useful - as sports pony breeders - was the chance to see dual purpose stallions we would not have considered. For me, that was an advantage of mixing up the groups of horses, although it seems to me that both the organisers and many stallion owners had a lot to learn about presentation.

An earlier post seemed suspicious that new people had come on to the forum to comment about the event - that is actually a positive thing, I would have thought!
 
An earlier post seemed suspicious that new people had come on to the forum to comment about the event - that is actually a positive thing, I would have thought! - Yes of course, but it has in the past meant they came on to stir up a situation. And yes I was suspicious when someone seemed to come on just to put a downer on it. The whole thing seems to have had a very mixed reception & those that did not trust the organisers seem to have almost been justified in their earlier reservations.
 
I thought the layout inside was well thought out and the loudspeakers were very clear on the verander. I thought Ken did a very good first attempt particularly with the lack of support. It is very difficult to run a first event well and I hope he has another go next year and gets more publicity. There could have been more in H & H on the event from editorial. I hope the trade stands and the stallions thought it was a start.Many of us who have been to stallion shows on the continent will have come away with good memories and in future this event will provide them. My good memory was Ingrid Klimke giving a dressage display on Damon Hill and then taking her bowler off, putting her hard hat on and jumping a four foot spread.
 
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I thought Ken did a very good first attempt particularly with the lack of support. It is very difficult to run a first event well and I hope he has another go next year and gets more publicity. There could have been more in H & H on the event from editorial.

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This is a very strange take on it. Why should H&H, which is itself a business when all is said and done, give free support to someone who had deliberately attempted to damage their own business advertising interests by running down their stallion advertising success on facebook and on a private website? Get real, hangb!

There could, at these prices, have been a big (paid for) advertisment in H&H; the promoter surely owed this to his clientele. But there was not. I didn't see any free adverts for other equestrian publications in the organiser's literature; rather the opposite.

As for "lack of support"- the organiser's isolation was self inflicted; the lies, the deceits, the lack of information, the lack of financial input where it was needed; the disregard of detail; the failure to produce what the website promised... no, hangb; the stallion owners and trade stand owners were the ones who lacked support; and entirely by their own efforts and by the quality of their horses (and at their own cost) they pulled some sort of success out of disaster. THEY should be congratulated.
 
I have to say that it was very beneficial for me as a mare owner and am definately thinking of using a stallion seen today that I would not have known about previously. I think all new projects have teething probems, but the commentary definately seemed improved today to yesterday.

I am not getting into slagging off the people that ran it as I dont know them and think that promoting British breeding can only be a good thing. I hope that this can only grow and get better and I would certainly go back.

Yes, it was cold, but it is a good time of year to show stallions before other commitments and the weather cannot be helped. I also think they should have advertised better, but hopefully they might have learnt to improve this in the future.

I would like to say thank you to all the stallion owners that took the time and effort to present their stallions and from my point of view, was worth while and a very interesting day out!
 
Well - I am now not only disappointed but horrified at the attitude of the posters on here, most of whom seem to be stallion owners. As I said in my previous post I am a mare owner, not in any equestrian business and certainly neither a supporter or an enemy of Ken Rehill. Yes I know him, yes I have used Kannan, one of his stallions and as I still await a covering certificate I am not exactly totally happy.

I do however think that most of the posters must be out to finish the Expo off by their criticisms.

1. The signage. College EC has permanent road signs on the approach roads, erected by the local council. Did you want advertising signs at the entrance to the centre? If so why? The only reason for doing this would be to attract passing interest. There is no one passing so there is no need or indeed benefit to make special signs. The very nature of the event means it will only attract serious equestrian people not the general public and as competitors find their way there on a regular basis it would seem reasonable to assume that exhibitors and spectators for the Expo could too.

2. The loudspeaker system was indeed clear in the collecting ring and the outdoor arena but not in the centre of the main arena. The owners of the centre should be aware of this and be informing those who hire for events that extra loudspeakers are needed. I do not know whether they did or did not, so I cannot comment. Is anyone else who has posted adverse comment on this any better informed? I suspect not.

3. The lack of pedigrees in the catalogue. I have checked this and most stallions seem to have some details. Were the stallion owners required to provide these details when entering? If they were and they did not, then they have only themselves to blame. You cannot expect the organiser to spend hours researching generation pedigrees on your behalf. If you did give the organisers all the details and they were left out of the catalogue then you should certainly be taking that up with the organisers direct.

4. Were entrants required to provide notes for the commentator. Again, you cannot expect anyone else to research this on your behalf. If the details were given and not used, then that is also unforgiveable. The posters on this do not make it clear one way or the other.

Yes there were details of running orders, timings etc which need tightening up. Yes it was cold - I have not as yet found a way to organise the weather but I have found a way to dress to keep warm in the british winter.

I can only emphasise that stallion owners should remember they are marketing and selling a product. If you choose not to exhibit your stallion where it can be seen alongside others then mare owners are less likely to choose it. Mare owners have the choice of many stalllions, world wide. If you make it too difficult for us to find out all the details we need about your stallion, such as pedigree, performance, progeny and their performance etc. we will move on to somewhere else where it is easier to find out those details. ie Europe!

Finally to the poster who suggested that some of us had not seen similar events abroad - yes I have many times. Perhaps it is easier for the organisers of those events to obtain all the details of breeding, performance progeny etc. when there is only one stud book to deal with?

I am filled with sadness at the attitude of many of those who have posted on here. No wonder British Breeding is struggling to promote itself when those invloved are so negative.
 
Was there a "stallion book" available for purchase as the oganisers said or just the catologue. Thought I would like a 2010 stallion guide all mine are getter fairly old now.
 
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Ken did a very good first attempt particularly with the lack of support.

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He only has himself to blame for this, and has to take responsibility for his previous actions, where I believe he was disparagement to those people he now seeks to get business from. People will vote with their feet, pure and simple.

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There could have been more in H & H on the event from editorial.

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Hangb, where would you get the idea that H&H are due the organiser any free publicity. That is laughable considering the content of what he says about them, in his “I love me, who do you love” editorial.
 
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