Google maps indicates the venue is partway between Cincinnati and Columbus. For those like me who aren’t at all familiar with horse facilities in Ohio.
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It’s a fantastic facility that has hosted the National Dressage Pony Cup for a couple of years now, which I was told last time I spectated actually had more competitors than USDF Finals that year. I think this is a great move!
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The big advantage at that time of year is that once you walk in the door in the morning, you don’t have to worry about the weather again until you leave to get back in your car at the end of the day. Everything is enclosed.
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How nice for those in the east of the country; it’s even farther for those in the west.
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Do bear in mind that depending on the number of entries, they may not be able to hold every class in a indoor arena. Pony Cup has had to hold classes outdoors both years it has been held at WEC Ohio.
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While I agree that it sucks for the west coast contingent that it is still being held on the east side of the country, it really is not substantially further. It is about 2 hours essentially due north of KHP.
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It’s not really, it’s 2 hours north of the KYHP so it’s essentially in the same location.
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Sport Horse Nationals struggled with this same thing and eventually settled on a permanent location at WEC Ohio. The simple fact is that there aren’t any comparable facilities on the west coast which have the facilities, rings, and staff for shows of this size and west coast attendance was always lower. That with the high bid prices of west coast facilities snd that was it. There are zero facilities “halfway” between both coasts.
It’s a lovely self contained facility, I suggest booking cabins and home aways EARLY.
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If one is coming from So Cal, it is approximately 50 miles further; I checked before posting. But then what’s 50 miles on top of what’s already over 2000 
I’ve been invited twice; declined to go both times.
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And yet Los Angeles has hosted the Olympics twice and will do so again in 2028.
The show has never been held on the west coast so I’m not sure what you refer to with “west coast attendance was always lower” unless your intent is to confirm that people aren’t willing to travel from the west coast to attend in which case we are in agreement.
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If you read my post, I was referring to SHN which used to rotate and then settled on WEC Ohio after Balmoral closed. Pony Cup also moved to WEC Ohio.
WEC Ohio and the KYHP are as close to “middle” as you get with facilities capable of hosting such large events. WEC Ohio is a better option for November and the facilities, footing, and staff are world class.
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I don’t deny that the west coast gets the fuzzy end of the lollipop when it comes to Finals. I know the original approved plan was for it to rotate every 3 years coast to coast. Obviously that has not happened.
I’ve never said there is no facility capable of hosting this event on the west coast, but my understanding is that there has never been a bid from a west coast facility to host Finals that was manageable. But I very well could have bad intel on that front.
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Same issues SHN had regarding bid prices.
Did the show use multiple rings when it was at the Kentucky Horse Park? They only have one indoor there, plus the covered ring. There are definitely a lot more indoor rings in the facility at WEC Ohio.
Plus everything is connected, so inclement weather does not affect you once you’re inside the building.
Yes, they use multiple outdoor rings in Kentucky. We had 6 outdoor rings this year, some only holding open show classes, others holding both championship and open show classes. I’ve seen as many as 8 outdoor rings depending on the number of entries.
But true about once you are indoors, everything is connected under roof. Including the ride-up Starbucks window.
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Del Mar Fairgrounds is a fantastic show facility, and arguably the best on the west coast.
Over sized permanent stalls in shed row barns (no puptent temporary stalls), indoor arena and multiple outdoor rings, spacious trailer/RV parking, Hilton hotel across the street, easy access to Interstate 5, equine hospital within a few miles, seaside village of Del Mar with shopping and restaurants, 30-40 minutes from San Diego airport. Horses love the fresh ocean breeze.
It was home to the 1992 Volvo World Cup for show jumping, and there’s a movement underway to use
it for the Olympics because of the superior location, in-place infrastructure, and mild summer weather compared Temecula.
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Where did they have the horse sports at the LA Olympics in 1984?
Not sure where they did the cross county, but everything else was at the LA Coliseum. I suspect stabling was at LAEC.
From a piece written in 2017 on Eventing Nation:
“the three-day event took place over five days, because the dressage and show jumping were held at Santa Anita racetrack in Arcadia, Ca., sort of north and east of downtown L.A. The cross country for the Olympic three-day took place at Fairbanks Ranch in Rancho Sante Fe, at a site that was destined to be a golf course after the games, just outside of Del Mar, Ca”
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