[vineyridge]

Is your opinion based on actual experience working at Rolex, or simply on the basis that you are smarter than everyone else?

Done it a few times recently. Enjoyed the experience thoroughly. If they will have me, I'd hope to do it many more times to come.

Re the outriders: Are mounted stewards different from the normal outriders? XC day is sometimes long, and it's hard for a horse and rider who are also objects of crowd attention to stand in one place all day, sometimes without even a lunch break. That's why I said they move or get distracted. I'm thinking of one recent day where the outrider was very little help at all.

[Foxtrot's]

Nigel's post is an example of a gentleman and class act. I cannot see that importing an announcer can save any money - but it is a done deal so that is the way it will be.


Just ... if it ain't broke, why fix it?

[flutie1]

Correct Laz. The Area Stewards are Control's eyes on site in case of emergency, fence judges report to control. The announcer is really for the spectators and for the XC personnel to hear how it's all going outside their Area when they have time to listen

[flutie1]

NBC scripts the jumbotron. This has nothing to do with the announcer.

[retreadeventer]

Dear Nigel,
You rock. Where will you be announcing this year? I want to hear my old grey boy's name said by you before he (and I) quit. Thanks for everything!
--Retread

[tle]

I've never worked at Rolex but at any event... the announcer is more for spectators and competitors than for officials/volunteers. and nothing that comes out of the announcer's mouth should be taken as a hard and fast rule either (ie: if the announcer says you had a refusal, maybe you did, maybe you didn't). I know we announcers try to get things right but the scoreboard is the official word on scoring, just as control is the official word on what's going on.

[pegasusmom]

I'd say the guards never know what's going on except through the announcer. Once everything starts, the area stewards have a lot more to worry about than crossing guards.

Not true at all. I have been an area steward for the past two years at Rolex and will be there again this year. The layers of volunteers at each fence is quite frankly pretty staggering. Each element of each complex has multiple bodies for maximum eyes on. There were three area stewards at the Head of the Lake last year and we all took turns alerting the crossing guards about closing off the crossing. Perhaps mid course, when a crossing is not near a fence, the guards are a little more on their own, but the area stewards still oversee and help them.

[pegasusmom]

As an area steward at Rolex I will say we do worry about the crossings once the event is started. We try to keep an eye on all aspects of safety/communication within our area and anticipate any area of trouble/congestion, address them and stay in touch with Control if we need them. That includes moving mounted stewards around so they have a better line of sight for a given crossing if needed. If the PA went down we could operate independently of it (given that the radios are still working). I'd hazard a guess that the PA on XC is the least important of any sort of communications to the actual running of the competition. It is much more important to the general crowd. The radios reporting in to Control are much, much more important.

What LAZ said.

[2ndyrgal]

I sent a quick email outlining our collective disappointment at Nigel's departure ( and a few other things) to the Executive Director of Equestrian Events, Lee Carter. It was not a rant, just something to let them know that there were a great many people who were quite upset at what they deemed unfair treatment of someone who had become "the voice" of Rolex.

I quickly received a thoughtful and understanding response which, among other things, indicated that this was not a hasty decision on their part and they realized that different aspects of this very special competition meant different things to different people.

Yes, it was couched in carefully worded language, and no, we will never be privy to any discussions, but my email was responded to very promptly and my concerns were addressed.

So while flinging and numphing on a bb might not get the results you want, often times a well thought out letter will at least answer some questions and ease the pain a bit.

Nigel already seems to have taken the high road, we should follow his lead.

Carry on with the "hear a whistle, shift yer arse" discussion.

[EnzoDbr9]

Guise, guise. Lets hope for the best in regards to the horsepark. No point in being doom and gloom. I get it change is bad, and scary. But it's also the only constant in the universe.

[shea'smom]

Please post your answer. Let's see if it is the same as mine

[flutie1]

Correcting an error I made in an earlier posting. NBC does not script the Jumbotron. The production company Carr-Hughes is reponsible for the feed. It's not on NBC anymore but is streamed on the USEF network.

[ivy62]

no more Rolex on TV? I always enjoyed watching it aftyer
I saw it live. Got to see some stuff that we missed...

[DLee]

Please post your answer. Let's see if it is the same as mine

Almost word for word as the one I got.