The Ins & Outs of Competing During COVID-19, continued...


Horse Association reported that the club had been holding virtual shows during the COV- ID-19 shut down. “Tey seemed to be a really fun way to keep everyone in the group engaged while shows were shut down,” she explained. MWHA hosted its first live show of the sea- son on June 21. Held at the Howard County Fair Grounds, Peregoy stated, “we are lucky that a lot of our classes are naturally small in size and the ring there is really big.”


MWHA hosted both


mounted and in-hand classes making sure that if entries for any one class got too big, they split the class into two sections. “Most of our classes are indi- vidual anyway with patterns similar to dressage and the speed classes,” she said. “Ev- eryone is really excited to show show again.” With plexiglass in place at the entry booth


big ring too.” Even with lots of great ideas and protocols in


place, some organizers are choosing just to scrap the 2020 season altogether. Valerie Willis, who organizes the 4-H shows at the Montgomery County Fair each summer, is looking into vir-


Alissa Norman of the Temple Gwathmey Stee-


plechase Foundation reported that spectator-less competitions might work just fine for shows and events but in the sport of steeplechase racing, it poses bigger discussions. “If race meets have to run without spectators, it will be VERY diffi- cult to attract sponsors to cover costs of purse money,” she stated, adding, “Entry fees from horses don’t cover that cost. It’s all sponsor and spectator dollars.”


The Competitor Experience


Now the real question be-


At Loch Moy Farm, dressage judges and scribes wearing face masks and shields sat more than 6’ apart and scored tests electronically.


and riders working out of their individual trail- ers, Peregoy’s only worry was the warm up ar- eas. “Tose can get crowded so we re-worked things to spread out the warm up into the grassy areas and offered warm up classes in the


tual horse shows in the event that the fair is can- celed. “Tere are some good programs out there for virtual horse shows but now I’m asking my judges if they are even willing to judge that way,” Willis said. “Tere are very specific patterns and tests being asked and each entry must be filmed in a very strict way. It’s complicated.”


comes… if you host it, will they come? It seems the answer from competitors is a resound- ing YES! Every Equiery Face- book follower that commented posted that as a competitor, they are ready and eager to start


competing again. Karen Altieri of Linden Farm in La Plata


wrote, “We have nine riders on our equestrian team who are ready and willing to compete as soon as Mounted Wanderers and BEST are holding shows again.” She added, “Tere


continued... BASCULE FARM LLC


WILLIAM FAERBER CLINIC: AUGUST 29TH & 30TH One-on-One Riding as well as Auditing Spots Available


Will has been training professionally for over 40 years and was awarded his Silver Medal on a horse that was scheduled to be euthanized, it was so dangerous and unmanageable. A testament to a style of training that considers each horse an individual with different needs.


Will (Founder of Art2Ride) is a Master Horseman who studied extensively in Portugal with Nuno Oliveira whom he considers to be his greatest influence. He has competed in Eventing, Jumping and Dressage as well as coaching his students to regional and state championships including Horse of the Year awards.


www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580


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20800 Whites Ferry Road, Poolesville, MD 20837 • 301-972-8943 • www.basculefarm.com THE EQUIERY A MARYLAND HORSE COUNCIL PUBLICATION | JULY 2020 | 25


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