In another thread, some people were concerned with the footing at Tryon. Has it gotten any better?
We are looking at our fall show schedule and wondering whether we should make the trip.
I’ve been there twice with the most recent being the beginning of August. It has a very “grippy” feel to it. It seems to stay put and not give way.
It’s GGT. People either love it or hate it.
Terrible. It’s not your typical GGT. Much harder. I liked it at first. Now after 1/2 of our horses going lame showing there … No longer
i hate to say I told you so…but…
[QUOTE=APirateLooksAtForty;8284196]
Terrible. It’s not your typical GGT. Much harder. I liked it at first. Now after 1/2 of our horses going lame showing there … No longer[/QUOTE]
Sorry to hear about your horses. I really hope your barn filled in USEF footing evaluation forms. There certainly seems to be more lameness problems associated with showing on this footing since it has no give to it. The horse’s foot and leg should not absorb all the shock!
Haven’t been to tryon specifically, but after many horse shows at other facilities that use similar footing I will now be avoiding all show facilities that use that stuff.
I feel like I read an article recently on GGT footing and how it isn’t good for horses to work on it for more than a week or two at a time… but now can’t for the life of me can I remember where I read that. Might not have been an article at all… could have been another thread on here to be honest.
In any case - where I show uses GGT as well but I never show more than 1 week at a time and I never show frequently in a short time span (only doing 4 shows total this year). Never had any issues with GGT footing for my guy keeping that sparse of a show schedule.
[QUOTE=Rescuer;8288147]
I feel like I read an article recently on GGT footing and how it isn’t good for horses to work on it for more than a week or two at a time… but now can’t for the life of me can I remember where I read that. Might not have been an article at all… could have been another thread on here to be honest.
In any case - where I show uses GGT as well but I never show more than 1 week at a time and I never show frequently in a short time span (only doing 4 shows total this year). Never had any issues with GGT footing for my guy keeping that sparse of a show schedule.[/QUOTE]
I’d be interested to read this article if you ever found it again.
The facility where I board my horse has GGT footing (and has had it for over a year now) and I haven’t had issues with it (knock on wood!). As long as it’s kept up with and maintained properly with regular watering and dragging, I’m totally happy with it.
[QUOTE=hj0519;8288440]
I’d be interested to read this article if you ever found it again.
The facility where I board my horse has GGT footing (and has had it for over a year now) and I haven’t had issues with it (knock on wood!). As long as it’s kept up with and maintained properly with regular watering and dragging, I’m totally happy with it.[/QUOTE]
Most private farms I have been to with the GGT footing it is much different than the WEF, KY, Lamplight and Tryon type footing. I don’t know if there is more ratio of sand to fiber or a different sand or what. But it usually feels softer and has more give. THe hoof prints are deeper and more on par with what depth they should be in a sand ring. The show facilities however are hard as a rock unless drowned in water. It hurts my own knees as well as my horse’a joints and muscles.
Agreed woodhills. I think it’s an issue of timing, too. You can’t be in a rush to build these things. Tryon’s rings went up in a matter of weeks, my trainer’s took a year
[QUOTE=hj0519;8288440]
I’d be interested to read this article if you ever found it again.
The facility where I board my horse has GGT footing (and has had it for over a year now) and I haven’t had issues with it (knock on wood!). As long as it’s kept up with and maintained properly with regular watering and dragging, I’m totally happy with it.[/QUOTE]
Figured out where I’d read the reviews. Not an article at all. Totally just another thread from on here.
This one if you are interested. http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?470010-GGT-footing
Culpeper has this footing and I was packing my jumper’s feet every night over the five days we were there last month. It’s so hard, I felt like we were jumping on ground up asphalt- and it stings their legs. It’s one reason I won’t be showing there much.
I’m sorry to hear Tryon has it- I was thinking about going there for a couple of weeks this winter.
ETA: Hmm, I thought Culpeper has GGT, but I just read that they have some sort of faux GGT. Well, I’m still not a fan, whatever it was- it felt like it had no give whatsoever.
H
[QUOTE=foursocks;8290282]
Culpeper has this footing and I was packing my jumper’s feet every night over the five days we were there last month. It’s so hard, I felt like we were jumping on ground up asphalt- and it stings their legs. It’s one reason I won’t be showing there much.
I’m sorry to hear Tryon has it- I was thinking about going there for a couple of weeks this winter.
ETA: Hmm, I thought Culpeper has GGT, but I just read that they have some sort of faux GGT. Well, I’m still not a fan, whatever it was- it felt like it had no give whatsoever.[/QUOTE]
Yes they use a competitor of GGT and I hadn’t been a fan but at least HITS Culpeper recognized they had a problem and they had no footing issues for the August shows. I think this type of footing requires specific maintenance for your climate and the specific weather.
I hope more venues either figure out how to maintain it properly or get it the heck out of the rings.
FYI foursocks there are no shows there in the winter
Oops, I actually meant in the spring, not winter. I went with a bunch of eventer friends to Aiken last spring but was thinking Tryon might be fun this next year.
equisusan- that is good news about Culpeper managing it better. The footing was so not fun to ride on in July.
I wanted to feel the love for Tryon but we had such a bad experience this summer, I doubt we will be going back. Between the constant construction, expensive lodging, questionable footing, then being stabled in a tent with no reduction in stabling fees and all the rumors about the people stabled in the permanent barns, it will only be on our list as a last resort.
Thanks for everyone for the replies. I was trying to get a feel for Tryon’s footing in particular as it seems there can be varying implementations of GGT-type footing. Based on the feedback, I think we’ll stay away. 
[QUOTE=Testable;8291763]
I wanted to feel the love for Tryon but we had such a bad experience this summer, I doubt we will be going back. Between the constant construction, expensive lodging, questionable footing, then being stabled in a tent with no reduction in stabling fees and all the rumors about the people stabled in the permanent barns, it will only be on our list as a last resort.[/QUOTE]
Wow, what a bummer! It looks great online. May I ask…what were the rumors about people in permanent barns?
[QUOTE=foursocks;8291575]
equisusan- that is good news about Culpeper managing it better. The footing was so not fun to ride on in July.[/QUOTE]
We were lucky with the weather too as it didn’t pour rain as it often does. Time will tell if they can manage the footing if that happens.
I think the most important thing we can all do as competitors is to tell the horse show management and fill out the footing evaluations. I think sometimes competitors are complaining or decide afterwards not to come back but horse show management have no idea.
We have been to Tryon several times and the shows were small. Last year, it wasn’t surprising because the place was covered over with construction. Then this year, small shows and still construction. The lovely photos on line do not convey the actual state of the facility.
Suddenly in July a huge barn is there. Someone I have never seen in the Southeast. And a few other barns I had never even heard of. Not that I know everyone in horse showing. There was a rumor that those barns were given special deals while those of us from the region who had been before were shuffled off to temporary stalls. We were still charged the high stall fees. I know some people did not stay once they found they were in temporary stabling and some people were refunded their stall fees and some weren’t depending on how vigorously they protested I guess. I also heard some people did get a fee reduction in stabling.
