emma.is
Well-Known Member
if a lot hack to your yard a designated "tying up area" is great
What would entice you to a show?
- Thread starter horses16
- Start date
if a lot hack to your yard a designated "tying up area" is great
ghostie
Well-Known Member
separate warm up areas are a must for me as my boy struggles to settle at a show without people haring round jumping.
One thing that would be amazing and would really up attendence is some sort of box share scheme as lack of transport is a big issue especially now lots of people have sold theirs to save money. Hard to organise though
One thing that would be amazing and would really up attendence is some sort of box share scheme as lack of transport is a big issue especially now lots of people have sold theirs to save money. Hard to organise though
el_Snowflakes
Well-Known Member
not sure if its been mentioned but good photographers covering all the classes. Its great to get some nice pics so even those who dont get placed have something nice to take away from the day 
depurple1
Well-Known Member
For starters, a class my horse can actually enter (Iberian who doesn't jump).
Plus:
- Description of turnout required and what judge is expecting from competitors in the schedule, as some shows seem to make it up as they go along.
- Stewards with the guts to clamp down on bad horsemanship.
- Judges who can tell when horses are lame, and said horses excluded.
- Clean loos with loo roll.
- Classes that run to time.
Plus:
- Description of turnout required and what judge is expecting from competitors in the schedule, as some shows seem to make it up as they go along.
- Stewards with the guts to clamp down on bad horsemanship.
- Judges who can tell when horses are lame, and said horses excluded.
- Clean loos with loo roll.
- Classes that run to time.
Lolo
Well-Known Member
What if all this is done and yet there are no takers?!
Our RC runs monthly shows, with a clear schedule that's well publicised in local tack shops/ on the internet (club website and on a central dates page for the region) with dressage from intro tests to medium (with either listed judges, or those well respected in the area), SJ from 60cm to 1.05m (built by a proper course builder) and showing classes with a wide range of classes. Entry fees are £6.50 (£9 for non-members) and there are trophies and nice rosettes to be won.
If you get placed you get points which go towards a league, with the winner winning money at the end of the year with multiple other prizes such as trophies for best all rounder, person who contributed the most to the club, best team member, most improved senior and junior, and prizes for the sub leagues as well. Seniors don't compete against juniors in the league or in the SJ.
It's at a venue which has good ground and great facilities.
Yet there are never more than 15 entries in the biggest dressage class (usually more like 5) or 10 people per SJ class. Showing classes often have 1 or 2 people in.
It still runs at a profit, but with other clubs folding in the area things are obviously struggling. How could we improve on what's listed?!
Very disheartening...
Our RC runs monthly shows, with a clear schedule that's well publicised in local tack shops/ on the internet (club website and on a central dates page for the region) with dressage from intro tests to medium (with either listed judges, or those well respected in the area), SJ from 60cm to 1.05m (built by a proper course builder) and showing classes with a wide range of classes. Entry fees are £6.50 (£9 for non-members) and there are trophies and nice rosettes to be won.
If you get placed you get points which go towards a league, with the winner winning money at the end of the year with multiple other prizes such as trophies for best all rounder, person who contributed the most to the club, best team member, most improved senior and junior, and prizes for the sub leagues as well. Seniors don't compete against juniors in the league or in the SJ.
It's at a venue which has good ground and great facilities.
Yet there are never more than 15 entries in the biggest dressage class (usually more like 5) or 10 people per SJ class. Showing classes often have 1 or 2 people in.
It still runs at a profit, but with other clubs folding in the area things are obviously struggling. How could we improve on what's listed?!
Very disheartening...
diluteherd
Well-Known Member
Free puppies and good judges.. I'm guessing I shall be receiving a free puppy at my next show 
Oldenburg
Well-Known Member
All depends what we are going for!! Showing. Good Judges, Good warm up, Good choice of classes as we have a Riding horse and a hunter also a non native coloured, nice rosettes are always a bonus and the distance we have to travel!! Show jumping. Good Warm up, nice going (Grass watered etc) nicely built courses, nice rosettes are not the be all and end all and distance to travel to a venue!! But horses are always put first even if its Showing or Jumping!!
EstherYoung
Well-Known Member
I'm not normally into showing but in an effort to get the babyponies some life experience I have been to the odd show over the last couple of years. Just a few observations:
- We have arabs and an unusually bred part bred. The arab classes seem to have died a death at local level and we struggle to find classes to take the purebreds in.
- Local shows seem to have a variety of very general classes with no real explanation of what the class is looking for. 'Best part bred' seems to be a current obsession - won't 90% of horses qualify for that one? Most breeds are bit of a historic mixture. 'Best foreign breed' is another one that generally has no explanation of what would count as foreign - do they mean 100% foreign, or a horse that was bred abroad (such as a foreign TB), or what about a technically non-native breed which has several generations of UK ancestry (ie UK bred arabs and warmbloods). So possibly a bit of an explanation about what the class is actually looking for would help.
- I'm far more likely to return to somewhere that was friendly and didn't take itself too seriously.
- If I do join a club to get the cheaper entry fees, I do expect something for joining. I joined the local riding club the first year I showed Wolf, never got anything in return and later found out by accident he'd been placed in the end of year awards but the club never told me and I never got the rossie.
- I'm not desperately conventional and I don't see the point of stripping my part bred of all his hair just for the sake of a 20 min in hand class when he needs that hair the rest of the time. Ridden wise, I don't even have conventional saddles any more. So if there were classes for the less conventional amongst us, that would probably encourage us to attend.
- We have arabs and an unusually bred part bred. The arab classes seem to have died a death at local level and we struggle to find classes to take the purebreds in.
- Local shows seem to have a variety of very general classes with no real explanation of what the class is looking for. 'Best part bred' seems to be a current obsession - won't 90% of horses qualify for that one? Most breeds are bit of a historic mixture. 'Best foreign breed' is another one that generally has no explanation of what would count as foreign - do they mean 100% foreign, or a horse that was bred abroad (such as a foreign TB), or what about a technically non-native breed which has several generations of UK ancestry (ie UK bred arabs and warmbloods). So possibly a bit of an explanation about what the class is actually looking for would help.
- I'm far more likely to return to somewhere that was friendly and didn't take itself too seriously.
- If I do join a club to get the cheaper entry fees, I do expect something for joining. I joined the local riding club the first year I showed Wolf, never got anything in return and later found out by accident he'd been placed in the end of year awards but the club never told me and I never got the rossie.
- I'm not desperately conventional and I don't see the point of stripping my part bred of all his hair just for the sake of a 20 min in hand class when he needs that hair the rest of the time. Ridden wise, I don't even have conventional saddles any more. So if there were classes for the less conventional amongst us, that would probably encourage us to attend.
Cedars
Well-Known Member
Actual inhand classes! I've not taken the baby out AGAIN this season because I'm not traipsing all the way across the county for one bloody class. I wouldn't even object to some in hand novelty classes-they don't have to be super serious-but just something to be able to get a baby out and about to.
tinap
Well-Known Member
I agree with you Lolo!
We run 3 open shows a year at PC, with loads of showing & showjumping classes at a good venue with food & loos, prizes & trophies - entry fees are £6 if pre enter, £7.50 on the day. Most classes are qualifiers for 2 county shows too, but entries are still pretty low!! It gets you down as a show organiser when you put all this on & don't get much support.
Our hunter trials were particularly quiet so we stopped running them & open the course up for 3 hours once every 2 months & charge £10 - we get packed! & its much less hassle & organising too
We run 3 open shows a year at PC, with loads of showing & showjumping classes at a good venue with food & loos, prizes & trophies - entry fees are £6 if pre enter, £7.50 on the day. Most classes are qualifiers for 2 county shows too, but entries are still pretty low!! It gets you down as a show organiser when you put all this on & don't get much support.
Our hunter trials were particularly quiet so we stopped running them & open the course up for 3 hours once every 2 months & charge £10 - we get packed! & its much less hassle & organising too