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Emily Holmes Equestrian

Oh Canada

7/31/2021

8 Comments

 
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I think we're all confused.

Many of us saw the Canadian Team Selection and went.... "Huh. Interesting. Not what I expected." Of course, Jessie and Colleen have worked incredibly hard to get to this point, but I don't think anybody expected Canada to ship 17  and 19 year old horses to Tokyo to compete on the world's biggest stage. I think we all had questions, so I went digging. I am not shy about calling up a bunch of random people and asking for their time, and I am so gracious to those that spent hours on the phone with me. I said the same thing, "I want to write about the facts. This isn't gossip. This isn't hearsay. What are the facts? We all have questions."

I would like to start by stating that I interviewed many people involved in the process. Riders, representatives, and committee members. I won't be quoting them directly as I have assured them anonymity. This blog is the result of my direct research and all opinions, and mistakes, are my own. 
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The Facts
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Team Selectors: Penny Rowland and Jimmy Wofford with Waylon Roberts as a tie-breaker​
James Atkinson was an original selector but recused himself citing personal reasons
Technical Advisor: none 
Chef d'Equipe: none
Team Coach: none
Team Veterinarian: Jan Henriksen DVM
Rider Representative: Mike Winter
Eq Canada Eventing High Performance Manager: Fleur Tipton Eq Canada Overall High Performance Director: James Hood  

Individuals Selected for Olympics: 
Jessica Phoenix/Pavarotti
Colleen Loach/Qorry Blue D'Argouges

Alternates
First Alternate: Karl Slezak on Fernhill Wishes
Second Alternate: Hawley Bennett-Awad on JollyBo


A Quick History


It's hard to decide where to begin. It's impossible to decide where to begin with the direction of the 2021 Olympics, but if we were to start at the beginning, who knows how far back we would go. 
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Equestrian Canada has been a bit of a mess for years. Continually changing leadership, a different coach almost every cycle, and no true leadership from the High Performance Eventing Manager. Their processes are open to litigation and Technical Advisors aren't involved or are only involved as much as they have to be, and selectors that don't even try to get to the events. It's no wonder the athletes are fed up. 

For the Tokyo Olympics, there are only 200 spots for all of the horses competing in Jumping, Eventing, and Dressage. 75 spots for Jumping, 65 spots for Eventing, and 60 spots for Dressage. When looking at Teams, there were only 20 teams for Jumping, and 15 teams for each Eventing and Dressage. Any country that didn't qualify a team could get one individual spot for dressage, one individual spot for  jumping and two individual spots for eventing. The list of Qualification Events is located below.  Canadian Eventing didn't send a team to Poland or France and failed to qualify a team at any of the other events.
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In 2016, Jessica Phoenix sued Equestrian Canada after not being named a member of the 2016 Olympic team that would compete in Rio, citing that the Selection Process was unfair. Equestrian Canada paid $35,000 towards Phoenix's legal costs. She finished in 38th place individually with Team Canada (Rebecca Howard, Jessica Phoenix, Colleen Loach, Kathryn Robinson) placing tenth overall.
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Back in 2017, Equestrian Canada attempted to change things by getting together an EC Eventing Committee to address the Canadian High Performance Riders’ concerns. A new Chair of Eventing High Performance Committee was named, Rob Stevenson, and there was much discussion on how the High Performance Committee needed to meet the needs of the athletes. But now, there is no Rob Stevenson. There isn't a Coach. There isn't a Technical Advisor. So who is leading the team? 19 riders wrote letters of complaint to Equestrian Canada. Rider representatives were quitting due to conflicts of interest and their voices not being heard. Equestrian Canada then hired a third party for external audit and Ozzie Salwicki appeared on the scene. Somehow, in some way, Mr. Salwicki went from the third party auditor and turned into the Chef D'Equipe for Eventing during 2015. 

The 2018 World Equestrian Games arrived and a team was named. Hawley Bennett-Awad on JollyBo, Lisa Marie Fergusson on Honor Me, Colleen Loach on Qorry Blue d'Argouges, Selena O'Hanlon and Foxwood High, with Jessica Phoenix on Pavarotti. A good placing would give Canada a Team spot in the Olympics. It's also important to remember that Canada was scheduled to host the 2018 WEG at Bromont but they couldn't come up with sufficient funding to back the Games. Team Canada finished in 11th place at WEG, unable to secure an Olympic team spot. 

The 2019 Pan American Games, located in Lima, Peru, gave the Canadian team another chance. Dana Cooke, Colleen Loach, Jessica Phoenix, and Karl Slezak were named. Equestrian Canada looked like they wanted to give the rookies a shot at Lima (with the exception of Pavarotti)  but it backfired when they again didn't qualify a team. The records of the horses are posted below. ​
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Dana Cooke on FE Mississippi from 2018 through Lima Pan Ams
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Jessica Phoenix on Pavarotti from 2018 through Lima Pan Ams
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Karl Slezak on Fernhill Wishes from 2018 through Lima Pan Ams
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Colleen Loach on FE Golden Eye from 2018 through Lima Pan Ams
In 2019, the entire High Performance Group disbanded because of the appeals over Carding. (I'm not even going to start discussing carding because that's an entirely different blog post with more appeals and lawsuits.) Rob Stevenson and David O'Connor stepped down over the disputes and  riders weren't told until months after that the Chair of High Performance and the Technical Advisor resigned. There was a scramble for a new Technical Advisor, there was no Team Coach, and Equestrian Canada didn't notify riders of the budget or the search process. Equestrian Canada  told the riders in March 2020: "Unfortunately the time frame for accreditation has passed. A Team Coach, even selected now, would not be able to join the riders in Tokyo." The riders then elected to not hire a coach. The riders did vote on adding Jimmy Wofford as a selector. Many cited Penny Rowland as biased due to her relationship with Jessica Phoenix, but only one rider actually went on record stating they thought Penny was biased. Penny Rowland owns Cranmore Farms in partnership with Dr. Usha Knabe, who is the veterinarian for Pavarotti. 

Tokyo Olympic Nomination Criteria and Procedure 


Equestrian Canada has all of the Nomination Criteria and Procedures listed on their website. The criteria was approved by the COC October 21st, 2019 and was last updated May 3, 2021. The Eligibility for Athletes (Equine and Human) can be checked on the list of Criteria and Procedures. Any horse/rider pair that was interested in potentially being on the Team had to Declare by Monday, November 2nd, 2020.
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I will copy and paste sections of the Nomination Criteria and Procedures that I find the most interesting.
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When it came time, there were only a few horse and rider pairs that were seriously in contention for the 2 individual spots.

Colleen Loach on Qorry Blue D'Argouges
Karl Slezak on Fernhill Wishes
Lisa Marie Fergusson on Honor Me
Jessica Phoenix on Bogue Sound/Pavarotti
Hawley Bennett-Awad on JollyBo
Mike Winter on El Mundo
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Remember that an FEI Qualifying Result (MER) must take place from 1 January 2019 until June 21, 2021 for it to count towards a Qualifying Result at a CCI5*-L, CCI4*-S, or CCI4*L. MER's are Dressage 45 penalty points or less; Cross Country clear round or a maximum of 11 points for activating a Frangible Device with not more than 75 seconds exceeding optimum time for three and four star competitions and 100 seconds in the case of five star competitions. Jumping Test not more than 16 jumping penalties.



Breaking Down FEI Results


Equestrian Canada Nomination Criteria and Procedures, Section 5.2.1. The Selection Panel will consider the performance results of the combination in international CCI 5*-L, CCI4*-L and CCI4*-S competitions in 2019 and 2020 and 2021. Competition results achieved at 4 star and 5 star level (or the equivalent) prior to 2019 may be considered to demonstrate the experience of the combination.

In assessing the performances, the Selection Panel will:
• consider the demonstrated competitiveness of the combination in all phases on a consistent basis
• consider those combinations that have demonstrated reliable cross country performances with no jumping penalties
​• consider those athletes that have achieved the National Team Program High Performance Squad metrics in 2019, 2020 or 2021, however, these athletes will not be given priority over other athletes in the selection process.
​This breakdown will include competitions beginning January 1, 2019 through current and focusing on 4*S, 4*L, and 5*L results. 


Qorry Blue D'Argouges with Colleen Loach
2004 Selle Francais Gelding
Colleen is #308 on the FEI Rankings List
Qorry's FEI Record
​Notable Appearances: Eliminated at the 2019 Kentucky 5*L, 6th at the 2019 Bromont 4*L, 2nd at Red Hills CCI4*S,  Eliminated at the 2021 Kentucky 5*L, Eliminated at 2021 Great Meadows
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Colleen's record is missing the Great Meadows FEI that was a Mandatory Outing for the US riders, so at her last two competitions she fell off. Her horse stopped at the jump into the water and Colleen fell off. Colleen and Qorry have a long history together, starting their FEI career in 2013 after she took over the ride from Peter Barry (CAN). Since the beginning of 2019, Qorry's dressage is very consistent with scores ranging from 32 to 34.8 He has a very good cross country record, with the last penalty in 2016 at the Rio Olympics. Qorry typically has at least 4 penalties in SJ and sometimes 8 penalties. He has had one clear round since 2017 and this was at the 2021 Red Hills CCI4*S. 

Fernhill Wishes with Karl Slezak
2009 Irish Sporthorse Gelding
Karl is #302 on the FEI Rankings List
Fernhill Wishes FEI Record
​Notable Appearances: 6th at 2021 Jersey CCI4*L, Fell at 2021 Kentucky 5*L, Technically Eliminated at 2021 Chatt CCI4*S, 5th at 2021 Red Hills CCI4*S, 12th at the 2019 Pan American Games, 5th at the 2019 Bromont CCI4*L

Fernhill Wishes was Technically Eliminated at the 2021 Chatt 4*S because Karl missed a fence. Fernhill Wishes' dressage scores range from 27.7 to 37.4. The horse's last cross country penalty was at the 2019 Pan American Games. His SJ shows 8 penalty points at the Jersey CCI4*-L, one rail at the 2021 Red Hills CCI4*S, but other than that, in recent years he doesn't have any SJ penalties. 

Honor Me with Lisa-Marie Fergusson
2006 Mixed Breed Gelding
Lisa-Marie is #315 on the FEI Rankings List
Honor Me FEI Record
​Notable Appearances: 37th at the 2021 Kentucky CCI5*L, 8th at 2019 Ocala Jockey Club CCI4*L, Withdrew at the 2019 Fair Hill CCI4*L, 23rd at the 2019 Kentucky 5*L

Honor Me's dressage scores range from 31.7 to 42.8 since 2019. Honor Me hasn't had a significant cross country penalty since 2016. Honor Me has only jumped 3 clear show jump rounds since January 1st, 2019 with records showing 8 through 16 penalty points in the SJ phase. 

JollyBo with Hawley Bennett-Awad
2004 British Sport Horse Mare
Hawley  is #475 on the FEI Rankings List
JollyBo FEI Record
​Notable Appearances: 5th at the 2021 Rebecca Farm CCI4*L, 14th at 2021 Jersey CCI4*L, 7th at 2020 Galway Downs CCI4*L, 20th at 2019 Kentucky 5*L, 50th at 2018 World Equestrian Games

JollyBo's dressage is consistent with the range running 32.4 to 36.7  since January 1, 2019. She hasn't had a Cross Country penalty since 2018. Her Show Jumping record ranges from 12 penalties to a clear round with only two clear rounds jumped since January 1, 2019. 

Pavarotti with Jessica Phoenix 
2002 Westfalen Gelding
Jessica  is #392 on the FEI Rankings List
Pavarotti's FEI Record
​Notable Appearances: 3rd at 2019 Red Hills CCI4*S, 10th at 2019 Ocala Jockey Club CCI4*L, 6th at 2020 Red Hills CCI4*S, 11th at 2021 Kentucky 4*S

Pavarotti's Dressage scores range from 27.4 to 35.3. Pavarotti's record is clear of XC penalties since 2019 with one fall in 2018 at the WEG. Pavarotti's SJ penalties range from clear rounds to 12 penalties, with his most recent outing at Kentucky CCI4*S ending on a 69 with 12 SJ penalties. 

El Mundo with Mike Winter
2009 KWPN Gelding
Mike is #657 on the FEI Rankings List
El Mundo FEI Record
​Notable Appearances: 14th at 2019 Tattersalls CCI4*L, 26th at 2019 Blenheim CCI4*L, 18th at 2020 Burnham Market CCI4*L

​Mike Winter is based in the UK. Why is this important? Where we might run 20 to 30 FEI horses in a 4*L division in the United States, Mike competed against 91 horses when he finished 18th at the 2020 Burnham Market CCI4*L. The winning score was a 23.2 and they didn't hit 40 penalty points until 35th place. When looking at FEI records, El Mundo's placings may seem "not as good" when compared to the North American based riders but it's important to remember that he is competing with the top riders in the entire world. This would also explain his FEI Rankings Number because it's based on top finishes. 

El Mundo's Dressage ranges from 30.4 to 37. He has had two cross country penalties since January 1, 2019 but in SJ, it's 50/50 whether he has a clean round or 4 penalties.

The Rest of It and How to Fix It


For the 2021 Olympic trials, there were no predetermined selection trials cited. Therefore, the riders were told that they could choose their own events and schedules, but they were also told that their FEI Results from 2019-2021 would be evaluated for selection. The team vet, Jan Henriksen DVM, reviewed some horses in January/February 2021 and then again at the Kentucky CCI 4*S/5*L. Additionally, there were a few Canadian horses that were fully evaluated after CCI4* Jersey's show jumping. This was the same Jersey CCI4*L where neither one of the selectors was present and instead, had Ryan Wood and Matt Brown stand in as "spotters". This would also be the same event where five Canadians placed in the top 20 (Karl Slezak, Colleen Loach on two horses, Hawley Bennett-Awad, and Kyle Carter). 
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When it came time for the final jogs of the selected Canadian Olympic horses, the alternates were not notified. When looking at the ages of the two selected horses (17 and 19) perhaps it would have been wise to have an alternate standing by. Karl Slezak heard of the final jog through the grapevine, loaded his horse at Chatt Hills, and drove through the night to get to the jogs in New Jersey. Let me repeat: the first alternate for the Olympic games received zero communication from Equestrian Canada about the final jogs. Hawley Bennett-Awad as the second alternate was not notified of the inspection. With her residence in California, she was unable to make the drive. The same veterinary evaluation was performed on Karl's horse, filmed and recorded, for proof. I was told that the selected horses were not lunged and they did not have flexions done. This is concerning, especially considering back in 2016 then Team Veterinarian Dr. Jill Copenhagen and Dr. Anne Baskett expressed concerns. From Dr. Copenhagen: "To summarize my findings on Pavarotti, he has chronic active tendonitis affecting the right front SDF. It has been closely monitored since October 2015. There are two areas of concern. An older area of inflammation at mid level of the tendon has been non-reactive and static on ultrasound since the spring. A newer area of fibre disruption and inflammation presented itself in April 2016....there is a strong possibility that the fibers will tear more fully at some point during his athletic career. That may be this year or 2 years down the road.... I cannot predict the outcome, but I do have reservations about his soundness following an Olympic effort at speed." This opinion was challenged by Pavarotti's vet Dr. Usha Knabe (business partner to Team Selector Penny Rowland), who stated, "I performed both a clinical and ultrasound examination...his tendons palpated normally." 

And citing the Post Team Selection under Substitutions 7.2.3: A substitution may be required in the following: if a combination is underperforming during the 2020 pre-Games training camp to the extent that, in the reasonable opinion of the Selection Panel in consultation with the Team Veterinarian, it is reasonably likely to have a negative impact on the team's performance during the OG. One has to wonder if it was wise to send Colleen after she fell during Qorry Blue D'Argouges' last two preparatory competitions? The Selection Panel also added: The Selection Panel shall then have the authority and absolute discretion to make all such substitution decisions after reviewing all relevant evidence and in consultation with the athlete.

I asked every single person what they thought EC needed to change to make “the team”, “a team.” Every single person's first reaction was to restructure the entire High Performance personnel. Many people said there needs to be more rider involvement. In such a small country with a limited pool of High Performance Eventers, it makes sense that the riders would have a stronger voice. People suggested revamping Equestrian Canada's High Performance program and starting over from scratch. New Selectors, new Team Coach, new Technical Advisor/Chef d'Equipe. Many riders are not currently willing to "rock the boat" because there is such a small number of them, and because they want to be selected. The riders had a lot of great suggestions for the High Performance Eventing Group in 2020, but nothing was addressed and nothing was changed. It was repetitively stated that there is no leadership, no direction, and that Equestrian Canada has let riders down in a lot of ways over the years. There needs to be good people in charge of the Eventing Committees: people who are passionate, knowledgeable, and care about the success of the Canadian team that are unbiased and willing to work together. 


So here we are. It's the day of Cross Country at the Tokyo Olympics and Colleen Loach is the only Canadian to leave the start-box because Jessica Phoenix pulled Pavarotti Tuesday July 27th citing "a minor injury during his final preparation gallop." With only two individuals qualified, would it have been a better use of funds to send two horses that could have used the international experience for the future when Canada could qualify a full team? Equestrian Canada could have even saved funds by sending a rider that is already halfway there (Mike Winter on El Mundo, based in the UK). ​
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Please join me in wishing Colleen and Qorry the best of luck and a safe run on cross country and a speedy healing to Pavarotti!

Chime in below... what are your thoughts on Equestrian Canada and how they handled the 2021 Tokyo Olympics? Who would you have put on the team?
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Horse Show office musings part 1

1/22/2021

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I named this Part 1 because I'm sure it's going to be part of a series.

So Part 1. 

I'm sitting in the Grand Oaks show office. Cross country is decorated, show jump is set, dressage rings are ready to go. Rick Dunkerton is putting together packets, dressage tests, waivers, and the multitude of other paperwork he needs to gather. I'm making sure we have enough volunteers, putting together cross country volunteer packets, giving packets out to the officials, and just general paperwork that's necessary.  

And Rick is calling competitors. Because their horses memberships aren't active, or their memberships aren't active, or their owners memberships aren't active, or SafeSport isn't done. You know who gets in trouble if memberships aren't correct before the start of the show?

The organizer. 
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I get in trouble. Not Tootie.
Yes, you read that correctly. If rider's don't get their stuff done on time, I get in trouble with the federations. You know what that means? Fines. You know who ends up paying for the fines in their entry fees? The competitor. 

Riders, step up. Please don't wait for Rick to call you Friday morning before the show starts while he's trying to handle so many other things. Take some responsibility. Set a reminder in your phone's Calendar for next year as soon as you renew your memberships.

​Rocking Horse is currently sitting at 547 entries as of 11:30 am January 22nd. For those math people, that means Rick has to check 1,641 different things to make sure the organizer doesn't get fined.
Add on trainers membership and SafeSport for USEF and we're at over 2,000 things that need to be checked. 
Add on checking qualifications for Modified and above. 
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​For those confused, this is a Snapchat filter, and not Rick's actual face. 

Nobody looks this happy when they're cold calling riders about updating memberships or getting their owners to complete SafeSport. 

Let's try and keep this big ole smile on Rick's face by making sure our memberships are complete BEFORE  we enter a horse show. 
I asked Rick what his biggest complaints are about riders entering horse shows. 
Here's his list: 
1) Updating their memberships
2) Not completing entries 
3) Not filling out information on the horse and rider
4) Not filling out complete email addresses, phone numbers, mailing address (how are you going to get a refund check if your address isn't updated? Short answer. You aren't.)
5) Not entering their horses breed, age, sire, and dam. (Y'all, this takes five seconds. Give us breeders some credit, please. If you don't know where to find the information, email me and I will gladly help. Also, if you're horse is super fancy, us breeders want to know how to breed another one!)
6) Not sending in signed waivers
7) Not uploading current coggins

Riders, if you don't want to do your entries thoroughly, I will do them for you. For a fee, of course. :)

Interested in finding out more? You can visit Emily at www.emilyholmesequestrian.com for more Equestrian Marketing Tips, Complaints about Competitors, and other Ocala based Equestrian stuff. You can also find Emily on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and her decidedly boring TikTok. @eholmes611
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Why riders should volunteer

12/23/2020

4 Comments

 
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I started this blog post a week ago and went on a proper rant. When I opened it up to finish it this morning, that rant was gone and disappeared into the internet.

Good? Bad? Frustrating. But maybe a good thing, because I was very honest in the original. Maybe a bit rude. But as an event organizer, and the Area III Organizer Representative, I'm at my wits end. 

Before every horse trials, I constantly post on social media about needing volunteers for events. A horse trials uses between 25-75 volunteers, depending on the size. FEI events can use upwards of 100 volunteers across the course of a week. Every organizer does this, desperately hoping people will sign up to volunteer and we aren't frantically calling our friends and family to fill in spots. 

And we never have enough volunteers. 

Yet here is the kicker: volunteering doesn't always mean you have to give up showing that weekend. We need volunteers the week before the show and the week after the show. It takes almost four days to decorate cross country, which involves lifting heavy plants and tubs, setting flowers, and dumping mulch in front of jumps. Setting show jump takes two hours of an afternoon. Labeling and stuffing packets can be done at any time before the show. Painting and staining cross country jumps. And all of this stuff has to be removed or taken down once the show is over. 

I was mulling this over this morning as I was about to post the www.eventingvolunteers.com link for Barnstaple South. It is now a week before the event. We don't have any Dressage Stewards for Saturday and only three Cross Country jump judges for Sunday. We can't run the event until spots are filled, or we have to pay people. 

Dressage and Hunter/Jumper shows are infinitely more expensive than Eventing. When I got my Bronze Medal in Dressage last year, I was shocked at the costs. I could have run an Advanced Horse Trials for less than what I paid for three dressage tests and a ship-in fee. Dressage shows use arenas, judges booths, and hire judges. But they also pay scribes, in-gate people, office personnel, etc. Hunter/Jumper shows use arenas, sets of jumps, and judges. They also pay everybody: office personnel, gate people, jump crew, etc. Eventing uses the same infrastructure as Dressage and the Hunter/Jumpers, and also need hundreds of acres, cross country jumps for all levels, banks, ditches, water complexes, irrigation, grass seed, aeration, labor, etc etc. Infrastructure costs are insane. The list goes on. 
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Beautiful jumps don't build themselves. Tommy Neneman is an artist
And yet Eventing competition fees are much cheaper than Dressage and Hunter/Jumper. 

And this is solely because of volunteers. All of the personnel that Dressage and H/J pay? We use volunteers. If events continue to struggle to get volunteers, they'll have to move to start paying people. And if we have to start paying people, entry fees are going to skyrocket. Those large entry fees at the Dressage and Hunter/Jumper shows will look small compared to how many "volunteers" event organizers would have to pay. 

Let me be very clear here. Events must make money to survive. There has to be profit, otherwise, event organizers will stop running shows. It is not a crime for event organizers to make money. Running events is a business with a huge upfront cost, a lot of overhead, and all the unpredictability that comes with hosting an outdoor event for horses. 
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The slab boards cost a LOT of money. But so worth it!
I recently put a post on my Facebook page, asking people why it's important for riders to volunteer. The responses were all similar in thread. I will post some below with names and photos blacked out. Interestingly enough, I believe only one professional rider commented. 
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  • To set an example
  • To give back to the sport
  • To see how some competitors treat volunteers. I will never forget the rider that called me "Hey starter" while I was running cross country warmup. I have many, many more examples that are much worse. 
  • To understand how shows are run. 
  • To appreciate the hard work that goes into running an event. 
  • To keep costs down.
  • The support the people and the sport we love. 

I love my regular volunteers, but they're getting burned out from being needed every. single. weekend. during the season and working their own full time jobs. Shoutout to the regular volunteers. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH for being educated, reliable, upbeat, happy, and always willing to pitch in. You are truly the lifeblood of this sport. We cannot cannot do this without you. And if you've read this blog, hey! You might start getting paid if we can't rustle up enough of you! HA!

Professional riders, I implore you to help me. To help all event organizers across the country. Please encourage your students to volunteer. Please consider volunteering yourself. Please help us keep costs down so that Eventing is accessible to people from all income levels. Let's keep the "grassroots" part of our sport alive. 

​Please. 
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USEA President Max Corcoran volunteering at a POP show
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The Grinch with Katie Ruppel's 5* horse, Houdini
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Volunteering doesn't have to be boring!
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Cross Country Jump paint day
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There are well over 100 jumps that need to be painted on a yearly basis!
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We always need help decorating!
Interested in finding out more? You can visit Emily at www.emilyholmesequestrian.com for more Equestrian Marketing Tips, Complaints about Competitors, and other Ocala based Equestrian stuff. You can also find Emily on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and her decidedly boring TikTok. @eholmes611
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hOW TO ENTER A POP SHOW

12/16/2020

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I'm sitting here after scheduling 250 rides for the Partners of the Park (POP) Show that is this Sunday at the Florida Horse Park. Of course, after scheduling all the rides in three dressage arenas, show jumping, and cross country, I then move onto the stall chart. After that is complete, I email out the ride times and the stall chart only to get responses like this back:

"We entered at the same time and we use the same equipment but we aren't stabled together."
"I entered a Combined Test but I don't know what dressage test I'm doing"
"Can I enter three more horses?"
"I don't see my name on there."
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Y'all, us show organizers and secretary's are not mind readers!






​So people, I am here to talk you through exactly how to enter a POP show. I will decode, give insider tips, and tells you what annoys us organizer's/secretary's the most!

If you're a regular EventEntries user, skip to Step 6.

Step 1: Create an EventEntries.com account, or login to your account
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​Step 2: Click on People. Add a person. Click on Horses. Add a horse

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Step 3: ​Find the show you want to enter by either going to Show Map or back to the Home page and using the Filter bar

​Step 4: Click on the name of the show you want to enter. Then hit Register for this show


​Step 5: Under Rider, click the person's name. Under Horse, click the Horse's name 

​Step 6: Now here comes the hard part:
​Divisions. 
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Let's decode some of these Divisions:
CT: Combined Test. This is a mixture of a Dressage Test and a Show Jumping Round at that level. POP offers a CT for every single National level. Riders can either sign up for CTA or CTB for each level, which basically means Combined Test A or Combined Test B. Let's say for instance I'm signing up for BN-CTB. That means I'm signing up for Beginner Novice Test B and Show Jumping 2'7"

XCPC: Cross Country schooling for Pony Club only because yes, they get a discount. No, you can't just sign up for XCPC and hope that I don't notice. I will charge you the additional $25

3-Phases: Every single month we alternate which dressage tests (A or B) the 3-Phases will ride. This information can always be found on www.flhorsepark.com . Let me make it clearer. Please check the website BEFORE you email me!

SJ: Show Jump rounds only. The heights listed are the maximum heights for the United States Eventing Association (USEA) National levels. Yes, you can get a ribbon. 

XC-SUN: Yes, you can sign up to do only cross country (the best part of Eventing, in my humble opinion). No, you do not get a ribbon. 
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Step 7: Okay, you've made it this far and it's been super easy. Right? PAY ATTENTION
Let's you want to add an additional division or you're riding a second horse. This means another dressage test, another show jump round, a cross country round, or another horse: you have to click that little blue button that says "Add Additional Division Entry". Repeat the steps. 

Step 8: Enter your Emergency Contact. No, we never check these. I know of someone that write random names in here ("Ball and Chain") when she does entries for her husband. 

Click Continue to Stabling. 

THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE ENTIRE BLOG POST PEOPLE

Step 9: Under Stabling Selection, click Stabling. Then click the dates you are arriving and departing. 

Step 10: Enter how many bags of shavings you want. PRE-ORDER YOUR SHAVINGS! I can't begin to tell you how annoying it is to drag one bag of shavings to the barns when people show at at 9 am during the show day and we're all crazy busy.  Everyone that signs up for a stall at a POP show gets one bag of shavings included. I usually recommend a minimum of two if the horse is staying overnight because the stalls are a true 12'x12' and they're on concrete. 
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Step 11: THIS GIANT PRETTY PARAGRAPH BOX IS A LIE. 
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PictureGenius Scan is free and easy to use
This is all we get for information from that massive paragraph box. These are actual snippets of the Stabling Report from the December POP Show. SO STOP BEING POLITE. Type as little as possible and if you can get away with abbreviations like "TN" or "Waterford", that's best. Just make sure all of your group members are on the same page. NOTHING is more annoying than someone writing things like "Can you please stable us next to" ....... and that's all I get for information. Be succinct! Be brief! Use acronyms and abbreviations! 

Click Continue to Fees. I don't even know what step we're on at this point. Just keep going.

You want to camp with a RV? Cool. Put how many nights you're staying. Not how many RV's you're bringing.  Yes, people have done this. 

The office fee is per horse. This pays for dressage tests, the secretary, WiFi, printers, and all the other admin stuff that adds up. 

The Online Entry Fee is so that the Dunkerton family can put food on their table, because this is their livelihood, their brainchild, and we appreciate the hard work and years they have put into this platform. Don't complain about this Online Entry Fee because I refuse to run POP shows without this program. If I have to go back to scheduling shows using Excel, this will be a $30 fee instead of $3. No complaining. 

Click Continue to Forms. 

Please for the love of all that's holy TAKE THE TIME TO ENTER YOUR COGGINS AND WAIVER. Most veterinarian's will happily email you a PDF copy of your horses Coggins test and it's incredibly easy to upload. I know for a fact that every equine veterinary clinic in the Ocala area will do this. This saves us (me and​ you) so much time!

If you're struggling to upload the Waiver, I suggest printing it off, signing it, and then using a PDF app on your phone like Genius Scan to email it to yourself. Then upload the Waiver to EventEntries under the Forms section. 

CONGRATS! You've almost made it!

POP Entries are only accepted if you pay with a card online. There are a few reasons we moved to this: 1) COVID, 2) reconciliation of checks and cash takes hours, and sometimes days, 3) easier to keep track, 4) lots of people would enter the show, not pay, and then never show up. So yes, you'll have to pay some credit card processing fees. But you can blame everyone else (and COVID) if you want.

(I've been blaming 2020 and COVID on everything.... weight gain, my horse being lame, my broodmare being lame, etc etc etc.)

 Click Submit with Payment.

You will get a confirmation email. The secretary will also get a confirmation email. This means that if you didn't actually enter, and you swear you did, we will know. We will know.......

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I always suggest double checking your entry by clicking on My Entries on the Navigation Bar of EventEntries. It will tell you which shows you've entered and the date, what date/time you submitted your entry, and whether you Submitted with Payment or Submitted Without Payment. 
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See you next time! In the meantime, go ride your horses!

Interested in finding out more? You can visit Emily at www.emilyholmesequestrian.com for more Equestrian Marketing Tips, Complaints about Competitors, and other Ocala based Equestrian stuff. You can also find Emily on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and her decidedly boring TikTok. @eholmes611
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How to: attracting product sponsors for equestrians

12/7/2020

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PicturePhoto credit by Victoria DeMore Photography.
​Before you even start reading this and rolling your eyes, I already know.

I know that you are up at all hours of the day and night.
I know that you’re awake and in the barn before the sun rises, you do hard physical labor all day, and you’re exhausted when you finally stumble into the house at night.
I know that half the time you shower with the water as hot as possible to pound on your tired and sore back.
I know the last thing you want to think about is more work when you finally sit on the couch with a glass of …. whatever your flavor is…. and a good television show.

​I know this, because I’m one of you. Well, the amateur-ish version of a professional.

As a professional equestrian, you are responsible for taking care of the horses you compete and that includes feeding them. Riding them. Dragging the arena. Cleaning the tack. Washing their bandages. And so much more.

If you’re anything like me, it’s a struggle to pay for it all.

One way many top riders get help is by attracting sponsors.

Sponsors will frequently give away product in exchange for the rider acting as their spokesperson. The philosophy being, if the professional rider is using the product, it must be awesome and everyone will want to use it because maybe they’ll ride like the professional. (We all can dream). Then the riders can reduce costs by getting some free or reduced-cost stuff.

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Posts like this screenshot go a really long way for a company. Not sponsored by them yet? It doesn’t matter! Post about the product on your social media: rave about the product, add hashtags, tag the company, use emojis, take pictures of the product, and before-and-after’s. Keep going until you’re noticed. Don’t be afraid to reach out to a local representative, either.
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Be clever with your hashtags. #pleasesponsorme #Ihavealotoffollowers #bestfeedever #Itelleveryone #TripleCrownFeed #PerformGold #makesmyhorselooklikeanOlympian…. oh wait, we aren’t on social media…….. you get the picture.
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Shoutout to my feed representative, Katie Wentz!
Most of these companies want your following to become their following. If you scan the social media sites of riders with a lot of sponsors you’ll see that most of these riders have a large following. It’s all a numbers game, so you need to build the number of friends you have on Facebook, the number of likes on your professional page, and the number of followers on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitter.

The best way to do that? Content. But that’s an entirely different blog post!

See you next time! In the meantime, go ride your horses!

Interested in finding out more? You can visit Emily at www.emilyholmesequestrian.com for more Equestrian Marketing Tips, Complaints about Competitors, and other Ocala based Equestrian stuff. You can also find Emily on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and her decidedly boring TikTok. @eholmes611
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    Author

    Emily Holmes is an Ocala, FL based Freelance Event Organizer who is an expert in Equestrian Public Relations. She also attempts to compete in Eventing and Dressage on a VERY amateur level while building a new facility (see Five Hound Farm) with her hound dogs, husband, and a myriad of horses.

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