Just a thought...

[burty]

Am i the only one who thinks the entry fee to prize money ratio has gone to pot? I can't see why novice classes have only the chance to cover their entry fees if they win the class, because that takes some doing.
Surely this will put a lot of lower level people off, with the high cost of fuel to take into account? And if they can only raise three for the team it's a big loss if a place can't be gained.

Perhaps this might account for the low entries at this autumns events so far? I'm seriously thinking about forgetting the bogey class with the pony and team, another £85 for a run is just too much. And i can't be the only one.

Your thoughts? :unsure:

[Liz]

I agree it's expensive compared to prize money but then I also don't mind that much - the funds all go to the hunt in question and that's got to be good. and I know from course building for events and HT's how time consuming and expensive it is. We can't expect them to run the event at a loss.

My team always runs intermediate (being a non-thoroughbred team we just don't have the pace for the opens) which normally gets the biggest class sizes so we often come home empty handed. But we always come home having had a lot of fun and a great day.

on the topic of low autumn entries, I reckon the weather and ground conditions might have a lot to do with it. I won't be running until the weather gets better, I'm not willing to risk injury at the start of the hunting season.

Interesting to see what everyone else thinks...

[Guest]

Although the last two events had cracking ground and would have accepted late entries due to the low number of starters. :rolleyes:

If you only do your local event and want to support the hunt then it's an expense you don't mind too much. But to drive for hours for the same purpose, don't think my bank manager would see the reasoning behind it.

[tony]

I would like to see a little bit of consistency, this autumn we have over the next 4 weekends bogey time classes with entry fees of £48, £50 and 2 at £85.

The prize money is fairly irrelevant because only a few will see any of it, it is nice to cover some of your costs though :blink: As for diesel costs :blink:

The open entries appear to be holding up this autumn so far but the intermediate/novice entries are down. :(

[tom]

If you divide the enty fees by 4 then it is only about the same as a hunter trial :D

Regarding low entries, Some teams may be in the same boat as us and have been too busy over the summer to get the horses fit :(

[Emma 1]

I agree with Tom, we're talking teams of four here so the cost is divided. So some events cost less per person than a hunter trial, some are a little more - if they're cheaper count yourselves lucky, if they're a bit more expensive well, hell, it evens out.

Demand consistancy and they'll all go up, not down. Plus, this is for the benefit of the hunt so all in a good cause.

Re prize money: if you're after the dosh go and do international sj or breed Border Terriers (very cost effective).

If you want to bring teamchasing up to other horse sport levels you are going to lose what makes it so special - impose more rules and regulations and you make it the same as everything else - right now it's raw, exciting, and on a par with being let loose with your dad's Lotus when you're sixteen. Regulate it and we'll all end up as Volvo drivers with tartan seat covers.

So be careful what you wish for - yes, we need constistency re the courses so we know what to expect, but don't change the sport so much that it becomes another run-of-the-mill event.

Less EU, more ****you, that's what i like about teamchasing.

[Guest_Sue]

And whats wrong with Volvo drivers ! ? ;)

I completly agree and at least this is going to the hunts, (though you could always ask for a discount for teams of 3 !). Having noted that many other horse events - dressage and showing for two are similar and you have to win to get your money back ! I'm afraid - gone are the days of entry fees of 10p in the £1 (ohh showing my age there) :ph34r: and in has come rising insurance, medical and running costs. :(

I also agree i'd rather spend £15-£20 taking my girls xcountry then £15 on an unaffiliated showing or dressage class any day - and whey hay - no platting required either ! thumbup thumbup


Maybe team sponsorship is the answere - you could have some real appropraite ones:-

The Bad Habbits - Sponsor - Threshers or Alcoholics Anonymous
Whacky Racers -- Disney/Warner or Local Go-Karting/Stock Car Track
The Tango's - - Need I say more !!
The Wasp's - - Stingeese !
Hair Raisers - - Videl Sassoon
Derby Daytrippers - - Wallace Arnould Tours or SAGA Tours (no offence !)
Norther Spirit - - Iron Bru / some Scottish Whisky
Odds n Sod's - - Friends re-united.com
The Mixed Pack - - Local RSPCA Kennels ;)
The Bitch Pack - - Pop group - Girls Aloud / Local Model Agency

Sponsors could sponsor in Entry Fees and/or products (preferably for us) ! :D

[tom]

I wonder if the labour party would sponser Bollocks to Blair? :rolleyes:

[burty]

Erm, maybe not! just been reading about a girl arrested for wearing the same shirt at a game fair. Get a grip folks!!

Glad to see this thread has awoken the banter again! thumbup
Tom, where are you lot running then? We're out at the Atherstone but looks like we might be one short. Time to start hassling Emma1 again i think ;) Besides, we're missing the red stuff, have to say though that the wine that Mac left in our lorry was very nice. :P

[Scribbler]

Emma 1 making an uncommon amount of sense thumbup

Another concern that's emerging is meagre support for opens so far. I take Tom's comments on board about time, but what's happened to the local hunt members who would have a cut round the opens? Are they being scared off by the regular competitors?
The Meynell is some of the biggest hunting country in the UK, surely some Meynell subscribers would get round their open, and while I know that some horse wouldn't be fit enough, not everyone turns their horses away for the summer now do they? :rolleyes:
The Grafton are in a serious quandary about whether they can justify the cost of preparing the open fences if they're only going to get seven teams, and I would blame the Meynell if they felt the same.
It would be a shame to lose some of the opens over the best British hunting country, particularly now that hunting is restricted to being a glorified fun ride due to the stupid legislation :(

[Liz]

Now I know I'll be shot down in flames but....

In our hunt a thoroughbred will not manage a day. So we all ride warm bloods or cob crosses.

I and several others of our hunt would love to go open but our non-thoroughbreds just can't compete. That's why we ride intermediate.

They're perfectly capable of jumping 4' and up but the speed is more 'fat labrador' than 'greyhound'. :unsure:

If they separated the open classes to thoroughbred and non thoroughbred then we might have a go but there's little fun to be had in coming last every time and arriving 2 minutes and more later than everyone else...

[Guest_Sue]

Or what about slanting some opens to be more typical of the hunts natural country i.e twistier, steeper banks, bigger dykes - that command respect - not just speedy hedges ?

[burty]

My draft cross very non thoroughbred does the job... thumbup

[tom]

People will travel further to do an open than they would for other classes. Plus many open teams bring other horses for the other classes. So if an open class only has 7 entries it has probably attracted another 10 entries on the day :)

Liz, A "safe" round often produces good results as the faster teams regulaly crash out :blink:

[dwarf]

liz, why is the fun in just winning? what about the huge adrenalin rush that you get from just having fun with your team and your horse?!

its always good to be the best on the day (and as the topic is falling,) go home with your entry fee in your pocket, but the majority of us that do the odd teamchase, do it for the thrill!! in my opinion, hunting and teamchasing demand the different horses because, although run by the same people, are different sports! teamchasing is not meant to go for the whole day!!

although the hedges can be jumped at speed, the good teams are the ones who DO respect these fences and actually give their horses a chance to jump safely. more complex fences could actually cause more injuries than just the speed hedges, especially for those teams that dont respect the friendly looking hedges in the first place!!!!!

your ideas are fab but i think that the 'dangerous' teams need to think more about their horses than winning before the courses can be made more complex!

(any posts that want to be made about this can be said to tom as they will be passed on at home, i dont come on the site as often as him!!!!)

(ps baby i dont hink that you are dangerous!!!!)

: ) dwarf!

[Emma 1]

Well said, Dwarf thumbup

Tony, damn, i can't go incognito anymore :ph34r: you rumbled my last unlogged post! As for getting people to do the opens: up here it would be easier to persuade the Pope to poledance. The majority of riders i know think that you have to be slightly insane to go faster than a white-knuckled trot outside of an arena. <_<

[Liz]

point about safer teams is well made and one for consideration...

Re: out to win. We're not. Don't get me wrong - we love winning, but spending a fortune and driving miles to a competition (there's only 2 events all year that are closer then 50 miles) when you know you're going to come in last unless someone else gets eliminated or hurt is not great for the self confidence!

Interesting point about reflecting the hunt country more, i'm sure it would increase the overall amount of teams who rode opens but then you wouldn't get the galloping hedge hoppers down our way plunging through ditches up very steep inclines and popping in and out of split hedgelines. So all in all it might not actually increase the amount of open teams in any one event.

I know hunting and team chasing are different sports but if you remove them too far you'll lose all the support, the hunts won't be interested in running the events and then you'd lose them all together.

Some of these open courses have turned into nothing more than team point to pointing ( only difference is you don't go in a circle.)

[burty]

But how do you see teamchasing? Galloping over a course of hedges and rails is my idea of the sport, include a water splash to keep the riders cool if you want, even put a fan fence in to entertain the crowds, but make it more technical and it becomes teameventing. We've started in the opens this season and it was a big step. We don't expect to win, the entry fees are crippling when two members are from the same household and we don't hold out a lot of hope of gaining a rosette just yet. But with each run we learn, and that is true at any level. And more importantly we enjoy it, but we're already hooked to the sport and my original worry is entry fee verses prizes is putting off the newcomers that will be the open teams in two or three years time.

A clever thoroughbred would be a bonus for speed class, but if you watch at an event you'll also see the times are beaten by turns and teamwork, not from flat out speed.
I agree with the supporting of the hunts, and have no objection myself to paying £20 each to run. The Moody Mares are a local team to me, and go to as many events as possible. They are always keen and usually complete and they don't mind if they don't win. Brilliant to see the determination but perhaps most bogey teams only run at their local event,hence the low entries in the far flung places?

[Fred]

Originally posted by tom@Sep 22 2005, 01:26 PM
I wonder if the labour party would sponser Bollocks to Blair? :rolleyes:
Bollocks to Blair can think of nothing worse than being sponsored by the Labour Party!! On the subject of entry fees you should try eventing. Minimum £50 entry fee plus £10 start fee for each class and until you get to novice no prize money at all. Lucky if you win a dandy brush. I think the prize money for team chasing is excellent and its great to go to a competition and not be chased around all day by health and safety fanatics and neurotic eventing stewards telling you you're going too fast and you're dangerous!! :rolleyes:

[burty]

Originally posted by Fred@Sep 26 2005, 03:29 PM
[QUOTE=tom,Sep 22 2005, 01:26 PM] its great to go to a competition and not be chased around all day by health and safety fanatics and neurotic eventing stewards telling you you're going too fast and you're dangerous!! :rolleyes:
By gum, there's nowhere near enough stewards to keep a check on the fast and dangerous in teamchasing!! :ph34r: