World’s Championship Horse Show Date Change Proposal: Why it Shouldn’t Happen

I came across a news release, World’s Championship Horse Show (WCHS) Date Change Proposal to be Discussed, published by the American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA). To sum things up, the WCHS, an eight-day horse show for Saddlebreds, Hackney Ponies, and Road Horses which takes place during the Kentucky State Fair, is looking to move their show dates up in 2018 to start before the fair, so only the last 3 days of the show would take place during the fair.

Here’s my two cents:

If the show goes forward with the date changes, there will be even less exposure than there already is at the fair and the show will lose more potential to bring new people into the Saddlebred industry.

Let me start with the show as is.

Freedom Hall just before the 2016 WCHS kicked off.

The only close up interaction for fair goers is the barn tours. Since this is the biggest show of the year for Saddlebreds, barns will go all out with decoration. While this is fun sight for fair goers, they don’t get to be up close and personal with a horse. The decorations aren’t what people join an industry for. It’s for the love of a horse.

During work hours for the horses, the gates to Freedom Hall are closed. I’ve often seen parents holding their young kids up to get a small glimpse of these high stepping horses during these times. Now what does a closed gate say? It says do not enter. It says you’re not welcome here. I understand not letting spectators into the ring for safety reasons, but why can’t they take a seat in the stands to watch horses work if it catches their eye?

One nice thing is that admission to upstairs is free for morning sessions. However, this doesn’t seem to attract anyone. Fair goers most likely don’t schedule in the horse show when they show up. They probably don’t know anything about free admission upstairs, and even if they find out there’s no pamphlet or spokesperson to explain what is going on. All the fair goers know is that they are watching horses go around in circles, then get bored and leave.

The downstairs section is ticketed in both the morning and night, but is never crowded in the morning until late in the week. I sat down in a section completely empty, surrounded by similar sections, one morning and was asked to move because I didn’t have a ticket. There was no one around me who could possibly want the seat I was in. If there was, I would happily move. Most of those people buy the tickets so they have a close view in the evening, but they don’t come to many morning sessions. Wouldn’t it make more sense to sell morning tickets separately and make them cheaper, if not free earlier in the week? You might even get some fans who normally sit upstairs to come down for a closer view.

One method to draw people in for both morning and evening sessions would be spokespeople. There could be people around the outside of Freedom Hall advertising the show and more people in the stands to answer questions for those watching. They could even point out the previous year’s champions and learn background information on them.

Think of a regular fair goer who probably doesn’t buy tickets in advance. It’s $10 per person at the gate (except for children five and under and discount days for certain groups) and $8 to park. More ticket info is available here, but let’s consider an average family of four. The family pays $40 to get in and $8 to park. The kids, who are 12 and under, want to go on midway rides, so $12 each and $25 for the one parent who rides with them. The other parent sits out. We’re already up to $97, not including food, drinks, or other items bought.

For WCHS tickets purchased at the state fair, most of the evening sessions are $18 per ticket, or $25 the last two nights of the show, which are the biggest nights. Groups of four or more can buy tickets for $8, or $11 the last two nights. If you’re this family, and you’re wrapping up a long day and see a poster advertising a horse show you know nothing about but think the high stepping horses are pretty, will you be willing to spend $8 or $11 per person more to go see an event you know nothing about? Doubtful. And the price is higher for groups or families of two or three. I think it’s fair to charge admission for evening sessions, but not a price that quickly adds up after people already spent a lot of money. The upper level seating is closer to empty than full anyway, so what does it hurt to lower the price and bring more people in?

With the WCHS currently during the fair, they have the potential to expose people to the Saddlebred industry and try to get them involved. Granted, I don’t know what’s allowed and what’s not allowed, and I know there’s limited time in between sessions to work horses, but in order to grow the industry, people are going to have to give up some of their personal comfort. Saddlebreds have the personality of a celebrity, so why don’t people act like that’s what they are to outsiders? Instead, these horses are treated like a fragile object people can’t get within five yards of.

What if certain local barns were given special permission to bring in lessons horses and do pony rides in Freedom Hall or right outside in the warm up ring? There could be instructors from local barns with pamphlets to explain what Saddle Seat riding is, what makes the Saddlebred so unique, and contact information. Also, barn tours could be expanded. People who are taken on the barn tours need a reason to be interested besides pretty flowers for decorations. Some barns and owners need to step up and offer to showcase their top horses. They don’t need to work them or let a group of people come up to them, but if a horse could be presented in halter to a crowd and someone explained the horse’s accomplishments, their personality and funny traits, and said when they are showing, that might get people interested in watching the WCHS.

Again, I don’t know all the logistics and rules between the fair board and the WCHS, but I firmly believe the WCHS should not move their dates ahead of the fair. I’ve grown up in Kentucky and would not mind seeing the entire fair moved to earlier in August, but that’s a more personal note for kids in school here. There’s already very little horse access to fair goers. Yes, they can buy a ticket or go for free in the mornings, but even that’s not advertised well. The WCHS should stick with the fair and figure out a way to reach out to people besides hoping they read a poster.

I want the Saddlebred industry and the WCHS to succeed instead of continue to shrink, but the industry has to decide if it’s willing to change and expand from its comfort zone.

There’s my two cents. What’s yours?