For some reason, my post this morning about sponsorships remains “unapproved.” I didn’t berate anyone, name anyone, name a horse show, name a horse, or bring up politics. No mention of another website nor another thread, no advertisement, no attachments, no swearing, no bad words. Written in English. It was post #57. The post’s box is in green. Since there’s no explanation for the unapproval, I’ll delete it. It’s obviously upsetting someone.
@Mardi the same thing happened to me. I copied the text and pasted into a new post that went through just fine. I think it’s a glitch.
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There is a thread about this not new at all problem in the technical help section of the forum. It has nothing to do with your content. It is just a problem with the software and the filters to prevent spammers.
If you want your post approved you need to send @Moderator 1 a private message or tag them so they know to go looking for it in the spam filter to release it. (All that information is covered in that thread I mentioned.)
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Very well said MVP, cannot agree more!
Factor in the necessity of a college degree to earn a decent income ($100K + in debt), housing costs through the roof and family responsibilities that take up weekend and leisure time, fewer and fewer of us normal folk can afford to do the horse show thing. Especially when the ‘destination’ shows then require multiple nights sleeping over, often far away and at very significant costs.
The local level shows at least felt more supportive and welcoming. The family (pre pandemic of course) could come join, cheer and help out a bit. The average person, with the average horse, can put down a decent trip without spending $50 per day for coaching, warm ups, schooling and trainer rides. All of that adds up. Even for my eventing friends, where the Ontario horse trial entry is $225 for the day and you work out of the trailer, the coaching and travel fees start to add up. My friends (gainfully employed) struggle justifying a $250 entry plus $250 trailering + $100 coaching for a day … how many of those can you ‘sell’ to a significant other before concluding that paying down a mortgage is more fiscally responsible?
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The other thing people should realize is that the video game sports are actually huge. Like people make significant incomes, in some cases millions of dollars a year, playing video games professionally. Some make their income mostly from prize money in tournaments, and some from posting videos of them to youtube etc playing those games based on the tiny bit you earn from every viewer to your video. It’s easy for us to dismiss them as weird and niche but in fact they have already proven the market.
One thing they have going for them is that their activity is typically an advertisement for a $60 game … which is large enough to generate a lot of money, and small enough that anyone who watches can probably pay it.
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Everytime I see promotion of equestrian sports (other than horse racing) in the US, it seems to focus on the magical bond between rider and horse. Even the USEF campaign with its focus on “Joy” goes that direction.
As long as we take that direction, and don’t focus on the athletic aspects of equestrian sport, there is no chance for non-equestrians to understand the demands of the sport. We are hamstringing ourselves.
Kent Farrington regularly posts Instagram videos of his home workouts, and they are ridiculous and inspiring and (IMHO) do much more to promote the sport than discussions of emotional bonding.
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You can go to a barrel racing meet and return with more cash than you left with. (And, arguably, it has more spectator interest.)
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Easily done with a great sense of humor and no hurt rider feelings. 
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And 10 horses can run in the time it takes a single hunter rider to take one trip around. Also, look at the time to set courses and then reset the jump height - and the crew to do all of that. Barrels have 3 barrels. It’s always the same 3 barrels. You can send a LOT more horse/rider combos down a shoot with barrel racing than you can with hunters or jumpers, there is less cost as the barrels themselves are, well, cheap to begin with. No live flowers, fillers, or any of the finery that a hunter course has. There is a volume consideration - you can run an entire barrel event in an evening. They do them all the time here in GA. You cannot do that with hunters when the trips take 2 min 43 min.
Also, the pattern is ALWAYS the same for barrels, so there is no course designer. The only way you could fairly compare hunter/jumpers to barrels would be if we had one run per class with three jumps and we jumped them in the barrel pattern. The course would always be the same (yawn) and we would be rated on speed with a time penalty for knocking over a jump. Maybe to some that sounds fun, but for me I prefer the challenge of the distances changing from line to line, sometimes having the long approach to a single and sometimes not, having to decide how handy to make my equitation round, etc… I appreciate the time the designer put into the course, and that it takes talent to make it challenging yet achievable. I appreciate the time taken to design the jumps, and I especially appreciate shows that make gorgeous filled jumps that explode with greenery and challenge my horse. I appreciate the crew that changes the configuration of these jumps every night. I appreciate that I can jump the same 8 jumps but in two different courses - I ran barrels, poles and keyholes as a kid and it’s always the same - there is no variety. Barrels bored me - poles were always way more challenging. I’m sure for some the allure of prize money trumps the boredom of running the same pattern every week. But hey, if some hunter/jumpers want to bail and go run barrels since their primary motivator is winning a jackpot, then have at it! Nobody is stopping them! I never understood people who expect their shows to get paid for in prize money, because then the expectation is that everyone will always win, and if everyone wins, nobody wins.
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Why does it have to be an either / or? Why can’t we have a shot at making some money back and have varied courses? Not every class, but a few more opportunities would be nice. There are ways to make the financials work without sacrificing the course designer. The whole topic of this thread revolves around bringing more money in and making the sport more appealing. True competition has a way of exciting people.
The prevailing belief that anyone who is not a professional should constantly bleed money for the sport is what drives people away. Eventually looking at a nice retirement or spending the same money on real vacations wins out over waiting all day for one class and rarely to never winning.
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At the lower levels, we’re talking minor variations on outside line, diagonal, outside line, diagonal.
With specified striding numbers.
Shouldn’t require an expensive course designer.
ETA: Also not gripping for the spectators.
The point I was attempting to make is that there are equestrian endeavors which generate some small $$$ for the participants, while still being somewhat interesting for the spectators.
The lower divisions of the 21st century hunters, for the most part, are not going to draw spectator interest sufficient to attract any significant sponsorship industries not directly connected to them, and that’s a relatively small pool.
Hell, I used to watch guys calf roping on Wednesday nights, within driving distance of Boston, and they made a few bucks and the non-horsey locals came to watch.
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My brother works for a major news corporation and when I asked him why they don’t show more show jumping, grand prixs, etc, He replied that there isn’t the demand for it. In his words “if there is enough demand, we’ll broadcast it”. So speak out, ask for it.
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And watch on Youtube etc, because they’ll notice if equestrian videos are getting a lot of traction…
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That’s kind of a double edge sword though. If they don’t show it they won’t get the demand they want to keep showing it. They say demand it and we can but it doesn’t meet the demand.
Karl Cook elaborated further on the costs incurred to show runners in a recent walking and talking post on his instagram. Have to once again say it’s nice to see someone in the sport talking out against the cost and establishment (USEF). Too many people are fine with the “Because that’s the way its always been” approach and are content to see the sport slowly die as people and organizations are unwilling to adapt.
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When I did a lot of rated shows in the 90s in the hunters and eq, I could sometimes pay for my whole show in prize money. Or make a good sized dent. Even if I did not (did not do well, purses were small, or I showed in more non-money classes like medals), I could not have imagined writing a 4 figure check to the show office for one horse. Now before I even enter the ring, my bill is higher than it was most shows I did in the past.
The mileage rule killed B and C rated shows. And the addition of USEF required expenses in the video didn’t even touch on all of the requirements for Premier ratings. Minimum prize money, more ring requirements (including separate schooling areas), jumbotrons, and so on, costing the managers a ton of money, limiting facilities, and feeding even more into the mega circuit model.
As for the European model, I think some semblance of it should be doable. But there is a significant cultural attitude difference with horses over there, and you have gobs of horse friendly suburban communities and a lot of options in fairly close proximity. It’s not even just about land, which can be in short supply there. But it might not be that hard to build a barn and even put up an indoor. Here, you might get 5 or 6 figures into the hole just for permits depending on your area, after you have already bought $$$ land needing more acreage here, and maybe what you could build wouldn’t even be enough to run a business or ride year round. And then taxes and actually building a farm. It’s a hobby that is supported on many levels in Europe including at the municipality level, apart from the competition aspect and national governing bodies. And there are a lot of people that have horses or close access to horses who may not compete but may be more inclined to go watch.
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back in the early 80s when ESPN was just getting started Horse Show Jumping was more common and actually very popular programming I use to be able to go to a bar for lunch from work and watch show jumping while I ate. Certainly weekdays at noon is not prime time, but it was more than the networks was showing
Contrast with Spruce on the CBC on many summer weekends
First, and most importantly, I’m so here for the Fantasy Pony Hunter League.
It all comes down to the money the sponsors can make from their target audience. Here, you’d think we horse people would be an attractive bunch: lots of affluent, educated professionals who readily talk amongst ourselves and influence others’ opinions and purchases. (The fact the we actually have no disposable income because we’re spending it all on the beasties is a secret we’ll keep from the focus groups, agreed?) If you subtract the dirt, long hours, dirt, chafing, smells, dirt, obsessiveness, and chance of showing up somewhere important with shavings stuck to our clothes, ours is quite the aspirational lifestyle.
So why don’t the media and sponsor decision-makers think we’re a good buy?
“The horse does all the work.”
Sure, but so does the stock car or F1 car. Yet those drivers are lauded for their personality, strategy, precision of their team, etc. You want a simple setup? NASCAR goes fast and turns left, and you can’t even see the drivers during the race. But they’re not hurting for coverage or cash — they’ve convinced people to attend, watch, and be aware.
“You can’t follow a sport you’ve never played”
Two days of Olympic coverage, and I am a dang expert on the ski biathlon, or pole vaulting, or fencing. With a good commentator and some compelling storylines, we can get your colleagues mansplaining about whether the bay really has the stifles to get over that oxer without a fault. Or at least feeling like they need to show up, because all their friends have talked about what an awesome time they had. The Gold Cup in The Plains, Va (near the COTH Mothership) used to be a quiet day in the country for people who knew horses and liked a bit of steeplechasing. Now event planners run busloads of 20somethings who have spent tons to be there for the hats, seersucker and drinks (not necessarily in that order.)
“This is a girls’ sport”
Here, Houston might have a problem. The misogyny in sports is strong — see also the WNBA, the US women’s national soccer team, any high school who refers to their female teams as the “Lady Whatevers.” But we can show that we’re more than cute sweethearts on prancing ponies. We’ve got action, cutthroat competition, and the constant possibility of catastrophe. (Not that we want that AT ALL!) Some new camera angles (rider cam? fence cam?) hot mics at the in gate, and tension-ridden play-by-play and we’ve got ourselves a (whole new) ball game.
Because I was, as my children say, “born in the 1900s,” I am ancient enough to have a vivid memory of Jappeloup with Pierre Durand aboard riding a completely new and ridiculously risky line during the Gambler’s Choice at the WIS in DC. Their speed and split-second timing electrified the crowd. If people can make golf appointment viewing, surely we can figure out a way to make College Show Day happen…
/soapbox
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From my side of the Atlantic, I am always taken aback by the lack of spectators at American horse shows, even major ones, that I see on line. Vast arenas with 20 people sitting in the seats. I watched “Virtual Devon” and was looking for crowds at the famous venue - but apparently the audience is contained in private boxes? Hardly encouraging for the casual spectator, when one apparently can’t see the arena. But at least there was a variety of classes at Virtual Devon to maintain my interest. Western shows do seem to get larger audiences with a lot of crowd whooping and screaming which makes for an atmosphere. Everything moves along, and there is an interesting element of chance when cattle are involved too. By contrast, the hunter shows I’ve observed online are exceptionally boring, with everyone striving to look the same as everyone else, riding the same courses as slowly as possible, with horses who look like vacuum cleaners on a go-slow… well, I can watch about 2 rounds and then move away. With no disrespect to those who love the discipline and see the subtlety, I could not concieve of a less enjoyable day out as a spectator than a show of cookie cutter riders attempting to do exactly the same thing, very slowly. And I’m a complete horse junky.
Big shows in the UK offer a diversity of classes, so e.g. in-hand classes might be followed by scurry racing, then showjumping. Also available might be training demonstrations and displays of e.g. dressage or horseball or dog agility or falconry. There is usually opportunity for shopping, not just related to horses but also lifestyle and a wide variety of food. County and other national shows aim to attract and entertain a diversity of audience. It is being suggested that horse-only shows in specialist centres discourage spouse and kids from coming along. But most of the UK is not that remote and most amateur riders will only be away from home for a day or so.
Race meetings might have live music, displays, demonstrations, a variety of food and are perceived to be a social day out for friends and family. Children are welcome with soft play area etc. Gambling is a small part of the fun but the serious gamblers are to be found in the betting shops or online, not at the race course. The race courses work hard to attract a large and diverse crowd, with ads in the media, package deals with fine dining included etc.
Racing is a major industry, with more TV coverage than any sport except football (soccer). The courses are all unique which makes for more interesting TV. Chepstow always seems to have sheep in the bacground while the skyline of London can be seen from Sandown Park.
British Eventing reports that more than 1 million people attend events each year and 33% cite shopping as part of the reason they go. It is also an interesting walk around some spectacular estates and courses strive to be viewer friendly.
In the British Top 10 Sports events by spectator numbers, 5 are equestrian, 3 race meetings, Badminton and Burghley eventing.
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