Somerford Park - Cancelled

[HayleyUK]

Notice on BE and Eventing page.

Hope no one travels there to find out!

 

[ollierdog]

Have just turned round but had only got 20min still disappointing but better safe than sorry!

 

[HayleyUK]

Glad you didn't go all the way there!

 

[vallin]

to go and take pictures. Thought it might be though as it's snowing where I am which is only 1/2 hour away.

 

[Fanatical]

I think it's just because of the sheer amount of rain we've had in the last 24 hours. The ground was taking a good cut yesterday and it rained solidly all day and night.
It's too wet for the snow to stick so I don't think that's a factor really.

 

[vallin]

Ah, fair enough. Rain hasn't been too bad here so didn't realise Stafford had had that much, bummer

 

[andreo]

Hi I ran yesterday a d ground wasn't bad, but there were quite a few problems later with ground cutting up badly and stops due to this, always better to look at the bigger picture the season has just started to hopefully there will be a lot more runs we can all get in

 

[Brynmoss]

I am sitting in the lorry park at somerford ! Having looked at the going, it seems absolutely fine, in fact the last horses to go Xc last night didn't even need to wash off! The horse box park is slightly muddy but there is a good team of tractors operating - not half as bad as some of the places we went last year. It looks like they have pulled the event for cosmetic reasons rather than safety! The grounds are immaculate here, but if you don't want the grass damaged , don't run an event in march!!! People collecting there numbers at 6 am we're told all was fine, and were on their roses warming up when the news broke - most people thought was a hoax!!
Oh we'll, 5 hours back home and lots of diesels

 

[Brynmoss]

Oops predictive text!! Horses not roses.....

 

[superpony]

Not surprised really Somerford are very precious about their ground!

 

[glamourpuss]

See this is where organisers can't do right. There is another thread suggesting that Twelesdown should have cancelled & people muttering about not getting their entry refunded when they've withdrawn.
Others are now coming across as angry that Somerford aren't giving them the chance to run!

Who'd run an event?!

 

[tricksibell85]

5 hrs home 4 me!! Wat a waste.

 

[Missypp]

We've been down at oasby for the last two days and it seems for once Scotland was a lot drier than what you guys have had. We drove back through some horrendous rain last night, I guess that must of been what the event.

Glamourpuss I concur with you 100% poor event organisers are damned if they do and don't. So difficult when people and horses safety are at risk.

I really feel for the folk that didn't get a run today it's a costly sport and for the poor organisers who have bust a gut in very trying times.

 

[Brynmoss]

See this is where organisers can't do right. There is another thread suggesting that Twelesdown should have cancelled & people muttering about not getting their entry refunded when they've withdrawn.
Others are now coming across as angry that Somerford aren't giving them the chance to run!

Who'd run an event?!

Not angry, just somewhat surprised !

 

[tricksibell85]

I am also surprised it didn't run. I walked the xc at 7am and it was ok, perhaps a bit soft in places! But noone had run the novice so the lines were not cut up.

Dressage arenas looked fine, u r SJ in a surface and they pretty much have sand tracks around the whole xc so no issues with emergency vehicles etc!

I am not sure wat relevance this thread has 2 the T threads. Different event, different issues. Mayb organisers can't do anythin right, but I think both organisers and riders need 2 realise it is gettin less and less likely 2 have perfect ground.

 

[oldvic]

I gather the ground is fine, just the lorry park could get churned up a bit. There is some hard standing there that they wouldn't use and most of the big lorries were there before they cancelled! It has been an expensive day out for some - like £250+ worth of diesel and grooms up at 2.30 for no reason!
There are no grounds for people to moan about Tweseldown. The ground was quite safe, just not very pleasant.

 

[tricksibell85]

Oldvic if that's the reason then I am absolutely furious. I have spent £200+ in fuel.

For everyone harping on about organisers - then yes that's wrong if that's the reason they cancelled 2day!!!!!

 

[cptrayes]

Be fair guys, their "lorry parking" is their show ground, and they will lose huge amounts of revenue if they can't rent it for shows for the season. They do have hard standing for the livery yard and other facilities, but nowhere near enough to park a BE event and it would cause chaos in the main yard which has seven full barns/yards of liveries.

Surely cancellations are to be expected for events this early in the year?

ps, I live a 40 minute lorry drive from SPF and I have 100% snow cover this morning and could only leave my house with 4wd engaged.

 

[amandaco2]

I'm twenty min away and we are sopping wet....
Feel sorry for those that have travelled etc, must be very annoying

 

[oldvic]

Be fair guys, their "lorry parking" is their show ground, and they will lose huge amounts of revenue if they can't rent it for shows for the season. They do have hard standing for the livery yard and other facilities, but nowhere near enough to park a BE event and it would cause chaos in the main yard which has seven full barns/yards of liveries.

Surely cancellations are to be expected for events this early in the year?

ps, I live a 40 minute lorry drive from SPF and I have 100% snow cover this morning and could only leave my house with 4wd engaged.

I wasn't suggesting that all the vehicles should be parked on the hard standing, just the big ones that would do the most damage. This is presumably used for people who come schooling so the livery yard must be accustomed to big lorries parked there and a little inconvenience in these circumstances cannot be that hard to bare. The chances of a lorry park not being marked in March must be slim so maybe they need to think it through. For riders to be parked in said lorry park, have walked the course finding perfect ground and be about to get on for an 8.00 a.m. dressage having left home at 4 a.m., to then be told it was off, is annoying, frustrating, very expensive and hard to understand. There was no snow.

 

[cptrayes]

Oldvic it must have been incredibly frustrating. I'm glad I don't event any more, I can do without stuff like that

 

[tricksibell85]

Oldvic - you said it better than I wld! I agree 100%

I picked up number at 7am, all systems go. Heard cancelled at 8ish, asked organisers if I was ok 2 ride as have 5hr journey back - to be told 2 stay off the grass??

I find that quite unbelievable! Esp seeing as there was no rain from 6am until then!

They towed people off on sat night did they not, so what's the difference from 2day??

 

[FrecklesMum]

Be fair guys, their "lorry parking" is their show ground, and they will lose huge amounts of revenue if they can't rent it for shows for the season. They do have hard standing for the livery yard and other facilities, but nowhere near enough to park a BE event and it would cause chaos in the main yard which has seven full barns/yards of liveries.

Then why run a event in March? I can cope with cancellations in March/any time if they are on ground basis, but to cancel because your car park is to precious? WTF? that is stupid and frankly ridiculous to even attempt to run in March. If your lorry park is a valuable show ground then run your BE event or any event that relies on parking on the show ground rings AFTER the show ring events.

Shoot me down if you wish, but IMHO it is selfish of the organisers to try and do both at this stage. People have wasted over £300 in diesel and to get there and have it cancelled on the basis of access (esp when tractors are already there) rather than going must be gutting.

 

[cptrayes]

They towed people off on sat night did they not, so what's the difference from 2day?? Esp seeing as there was no rain from 6am until then!

But surely it was having to tow off on Saturday and the rain not stopping until 6 am on Sunday that would have caused them to cancel? The thought of having to tow off another 150 lorries/trailers today would have caused anyone to think twice, wouldn't it?

I know these folks, they are good people and they have created a superb facility for people in the area to enjoy by consistently re-investing their profits year on year to produce a better and better venue for riders from a very wide area, me among them.

They wouldn't have ruined everyone's day for no reason.

I feel really sorry for anyone fired up to go, especially if you've paid good money on diesel and even more so if you were already there. I've been in that situation myself. But SPF is a good place, run by good people and I am sure this criticism of unnecessary cancellation is quite hurtful.

Did they choose to run this early, or did BE give them no choice on the date, I don't know, does anyone else?

 

[cptrayes]

Then why run a event in March?

Did they choose the date or did BE give them little choice?

If they towed off on Saturday evening and it did not stop raining until 6am the next morning, was it reasonable to expect them to continue?

I'd just like to say I have no connection with the Kings, I simply use their marvellous facilities on an ad hoc basis as a client, and count myself lucky to have such a superb place to go to within easy travelling distance.

I do understand your anger, the loss of money on diesel, and your pent up adrenalin with nowhere to spend it. I've pounded the roads in my trainers several times in the past to get rid of that frustration.

 

[TableDancer]

In fairness, I don't think it just came down to the lorry park - if you are interested, go on Dave Thompson's Facebook, he explains and apologises profusely. He works incredibly hard and is gutted to do this, as he says, he just doesn't do last minute cancellations for all the reasons people are citing. From what he says, it is simply heavy, unforecast overnight rain which caused the cancellation. I do feel truly sorry for those who wasted diesel, time etc I would be so upset and disappointed, but I'm not sure it was avoidable or anyone's fault. Certainly it was not the towing off of lorries last night, they went to bed expecting to run today.

 

[oldvic]

In fairness, I don't think it just came down to the lorry park - if you are interested, go on Dave Thompson's Facebook, he explains and apologises profusely. He works incredibly hard and is gutted to do this, as he says, he just doesn't do last minute cancellations for all the reasons people are citing. From what he says, it is simply heavy, unforecast overnight rain which caused the cancellation. I do feel truly sorry for those who wasted diesel, time etc I would be so upset and disappointed, but I'm not sure it was avoidable or anyone's fault. Certainly it was not the towing off of lorries last night, they went to bed expecting to run today.

I was quoting what the frustrated rider that I spoke to was told.

 

[photo_jo]

In fairness, I don't think it just came down to the lorry park - if you are interested, go on Dave Thompson's Facebook, he explains and apologises profusely. He works incredibly hard and is gutted to do this, as he says, he just doesn't do last minute cancellations for all the reasons people are citing. From what he says, it is simply heavy, unforecast overnight rain which caused the cancellation. I do feel truly sorry for those who wasted diesel, time etc I would be so upset and disappointed, but I'm not sure it was avoidable or anyone's fault. Certainly it was not the towing off of lorries last night, they went to bed expecting to run today.

I agree-everyone seems to think the events cancel at the drop of a hat. I rode at about 3.30pm yesterday and it was fine but cutting up on the corners-it never stopped raining after that, they put stone down on the corners and were rolling as soon as the last one finished to set it up for today. I live ten minutes away and was planning on finishing a bit of harrowing and doing some rolling tomorrow on our fields which are sandy. On Friday I was worrying it would be too dry to roll, now it is way too wet!

 

[smurf]

I was grooming for the very last person in the last section on Sat. Once the horse finished XC we did not even wash him off, the going was good. BUT ...as we had a long drive we stabled a second night, you could hear the rain hammering on the lorry all night. On Sunday there was water standing on the car park and course.

It really was wet and very different from Saturday.

Answer this one though ..... has anyone ever been to an event where after they had to cancel still allowed people to ride in their arenas and do their SJ?

I think the team at Somerford tried all they could, they were out until very late rolling the ground but the rain killed it. I was very impressed with it as an event and will definitely go back.