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Post by lisa holloway on Aug 31, 2010 12:58:49 GMT -5
TOTALLY DISSAPOINTED with midarc, was given a 12x12 stable for a 16.2hh horse to live in for two days, spent months preparing and lots of money on boots etc to abbide by the dress code and NOT one photographer in the indoor arena for the dressage, plus was told we could go up anytime as ppl had withdrew then got up the...re and told they were running 15 mins late to our origanal times, disguested to hear of the way my friends were treated as there was strangles on there yard and withdrew themselves even though there horses are clear being responsible horse owners should be prased yet midarc couldnt care and only wanted to keep there money!!!!! dressage judge only put negative comments on sheets and then left blank spaces with out giving a reason why marks were so low . wont be going again .. also put this on the marc facebook and it was removed with out a response???
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Post by Horse Lady on Aug 31, 2010 16:11:28 GMT -5
Its easy to criticise when you only know one side of the story, re no dressdage photographer, I know, as a show organiser, that they will not do dressage as not enough people buy them to make it worthwhile. I have competed at the last eight Championships, and this was the best yet by far, one small moan, no entertainment this year in the evenings
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Post by not surprised on Sept 1, 2010 1:11:04 GMT -5
TOTALLY DISSAPOINTED with midarc, was given a 12x12 stable for a 16.2hh horse to live in for two days, spent months preparing and lots of money on boots etc to abbide by the dress code and NOT one photographer in the indoor arena for the dressage, plus was told we could go up anytime as ppl had withdrew then got up the...re and told they were running 15 mins late to our origanal times, disguested to hear of the way my friends were treated as there was strangles on there yard and withdrew themselves even though there horses are clear being responsible horse owners should be prased yet midarc couldnt care and only wanted to keep there money!!!!! dressage judge only put negative comments on sheets and then left blank spaces with out giving a reason why marks were so low . wont be going again .. also put this on the marc facebook and it was removed with out a response??? Welcome to midarc this is nothing new i'm afraid - sad to say i am not surprised - a friend had a similar experience in the dressage
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Post by rcmember on Sept 1, 2010 7:15:50 GMT -5
I too have been to the championships year after year and disagree with Horse Lady - these were by far the worst I have been to...and I thought last year was poor enough. I am pleased that so many people enjoy going and that they work so hard through the year to qualify and go. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to see so many like minded people enjoying themselves. Yet it is nothing like it was - the atmosphere has gone, it is no longer a show for the "members" it is a money making venture. Gone are the fab trophies for each class and superb rosettes, the quality of the show jumps for this level of show is poor. There seemed so few people there this year.
I too have organised shows and you CAN ask a photographer to be there for the dressage - especially at champ shows - for most people it is the pinnacle of their season (if not their career to date) and they want to remember it just as much as the people in the showing ring.
When you hear the judges complaining so loudly about the organisation (and these people get to more shows than most of us) then it says a lot to me.
This is a championship that means so much to the people who go and yet they are being forgotten for the sake of CASH.
Yes, the show will go on, but not with the same fabulous spirit it once had. I mourn its passing.
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Post by Dressage Diva on Sept 1, 2010 8:21:08 GMT -5
I'm sorry to say I agree with rc member. I too have been to many Midarc competitions, winning and being placed at SJ, Showing and dressage. I have been presented with beautiful rosettes, sashes, prizes and annual trophies, which they no longer have. The competition was of a high standard and we had a lovely time.
I have some beautiful photographs including some of my dressage tests, so the comment about not taking dressage photographs is ridiculous - of course they sell to those people competing in this discipline. Some people only compete at dressage, so if there is no photographers they have nothing to remember their achievement by.
Last year the show was not as good as it had been in previous years, although we still enjoyed ourselves. This year I felt it had really gone down hill. The show jumps really were of a poor standard for a Championship show, there were less entries in the classes (despite Midarcs website stating they had record entries this year) and the whole atmosphere was just not as good.
It is such a shame that a Championship show which people spend alot of time working hard to qualify for, and indeed alot of money to enter now seems to be just a money making scheme for those profiting by its existance.
I for one will be looking to hopefully qualify for other championship shows and not be returning to Midarc. I feel very sorry for those who part with their hard earned cash and line the pockets of those who just don't seem to really care for the members of the show, but just how much money they can make.
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Post by lisa holloway on Sept 1, 2010 15:16:58 GMT -5
well it seems im not the only one to have a moan, as for dressage lady's comment " they wont photograph dressage as no one buys enough" i dont think so love i go to manny dressage shows local and not so local to me and even if its cost me 5.50 to enter a class there is always a photo grapher there so spending 25 quid on a entry i certainly well expected a photo grapher there having spent four years working my butt off to get me and my horse to any sort of standard then through the tears and tantrums and working between my family and work i actually qualified to a champ show i know i couldnt believe we had come that far and what have i got to show for it a crummy 50p rossett no photo's no wow atmosphere, very rude unhlepfull staff so im not surprised like others i will be finding other champ shows to work hard that not only want my money but want me to go home smiling x
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Post by bryanshear on Sept 1, 2010 15:51:56 GMT -5
Thank you all for your comments, both positive and negative First of all, we had asked several photographers to attend to work the dressage ring, but all declined because of hugely declining sales over the past two years, especially in dressage which when we consider the current economic climate is really not surprising.
RE the Annual trophies, if we could get them back from previous winners we would of course present them to our winners, but we took a concious decision in 2009 to replace these with engraved glass trophies, unique to Midarc, and ones which the Rider could keep, and on a whole this move has been much appreciated.
If any of the contributors to this forum would like to volunteer their services to retrieve them every year for us, then we would go back to the Annual Trophy concept, which is what we prefer.
Entries were very much up on 2009, in fact we believe it to be about 25%, what we did do though was split classes into sections so everyone had more of a chance of getting a rosette than before. This worked well, but it did show up as less competitors per class.
Prizes are a sore subject, the last time we presented prizes, we had complaints from many people about the perceived value, after all, one company supplied Lead Ropes, whilst another provided most excellent prizes of a higher value, guess who complained, but I feel sure that the ones who won some of the cash prizes on offer were happy, but unfortunately, most of the time only the truly happy people are those who win.
As for Judges complaining, I suggest you read the comments that have come from many of them and stewards, it is interesting that there doesnt appear to be a moan amongst them.
I am surprised of complaints about the rosettes, they are same rosettes with the same material we have had for years, in fact the Champion and Reserves have more tiers than ever before and that is one thing we had many compliments on.
Finally, to be accused of cash grabbing is basically an insult. The 2010 show cost over £24,000 to put on, and yes we do make a profit, we have to, we have to have finances in place for the Winter Champs and also to start the Summer Champs off, we have a judges training scheme that has to be financed, we buy equipment, just for an example a set of roping posts, corner pieces and rope for one ring is in the region of £320, and they do have be replaced on a regular basis. We buy other equipment, and we will continue to do so.
I think that explains our lot, but I would respectfully suggest that instead of whingeing in a public forum, why dont you have the guts to contact us direct and discuss what if any problems you have, we are always interested to hear from people who have genuine complaints, and we always try to resolve them to everyones satisfaction, a remember a complaint with a smile is always going to responded to better than a complaint with a scowl
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Post by fivealive on Sept 1, 2010 16:04:14 GMT -5
I went to the Champs this year, nowt wrong as they say, weather was a bit naff first two days, but the organisers cannot be held responsible for that. I had a crap weekend though, but the results I got were what I deserved, I didn't ride well so it was my fault, so no sour grapes from this lady. Bring on the winter champs and already looking towards next summer, hope its the same weekend as I have to book my annula leave early. One small comment though, i lost my programme, if I email you will you let me have another one if you have any left
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Post by bryanshear on Sept 1, 2010 16:06:37 GMT -5
Forgot to add, over 60 people are employed at the show on all three days, plus set up and strip down crews, plus 4 girls worked full tiem during August to make sure everything was processed, and somebody works on the Championships from April onwards, albeit on a part time basis. These people have to be paid, please bear that in mind
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evem
New Member
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Post by evem on Sept 2, 2010 2:59:25 GMT -5
Can I say that I had a really good time and found the stewards to be really helpful and friendly. Just a small request that the results can be posted on your website and - in the case of the dressage - the scores, as is usual with most shows. It gives us 'must try harder' people an idea of how far off the winner we were!
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Post by bryanshear on Sept 2, 2010 6:38:11 GMT -5
Scores etc will be loaded on as soon as they have been reconciled, because of the at times wet and windy wetaher, they seemed to have ended up in all sorts of places, but we have them all now, maybe take 48 hours
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Post by emma brookes on Sept 2, 2010 13:45:42 GMT -5
this years championships were definatley as good as any years. the rosettes were fab and the trophies are alot better , they are more of a keep sake. another great year and we are looking forward to the winter champs, the staff were great to work with also and we throughly enjoyed the evening performances. well done midarc
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Post by modicumofpurpose on Sept 3, 2010 3:27:49 GMT -5
Sorry totally disappointed, I udnerstand you didnt book your stable from midarc, but in fact it was passed to you from someone not attending, and did you ask for another stable. Its no use complaining afterwards, and I agree with horse lady, you should not criticise when you only know one side of the story. Why did you not ask the Dressage Judge her reasons for her remarks, she was there until quite late, and I have always found dressage judges to be extremely helpful. You cannot blame Midarc for the Judges remarks. I did ask someone from Midarc re the remark you allege was withdrawn, they said they havent withdrawn any remark from anybody, which ties in, because over the years their blog pages have always been open and honest, but they do reserve the right to reply Hope that helps It was a fantastic show as always and dont let the very few moaners put you off, I know for a fact one of them was not even at the show, but thats horsey people for you, think they have the right to say and do anything
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Post by happy on Sept 5, 2010 2:38:09 GMT -5
i saw hundreds of competitors over the 3 days who enjoyed every minute. Shame the ones who didnt do well could lose gracefully but then again they cant talk about how good they were so just moan. Strangle free horses from yards that do have it shouldnt even think about spreading something like that as they could be carriers. i have donwe the champs for years and this has been the best by far. Stop moaning about dressage results if your not doing well and try improving. I had a fab time and look forward to the next champs. My results were not good but im willing to listen , learn and improve.
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Post by rcmember on Sept 5, 2010 14:38:13 GMT -5
I hope this is MY last post on this subject. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Regardless of results, some will have enjoyed the championships and others, for their own reasons, will not. It isnt necessarily a case of being a sore loser. Some of us feel it to be an achievement to qualify after years of trying - to be told to try harder is a little condescending, if not insulting. Sometimes things are not what you expected them to be. Bryan said thank you for both the positive and the negative. Lets all accept we can disagree based on our own experiences. I dont begrudge anyone enjoying themselves - it gives me great pleasure, but at the same time I do understand that some will not have enjoyed it as much as they had hoped.
I do agree with modicum of purpose regarding the dressage judge - in my experience they are often only too happy to talk to competitors. However, I heard the judge with my own ears spouting off about not being given enough breaks and other matters. If I had been a competitor in her class I would have thought twice about approaching her at that time. She clearly was not in the best of moods. However, as regards the deletions from facebook - I saw the posts referred to and these are no longer on the wall. So, either there has been a technical issue with facebook that coincidentally deleted two critical posts or they were deliberately deleted. It is not for me to accuse - I am just stating the facts...there were two critical posts that have disappeared. Subsequent critical posts have, however, stayed.
As for Happy - can I respectfully suggest that you speak to the Animal Health Trust at Newmarket you have completed extensive research into Strangles. It is not ONLY horses who are clear and are on yards that have Strangles that can be carriers...ANY horse can be a carrier. Indeed, horses can be carriers for years and only shed the bacteria in times of stress. it was once thought that 5% of horses who were exposed to the disease became carriers but this is now believed to be 55%. On that basis none of us knows who is carrying the disease. Therefore, we should ALL be vigilant and take responsible precautions - dont let your horse share water of have contact with other unknown horses - even a stranger giving a titbit to your horse is enough to pass it. As for those people who were due to attend this year and did not because of the Strangles in their proximity, they did the responsible thing by getting in touch with Midarc in the first place. Dont knock people for doing the right thing. They could quite easily have kept quiet and turned up. Then you would have had cause to complain about them. Be grateful, not critical.
Live and let live, be tolerant towards others, accept we are all different.
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