ONLY IN HORSE & HOUND
Robert Walker on making things easier for show organisers and judges
IT’S been fantastic to get back out on the county circuit, and I’m pleased that some shows seem to be moving with the times a bit more by allowing competitors to enter classes on the day.
Royal Bath & West was one such show that opened their entries up on the day for Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) qualifiers. For many years, entry deadlines for county shows have been well in advance, despite calls for more flexibility from competitors.
In the past couple of years though, organisers and societies have become a lot more open-minded, some allowing substitutions or late entries, even if with an increased fee, which I am all for, given the extra admin. It would seem that shows are starting to consider how they can do things differently to accommodate competitors and boost entries.
OPINION
From my perspective, I often don’t know which horses will be ready for certain shows so early in the season. Often, I’ve had new horses join the team halfway through the year, and due to early closing dates they haven’t been able to contend any major shows, despite being fit and ready to go.
Secretaries are some of the most dedicated and knowledgeable people, who often work unpaid, so it’s great to see them making steps into the future to try to get people into the ring.
With this in mind, I always encourage competitors to go and thank the secretaries and their team at the end of a show day, and be courteous when communicating with organisers at any venue.
Recently, at Staffordshire County – one of my favourite shows – we suffered the impact of horrendous weather on day one. The hugely popular Dancing Diggers display in the main ring ploughed up the going and it meant the show was unable to hold showing classes in there the next day.
I was disappointed to hear grumblings from competitors who were frustrated with the change. What we must remember is that displays are such huge crowd-pleasers – spectators were five deep during the Dancing Diggers – and they are what keep these shows going.
Our sport is so niche and it’s likely we only get a few keen enthusiasts watching us in the main ring, so we must take what we can get in these situations.
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