Those of you showing in FL...

[KimPeterson]

Hi! Those of you in FL, are there less riders this year than last year? My family was down there last week and I haven't been to the show grounds yet, they mentioned it looked sparse in comparison to a few years ago.

I was in WEF last year and that was packed but I am guessing it is always like that, although I wonder if the vendors have thinned out any? ?

One last thing, totally envious of the warm weather and sunshine....have a great time!!

[Rocky XVI]

I have no idea of numbers, but my friend down there says that most of the rings are done by around 2 pm, which would indicate to me that the class counts are down by quite a bit. Last year I heard some of the classes going until nearly dark.

[Lucassb]

Dunno what rings they are referring to. My four year old is down there doing the pre greens this year and there were 55 in his classes yesterday. (Happy Lucassb reports he was 2nd & 5th in those classes, yay!)

[chawley]

Dunno what rings they are referring to. My four year old is down there doing the pre greens this year and there were 55 in his classes yesterday. (Happy Lucassb reports he was 2nd & 5th in those classes, yay!)

Congrats! He looks like a nice horse!

[Lucassb]

Congrats! He looks like a nice horse!

Aw, thanks. He is a good baby. We don't show our young horses much, so this is only his 2nd outing since he showed last August at VT (he showed last week as well and was 10th and 11th out of 45.) I am very pleased with him.

[BAC]

Congrats! He looks like a nice horse!

He's a very nice horse, I don't know how Lucassb can bring herself to sell him.

[M. O'Connor]

I was just down @ WEF last week.

The numbers are not weak, that's for sure.

I think that it's very difficult to make any judgements based on the numbers this time round, however. The circuit was expanded from 8 weeks to 12, and after last year, it's all ONE big horse show, no Littlewood vs. SJI, so one pool of exhibitors is spread out in ONE horse show that is using 12 rings.

There aren't a large number of classes in any of the rings, and whichever is done earlier sometimes takes overflow classes (eg a schooling jumper split) so that no one ring is finished very late.

There are several classes at night--that lightens the load in the big ring.

I think it's very, very difficult to say, therefore, without access to "the books," as the numbers, even if they were up, wouldn't be immediately evident at a glance.

There are still stalls available in both Saddle Trails--but still, not at any particular bargain rate.

Honestly, the season is so long down there now, November-April, I don't think any conclusions can be drawn.

[ponymom64]

From what I can see on the website - the numbers are down - probably not in the pre-greens where LucassB's fabulous young horse is showing, but definitely in the non pro divsions.

For example, last year there were two sections each of the older and younger children's hunters, this year there is only one each. The pony hunters had about 30+ per section and this year it is 20+ and in short stirrup where my pony has been winning, the numbers are down slightly as well.

A few people that I know who normally send a bunch, have sent fewer or opted to stay home this year. So, while I'm sure the show is not dead - it is probably about 10 - 15% lighter than last year, based on my unscientific research

[ponymom64]

M O'Connor - you bring up a good point about the show being longer this year. So I'm sure that is skewing the numbers I posted above.

[M. O'Connor]

That being said, I didn't bring a horse down, for the first time since 2003.

Though I would sure feel badly if I was to be found responsible for sending Wellington's economy crashing to earth, I don't think that my shoestring budget one-horse operation is missed much. Although. This year, it would have been two horses. Still. I noticed no tears shed over our absence. ;)

[ponymom64]

That being said, I didn't bring a horse down, for the first time since 2003.

Though I would sure feel badly if I was to be found responsible for sending Wellington's economy crashing to earth, I don't think that my shoestring budget one-horse operation is missed much. Although. This year, it would have been two horses. Still. I noticed no tears shed over our absence. ;)

I didn't send my daughter down this year either, and if there were any tears (other than hers) I missed them! LOL!

[KimPeterson]

I am sure Wellington is probably doing fine :) so much money down there I think they are pretty recession proof I was just curious as my parents said the stalls where filled at Ocala but the classes looked sparse to them. I was wondering about the class sizes as I remember at WEF there being a TON of vendors (all doing little business) and the classes running until dark.

I was thinking of going down to HITS Ocala to do saddle fitting check ups on saddles I did last year, but haven't been able to get my act together to schedule anything for clients.

[jmvwiv]

I was in Ocala week I and it was odd. They didnt have classes run in Hunter ring 7 and Jumper 3 (I think). So right off the bat entries were down enough to close those 2 rings. But AA's had a TON, Mod Adult had a TON, some rings were going to almost dark. I heard entries were down 20% but each of the divisions people in my barn were in were really big.

[BridalBridle]

One of the PB Equine workers said the "horse count" was down <60% from last yr. He reminded me that a lot of horses don't show but go down for other disciplines, for the experience, for trailriding and just to get sold. One vet said at this time last yr he was a a week booked up to vet horses and he had not vetted ONE. He said most people were doing everything they could to keep the horse they had on the road and not just go out and buy another.

[findeight]

Heard second hand from a vendor that does not go down who was told by her vendor sister that did go down...

Numbers are off about 30% overall and sales have reflected that. Ocala down about the same and Thermal down alot farther.

But these are still BIG shows-maybe they got a little too big in recent years. Still healthy numbers.

But there are some names absent that attended in the past, no doubt a result of the issues in the financial sector that are resulting in alot of uncertainty about job security on the level that can't count on those juicy bonuses any more.

[Rocky XVI]

I know people with multiple horses schooling with BNTs who are down at the big shows same as usual, paying about $15,000 to $20,000 (for day fees only for the entire circuit) per horse. Friends I have talked to with one or two horses seem to have been affected by the economy more and have stayed home.

We decided to do things a little differently this year. As a Canadian, we use the Florida winter show season to get our horses in shape for the summer season at home. Rather than spend the huge bucks to go to the big shows, which was not in our budget this year, we sent three horses to a private farm in southern Florida. For $300 per month per horse, we get individual paddock turnout every day, large 14' x 14' stalls that are mucked and bedded every day, use of a wonderful jumper ring, and extensive hacking to keep our horses' minds fresh. The only thing we supply is our own hay and feed. We would be paying approximately the same for board at home, but the opportunity for training outdoors and showing is much more limited. In Florida we can find a local show to do on any given weekend, and though it may not have the prestige of WEF or HITS, there are a wealth of classes to choose from at both ends of the spectrum, from our greenie who is showing for her first year, to our higher level jumpers who really just need to improve their fitness over 4' fences at this time of year. And if we want, it is only a couple of hours to Wellington, so we can just ship in for the day if that's what we want to do.