What do you guys think?
Even though I have never competed at the AEC’s if it stays in Texas I will never compete at the AEC’s. It’s only a 12ish hour drive for me so it’s doable, but the added expense would be too much for me to justify for one show.
Well, I don’t think it’s right. To have a permanent home in Texas will kill the program, particularly at the upper levels of I and A.
Plantation runs a phenomenal, international event the week before. Most UL riders only need to trailer under 3 hours to that event; some trailer less than fifteen minutes. Compare that to the drive to Texas for a non-FEI event. No matter the prize money, it’s not enticing enough to make a 2-3 day drive, each way.
How many riders from Area II went to compete for a $40,000 Advanced prize this year? Just Laine?
It is one thing when we can expect that in three years, it might be closer, might be more doable. Hell, I don’t mind if it moves to Galways for three years; that seems fair too. It would be really nice if it alternated like it had been; Carolina Horse Park (East), Lamplight (Central), Chatt Hills (East), Texas Rose (Central), next an eastern venue, then back to Galway or something.
If it did that, you can reasonably expect that the possibility of attending changes with the venue. I get that it’s a big elephant on the schedule, but perhaps they could mitigate that by making it five year commitments instead of three.
Permanently placing it in Texas? Well, you’ve not only lost all the amateurs from other areas who simply cannot take the time off from work to trailer that far, but also all the pros in Area II who can opt for Plantation or Morven, both top quality shows running CICs on either side of the AECs in 2014.
And this is coming from a person whose ‘home area’ was 2 hours down the road from Texas Rose. I love the community of eventers there and I love the camaraderie we had with each other, but I simply am not going to trailer back there for the AECs.
I think this will kill the ATCs. The reason they’re fun and doable is because they’re local and not overly expensive. Most of us amateurs can’t/won’t make a several thousand mile trip and spend a boatload of money to go to them. It strikes me as just another example of totally ignoring the vast majority of the USEA membership and concentrating money and interest on a small - mostly professional - percentage of the membership.
Terrible idea. It makes it nothing more than a USEA sponsored HT…and I have issues with the USEA doing that activity.
When it moved…at least it was a bit easier to justify USEA involvement.
We get it. East coasters hate it, but I would like to hear from the West Coasters and those in “flyover” land. While I don’t care for keeping the AECs in one place year after year, I have to wonder if it was done because it’s centrally located (east to west). Of course people who have 50 horse trials within 3 hours, or whatever the statistic is, are going to complain, endlessly, about how they aren’t going to travel for this thing and it will ruin the sport forevah, but how does the rest of the country, the ones that don’t live in that bubble, feel about it?
[QUOTE=RacetrackReject;7319231]
We get it. East coasters hate it, but I would like to hear from the West Coasters and those in “flyover” land. While I don’t care for keeping the AECs in one place year after year, I have to wonder if it was done because it’s centrally located (east to west). Of course people who have 50 horse trials within 3 hours, or whatever the statistic is, are going to complain, endlessly, about how they aren’t going to travel for this thing and it will ruin the sport forevah, but how does the rest of the country, the ones that don’t live in that bubble, feel about it?[/QUOTE]
I personally think that it should move to the West Coast next…or maybe Rebecca Farm. It isn’t an East Coast thing…it is a keeping it in one place thing.
[QUOTE=bornfreenowexpensive;7319250]
I personally think that it should move to the West Coast next…or maybe Rebecca Farm. It isn’t an East Coast thing…it is a keeping it in one place thing.[/QUOTE]
Maybe it just feels that way because the East Coasters seem to complain the most and the loudest about it…lol.
To me, it’s the permanent part. It means that I probably won’t ever go. When it was in Ill, and NC it was feasible, and I figured it would go further west for a few years and then come back. A 14 hour drive? I could do that, but NH to Texas is either too hard on the horse, or too many days off work/stabling expenses to allow the horse to recover before competing. And I can’t afford to fly her there.
And fwiw, if they were going for “more centrally located in the US” that would be Kansas… 
You can write me off as another privileged East Coast/Area II person, but it will mean no amateurs from Area I and II will ever go. I get that there is no place to put it that works for everyone, but to me that is an argument to move it every few years so everyone does have an opportunity at least once in a while…not to put it somewhere that permanently is out of reach for lots of folks.
Putting the ATCs there makes even less sense.
Another Texas resident here. I’m not as eloquant as Divine Comedy…we all know that.
I think having the AECs and the ATCs at the same venue is stupid. As mentioned in the article… And it’s not a matter of opinion. It’s fairly factual.
Kozlowski also questioned the ATCs move to the AECs.
“Each rider can ride a horse in the AECs, and they can also ride [a different horse] on a team,” she explained. "I don’t know of a lot of adult amateurs that have two horses.
also, having the AECs in Texas killed entries for the rest of the fall HTs.
Not to mention, I find it interesting that no one has mentioned the water issue at Texas Rose…just a thought.
Who has an address to provide so that we can send letters to the USEA? I would have no issues writing one in protest. And yes, I can be eloquent when needed. : )
I have not gone. I am not even competing right now, but I do plan to compete again in the future. I will never go to Texas from the Northeast. I work. I care about my horse. Traveling that far would not be good for either of us. I believe that if you are to have championships of this type, in a country as large as the US, you need to rotate the venue. Agree that is should go West for a few years. Would love to see it run in a more Northern part of the East Coast too.
[QUOTE=Hilary;7319259]
And fwiw, if they were going for “more centrally located in the US” that would be Kansas… ;)[/QUOTE]
Which is why I said “centrally located (east to west)”. You aren’t telling me anything I don’t already know.
Thanks purp, for being a non-east coaster, stating your opinion.
Someone spell it out, what was the “water issue”?
Again, I think it’s silly to put the AECs in one place permanently, period, I’m just curious what the world outside of the east coast thinks about it now that it’s being done. Don’t a good number of those people have to travel 10-14 hours already to get to any horse trials? I know a friend lived in Colorado and was routinely making long hauls for horse trials. I don’t think it’s really fair to elude that those people don’t care about their horse because they do so (IFG).
[QUOTE=RacetrackReject;7319343]
I don’t think it’s really fair to elude that those people don’t care about their horse because they do so (IFG).[/QUOTE]
Sorry, did not mean to imply that they do not care about their horses. I have alternatives that those out west do not. For me, it is a cost-benefit issue. There are lots of horse trials within a 30 minute- 4 hours drive. Why would I haul my horse to Tx, especially for a lower level horse trial?
[QUOTE=RacetrackReject;7319343]
Don’t a good number of those people have to travel 10-14 hours already to get to any horse trials? I know a friend lived in Colorado and was routinely making long hauls for horse trials. I don’t think it’s really fair to elude that those people don’t care about their horse because they do so (IFG).[/QUOTE]
Yes…but for many, that is the max they will travel for an event…especially if they work for a living no matter where they live…hence why the event should move.
I’m not originally from the East Coast. Where I grew up…there were NO events we could even drive to. I also have lived on the West Coast.
Just because someone is now living on the East Coast…doesn’t mean they are from the East Coast or do not understand issues of folks living in other areas.
I choose to move east and have my career on the East Coast in Area II specifically so I could work and event (knowing that my career would not be flexible enough to allow me to travel extensively to compete). I made that choice even though it meant I didn’t live anywhere close to my family…closest family was more than a 10 hour plane flight.
But I think the point about this particular location is true (as not the best location)…not only is it taking entries away from other events in the “area”…and is too far of a lot of adult ammy riders from many other regions that have a higher density of riders (both east or west)…but it also is not going to be competitive to get even a majority of the pro riders. Those riders who ARE more likely to travel long distances. Plantation Fields is a top event held in the backyard or very close to a very large density of top Pro riders. And being a CIC 1-3*, it will have a much bigger pull for many professional riders over travelling a distance to the AECs even with the decent prize money of the AECs.
[QUOTE=RacetrackReject;7319343]
Which is why I said “centrally located (east to west)”. You aren’t telling me anything I don’t already know.
Thanks purp, for being a non-east coaster, stating your opinion.
Someone spell it out, what was the “water issue”?
Again, I think it’s silly to put the AECs in one place permanently, period, I’m just curious what the world outside of the east coast thinks about it now that it’s being done. Don’t a good number of those people have to travel 10-14 hours already to get to any horse trials? I know a friend lived in Colorado and was routinely making long hauls for horse trials. I don’t think it’s really fair to elude that those people don’t care about their horse because they do so (IFG).[/QUOTE]
I am barely an east coaster. I relocated to Area II after five years of riding in Dallas in Area V. I moved from Novice to Advanced in Area V. During that time, I trailered to Poplar three times, to Galway once, to Maui Jim twice, to Colorado three times, to Kentucky twice, to FL twice, to Jersey Fresh once, and possibly a few others that I’m forgetting. One can hardly say that I complain about trailering.
However, you are correct in that Area IIers seem to complain most about trailering long distances, and I do tend to find it slightly amusing when someone thinks that six hours is a long drive; I think that is fairly short! It’s a dream when I get to stay within an hour.
I think the reason Area IIers complain the most is that there’s a larger percentage of amateurs out here who have inflexible jobs in which we only get a very limited number of days off. If you work in an industry that frowns on flex time, and you still want to try to compete a lot, or at the upper levels, guess where you move? Area II. I get ten days only off a year, and I’m trying to compete at Advanced and CCI2*/CIC3* levels. Anytime I do a CCI, it’s four days off, and anytime I do a CIC, it’s at least one. I’m lucky if I can find an Advanced that isn’t another one. If I’m going to run Advanced at the AECs, I have to add two trailer days onto either side. Plus, they start the Advanced divisions on Thursday. We’re talking six work days off minimum, and that’s with no grace day to ride at the venue. I cannot spend that many vacation days on a horse trial. I am still willing to spend up to a day trailering somewhere for a show, but it needs to be for a qualifier. I would consider trailering a full day for the AECs, but I can’t do further.
I know a lot of people who compete in Texas and Area V. I know a lot of people who work very hard at their jobs there. I know a lot of people there who do have inflexible jobs there; but they tend to be at Prelim and lower, and they are not the ones who travel hours and hours and hours out of the area. They don’t have to; there’s plenty of wonderful venues to compete at in Area V at those levels. Generally, the riders who travel hours and hours to compete either have flexible jobs or lifestyles, or are pros themselves.
I never begrudged Texas the AECs before this; I think a rotating venue is great because it DOES give lots of people who have inflexible schedules the chance to compete there at least for three years.
I DO have an issue with it staying permanently there, though. I loved my experience at the AECs and would love to go back, but not in Texas. And I think that while you can argue that Texas is centrally located for most of the country compared to most other venues, (and it is!), it doesn’t negate the fact that it is still out of reach for amateurs from many parts of the country. And when you lose the pros from Area II (who ARE willing to trailer up to a day as they show by their trips to Richland, Chatt, Bromont, but not 2-3 days each way) to events like Plantation (which is truly becoming a premier event in its own right), then you’ve permanently shrunk your entry base.
It’s one thing to shrink that base for three years. It’s another to shrink it forever.
I’m in California; I don’t think Texas is significantly more reachable for people here than Kentucky.
I think if it were going to be permanently anywhere, I’d suggest Kentucky, because it’s such a kick-ass venue. To ride there some day under any circumstance would be on my bucket list.
I’m sure the Texas venue is lovely but I doubt it compares.
Thanks DC. That is probably the best commentary I have read on the situation, and I understand your view and can relate to it.
Thanks Poltroon. Your area was the one that I was really wanting to hear from about this issue. I’m guessing that you guys are far enough away that if you are going to that far (to Texas), what is going a little further (to Kentucky) going to hurt.
I haven’t seen the Texas venue since it became the AEC site, and I am in no way trying to convince people to come to the AECs in Texas, nor do I think it’s a good idea to keep them here permanently. I just wanted to hear from the less vocal contingency, that could actually benefit from the AECs being further west, on what they thought about the site choice, and if it would make things better/easier for them.
I think it is a horrendous idea and I am going to give my opinion despite the fact that I am an east coaster and therefore according to some my opinion is not worthy of consideration :rolleyes:.
Whether you are object to the Area II attitude or not, the bottom line is that the largest percentage of eventers is in Area II and if the eventers in this area are for the most part not going to attend if it is in Texas (and they are not for lots of varied reasons- most of them already mentioned) then how is it good for AECs to leave it permanently in that location?? I think it was great to give Texas a turn, but a different area should get a turn next (whether it is the west or east coast).
Rotating it is the only way that I see to keep it accessible to everyone at some point and ensure that it does not die a slow death from lowering attendance. This year was already the lowest attendance in the last few years- why would anyone think this will change if it is there permanently?
I have been to the AECs and hope to get there again but I won’t even consider going to Texas for it. Sorry neither my job nor my resources are going to allow for that.
I don’t like Texas. It’s got all those Texans there.
