The Inaugural Maryland 5 Star in Review It finally happened. After years of planning
and construction, and a one-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the inaugural Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill came and went in the most spectacular fashion. Being one of only seven in- ternational events at the five-star level, and one of two five-star events in the U.S., the Maryland 5 Star had incredibly high standards to meet, and based on the results of a survey done by Te Equiery after the event, it generally succeeded.
Who Did the Reviewing Te majority of those who took our survey
were spectators (85.9%) while 14.3% were volunteers. We also had a few vendors (4.6%), owners of a competing horse (14.3%), sponsors (2.9%) and media (2.2%) fill out the survey. In addition, 0.4% were competitors and 2% were grooms or family members of competitors, giv- ing our survey a well-rounded and diverse set of perspectives from over 450 people. For the 4.6% who said they did not attend the
Maryland 5 Star in person, most said they did not attend due to conflicts with other activi- ties during the event (October 13-17). A few (1.1%) said they did not know about the event, and even fewer (0.4%) said they did not attend due to ticket price. Nearly all of those who did not attend said
they watched some of the coverage on MPT and were impressed with what they saw. Several international viewers also took the survey, with one person writing: “UK residents not permitted to enter USA. I was bitterly disappointed having planned to attend in 2020 and bought flights in April for 2021. I watched on Horse and Country TV wishing I could have been there.” Te majority (88.7%) of our survey respon-
dents said they attended the event on Saturday for the cross-country phase. Te second most popular day was Sunday for the show jumping finale (43.7%) and then Friday, for the second day of dressage (36.6%). We asked people to check off all days they attended and many re- ported they attended more than one day.
Tickets & Seating Ticket prices seemed to be “just right” ac-
cording to 50.2%, while 22.5% said the ticket prices were too high. No one clicked the “too low” box for ticket prices. Tere were a few people (20.9%) who said they did not pay for their tickets with most of those people being volunteers, sponsors, or vendors. One complaint that came up several times in
the ticket price section was that bleacher seat- ing was uncomfortable considering the cost of the tickets. One person wrote in, “I bought Tier 2 seats for nearly $300 for three days and had to sit in bleachers. Te location was super but was not comfortable at all and unless they change to seats with backs, I won’t purchase them again.”
Others suggested more affordable options for the average attendee with less VIP-type seat- ing. Many also commented that on some days, people were not checking tickets so anyone could sit anywhere, which defeated the purpose of paying higher prices for better seats. Our survey also showed that many people who attended were able to see the competition well (43.7%) while only 12.7% said they could not. Several people wrote in that they would like general admission tickets to be closer to the dressage arenas for Tursday and Friday. Te majority who attended on Saturday for
cross-country were very pleased with how close they were able to get to the gallop lanes and cross-country jumps. Several people noted how much action they could see in the Sawmill part of the course with one person writing, “Sawmill area was amazing – offered vantage points of so many jumps including the water and the drop – two of the most iconic/worth photographing. Our group will definitely look for a similar spot next year!”
Vendors & Food
Tose who took our survey were nearly split on the question about the Vendor Village. 39.3% said the Vendor Village was “just right” while 32.9% said there were “not enough options.” Another 2.1% said there were “too many options” while 25.6% clicked “other” and wrote in comments. Comments included:
• “Most of the vendors were by the start of cross- country. It would have been nice if all vendors were in the same place, closer to the arena.” • “Would like to have seen more tack store/gift options.” • “Te Vendor Village near the main arena was nice. We did not understand the odd semi-circle of smaller vendor tents. Honestly, a vendor area with a view of the jumbotron would be ideal.” • “Tere were plenty of vendors but not enough shopping. Many vendors were real estate, etc. Would have been nice to have more diverse shopping options.” • “Vendor village was too far away from the cross-country course.” Several people noted that vendors in general
closed down too early after the competition end- ed each day, although is is our understanding that vendors were asked to shut down early on Sat- urday and seek shelter in their vehicles because of the incoming storms. On the other days, ven- dors were told to open by 8 am and shut down 30 minutes after the competition ended each day. Next year, the organizers should consider
allowing the vendors to open longer than 30 minutes after the end of competition. For the Food Vendors, our survey revealed
that there simply were “not enough options” (58.1%). Only 12.8% said the food options were “just right” and 0.2% felt the food vendors were “poor quality.” Another 3.8% said the food
32 | DECEMBER 2021 | THE EQUIERY YOUR MARYLAND HORSE COUNCIL PUBLICATION
Boyd Martin and On Cue became the first pair to win the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill.
was too expensive and 25.1% clicked “other” and added comments. Most of the comments were about the food
trucks on the cross-country course. Many felt there were just not enough of them, which cre- ated unreasonably long lines and wait times. Several people also said that in the future, they would appreciate water stands along the cross- country course with either bottled water for purchase or some sort of refilling station for reusable bottles.
The Venue Although so many people in our survey made
comments about how beautiful the Fair Hill property is, our questions about general venue accommodations such as parking, restrooms, etc., received varied responses. For parking, 45.3% said the parking options
were just right while 31.1% said they needed improvement. Only 5.8% said the parking ex- ceeded their expectations. Most of the com- ments were that the parking location was fantastic but the traffic management was very poor, especially at the end of the day when most people were leaving all at once. Tere were many requests for more signs as to
which lots were for which type of parking (e.g. general admission, VIP, volunteers, etc.) as well as requests for more signs directing people to the various areas of the venue. Someone wrote in that large billboard style “you are here” venue maps would have been very helpful. Having said that, however, 36% said things
were easy to find while 35.8% said things were difficult to find – a statistically even split. Our survey showed that 45% felt the bathroom
facilities were adequate while 21.4% felt they were inadequate. Te only write in comments about the bathrooms were that more port-a- johns were needed on the cross-country course.
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