Right now I do not care if I show. I have a youngster who I can spend months with to develop our relationship. And I am one of those at high risk so do not intend to chance exposure. I am finding the day to day development of our work together very rewarding. It will pay off when I choose to compete again however long that might be
My new horse was bathed and banded and ready to load on the trailer for our first horse show together when we got the call that the facility hosting the show had been ordered to close due to the virus. That was in March, and now all of the shows for the next few months have been cancelled. All dressed up and nowhere to go.
But I didnât really care. By the time things open back up (and Iâm one of those assuming it will be next year some time) Iâll know this horse really well, and be more ready to compete. Until then Iâll ride him a couple of times a week at my trainerâs barn and concentrate on my other horses I have at home, going on trail rides and camping excursions.
Hopefully Iâll be excited to show again. But maybe not. A lot can change in 18 months. But then, showing has never been the main goal for me. I just love horses.
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Well it will be interesting to see how it goes, either way. It is very possible that life will not return to ânormalâ any time soon. Time will tell. If there are spikes in the illness after reopening then people wisely may choose to live conservatively in terms of moving around a lot. I have 2 gym memberships and I cannot deny I am hesitant to return to them. Shopping for home equipment is a current past time.
I am glad to hear that some riders are getting to enjoy their new schedules with their horses. I feel bad for folks at bigger training/boarding/show barns where the lockdown has been serious. Those businesses are facing serious questions about the future, and they may not be able to hang on very long with the previous models of regular lessons and showing if there is a significant shift.
A tangental musing:
I feel like horse shows and horse events, with some tweaking, could find a way to continue in the future with low risk of transmission.
Once on horseback, itâs not hard to maintain a 6ft+ distance from others.
Things like dressage, eventing, show jumping, etc. involve a single competitor in the ring at a time. Youâre not touching anything, youâre not close to anyone⊠thereâs really no risk in the moment of competition.
Flat classes with multiple horses could maintain a safe distance if they abandon moments of close contact like lining up to pin the class and congregating at the gate.
Warm-up rings could limit bodies. Riders could be required to wait at their trailers, their stall, or anywhere away from others instead of hanging around the in gate.
There is plenty of room at any show ground for judges and staff to space themselves out. Sure, it may take creativity, change, and good hygiene, but it can be done (even if people hate change).
Ribbons could be mailed. Score sheets could be shared digitally.
On the ground, it gets a little trickier to keep competitors, trainers, grooms, etc. at a safe social distance, but maybe youâd just need to mask up and limit the number of people allowed on the grounds per entry. Space out people in stabling areas if pertinent.
Many shows are outdoors, further reducing the risk of transmission as youâre not sharing recirculated air. Indoors are so large and often have the ability for good ventilation, sans viewing boxes/offices or the largest of professional arenas.
You may not be able to safely accommodate spectating, but it could be replaced with live streams. Even the smallest of schooling shows could use a cell phone and social media to live stream a show.
I say all this because even if we really are living in âthe new normalâ (I hope not), it doesnât necessarily mean weâll never see horse shows again.
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Texarkana. I can see what you are saying. But horse show offices will be difficult to manage. Also bathrooms, In gate areas, boards where jump courses are posted, hotel rooms for the long term shows. Devon is NOT a big open airy show ground. It is a (quaint, charming, historic) sardine can. Harrisburg is indoors. (I am living in PA currently) And show âcircuitsâ are potential transmission pipelines.
I can see hunterpace, endurance, fox hunts, similar events, etc. making a go.
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I agree the horse show offices will be tough, but I really think it can be done. With internet and cell service, people can be a safe distance apart and still communicate. Itâs happening in workplaces across the country.
Bathrooms, well⊠bathrooms are an issue in every public place. The best you can say is follow good hygiene practices in any public restroom and make sure the management employs frequent cleaning.
Courses and important info can be shared digitally. Itâs not hard to take a picture of what would be posted on the board; people do it already.
Gate areas could not let people congregate. You donât need to wait at the gate. Although itâs easier to avoid this problem at some venues than others.
Hotels⊠well, thatâs up to hotels to figure out how they are going to stay in business and keep people safe. Thatâs a whole different topic. Living quarters trailers and RVs might surge in popularity if hotels canât figure it out.
I was raised in SE PA; I grew up showing at Devon, Harrisburg, etc. Believe me, I know what youâre saying. I donât have an answer for Devon. Devon is also more of the exception than the rule, as most shows arenât conducted on postage-stamp pieces of property engulfed by urban sprawl. Unique shows like WIHS also might not be able to continue safely. I do believe you could get creative and use a venue like Harrisburg (without spectators), because Harrisburg has the luxury of more space. Make a tent city in the parking lot if necessary.
We may have to see less âtraveling the circuitâ and more of the Florida effect that has already been happening for years, where competitors are setting up shop long-term at a venue for multiple weeks/months of shows instead of spending two weeks here, two weeks there all summer.
Donât get me wrong, I think it would require a lot of change. People HATE change. But I donât think the alternative has to be âno more showsâ as has been suggested.
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Life will return to ânormalâ with small tweaks (Everyone will hopefully wash hands more, distance and wear masks during flu season, have better access to health care, etc.) Shows will continue because, in the very near future, we will have a vaccine for Covid-19. Just like we have one for influenza. Wonât be perfect, certainly, but will undoubtedly provide a measure of safety for vaccinated individuals, and âherd immunityâ for those who cannot be. There will be better therapies and treatments for every single patient who gets Covid is teaching scientists how it works and how we can combat it.
I still cannot figure out what the OPs intent was here or the audience. But I feel strongly that showing will resume, in a much more self-aware, hygienic way. And thatâs not a bad thing. But outdoor horse events have always been relatively much safer for all involved due to spacing and lack of crowds at all but the biggest events.
If thereâs money to be made, a way will be found.
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The fact the primary source of spreading is person to person droplet transmission. The virus is in the saliva and mucous when you cough, sneeze etc.
If you are walking on your horses, trotting, moving around the ingate. One person could very well sneeze or cough and the next person, maintaining a thought-to-be safe 6 foot distance, ride right through it thus exposing themselves.
Luckily- they do not think this virus is âairborneâ like chickenpox, measles or TB - where it can linger in the air- that we know of yet.
The fact is- the outbreak of a novel pathogen like coronavirus that can cause COVID-19 is we havenât been able to study transmission patterns enough to see if it is NOT airborne. Knowing this has many implications for controlling the spread.
I donât know what the answer is for this situation. I have already been told we wonât be going back to my company until the summer- if Iâm lucky. Excluding those of us who volunteer in the lab for COVID. I wonât be showing anytime soon until they have a better handle on it- not because I am afraid necessarily- but I could be a carrier.
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WRT running shows while the novel corona virus is still a problem-
It is difficult to keep the dressage judge and the scribe 6 feet apart.
In some facilities it is hard to keep the judge and the announcer 6 feet apart.
You can put a Plexiglas shield between the show secretary and the competitors, but it is going to be hard to keep the competitors 6 feet apart from each other.
How long does the virus survive on paper? A typical dressage score sheet goes from the scribe, to the judge to the runner to the scorer to the secretary to the competitor. Even if they wear gloves,that is not full protection. If,for instance, the scribe touches her face with her gloved hand, virus could still end up on the paper.
It may not be easy to keep 6 feet apart in the show stabling.
Yes, shows will eventually start up again. But not for a while,and they will not be the same.
You think so?
I donât think the " powers that be" are going to allow people packed in anywhere for a long time to tell you the truth. I also think that a majority of the public are not going to want to be in mass crowds for a long, long time. They have been successful at panicking a lot of people.
Just my take off what iâve heard. I hope I am wrong and you are right, because I think they have gone way, way overboard from the beginning.
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One thing I have learned in my 5 decades of life is that - and I am speaking of myself only - organized competition sucks the fun out of every activity I have ever enjoyed. It turns a hobby into a chore. I have goals, riding and otherwise, but I donât miss showing. Iâm much happier if I limit my participation on the showgrounds to spectating and helping friends.
That said, there are a lot of people who depend on shows to make a living, so I am rooting for a strong comeback.
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5/A Baker Products Charity Horse Show
June 4 -7th, 2020
In my state people are already rebelling against the stay at home order. I know of at least a few places that have reopened. A few companies have told their employees to come back to work. According to acquaintances, the beaches are starting to get tourists. Heck, you can just tell from the road traffic that more people are out and about than before.
I also donât think Trump will keep a ban for any longer than he has to, since he needs a good economy for his platform to win the upcoming election.
So I expect he will lift it soon, probably mid May to June, and at least here on the east coast once that happens all the states will open real fast. How can you tell me I canât go to a movie theater when I can drive 10 min and be in another state that is open?
Here in Virginia, we are already 19 days past peak deaths. The recommended âlift restrictionâ date keeps getting moved closer to now, first it was June 10, then June 1, now May 27.
100% yes. Iâd still want to have a test clinic now and again to get marks / feedback from outside eyes, but honestly couldnât care less Iâd I ever went to another show or won another ribbon. My goal is to be able to ride well at Third Level, period. Whether or not I do it in the show ring is irrelevant.
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Things here start on Monday May4th. Yes, I notice many more people out and about. You can only stay home so long.
It is way overdue.
I showed a ton from my teenage years through my mid-30âs and then for a variety of reasons that I wonât bore everyone with, I stopped showing and kind of lost my motivation for riding. Because Iâd always ridden with the goal of a show on the horizon, I just felt lost once I decided showing was no longer a priority. I kept the horses because I had my own farm and they were family, but I hardly ever rode them anymore.
Life has a way of changing on us though, and once my two old retirees (including my beloved heart horse) were laid to rest on the farm, I had to think about my future and whether or not horses were going to remain a part of it. I still had my appaloosa gelding, whom Iâd raised and trained and lightly shown all on my own. I decided I no longer needed the farm as it wasnât really fitting my needs and was a lot to take care of (rather low and wet and not a lot of good riding places). My neighbors had wanted it for years, so selling was easy.
I decided to keep my appy gelding, and heâs now boarded at a wonderful farm where he and I had done some schooling dressage shows and lessons in years past. I found a little house to buy less than 10 minutes from the farm. So, after at least 3 years of not riding at all, my horse and I have been getting back in shape. Iâve bought all new tack and have been keeping SmartPak in business (LOL) with my newfound excitement for riding.
Showing is not a priority at the barn, even though in normal times there are usually two dressage schooling shows hosted on the farm. Itâs mostly just a good group of âbarn goddessesâ who enjoy our horses and like learning and being the best horsewomen we can be. At the end of the month, there is a Working Equitation clinic being hosted at the farm, and weâre excited to give it a try!
It took me a while to figure out how to ride without competing as the ultimate goal. But being around like-minded people in a supportive, laid-back, and fun environment as been wonderful.
I am riding more than ever and could care less if I ever show again. Itâs a nice feeling. Which, Iâve always said I showed because I had horses instead of the other way around. The horses were always the priority, not the showing. I had a harder time convincing myself I needed to RIDE when I wasnât going to a show in the future. Iâm now getting over thatâŠthough on some level I do think in the back of my mind Iâm visualizing the possibility that weâll compete again. If we do, itâll be when the schooling shows come back to the farm. My horse hates being hauled and has trouble settling into new places. No need for that headache. Let the shows come to us! Or not. Doesnât matter. 
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