As our show season is on hold for the moment I’ve been watching some of the Us shows on clip my horse. I’m really confused at the LONG wait periods between each rider. Our rings run rather quickly. You better warmup on time or you’ll be called before you’re ready if riders before you fall or are eliminated. These shows have so much down time between riders! How and why does this happen?
Ahhhh, yes… The famous American Hurry-Up-And-Wait. The first season my european partner was in the States, he about went mental. 
In the H/J world, we don’t have any sort of scheduled time to be in the ring/order of go for MOST classes. Sometimes the hold-up is honest when you have a trainer or rider that’s split between multiple rings going at the same time, but other times, it’s just someone taking their sweet time, and poor time management. Can they call the close the class and move on with the schedule? Yes. Do they? No.
Now, for Classics, finals, big money classes, there is a posted order of go, so that’s why those run more euro-like. I know at WEC, they were having people go in groups with assigned times, which seemed to help things along a little bit (example, my group, with 5 other riders for the AA hunters would go at, say, 1:45.). That being said, the schooling jumper classes at WEC?! Those rings are running LATE.
If you think the Hurry-Up-And-Wait is bad, wait until you learn about our (non-WEC) show bills…
Edit: for clarity
It’s terrible! As Lucy said, the big classes will have an order of go, but even then there aren’t usually ride times so this can get delayed.
One of the biggest issues is that at the big shows we don’t just have jumpers, we also have hunters and equitation and all sorts of variety within those divisions, such as juniors, ammies, pros, etc. Americans tend to be attached to a program and if their trainer is busy at another ring often the entire class is put on hold until the trainer is done. Then the rider can have their trainer warm them up and watch them in the class. Even when there isn’t this sort of hold people often take their time getting to the ring, which is frustrating for those of us waiting for the class to end.
Some shows have gate people who are allowed to call the class if no one shows up within two minutes or something like that, and sometimes the gate people are really on top of things and good at keeping the ring moving along. Those are the shows I like best because (at least in the jumpers), as the levels go up we do tend to be happy to go in the ring when the person ahead of us is finishing up. It’s part culture and part simple organization and management.
There is a show series that I would love to go to but their jumper gate people are a mess and always let the competitors push them around. It’s miserable and I won’t go back. I’ve waited HOURS for no reason for the division ahead of me to finish when the remaining riders and their trainer were sitting around eating lunch. I figured this out because I was sitting near them under a tree staring at the empty ring and started listening to them as they were talking about how maybe they should get their horses and warm up for the class. I was so angry, but the gate wouldn’t call the ring because this trainer always brings a lot of clients, so they just put up with it.
1 Like
One big factor is that some of the major American shows might have literally a dozen or more show rings going at the same time. And they are spread out over a big sprawling property. So the logistics can be a challenge for someone who has a bunch of horses showing in different rings. Some people cope with that challenge better than others.
Occasionally there will be delays even at a one ring horse show, but that might be due to one rider having multiple entries in the same class.
The definition of professional as well as what is viewed as professional varies widely between Europe and the United States.
Whereas European riders and trainers view being efficient, timely, and competent as the definition of professional, many US trainers view looking important or powerful as the definition of professional. And what makes you look more important than making 1,000 people wait on you?
15 Likes
Bahahahaha mic drop
A ring being held for a trainer conflict infuriates me.
Even more so when the show bill says “Will not hold rings for trainer conflict” but they do it anyway.
10 Likes
