Planning for the 2010 show

[ladyhunter1980]

Hi everyone. I'm new to this site and have no specific knowleadge of the shows SAFE sponsors but I live about 2 miles from Frontier park in Graham and I'd love to help any way I can is it typically held in August?

[mymercedes]

Hi Ladyhunter1980. The show is generally held in August, and usually at various locations, but Frontier Park seemed to be a big hit last year because of the stalls and large arena. I think location is still up for discussion for 2010. We would love help as the time gets closer! You must live very close to me! I am also about two miles from the park!

[countrygirl]

I live about two miles from the park too :} Yay for all us graham crackers eh? Oh, and I was thinking, this year, maybe we should mix something else in with the gaited pleasure class, since mymercedes was the only horse and rider in that class Just an idea, or if we dont have many, we could maybe do a demo when we do the rescue horse parade? OH, also, this year, if you would like some more help, I would love to help with any of the horses or anything getting ready for the show, and I will be there to volunteer just like last year

Also, is there somebody I can email to get proof that I was there, to use as community service hours for my school? :}

[coconut]

I can verify that you were there last year and can certainly verify when you volunteer again

feel free to email me at: [e-mail]

[daisysdad]

I think the show is already long enough, so maybe adding cattle events would be too much. I do like the idea above of removing the walking classes to trim it a bit.

But I also thought that was a great facility for the show.

[coconut]

we with will-full horses LIKE the walking classes It's a great way for us to participate too...please keep the walking class...plus...there's nothing like a 40something (like me) competing with a 5 year old! (they beat me most of the time too!....MOST of the time, but not always ;D )

I would, however beg for a new "older" category name...Over The Hill makes me sound...oh, I dunno....OLD!!!!! I did tend to call it OTH for short but it's still short for OVER THE HILL!!!

[honeydofarm]

I have some observations and suggestions for the 2010 show. I was the english ring steward at the last two shows and SAFE, with its all volunteer staff, puts on well-run, quality shows that are nothing short of impressive. Here is my two cents for the upcoming show:

First and foremost, we need to decide what kind of show the SAFE benefit show(s) will be. A fun-themed/schooling show, a mainly performance show or split into two english/western days. All have merits and drawbacks, but when we try to be all things to everyone, we end up pleasing no one.

The differences between the last two shows were that at Bridle Trails two years ago, it conflicted with 4-H fair prep and the turnout was lower, also the venue was smaller. Last year, due to no fault of SAFE, we started late and then had so many showmanship, walk classes and fun classes that take extra time. We also had a big turnout so the classes were huge. The judge can't rush the showmanship, hunter hack classes, etc. as they are one competitor at a time, so she had to cut the performance classes very short. She expressed her concerns about this to me, but did an excellent job despite that. I also heard complaints from performance riders that they were rushed. They paid the same entrance fee as showmanship and felt shorted. The previous year, the classes were smaller and the judge had time to personally instruct the competitors. We received a lot of positive feedback about that.

Again, if this is going to be a fun/schooling show, the class list needs to be shorter to accomodate for time necessary for longer classes, bigger turnout and the judge being able to instruct competitors. If it is going to be mainly performance, then careful consideration to cross-entries would be helpful in keeping the classes moving along.

Graham was a good choice of venues. Except for the lack of convenient restrooms, and large enough warm up area, the parking was great, arena was big, trail equipment was accessable and it had stalls. Now that we have experience there, we can account for issues that were unknown to us last year and plan accordingly.

It is amazing that SAFE events are coordinated through a bulletin board and that events come off so beautifully. The hard work both behind the scenes and the day of the show was impressive. SAFE shows do end up being in the unique situation where there are volunteers needed to show off adoptable horses as well as those needed to work the event. This had its challenges last year. An early sign up sheet that assigned primary tasks separating volunteeers into horse handlers and show staff could help. Then if people have finished their primary tasks, they can help out where necessary. Depending on how many people volunteer, we can adjust accordingly.

Having been at many schooling/4-H shows in the past, SAFE definitely puts on some of the most fun and well executed shows available and I would expect even greater turnout at the 2010 event(s).

[shekaberry]

I think a 2-day show would be too much. I also think that the class list needs to be trimmed. No schooling/fun show I have ever been to has Halter and Showmanship or W & W/T & W/T/C classes. I think this year should just be Showmanship (E & W), W/T and W/T/C under saddle classes and the games at the end. I would rather have one ground class (E, W, Rescue) showmanship and under saddle classes.

If there was going to be all three (W, W/T, W/T/C) then there should be no cross-entry between them. The classes were too large otherwise.

[mymercedes]

I honestly thought the class list length was not so bad. I think the issue is trying to have western and english classes in the same day. I agree that probably most people who enter the walk only class are capable of also doing the walk/jog classes, BUT, it is a nice option for beginner riders or older re-riders (isn't there a better word for older???) to enter a class they feel secure in. Maybe we could possibly combine the english and western walk only class? Of course then we might have to accomodate the riders by having a tack change gate hold. That arena is HUGE so we should be able to accomodate larger classes. Maybe we could make the trail end of the arena a little smaller. It seemed we had plenty of space down there.

Ultimately, it would be great to have a two day show. Even if we started later in the morning. We could maybe do English classes on Saturday starting at 9:30 or 10am, and Western on Sunday with a later start time as well. That would give our tired staff and those competing on both days time to get organized and a little extra warm up time and prep time. I would think we would have plenty of time to run through all the classes on each day, considering we ran through them all in one day the past two years. It may even give us the ability to add a couple of classes each day. Just a thought. Since there are such great stalls available at FP, many folks would just overnight and ride both days.

If people are interested in seeing what other schooling show class lists look like, checking out the Donida Farms Winter Series Shows, and the Lope On In Winter Series at the Tacoma Unit would be great ones to look at. I will get web addresses and post here later, or you can google them. They offer most everything we offered at our show. I kind of think the luxury of a relaxed, schooling show atmosphere is the ability to offer more beginner rider and green horse types of classes so everyone can find something they feel they are ready to be competitive enough to show in. I remember the Hooved Animal Rescue of Thurston County did not offer Walk or Walk Jog classes, and many could not attend because of it.

Luckily we are getting on this early enough that this years show should be the most spectacular one yet!


modified with web addresses: Lopeonin.com and Donidafarm.com Both offer ample beginner classes and large varieties!

[shekaberry]

Then there needs to be no cross entry allowed. If you are in W only, you can't go in W/T or W/T/C with the same horse; if you enter W/T, you only go in W/T classes, etc. The beauty of the schooling show is that you don't have to do the gaits if you aren't comfortable. If there was no W only, you could enter W/T and just not trot. You won't get pinned, but so what?

I was wondering if there was a different area that the trails could be held in. The warm up ring at Frontier park is way too small for the number of horses there and there wasn't really an area that you could lunge in, but if the show arena was cut in half, there would be plenty of space. What about in the big grassy field behind where the campsites where? Could the trails be set up there? It was pretty back there

[fanaberia]

I agree on the no cross entry between W/T and W/T/C. However, it is common to cross enter Walk only and Walk/Trot. And since they all filled, why eliminate them? The goal is to raise money, right?

I don't know how much I'd mess with the class list. The show lasts a very reasonable amount of time. Not too short, not too long. I didn't ever feel rushed, and I did a lot of classes. I even managed to braid two horses... I can't say this for the other 15 shows I attended this year. Lope on In is a great club, but I've ridden out of their classes at 1 in the morning:-) Of course they are much, much, much bigger. (At least the non-schooling shows).

[mymercedes]

The area behind the stalls near the trails would most likely be useable for the trails course. It would be really cool to have it in a natural environment! I will ask when I get a hold of the representative for the park. That way, we could use half of the big arena for warm up!

I have to agree about the no cross entry between walk only and WTC, but I do think W and WT cross entry should be allowed. I know that even thought it's a schooling show, it is nice to think you at least have a chance to get a ribbon. I always hated to blow a class on purpose, schooling or not.

I really did not think the length of the show was so bad overall, considering we were combining two days worth of classes. I'm sure it felt long to those running the office and I do think we need to offer more help to you guys. We need to have a shift schedule so you guys can get out and grab some food and have a bit of down time. But, from an exhibitor standpoint, I have showed many shows were just like Barbara, I was still waiting to enter a class well after dinner time.

I still think a two day show would be awesome and allow a little more focus on each day, allowing for the judge to slow down and give some constructive comments to the exhibitors. If not, I honestly thought our show went pretty well from a time standpoint and I got a lot of positive feedback from those I spoke to afterwards. Class list modification however is worth researching!

I can't remember what the reason was for the late start?? I know we had a hard time getting into the office, which postponed registration. Was the judge late? I don't remember.

The other thing. There are supposably some modifications to the FP venue coming this year. I will be asking about those and if they plan to get some bathrooms nearer to the stall area. I agree, it is a bit of a jog to try to get to the restroom between classes. I don't know what their intentions are, but I will recommend that and see if it is a consideration already in the works.

[shekaberry]

A two-day show would make it easier to fit in all the classes, but we would need many more volunteers. I don't know how Bonnie feels about doing the Manager/Secretary job both days, it is actually pretty taxing; but it is also pretty specific so I don't know how easy it would be for another person to just pick it up. I'll leave that for her to decide.

There would need to be specific rules in place regarding cross entry, last show there were people who entered all three classes (W, W/T, W/T/C) for what, I don't know, probably ribbons. But if you are in W/T/C classes, you should not be entering W or W/T; period.

If the trail course could be in that grassy area that would be awesome!! It would be so nice to have half of the big ring for warm-up as well as that smaller ring by the barns. That would eliminate any concern I have for using the venue again. Besides the drive on Meridian

[coconut]

Starting in Feb 2010 the Donida Winter Series schooling shows are expanded to two day events and it looks like they'll have more jumping on English Days and since I can't open the Western Day file I don't know if they're adding gaming classes.

We did the November Show where it was Western AM and English in the Afternoon and we didn't stay for the hunter hack stuff but we left at 6 and they were just setting up...so it was probably a very long day for those competitors (and chilly too!) I did like not having to get their until 11:30am

I've talked to the Tacoma Unit folks because we were looking at joining for the winter to haul in for week nite riding & they told us they have very few schooling shows & that their calendar is usually booked a year in advance with breed and association shows which have Thursday night haul-ins so basically we would be able to ride Mon/Tue/Wed and MAYBE Thurs evenings. So far we haven't all jumped on that...it's pretty much an all or nothing situation at our barn.

I took all that to mean they had VERY limited openings and can charge more because they're in high demand, which is great for them! It's nice to see that SOME part of the equine community is doing ok

[schwung]

A few comments -
I think we are reconsidering all our options for next years show - including doing a two-day show or doing more than one show, other venues including moving it back up north, and if its a 2-day show the class list would need to be revamped. In my experience most schooling shows that cater to kids/4H do have both Showmanship and Halter, so I don't really see an issue there as they are judged quite differently. Also, I think we should keep the walk-only classes because, as fanaberia pointed out, they were FULL and if they are popular, then we should keep them because the show is first and foremost a fundraiser. But I don't think people were supposed to cross-enter in Walk-Only and W/T/C, so I think the issue is more with the fact that we didn't have a mechanism in place to police it, and not that the rules didn't exist.

Personally, I had a lot of challenges with regards to managing the SAFE horses that went and volunteers. I had a very hard time getting rides and riders/handlers and then had a LOT of last minute cancellations which resulted in quite a bit of chaos in the end. I think it went off pretty well considering but there were a lot of issues that could have been avoided. One of the venues I want us to take a second look at for next year's show is the Monroe Fairgrounds. This venue will cost more and thus probably necessitate making it a two-day show to keep it profitable but there are a lot of advantages as well - both in terms of proximity to SAFE and the SAFE horses but also in terms of the sponsorships from local businesses we would probably be able to get by being a Monroe-based rescue hosting a show in Monroe. Monroe Fairgrounds has 4 arenas and more stalls than we could ever need, and the Windy Tide two-day shows that are run there are hugely popular. We could add more gaming on the western day and more jumping on the English day - and even dressage in one of the other rings.

Anyway, lots to think and talk about!