It was really special.
There were plenty of logistical challenges involved in getting in and out of the city with the horses. But it was the Garden. It was just incredible.
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I work downtown, and used to work overnights, getting off at 6AM. The whole week of WIHS, I’d see the horse vans coming in as I was going out, and always thought of what a hassle that had to be.
If WIHS wanted to arrange bus service to the show it wouldn’t be too difficult, I don’t think. There’s already an existing commuter bus service that runs from downtown directly to the parking lot in front of the main building. They could probably just contract a few buses from the same third party bus company that runs the commuter buses.
I know my officemate will miss the horse show in DC. He has a bike commute on 6th St and always remarks how nice it is for a week or two after the show. The shavings from the stabling area fill in all the little imperfections in the road and smooths out his ride. 
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OMG, Thank YOU!!!
Forever and a day, at least as long as they were doing the “commute,” I wondered how this worked and what it looked like, never having been in person.
I too always thought “horses in the city” was a special, glamorous occasion and fan development opportunity. Albeit one that I would take a hard pass on as a horseman – those schooling ring photos seal that deal, lol. (I think somewhere, someone upstream said something about this being the last of the true indoor shows - Harrisburg would beg to differ!)
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Special buses for spectators to PG - that’s a fabulous idea!
I like the idea in theory - I don’t see it working in practice. For example, many people used to metro into the city to see the horse show. Now, they would presumably metro in, hop on the bus, watch the horse show, then take the bus back into the city.
Issue with that is that by the time you get back into the city, Metro may be close to closing, and the last train may have already left for your destination. (Metro closes at midnight on weekdays, and I remember evening performances at WIHS often going until 11 pm)
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True.
And yet another example of American mass transit frustrations.
sigh
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I think the show may lose a number of paying spectators but frankly the show hasn’t attracted that many for the past several years (pre-covid) I recall the days when it was at Largo and the stadium was nearly sold out weekend nights, hunt night was also a big draw. It will be interesting to see if the show will utilize just the indoor ring, or if they’ll have some more divisions in the outside ring. It would be great to bring back Hunt Night, local day and some of the other divisions that had to be eliminated when it moved downtown.
My understanding is the county will be putting a lot of money into the facility which is good.
Good news for Maryland with the Maryland 5* and WIHS both in October…
I imagine that if they brought back hunt night, that would pull in as attendees a lot of local and semi-local horse people that wouldn’t otherwise go.
I do hope they stay to just the indoor ring. One of the things that makes indoors special is that you only have one ring, and everyone is focused on that ring.
Yes. Harrisburg had a different feel this year with the two show rings. Maybe the change in their bottom line was worth it to them, but it definitely felt a bit weird.
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I agree. Take advantage of the covered ring and outdoor rings for schooling but keep it all in the arena. Indoors should be indoors, and all in one ring. It makes it more special to spotlight one rider and one class at a time. A hunt night could be fun though, especially with all the hunts in the area. But do that just one night.
Local weekend is already a huge multi-day, multi-ring event (which hopefully will also return to PGEC next year), it doesn’t need to be combined with real WIHS.
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Unfortunately I can’t see many people taking advantage of shuttles out of the city. I’d hazard a guess that most of the attendees lived outside of DC, which meant having to travel in. The Metro made that easier, but I admit to always driving in myself. That was an hour+ commute from my home. Metro was longer because I also had to drive to a station. The LAST thing I’d want to do is then wait around for a shuttle to then drive me the extra 30-40 minutes to the show ground, then wait around for the return trip.
PG county would be, oh, at least 1.5-2 hours, depending on traffic. More than likely 2+ hours if traffic is bad (when is not?). A quick check on Waze shows it to be 2 hours at the moment, and that’s on a night when so many people have taken off for the holidays AND a pandemic is going on.
With so few hotel and restaurant options around the showgrounds, it’s highly unlikely that I’d stay over after the night events. In other words, I probably won’t be going to the WIHS in the future as a spectator. Maybe as a competitor, but not as a spectator. I’m saddened by this because I’ve attended for years, usually with non-horsey friends and family in tow.
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Even from downtown DC to PG, you are looking at 32 minutes right now; and there isn’t traffic. It could easily be 2 hours just to get there. I can’t imagine a shuttle being a good option just because of that reason.
I can’t imagine it will draw the spectators like it did before, so it’s definitely lost the magic. I don’t think it will ever be ran like indoors used to be; there’s just too much money to be lost by not running multiple rings.
From a traffic standpoint, the PG is in a terrible location. It’s sandwiched in by DC, the bay, and Baltimore, plus the bridge infrastructure getting over the Potomac hasn’t been upgraded in a very long time. If you come from VA, you are forced to cross either through DC or Alexandria, both terrible options, and if you come from Maryland you fight either the Baltimore or Bethesda traffic.
Though I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir here on the traffic standpoint.
I personally think that Morven park would have served as a better location. Or possibly the McDonogh School in Owings Mills, though that is a private location. The PG isn’t in an area that I would consider easy to get to or very tourist friendly.
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McDonogh has almost no capacity for spectators in their indoor, and I can’t imagine anyone would want to deal with the DC beltway, I-95N, and the Baltimore beltway on a weekday evening. Plus the stabling capacity is limited. Morven’s indoor isn’t really suited to large numbers of spectators or amenities like VIP dining, etc. And the commute out that way is no picnic either.
Really, PGEC is the only facility in the immediate DC area with spectator seating and a concourse for vendors. Traffic the in area stinks no matter which direction you go and PGEC is as accessible as any other option, it’s right off a major highway. A good number of people in Arlington and Alexandria actually board in PG and Anne Arundel counties because the commute is easier than heading towards Middleburg or Leesburg. So people out west of DC may be less likely to go to PGEC, and people east of DC wouldn’t want to head to Morven. I can’t see many people from VA going to McDonogh to spectate.
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Agreed, Capital Challenge at PGEC was good, it will work for WIHS too. PGEC is actually really convenient to Arlington and similar locations at some of our 24 hours: about 35 minutes during the day. At night, not so hot, for certain, but it really is the only suitable arena with excellent lighting and seating. When it’s all decorated and filled with great footing and lovely jumps, the Showplace arena is a great place to show, spectate, and shop.
Local day used to be a week or 2 before WIHS and then the finalists would compete at WIHS so they might do something like that again.
True, McDonogh has almost not spectator seating. But for the majority of people access would be significantly easier, coming from Virginia (crossing at point of rocks) or from Maryland (multiple roads in)
Morven is not built for shows inside, but considering how good our fall weather is, doing the show outdoors in its multiple massive arenas with excellent footing could be a good option. There’s a lot of room outside to set up spectator seating, VIP tents, vendors, etc. It might not feel like indoors, but it might feel like Upperville. On top of that there’s a lot of hotels nearby.
It will be interesting to see it next year. The PG isn’t exactly in the most metropolitan area, and there’s pretty much no hotels in the area, which isn’t great for competitors, but the fact that it’s all set up for horses sure will make it easier on everyone who runs it!
The Capital Challenge is already at the PGEC and those competitors seem to manage to find accommodations ok, and it appears that the county, state are helping with some funding.
here’s a blurb from local news source
Prince George’s County will invest in the equestrian center to prepare for the show. With funding from the county and state government, and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, improvements to The Show Place Arena will be made, including improved footing, updated and matted stabling and a covered schooling area.
The show will partner with the National Harbor to host attendees at the hotel. A news release from Alsobrooks said the exhibitors’ lounge and VIP dining platform will be back, as well as “new hospitality opportunities and special events at National Harbor.”
Capital One Arena hosted the show for nearly 20 years but after the arena could no longer accommodate the show, organizers had to look elsewhere for a venue in the D.C area.
Lowell said The Show Place Arena was selected because it “a provides a more cost-effective showing experience for exhibitors.”
“The Washington, D.C. area is our heritage and our home,” Lowell said. “We have moved several times in the past from our original home in D.C. at The Armory, to Landover, Md., to the Capital One Arena downtown. We believe Prince George’s Equestrian Center is the right destination for us at this time.”
Lowell also said the venue-changes comes with a “significant” increase to prize money.
In addition to the Washington International Horse Show, the Maryland 5 Star eventing competition will return to Elkton, Maryland, in mid-October. Gov. Larry Hogan designated October as Maryland Horse Month.
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I know that PGEC will be easier logistically, but I am sad to see WIHS leave DC. Showing there was seriously one of the most thrilling moments of my life. Walking into the arena and looking up at the upper decks, the jumbotron - Showplace Arena and Harrisburg just don’t compare. WIHS now is just CC 2.0. I’m biased, of course, since I lived blocks away at the time, and all my friends could come watch me ride. And my hot, flighty TB mare was oddly quiet and calm there, walking down F St like it was her favorite place on earth. I’m thankful for the experience and will miss seeing horses in the city in October!
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