https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/the-more-things-change-the-more-they-stay-the-same/
What do you think? Is it possible to change Hunters given the amount of money involved?
It is one of those articles that makes me scratch my head. They are basically saying that Hunters need an audience to continue, though they have never had an audience and per the article their numbers are great. The writer proclaims their theory on the problem but does not offer any thoughts on changes to make. I can not picture how one would change hunters to attract an audience.
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Bravo for the author pointing out that almost half of the board of directors governing our shows are….show managers. Seven out of sixteen.
Remember the debate over even one serving back when. What happened?
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I don’t disagree with the author on any of her complaints or pointed observations. The op-ed is well written. That said, I would like to see more solutioning, with details, outlined. Otherwise it just comes off as another complaint to the talking heads.
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Yeah I didn’t observe any sentences that describe what a revamp to the hunters would actually look and feel like.
Not even some slightly wild idea drawing on Working Equitation
like a class called “field hunter throwback” to where in the middle of the traditional hunter course you need to walk up to and open a gate walk thru & close it while mounted & continue to the final 4 or 5 fences.
maybe its a tech product manager in me - but its not enough to write that there is a problem - you need to at least discuss the use cases / jobs to be done to solve the problem and touch on details of the solution space.
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I echo @Ponyplusaninch. The points made are fair and the article is well done, but to what end? As someone who works in advertising, hunters will never have the “sex appeal” of jumpers or even the creativity of dressage; I think its futile to try to think of ways to make the average hunter course appeal to the masses.
I would love to see it be even easier to spectate from home – ClipMyHorse is an absolute nightmare to deal with and certainly isn’t a welcoming experience for even the most rabid of fans. Some venues, too, make it difficult to watch from home. The Great Southwest Equestrian Center comes to mind, with shows often charging a $50 “ringside amenities fee” meant to cover “the cost of video & display monitors for ringside instant replay as well as live streaming when available” though the live stream calendar on their website is seldom up to date and watching the live stream, when available, is an additional annual cost of $20.
We ask for more people to support the sport, but only the main events or one specific arena is live streamed. For us peons not competing in a major event (ex: $10K stake class, jumper classic, etc) or the main ring, family and friends who would watch, simply can’t. And we pay for the privilege.
Beyond that, as a self-admitted low-level peon, of course I’d love to pay less than the upper levels, but beyond that, I’d love to see how to improve. In a subjective sport, I would love to see my scoring card to see how I could improve without it seeming like I’m questioning a judge’s judgement. Likewise, I’d love equal opportunity to participate in “fun” classes. Venues/events like Derby at the Vineyard come to mind as ways to draw greater participants and spectators in an atypical horse show environment.
Anyway, sorry for the ramble – of course there are ways to boost the sport, but the powers that be have to want to
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If I took something like that to one of my execs I work with, I’d be asked why I was wasting their time. That is just the blunt reality.
If we’re going to have business people running USHJA–which I don’t inherently disagree with albeit it’s eyebrow raising they’re all from show management–then we have to take a business approach. This isn’t a therapy session or cafe discussion.
I think part of the problem for why no solutions readily at the tip of anyone’s tongue is that hunters are kinda boring. And I enjoy them and still think they’re kinda boring.
So then we have to ask ourselves–apart from show orgs and trainers making a duck ton of money off of hunters… what is the point of them? What do we want to emphasize?
My personal perspective: hunters are supposed to be where beginners get their sea legs. They learn what a good canter is and how to find a good distance. Boy are those valuable lessons for any jumping discipline you do. It’s not about the prize money; it’s about the learning experiences.
What then can we do to enhance the educational aspect?
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We could look at investing in more judges’ clinics that are held regularly at shows where judges speak to the commentary/review the scorecards with riders for a particular division. That division can change each show–I find it fascinating how judges will look at an adult am class vs. say a short stirrup class in what they’re looking for. I don’t quite get why this is done so minimally, unless it’s the judges that are reluctant to do this.
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We can celebrate lesson horses and trainers with lesson programs more readily. What if brand new USHJA members who hadn’t shown above 2’6’’ were allowed two free consecutive years of membership before being asked to pay the full membership fee? What if trainers who met certain criteria for having a lesson horse program had their USHJA membership fee waived? Could we do a better job at recognizing the ultimate lesson horse at a state level? Regional level?
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We take ourselves less seriously and have more fun classes generally. I mean WEC did a Valentines braiding contest a few years ago that I know made my trainer nearly have a heart attack when I decided to participate, but we have to be able to find some levity outside of the normal outside inside outside. Can explore what a “teams” event might look like where a child hunter is paired with a child jumper. Not only are the hunter scores + time weighed into the judging but maybe perhaps, too, the noise o’meter for clapping? Or the number of people who turn up in support of that team?
Anywho those are the ideas I’ve had swirling around my head. But I think so much depends on what we want the goal(s) of hunters to be apart from a cash cow.
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These points are all brilliant
Thanks, I wish people on boards would listen to me, but it’s amazing how cognitively rigid folks can be and/or how emotional they can be in their decision making.
I’m dealing with this right now with a music board I very foolishly decided to volunteer time with, and now I have all the regrets in the world. This might honestly be tougher than my work in corporate America, because there I can usually find the right vantage point to nudge folks in the direction they need to go. This board in particular wants help, but only if the help aligns with what they have in their heads, even if there is literally nothing to support it other than a “gut feeling.” My therapist I’m sure is loving the extra time I’ve been booking with him of late.
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USHJA could start by not letting what is supposed to be its premiere hunter event for the entire year, Derby Finals, get bumped from under the lights on Saturday night at KHP. If you can’t showcase that class, you’ll never get anywhere trying to raise the profile of the regular classes.
I think at some of the venues like WEC, Tryon, etc . . . where they draw in spectators from beyond just the exhibitor pool, they have the potential to spark at least curiosity if they would do some of the fun classes (costumes, hunt teams, etc . . . ), or an exhibition round or two with commentary explaining what it is and how it would be judged, as an “opening act” to the big grand prix on a Saturday night. Have to start somewhere, and so far all you see are people repeating the problem without really offering solutions.
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I mean, when the goal of a discipline at its highest level is emphasizing sameness, even to the point where the way of going, body type, and color range of every horse going over fences can often seem identical to a casual observer, it’s not really surprising. Even hunter derby courses and jumps can seem pretty same-y, to say nothing of other hunter classes and jumps.
If there was going to be a change to this, it would have to begin with a change of course design and judging standards, and this would cause uproar, so I doubt there will be change.
I definitely agree with the emphasis on the educational component for the lower levels.
FWIW–I often find ponies in pony hunter classes to be less uniform, and I actually find these classes often more fun to watch. Sure, there is the cuteness factor, but it’s also a bit less cookie cutter.
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I totally agree with this! 100%
I love a nice hunter round, but darn, it is a boring sport to watch.
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haha i think you described my exact experience with a lot of what I have ever volunteered for outside of corporate…
many folks do not have the practice (or maybe the ability period) to approach decisions from a multifaceted perspective that goes beyond their (often limited and emotionally based) perception.
Data supported what?, qual and quant evidence when?, statistical analysis where?, user feedback how?, cost benefit analysis whomst? 
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100% agree. AND, to an outsider, not only is it boring? It’s confusing. When I try and explain hunters to non-horsey friends, their eyes glaze over. They don’t really get it, and why would they come watch a large event when they have zero idea who’s winning and why? Whereas, GP jumpers? Go fastest and don’t knock the jump down. It’s in the Olympics. A non horse person inherently gets it and can watch a big event and see the timers and know “wow, that guy was really fast and jumped really high.” - I think accessibility for spectators is also a key difference and the US hunter “sport” is unfortunately in a bubble that is just so so foreign to the average Joe. It is very hard to design something that attracts more people and more money when expanding reach requires engaging people who maybe don’t understand the draw of a beautiful hunter.
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well said @blondewithchrome – it is like the equine equivalent of the figure skating compulsory figures! And I say that as a lifelong hunter rider who loves to see a great hunter round!
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I think ppl feel this way about non-freestyle to music dressage as well.
It’s very esoteric to them, but at least you get a score that is related to specific movements and spectator can be like oof that horse did that thing weirdly and not as smooth as the one 3 horses before this. Even if they have no idea what tempi changes are.
still … outside of my non-horsey mother who thinks dressage is like ballet even without music; just finds the athleticism of horses so incredible & loves watching a connection / finds it less stressful than watching high octane show jumping…
I cannot get a singular non-super horsey person to sit thru non-freestyle dressage spectating…
Its like golf - only those who play really “get it” – otherwise the rest of the spectators are there to wear a nice outfit, drink alcohol, and be “seen” somewhere posh afterwards.
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To this point, I feel like if hunters were judged with numerical scores per jump, let’s say, that that might be more interesting to a crowd. Like, oh this horse scored a “9” over that jump, but that one was a “6”, etc. And there would be a definition for each “jump score”. But of course, this would require a complete revamping of how hunters are judged sooooo 
And I, as someone who primarily shows in the hunters, would additionally appreciate this scoring method! A girl can dream.
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I like this. We need to show what adds up to that perfect 100. Those of us “in the know” know that a trot step is a 55, a rail is a 40-45, etc., but I think like you said, having each jump scored 1-10 with maybe 10 points for overall style and 10 points for turnout or presence would go a long way toward demystifying hunter judging.
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Many sports at a high or “elite” level (gymnastics, pole vault, fencing, golf, archery, etc.) seem totally arcane to most people. I have a friend whose three children dive, and her Instagram is full of clips, stats, and the names of different dives. It seems completely bizarre to me that anyone would have their kids at a dive practice at 6 a.m. before school. I say the same thing to my students who are rowing on the river at 6:30 a.m. instead of doing typical college things—like sleeping or massaging their ChatGPT output to turn in.
So, yes, top hunters are boring and arcane, but so are a lot of other activities. That’s not a good enough reason to change them, especially when plenty of super-rich people sustain them just as they are. Nobody cares about a crusader here: most of these people voted for a president who is now deporting their workforce, and many are surprised to learn that you can’t pick and choose who gets deported.
Horse welfare, that’s a good reason for change, maybe introduce some weird hybrid jumper/hunter classes where the same horse has to perform both jobs, one in each round. Or a “no prep” class, somehow stewarded: I’d like to see it!
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Right? The conflict of interest blows my mind. Many show managers are literally half of the problem: they hold dates hostage, prevent competition growth, prevent smaller shows from succeeding, perpetuate bending rules, hire stewards and judges over and over again which has to develop bias, and bend the rules in their own favor. Then, when show managers are put into places of power, we small people haven’t a prayer of achieving change.
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