https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/the-wrong-direction-why-martin-fuchs-is-boycotting-longines-league-of-nations/
Interesting comments on the spectacle of horse showing lacking at some venues. He specially names WEC Ocala. He’s got a point, but I don’t know how you can grow spectators when the venue charges them to come watch and they are located in areas that are tough to get to if you are “average”, e.g. Wellington, Middle Eastern nations etc.
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Well, that kind of WAS his point. The venues that were formerly on the Nations Cup schedule were historic and atmospheric (LaBaule, Rome, St. Gallen, Hickstead, Falsterbo, Dublin) and were guaranteed to have knowledgeable and enthusiastic crowds. Now there are only four tour stops before the final, two in cavernous sand rings, one in Rotterdam (yay, a fun one) and one in a new venue in St Tropez that I suppose could be nice if you can see it from your yacht. These Swiss boys want soul, they want risotto, they want grass and mountain horns. Not getting that in Ocala.
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In hindsight, I can tell I should have phrased it more clearly. I agree that his point is the lack of spectators and history surrounding the venues make for an unpleasant show experience. However, if he wants the sport to grow, it has to go to place where it’s new. I also agree that having it in the Middle East presents some ethical challenges given not only their human rights problems but their animal welfare problems. I suspect that Longines and the FEI will follow the money and the ME countries are spending a ton of money on these events.
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I don’t disagree but Ocala hasn’t changed over the year. So if they tried another location in the Americas for a better outcome I would believe that was the goal. But if you are going back to the same place forgive me if I think it was the FEI’s financial interest that was in play here.
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WEC Ocala actually sold out all of their tickets, so drawing spectators wasn’t the issue there. The specific WEC Ocala example he cited was about the prize giving for the 5*, which was on a Thursday night, and a lot of the crowd did leave when the class was over. On Saturday for the team event, a lot of the crowd stayed. But, the number of tickets available for sale for WEC Ocala would have been far less than some of the European venues, so you would have a smaller crowd to start with, and there is no doubt it is a different atmosphere.
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I mean he’s flying halfway across the world to show. If he doesn’t think it’s for him he has every right to make that choice. Flame suit zipped* I don’t think WEC is all that prestigious.
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I’m having a hard time seeing this as anything but tone deaf on their part. The League of Nations only has 5 stops. Should all 5 be in Europe? How is that a good idea for growing the sport? No, you’re not going to get a crowd of 10k in the USA. Probably not anywhere in all of North America could you get that. I’m not familiar enough with South American views on show jumping to know if they could. But that doesn’t mean we just give up and write off two whole continents.
Every day at WEC at least one person who has zero clue about horses asks me where to go to see the competition. If you want outreach, here it is. Combine food, shopping, a nice hotel and horses. You don’t grow a fan base by pouting and refusing to play.
As far as staying for the prize giving ceremony… the show is over at that point. Everyone cheered for you when you finished your jump off. The stadium was LOUD when you did. Now it’s 9PM and half of the spectators need to be up at 6AM to show their horse tomorrow and the other half really don’t want to sit around to watch whomever sponsored the class take photos with the sign that says their business’ name on it. It also takes forever for some reason. I have watched the jump off end, gotten up, walked to the barns, checked on stuff, walked back to the arena and they were still not done. It’s like expecting the people in the movie theatre to watch all the end credits when they absolutely know there’s no bloopers at the end.
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They can get risotto here. 
Not many mountains at sea level, but I think it’s much better laid out than the circus that is Miami Beach or some other options. Would they prefer going back to OMAHA? I mean… come on. Divas gonna diva. If they hate competing in the US so much, no one is stopping them from skipping back over the pond.
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I mean… to that effect… what in the US is? WEF caters to that level and maybe DIHP, but that’s about it. Both of those seem to be standard issue for a lot of FEI at that level, so maybe a change of scenery is nice occasionally?
Where else are we going? Up to Canada to Spruce Meadows?
No idea what Mexico City was like, but cannot imagine that was full of glitz and glamour that they’re desiring, but maybe I’m wrong? It’s happened.
In this day and age, I’m not sure you really want all the general public rolling in. Considering the way they’re carrying on at concerts and sporting events, I’d hate to see a horse hit by a thrown bottle or have fights break out in the stands. Careful what you wish for…
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Okay but it’s not like that in Europe. @nutmeg said it best, US horse shows really just don’t have any soul. It’s hard to explain if you’ve never experienced a European show, maybe you have but didn’t feel like it was different. To me it’s just not in the same league. American shows, no matter how hard they try, just feel so commercialized, boring, and, yes, soul-less. (sorry America)
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So… just give up? Don’t have any shows here at all? Don’t put any events in an absolutely massive market?
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Santa Anita was pretty cool.
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I read the article differently. They weren’t complaining about soulless, commercial American events so much as the snubbing of St. Gallen in Switzerland (where they are from) which was dropped from this year’s line-up of qualifiers.
It would be like saying hey this year let’s have Mardi Gras in Gary, Indiana instead of New Orleans. Or instead of Fashion Week in Paris, let’s move it to Bradford, UK. Or let’s do Oktoberfest, but in Libya!
Ah sorry, I’m on a roll 
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It’s a big world out there, maybe trying Mexico City or South America is worth a try
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Spruce Meadows get well over 10k per day at their tournaments
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Meh. It comes with its own set of problems and I’m not sure that it’s going to satisfy this crew either. Traffic, weather conditions, footing. It will always be something.
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True. As my dad used to say, some people would not be happy if you hung them with a new rope. And there’s no grass, at least to show on. They also need to be more inclusive with their general admission structure.
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I will kindly beg to differ on Spruce Meadows. Both those riders seem to love it even if you have to shovel off the arena the day before. Most spectators enjoy it so much they will sit thru a speech about Beaver Drilling in order to watch the victory gallop. However it is a Rolex venue so off the table for League of Nations. I am really sad I can’t attach the video of the trumpet fanfare during the Six Bar, it is hilarious and really captures the spirit.
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Oops, y’all were referring to Santa Anita. My bad!
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I was gonna say… I’m totally on board with Spruce!!! But I was more or less saying, where else are they wishing to go on this continent?
I also agree that South America might be an option. There’s so many from Brazil, Venezuela, and Argentina showing lately… maybe there are stadiums or options for good fanfare. The FIFA stadiums could be potential targets if they could figure out a way to do it without disrupting the fields… or maybe older FIFA venues that could be repurposed for polo and equestrian activities.
At the end of the day, no one is going to have the glitz and glam of Dubai… for any sporting event… or the beautiful mountainscapes and attendance of the Euro venues. They are iconic, but much like the Olympics, every tour stop isn’t going to be ideal for one reason or another (Sochi, I’m looking at you). But it’s part of the job, right? You are on a TOUR meaning that you’re touching different fan bases in different regions. I’m sure NFL teams have their preferences of cities, as well, but it’s part of the gig. At the end of the day, 10,000 is considered a terrible attendance for a sporting event for most professional sports. Getting people to invest in renovating or building large stadiums for the expectation of 5-10,000 isn’t getting them the ROI they need. Baseball and football are catering to 40-50K per event, and though I doubt that we’ll see those numbers for anything outside of the Olympics, I think it’s also unrealistic to expect investors and developers to build out new venues for a sport that isn’t seeing the same traction as other professional sports.
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