I know XC starts at 9…anybody know how long it would be expected to run?
I ask because I have a ticket, coming in on a redeye from Utah…and have late word that my flight schedule has been changed by good ol’ Delta, so I don’t figure to be at the venue before noonish (assuming no additional delays). Aargh.
Depends on # of entries, but for Rolex they can typically stretch out 40 starters to last all day.
Starting at 9, horses start every 4 minutes, 2 hour lunch break, etc. Then adjusting for holds on course, weather challenges, etc.
good chance it will be an all day affair.
For a total XC newbie, any suggestions on when to arrive? I was thinking trying to be at the park at 6:00 for the 9:00 start. Allows time for parking, walking to pick out a nice spot on course, etc., in theory. But how much of a tangle is it getting in for a very popular day? I have no past experience to judge by. Would you want to arrive earlier? Later?
for parking, get there as early as possible. But once there, you’re trapped. Finding somewhere to sit down is going to be dicey, although one expects that they will have the bleachers up at a couple of places like Head of The Lake and The Hollow.
For the best part of XC, you’re going to want to move around. Personally I like to spend some time at the Start/Finish area, particularly at the finish because you can see how the experts cool down their horses. Swing around to the Hollow and to Head of The Lake. Course hasn’t been published yet, but there should be something going on in the center of the course that is worth seeing. But you really want to traipse around.
I’d suggest finding a course walk in the previous days and going along with an expert to explain the terrain and the jumps and how the expert thinks they should be ridden. It’s very educational and interesting, but also tiring because the course will be close to 4 miles long. Wear very comfortable shoes. 
On the scheduling–at Rolex this year, the weather was such that the lunch break was canceled and the XC was over by 2pm or so. Normally it will run until 4 or thereabouts, and there may be holds for injuries, horse and human.
Bring at least one large garbage bag. You can use it to sit on if the grass is wet. You can wear it if it rains. You can put all of your purchases in it. The possibilities are endless.
Well, worth a shot to at least get in a couple of hours of XC, thanks for the info. Parking. Hmmm. What are the chances I will get a spot late morning? I suppose there is no way of knowing at this point…
At ROLEX, we always walk the course on Friday and pick out our spots to sit and if there are any particular horses we want to see once they post the order of go…
Delta did the same thing to me twice. The second time they changed my flight to Cincinnati, it would have been so late that I would have missed the Dressage Freestyle. I called Delta and explained that I had had these tickets for 9 months and told them to figure it out. The Delta person was very helpful and changed us to another flight that would arrive in plenty of time.
I’ve been thinking about running the Big Red 5k on XC morning (in Paris for the Secretariat Festival, about 45 min away). The race starts at 9, I would be done by 9:30. My hotel is between Paris and the Park, and I would stop for a quick shower, and probably be at the front gate by 11-12. My question is… is this feasible? How long does XC usually run, how long/when is the lunch break? I’ve never been to an event before, so I have really no idea how everything works. Would I end up missing most of the event and being so stuck behind a wall of people that I can’t see anything, or should I go ahead and show up late?
[QUOTE=Peggy;5099016]
Bring at least one large garbage bag. You can use it to sit on if the grass is wet. You can wear it if it rains. You can put all of your purchases in it. The possibilities are endless.[/QUOTE]
Oooh, cool idea.
[QUOTE=Smarty7;5122026]
I’ve been thinking about running the Big Red 5k on XC morning (in Paris for the Secretariat Festival, about 45 min away). The race starts at 9, I would be done by 9:30. My hotel is between Paris and the Park, and I would stop for a quick shower, and probably be at the front gate by 11-12. My question is… is this feasible? How long does XC usually run, how long/when is the lunch break? I’ve never been to an event before, so I have really no idea how everything works. Would I end up missing most of the event and being so stuck behind a wall of people that I can’t see anything, or should I go ahead and show up late?[/QUOTE]
Usually people are moving around quite a bit and you’ll be able to change from jump to jump to see different action.
If it’s between coming late and not coming at all, I’d come late.
But if it’s between coming late or coming on time, I think you’d find it more enjoyable to be there when it starts. There’s something different, somehow, at an event like this, about seeing the horses go from the beginning than joining the action later. It’s not like a horse show where pretty much there’s horseys jumping around over the same jumps all day and you can see all the action - to really see the event you DO want to move around and walk the whole course to see people at different obstacles. And, it’s not like in show jumping where you can expect the best horses to go at the end - the leaders will be scattered through the day.
[QUOTE=Beverley;5097598]
I know XC starts at 9…anybody know how long it would be expected to run?
I ask because I have a ticket, coming in on a redeye from Utah…and have late word that my flight schedule has been changed by good ol’ Delta, so I don’t figure to be at the venue before noonish (assuming no additional delays). Aargh.[/QUOTE]
It’s worth giving them a call to see if they can reroute you. My itinerary changed times as well (but only slightly) and it suggested that you do have some recourse if the new schedule doesn’t fit.
[QUOTE=Peggy;5099016]
Bring at least one large garbage bag. You can use it to sit on if the grass is wet. You can wear it if it rains. You can put all of your purchases in it. The possibilities are endless.[/QUOTE]
GREAT idea; thanks! I was just thinking (from the previous post) “ugh, what am I going to drag with me to sit on??”
Yeah, I checked alternate schedules for Lexington, Cincinatti, Louisville…alas, ya can’t get there from here! Well, you can, but work circumstances are such that I can’t leave til late afternoon/evening Friday. Anyhow, I figure I’ll at least see 3 hours’ worth of XC if all goes well (and if not I did get ticket insurance for that one!). And will for sure see the stadium in its entirety!
I’m told by a friend who is outriding that there will be no lunch break, outriders are on duty from 8 am to 3:30 pm.
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