Comments on: The Devon Dilemma

By: becoming mom franchise

becoming mom franchise — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 07:21:28 +0000

There are some fascinating time limits on this article but I don’t know if I see all of them heart to heart. There is some validity however I’ll take maintain opinion until I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we want more! Added to FeedBurner as properly

By: hip dysplasia

hip dysplasia — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 10:28:55 +0000

Do these kinds of things pop up on the web all the time? You bet. And its at least something to tide people over on a slow news day/week. But are we really getting anything out of it? I dont see any value. All it ends up bringing about is the usual comment about how much somebody wants the new game, how much somebody hates that Series B gets a new game over Series A, how much somebody wants a series that wasnt even mentioned in the first place, and of course those lovely, lovely, immature people who say I know what Rockman fans want and its not this or that; and this series isnt Mega Man because what I say is the Gospel (pun intended) truth. And I seriously enjoy how none of these people ever bring up anything powerful enough to back up their points or anything.

By: Jackie

Jackie — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:18:57 +0000

I heartily concur. I remember (as a spectator) one of the Thornhill horses actually going down in the Dixon arena during one of last year’s demonstrations. I credit the young rider for picking herself up out of the mud, getting back on her horse, and finishing the demo. But I was not surprised when Courtney King-Dye (who I *really* wanted to see ride) chose to scratch - I was more surprised that more had actually chosen to ride their freestyles in that muck.

Thankfully, this year (at least Saturday) was not as bad. But this is one of the premier dressage shows in the US, it should be the best all around, facilities included!

By: Robyn

Robyn — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:11:01 +0000

I thought I saw somewhere (Dressage Daily?–apologies if not correct), that there is a major footing renovation plan in the works for Devon for 2010. In general, I think those OWNING the equine facilities are not necessarily HORSE people/riders. For instance, here in NC the Hunt Horse Complex (home of the Raleigh CDI) is state owned. They did make major improvements for this year, and have more coming, which is nice, but I think when a facility is not privately owned expensive things like footing and maintenance of said footing is one of the line items in the budget that gets crossed out!

By: Jane Springer

Jane Springer — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:48:15 +0000

Thank you Robert! I choose not to show Talent at Devon this year because it almost always rains, and last year at Devon our ring was 1 huge puddle. The September CDI at Saugerties after heavy rain, the international arena was a mess with puddles and a very dangerous hole filled with water at X. The management also chose not to groom the ring at all between rides with about 18 I1 rides, the footing was terrible! My safety and soundness of my horse should be a priority for all those who we pay to run and manage these venues.

By: Christina Jones

Christina Jones — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:20:08 +0000

It’s always amazed me to see pictures of dressage shows in the US with puddles all over the arena & horses splashing down the centre line. In the UK we get a lot of rain & the majority of private arenas hold up well, even the low budget ones. The big show centres who have spent thousands on construction & expensive surfaces are certainly fine.

Is there a big difference in how arenas are constructed? Over here it is normal to put in drainage ditches under the arena, with pipes & gravel, then a layer of crushed rock, then a water permeable membrane & then finally the surface over the top.

By: Madeleine

Madeleine — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:13:46 +0000

I absolutely concur.
Dressage is still the “poor cousin” of show jumping here in the US. As much as I wish it were otherwise, it isn’t.
As we creep forward toward the sort of respect which our peers enjoy in other countries, our venues need to raise the bar and offer footing which is commensurate with most of the other wonderful international venues.
Dressage at Devon has made an announcement that they will have new footing next year. I hope that that actually transpires.