From Thursday through Sunday, the lowest low is 30 degrees, the highest high is 62 degrees! So most time spent outdoors will be in the upper 40’s and 50’s. At least the maximum chance of precipitation is 10%.
That’s a lot of cold to be outdoors, says the native Floridian! Does anyone know what the future plans for location are?
But… it’s a dry cold? Maybe?
My trainer competing from AZ might be a tad cold! I don’t know about future plans, but I know people from AZ who competed there last year had no complaints and although chilly was an awesome experience competing at the Horse Park.
I’m a Floridian, too! The cold is the major reason I didn’t go to KY to compete in the two championships I qualified for. Maybe weenie-ish, but, I have trouble enjoying myself when I’m cold…Devon was miserable (as usual). I hope they move the finals south after next year.
Sounds about perfect to me. Wish I were there :-/
I still believe the timing is terrible for the show. It’s too dangerous hauling in snowy areas and too potentially harmful for the systems of horses used to warmer weather to go to the cold like that. I love the idea, having grown up with breed World Shows in my previous competition life, but either it should be moved to spring so riders can have time to save up and prepare after qualifying late the previous fall, or be permanently held in warmer climates while then alienating everyone from colder areas who has a longer drive, or just change when the competition year is gradually - that would be a huge deal to do.
One place, and have the convention at the same time, in the same place. Why not just FL or Tyron, FL? I know people in CA will freak out, but honestly, they have the better facilities for everything and planning on it and maybe getting it to run around the same time as other major clinics and a CDI. Make it a huge affair so you can also build an audience. Rolex works really well because it is always in the same place.
[QUOTE=Velvet;8925914]
One place, and have the convention at the same time, in the same place. Why not just FL or Tyron, FL? I know people in CA will freak out, but honestly, they have the better facilities for everything and planning on it and maybe getting it to run around the same time as other major clinics and a CDI. Make it a huge affair so you can also build an audience. Rolex works really well because it is always in the same place.[/QUOTE]
Because KY is more centrally located? And then you have the same problem. Those of us coming from the north where it can be down in the low 30s this time of year have to acclimate our horses to 70+ degree weather.
I love the idea of KY, but it is crazy this time of year. If we could hold it earlier, I’d be for it. I also think they should have every convention there. They don’t really have to run the qualifying by a start date in the same year. They could do a half season in one year and half in the next. They can set it up so it works better and is what they’d hoped.
As to going to FL or NC from the north, well, I agree it would suck, but you could clip. Colder states often get an Indian Summer in November and horses do okay.
I volunteered for the first 2 years the championships were held at the KHP and yep, the weather can be very brisk. The issue with timing is getting all the regional championships done before the US championships.
I have said it before, and I’ll say it again. In WHOSE world is KY centrally located? For anyone on the Western side of the US, that is just laughable. Velvet, I doubt the CA/WA/OR/NV crowd care if it is moved to Tyron - that is just as laughingly central as KY is. This show is really not a national show because of the location, it cuts out most of the Western US. A few make the trek, but a very few.
We keep tossing the idea around of creating a Western national championship show - come to California, we have the facilities, the weather, and fun things to do:D In my area, we have a facility with FOUR covered arenas, and another 10 outdoor rings, plentiful parking, and gorgeous Fall weather… And quite a bit of permanent stabling. Head south to the other end of the State, there are several big facilities too - we have at least 3 or 4 facilities in Cali that can handle a 300+ horse competition… And way better weather!
I’ve been looking forward to going for several months now and I’m thankful that it is projecting a dry cool instead of wet like last year.
Since I’m grooming and not riding I plan on living in UGGs and enough layers that I can regulate as the temperature rises during the morning.
For the average spectator and the majority of participants it is easy to hide out in the indoor if it gets blustery outside.
It’s not 100% centrally located (in KY) but it is centrally located for world class facilities and for making it cost less by having all the USDF resources already located on site.
IMHO those who consider KHP as CENTRAL failed 6th grade geography.
There are very nice facilities far more central like Oklahoma City or Tulsa. Or Kansas City.
Or Fort Worth.
Expecting every place in this country to have weather like Florida is nuts. Doesn’t happen.
One problem with the more “centrally located” places is the added expense. KY is cheaper. USDF is there. No paying to put people up. I’d rather have the USDF watch the bottom line.
Hey, that is not cold! At all! Come on. Fall championships can be chilly but look, August in KY would possibly be worse with hot, humid temps which are so much harder on the horses. Daytime 50s and 60 highs = positively balmy for a horse.
Horses evolved in the steppes. They tolerate cold much better than their riders. not that these temps are even remotely cold.
I was curious about the central thing so I did a little research and google mapping. I love playing with numbers, sorry if it gets confusing here.
This all depend on your definition of centrally located. If you use geographic center(Lebanon, KS) you end up about a 13 hour drive west of KY. If you use population center(Plato, MO) its about an 8 hour drive west of KY. I would argue population center being more “fair” because it affects proportionately more people that the geographic center. Granted neither of these methods are truly fair without averaging a center based on only the USDF member population. Who knows where that would be.
I picked two arbitrary cities for comparison on driving times, trying to get a ways onto the coast on each side.
From San Diego to KY is 32 hours; Augusta ME to KY is 17 hours
San diego to Lebanon, KS 22 hours; Augusta ME to Lebanon is 27 hours
San Diego to Plato, MO is 25 hours; Augusta ME to Plato is 22 hours.
I don’t know much about facilities in Missouri or Kansas but those are your generic “central locations”
Overall its 7 hours more for the San Diego folks and 5 hours less for the Maine folks to scoot it from the population center to KY. I know 7 more hours in a trailer isn’t insignificant but I don’t think it’s that far off given how big our country is and how far you’d have to travel already.
So if I look at that in comparison to the numbers let’s say we put it in the population center. If 7 hours makes ALL the difference between going and not going I would also assume 5 more hours would have a big(but maybe slightly less impact) on the east coast folks. You’d have to have an equal number of people go from the west coast that didn’t go from the east coast to keep your numbers the same. That seems like a tricky balance when KY has the prestige of having hosted Rolex, WEG, NAJYRC etc.
fordtraktor, I have friends (from Maine), who rode in sleet one year. It can be very, very cold. I think moving the date and/or location would be a great idea. Perhaps the regional championships don’t have to spread out so much. Back in the olden days, they had to be because they used the same judges. Maybe they could all be held in the first two weeks of September, then have the Nationals in mid October. Totally different weather in Kentucky. I don’t have all the answers, but I knew the answer for me this year, on my ultra spooky horse, was no.
60s is great weather!
It’s impossible to have a centrally located Finals for any discipline or breed due to the sheer size of the USA. In general, more horse people are East so you get higher attendance. Shows have tried to move their Nationals around and invariably someone is always upset.
[QUOTE=dressagegirl123;8927041]
fordtraktor, I have friends (from Maine), who rode in sleet one year. It can be very, very cold. I think moving the date and/or location would be a great idea. Perhaps the regional championships don’t have to spread out so much. Back in the olden days, they had to be because they used the same judges. Maybe they could all be held in the first two weeks of September, then have the Nationals in mid October. Totally different weather in Kentucky. I don’t have all the answers, but I knew the answer for me this year, on my ultra spooky horse, was no.[/QUOTE]
A couple of big problems with having regionals the first two weeks in September in the south:
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