So how was the Expo?

i went on sunday and was a little disappointed by the lack of glitz and glamour, and also by the fact that several of the horses who had been there on the saturday were not there on sunday. i can see that this latter point was not the fault of the organisers, but i feel that members of the audience should have been updated.

sound system was awful, the auction was not advertised and again was hampered by the dire sound, and at least one horse seemed to have it's presentation cut short by the commentator. twister in particular did not jump the oxer that his people had built for him - and this was caused by the commentator thanking him before he had a chance to approach.
 
I was there for both days and to be honest, I don't feel it was the total fiasco that some people have described it as. I had no problem in going down to the stables and seeing the horses, and I'd never been to Keysoe before. I asked a steward where they were, and they told me.

I can't imagine any other time I would be able to see stallions such as Randi and Peppermill so close up in the flesh, and whose very famous rider was there and happy to chat to mare owners and the public.

Yes, there were teething problems, but I went to a parade last year where there were 12 people in the stands... when the stallions outnumber the audience, it really does set the tone for the day. I am a British Breeder and proud to be so, and I have seen some incredible quality stallions over this weekend, and in my opinion it was worth a visit. I might take more clothes next time though
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I didn't go to the expo (decided to watch it on the telly) but I do exhibit at a fair few shows with my business. For example I'm off to one in London next weekend, stand is £200 + VAT & organisers have spent £25,000 on advertising & PR. I was surprised there wasn't more advertising for the event but glad it sounded worthwhile for visitors & stallion owners.

Looking forward to the BEF one now!
 
Hi

It seems the expo has really stirred things up.

I was an exhibitor, and although i agree there were many teething problems some which were basic and should never have happened constructive critism is vital. The time and dedication required to run this is immense and positive critism will go further than bitchie complaints. We all need to start somehere. We hope the organiser has seen the obvious mistakes and listens to peoples opinions and lets hope for a better 2011.

The organisor cannot help the ability of riders and handlers if you wish to perform/present your stallion it is up to you to be prepared and do a good job as several people did. I agree the help in the show jumping was disasterous and thank god for the grooms that helped their riders out. Better jumps were needed and a course built by someone who knows what they are doing.

To change schedules at late notice is never good and wearing numbers should definatley happen in the future. The staff involved should have been dressed appropriately and understand their jobs especially the poor young girls roped in to do the jumps who cleary didn;t haver a clue.

Earlier complaints about stabling was very true, but maybe decorating the stable with your stallions success' is the owners job?? However, the stabling was not acceptable for stallions, However well behaved

I do personally wander what my £250 was spent on i should imagine there was a very big profit from the event.

However, breeding in england is always behind and we must work hard to promote our quality horses. Yes i do think breeders may feel let down, as i do but if we do not support these ideas and help them grow then things may never improve. On the other hand, it must be cost effective, and i am struggling to see how this event can be labelled as so.

Lets hope all these complaints are taken into consideration and hope for a great expo in 2011 - hopefully at more a suitable venue
 
I'm glad so many people have enjoyed been able to see so many stallions and found the expo useful.

British Breeding is improving all the time which is fantastic but one reason i love this country is because many of us value our horses and still want them competing/training at 16+ (proven by many OAP stallions at the expo), and not written off by 12 like so many horses on the continent. Horses excell at different levels at different ages. Age classes bring strict rules in to peoples minds as to where horses should be at a particular time but this cannot always happen. So just because a stallion wasn;t up to your personnal standard for its age it does not mean its a bad stallion, and being so strong about opinions does not make anyone a knowledgable horse person.

Horses are also allowed bad days - obvioulsy we hope not on a day when they're in the public eye but it does happen. Anyone seriously looking for a stallion will assess them on more then one occassion.

Rockstar is a lovely boy and has had some great success. Worldwide needed surgery due a puncture would in his fetlock and needed nearly 18 months rehab so the fact the he has improved so fast with Maria in such a short time shows a fantastic temperament and a trainable mind.

The arena at Keysoe is not the best and horses used to the biggest of events were finding the small dark arena daunting and yes mistakes were made.

We are all striving for perfection especially when choosing a stallion and we all want different things depending on the mare so lets learn all we can about the stallions before being so judgemental.
 
We were very happy to support the Expo and delighted too by the few, but motivated and knowledgeable breeders who showed interest in our stallions - Rockstar, Voom and Santana.

I have attended many many shows abroad, and keep horses abroad, and the problem is that we have not convinced the rest of our families and communities that a horse show, apart from racing and top showjumping,, is a good day out! The atmosphere at foreign shows is created by these non or marginally horsey participants who just want good beer, great cake, chips and sausage. We are too serious about it all. We should have fun at any horse event and choosing your stallion for the coming season is always an exciting prospect.
On the plus side we are progressing quickly. The show at Keysoe may have been the first "Stallion Expo" by name and intent, but we have in fact been running stallion shows at National Venues for five years. PSHP has taken over the running for the last three and prior to that a number of Studbooks bankrolled two shows at Addington.
Let's not kill these initiatives with criticism. It's always useful to have feedback and we should know what people think about their experience...but why not get on a roll about the future perfect rather than the past imperfect. It's always easy, as with judging, to focus on what's wrong...Let's go with what's right. British Breeding is taking giant steps by engaging in all these new events...futurity, stallion shows, young horse classes etc. If we just keep doing it, getting a little better and smarter each time we will leverage our heritage of horsemanship and add it to creative but intelligent breeding for top level sport and for personal fun.
Finally, I have eaten many disappointng restaurant meals but I haven't stopped dining out!
 
"but we have in fact been running stallion shows at National Venues for five years" - The UK though has been very slow, my first glimps at a stallion parade outside of gradings was at York Horse Sales, Rufforth Park in 1989. I believe it generated a fair amount of business for some of the stallion owners. If someone had the imagination to have built on it, who knows what might have been happening 21yrs later!
 
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