The Palm Beach Derby, 25 Years Later
After 2 1/2 decades of attending the Palm Beach Dressage Derby, I find myself with mixed feelings. Its not that I don’t really love and admire the folks who trielessly go that extra mile to ensure the Derby comes off without a major hitch, year after year. Or that the show, with our beautiful weather over the last few days, had been a continued top proving ground for our best horses to compete at a great venue.
The truth is that I just keep remembering back to the early and mid 80’s when a small group of friends of Gisela and Howald Pferdekamper produced a show on their farm which was very elegant, had great prize money, the likes of which we had never seen, and pulled Europeans like Jo Hinneman, Daniel Ramsier, Karin Schluter, and others each year to our town to compete. They would bring a few horses along with their top mounts to sell and end up having fun and a very lucrative winter season away from the frigid European winters. What could be better?
Well. 25 years later, everything about our shows seem for me to be formulaic. The great parties are gone, although I certainly enjoyed Mary Phelp’s inspection party which benefitted the Equestrian Aid Foundation. But the prize money has shrunk from then till now, one doesn’t see the Europeans coming to contest their horses against ours, the grounds look the same year after year and at the end of the day, the bar has lowered substatially as opposed to being raised at just about all the shows for all the disciplines.
I wrote a post last month called, “What’s Wrong With Our Shows?” For some reason, I got not one comment, even though what I wrote I thought quite controversial. Maybe you should read it again. Maybe also this isn’t the right time to be complaining about a lack in our horse shows. At least there are the shows, while so many other businesses are failing and services are falling off. I just keep thinking back to the shows like the Derby, Devon, The IEO show at York, PA, and the PVDA shows. They were truly exciting and had electricity in the air, despite the utter lack of quality in most the rides.
We need to reinvigorate our shows, bring in more prize money, produce them more like show business and make our riders into stars with house-hold names. I so appreciate everyone in the business who works so hard just to keep the shows out there and available for our riders. We all have to lend a hand to bring about the change we desparately need to raise the bar for the future of our competitions.
Tags: Palm Beach Derby
John Posey — March 2, 2009 @ 10:59 am
What made the Jumping Derby/Devon/Upperville and even small shows in rural GA were the people that took such pride in making them unique/special and personable!
I used to go to Wellington long ago (and before that Winterhaven!) when everything was much more low-key/even pedestrian by todays standards and LOVED every minute of being there. When I visited later (still years ago) all had changed w/the ‘world class’ facilities. I was surprised to find I liked it far less. It had become homogenized– while obviously opulent and showy, there was no longer soul or character from the years/decades before.
I am admittedly out of the loop w/regard to Horse shows/Dressage Derbys etc, but I can say that the most memorable shows I ever attended were the shows that were run by individuals and committees that really cared about the competitors/the grooms and all involved w/the event! From what Ive seen (even in print) it is a very rare thing indeed these days. I think it has less to do w/ money and more to do w/the loss of folks w/ the big hearts and old evolved souls that cared so very much in years past. Sadly I think its similar to the changes we see all around us—romance is gone/bottom line rules the world and gives us very little in return.
RDover2 — March 3, 2009 @ 8:34 pm
Wow! Now here is someone with an opinion. I agree with a lot of what you said, but I also believe we can have loads of money involved with the putting on of shows as well as (wishful thinking) in prize money and still include all the great qualities you spoke of. Many great European shows as well as Spruce Meadows do just that. The others need to take a lesson from them.
RD
JB — March 4, 2009 @ 9:29 am
Like John Posey, I am out of the dressage show producing loop. Often businesses need to reinvent themselves or come out with a new product line to gain attention again. One horse show I have attended is the New Albany Classic in Columbus, Ohio. Here the Wexner’s not only sponsor a Grand Prix jumping class, complete with prize money, but also a day of fun for the whole family which benefits a children’s charity. The jumping class is just another event during the day.
Maybe this is the way to draw more people to our sport, to produce something of value for non-horsey people and as a sideline have a prestigious dressage event. Think about all the little kids who watch and ask mom and dad if they can take riding lessons. The riding lessons, hopefully with an inspirational instructor, leads to Pony Club, etc, etc. This is where the future is in our sport and it is not a short term fix. It takes someone to plan for the future.
Robert, someone like yourself, with good contacts could help plant the idea with a monied sponsor. It will take years to plan and in this economy longer. This is the mindset we as Americans, must take . . . long term not short term. Dressage shows can continue down the same path and attract the same people, who are already involved in the sport, or you can attract new customers (yes, customers) with a new product (using the New Albany Classic as an example).
Melissa Hare Jones — March 4, 2009 @ 10:15 am
Yes!! We need to keep the “Show” in Horse Show! Even the most beautiful of showgrounds take on a mundane air if the schedule is predictably generic and the classes so huge they take hours to run. Yes, they’re convenient and offer something for everyone, but the lack of intimacy (who ever thought you’d need a GPA to find your ring?) dampens the atmosphere. Nine rings should be a wonderment, but instead end up looking like a factory assembly-line!
But it’s not just that we need more sponsorship money, or individuals with flair to take the reins and produce a singular sensation. We have to begin again to pay attention to the little things… Consider the poor, “average Joe” spectator who wanders in off the street. No help from the announcers (or even in the program, in most cases) to understand what’s going on in front of them, even from a standpoint of what class is currently running in many cases. And when was the last time you saw an exhibitor take time to be friendly to someone standing on the sidelines? A simple “would you like to pet my horse?” can go a long way towards generating interest in our sport. It doesn’t take a lot of money to do the small things that make people feel welcomed and appreciated.
JB — March 4, 2009 @ 12:47 pm
Melissa, you’re totally right, a little kindness and humility goes a long way. There’s nothing worse than self importance in athletes. BTW, I’m no stranger to horse shows, but sometimes at the big shows, I feel like that average Joe wandering around.
Janet Foy — March 4, 2009 @ 2:40 pm
Back in the ‘old’ days the costs to produce the CDI shows was much less. I looked in my old show programs. There were only 3 FEI judges per class. And only one was foreign. Now, there must be five for all classes including Jr’s and YR’s. AND, three of those must be foreign. This just changed a few years ago. It was two foreign. Anyway, an foreign O judge had a $6000.00 plane ticket two weeks ago. Most foreign judges do only business class. So, times that by 3 and the show has an added expense of $18,000 just for airfare. And another $1000.00 or so for the USA judges airefare which is coach. Oh, did I mention the FEI Vet? The FEI Steward? The computers? The live screen that is required to run scores with each ride? Maybe you can see where the prize money is going!!! I have been a competitor, a show manager and a judge. Our pool of sponsors is not very large - and they get hit on by shows,USDF, USET, USEF, their local organizations etc etc. I guess I don’t have a good answer either.
RDover2 — March 4, 2009 @ 4:01 pm
Well I can tell you that, becuae of the economic downturn, the FEI has determined that from now on only coach fares are appropriate for air travel for all its officials.
If anyone wants to fly first or business, they will have to upgrade using their miles. Sad but true.
The other thing though is also a sad truth. If these were jumper shows, the managers would find a way to procure sponsorship because failure to do so would simply result in riders going to another show.
If these managers thought they could get away with giving riders a cooler and a ribbon instead of prize money and they would all still come to compete, naturally, they would. I totally get that shows are expensive to put on, and yes, they require more technical as well as human resources than 25 years ago, but honestly, what I have to say to that is, “TOUGH!”
We cannot hope to grow our sport without doing all that is necessary support positive reforms.
I can say that the FEI Dressage Task Force is committed to working to find ways to help Dressage sport to grow and flourish, and sell the sport in the years to come to the widest possible audience.
Sandy — March 9, 2009 @ 12:20 pm
Maybe we need to start looking outside of show days to draw in monies for the big shows. Here’s what I mean…
At our local movie theatre, we have showings every month or so of Operas from the NY Met. For those of us who do not have the money to shell out for plane tickets and hotel costs to NYC, it’s a great chance to drop a mere $20 to sit in jeans, eat pop corn, and enjoy the opera.
An important thing to consider as I say this is that I live in Cleveland Ohio, my husband’s grandfather retired from the Cleveland Orchestra, and his father and mother played for the Chamber Symphony, and my husband himself is classically trained on voice for Opera. We’ve been to a live opera in Cleveland once. The cost of the tickets is a bit steep. But when marketed to the masses via the simulcast, it’s more affordable and enjoyable. (especially for someone like me who can appreciate the beauty, but doesn’t have the technical knowledge or the ear to truly appreciate the nuances).
So how could this help Dressage? Imagine applying those same ideas to marketing dressage. Maybe work with a group that does just equine theatrical productions (Cavalia as an example). Work to show it in theatres (or PBS or other networks), take some of the monies raised though the ticket costs to off set some of the show costs, or offer greater prize money. Then, video things such as freestyles during the dressage test shows and feed in to the pool of broadcasts. With a large enough audience, we could eventually do what other professional sports do and sign contracts to provide money for our athletes. And we would have built up an educated audience.
It could branch out to include other equestrian disciplines, possibly having some educational introduction to “what you are about to see”.
Our 2 barriers to bringing our sport to the masses seem to be Money and the education it takes to truly appreciate the sport and those funny circles we ride and our horses going sideways. (But try explaining how they are straight while on a circle or moving sideways and people really think we’re a bunch of nuts). What if we could combine the tasks and raise money while educating the masses?
Whenever the Spanish riding school goes on tour, their shows are sold out. Our sport is built upon the principles of classical riding. What if we could take how they’ve learned how to present it to the masses to generate money to provide better resources for our riders.
Imagine people who knew when to clap and clear for their riders at dressage shows large and small.
How fun would that be?
If Golf can have their purses and broadcasts, there is a way to show the excitement in our sport!
Joan Kuy — March 31, 2012 @ 7:07 am
I’ve visited many blogs,forums, but this time:How your fantastic forum is . It makes me surprise….
Myrl Giller — April 17, 2012 @ 10:40 am
composed by sbsbsb0416 A unique discussion might be priced at comment. I’m sure that you should generate more on the following topic, may possibly not be a taboo theme but generally people are too little to speak in such themes. To the next. Kind regards