Set your alarm! It starts at 5:30 AM on Saturday. Good luck to everybody. 
Schedule, order of go, etc.:
And here’s one to root for:
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That’s 5:30am USA Eastern time, so even more brutal for people in the Pacific time zone. Two day format again this year, so Saturday’s competition is expected to be over by 12:45pm. The flat phase starts on Sunday at 1pm. Livestream is on EQSPorts, and as mentioned elasewhere, there is no free-to-view livestream. There should be a free audio-only feed from EQSPorts so we can hear the commentary.
Are there any entries “favored” to win or expected to be in the top 10 ,etc? Who are the ones to watch? The Cinderella, the Dark Horse, the consistent performers, etc?
I’m very surprised that this is a pay per view event. A lot of young kids are going to miss out. It seems another dropped ball in USEF’s court. Not smart. Or perhaps smart? They only want people already in the loop and especially the very wealthy to be interested in the big eq? That makes sense I suppose. I might buy a membership but sometimes it’s hard to disengage from them and I don’t need it in general. Show season is over. Has anyone had experiences disengaging from the service? I can just hear my husband now grumbling about a new monthly charge.
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I don’t think being able to spend $10 for a month’s subscription necessarily qualifies anyone as “very wealthy.” And I would think that people who are somewhat in the loop already are mostly the ones who would be interested in watching in the first place. Random people with no knowledge of the sport are unlikely to sit through 175 or so first rounds of the class. Much less the flat phase.
I would certainly rather see the live feed available at no cost. But I recognize that the necessary equipment and the staff are not free. Not to mention that listening to George’s commentary is almost like auditing a ten hour clinic at the cost of $1/hour, if you don’t watch anything else the whole month.
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I’m ready!
I have set the timer on the coffee to go off at 5 am.
I have yogurt, muffins, fruit, croissants, cream cheese, real cream to zap and froth for my coffee, (but sadly, no bacon :no:! )
I figure that by 9:00 am I’ll be looking for lunch. Ha!
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I bought the online subscription for last year’s finals and found it easy to cancel the next month. I’m doing the same thing this year and don’t feel as though it will be an issue. 5:30am EST is a brutal call time for us west coasters!
Very sorry. It’s bad enough on the east coast, but at least it’s actually morning. Sorta, kinda.
The ones I really feel sorry for are the horses and the grooms. I’m sure some of them will just skip a night’s sleep tonight. And then some of them will probably have a jacked up schedule tomorrow night as well.
MHM has it right. If you are willing to watch 175 young people jump a course then you must already be interested.
The only question is, do you think it is worth your 10 bucks (and the ungodly hour of awakening)?
Spending 10 bucks on entertainment doesn’t distinguish anyone as “wealthy”. People spend more than that when they go to a movie. Your local movie theater is not a bastion of wealth… 
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It is just frustrating when they offer SOME competitions for free and others for pay. That SUPER expensive membership should give you at least free love feeds
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Well, I’m coming to your place. I have the wheat pancakes and maple syrup and some really good apples to bake on top of them.
Sigh. My point is not that $10 will break the bank. But it will prevent a whole lot of kids from watching. I’m sure lots of adults will watch. But the audience should include the next generation of big eq riders. You know, kids. And there is curling on cable. Curling. But we have no readily accessible coverage of what is basically the olympics in equitation unless you happen to already know about it.
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Apparently the era of free love has passed.
It is a little disappointing especially since we’ve been able to watch the finals at the NHS without expense for several years now. I suppose the NHS has decided that the fee will pay off for them in the long run.
As MHM mentioned it is unlikely that new blood will be brought into the sport by providing free Maclay coverage.
“And there is curling on cable. Curling.” THIS. So perfect. Carry on.
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Come on over–we will have your yummy pancakes for the second drag break!
How many teenagers you know who are gonna get up at 5:30am on a Saturday to watch something on tv?
For every one there’s gonna be a whole bunch for whom getting up at 7 is motivated and early, and the balance who will sleep until noon.
Most of the riders, especially if they have a good round, will post the video on social media. And the medal, WIHS, and USET were all free, so there’s been a lot to see lately.
I don’t think this is a crisis and I’m not sure we should be calling it the “olympics of equitation.” Once you’re not a jr, the big eq is a long forgotten afterthought. It was never supposed to be a career in and of itself.
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Abigail Brayman was fantastic, the slickest trip so far in my opinion. Emma Crosbie was also good and Emily Williams put in a great trip for being called first in the order. And for the record, I’m up at 3:00AM West Coast time :eek:
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Loved everything about Tanner Korotkin’s trip
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My live feed is blank. Just a light blue bar that says no media. ?
UPDATE: dadoy, maybe it’s the whole I need to pay thing
