Survey Says! Equiery Readers Rate this Year’s Internationals
T ousands fl ocked to Elkton and Washing-
ton, DC, this past October for the 2018 Dutta Corp Fair Hill International and Washington International Horse Show. In Equiery tradi- tion, at the conclusion of both shows, we asked our readers: What did you think of this year’s Internationals? With only a week to complete our survey, which was circulated through emails and Facebook, Equiery readers let us know what they liked and did not like about this year’s In- ternationals. Out of the nearly 100 people who submit-
ted survey answers, 36% attended FHI and 29% attended WIHS. Some survey partici- pants even attended both shows! All who attended this year’s FHI said they plan to return in 2019. For WIHS, all but eight survey responders said they plan to attend WIHS in 2019. T ose who said they might not attend next year mostly stated they felt the show was getting repetitive and wanted more competition to watch each night. T e 71% who said they do want to attend WIHS in 2019 were all completely satis- fi ed with this year’s show!
Attendance
Most of the survey re- spondents attended FHI on Saturday for the exciting, action-packed cross-country day. T e second most popular day at FHI was Friday, when spectators watched both levels of CCI dressage. Sunday’s show jumping fi nale was the third most popular day for our FHI survey goers. For WIHS, T ursday was the most popular night for our survey participants, which is no surprise considering T ursday is WIHS’s an- nual Barn Night. Friday’s Military Night had the second highest attendance followed by Sat- urday’s big President’s Cup night.
Competition
T e majority of those who attended FHI were completely satisfi ed with the level and amount of competition off ered this year. In fact, 90% said “yes, completely satisfi ed” while 10% said “somewhat satisfi ed” and no one checked the “not satisfi ed” box. T e majority of Equiery readers who attended
WIHS this year were also very satisfi ed with WIHS’s level of competition with 67% check- ing off “yes, completely satisfi ed.” One satis- fi ed WIHS attendee specifi cally stated that the WIHS Junior Equitation Finals Ride-Off
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was “very impressive” adding, “It was really interesting to see how they adapted to their new mounts and how they rode the course.” Twenty-one percent said
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WIHS
they were somewhat satisfi ed while 13% said they were not satisfi ed with the competition at this year’s WIHS. T e big- gest complaint from those not satisfi ed was the small class sizes this year. Most seemed to want the show not to end, stat- ing they want more riders for a longer night!
Food and Shopping
Equiery advertiser Laura Lee Jones at WIHS’ PwC Club
T e food and shopping op- tions at FHI this year seemed to be a hit, with 60% of sur- vey participants stating they were very satisfi ed with the food options and another 60% being very satisfi ed with the shopping options as well. In general, FHI spectators simply want more. More food options and more shopping. One big suggestion for food at FHI was more breakfast options, especially on dressage days when the competition starts early. T e most common com-
ment from the 3% that were not happy with the shopping at FHI said they would have liked to see more tack vendor options and even some local vendors. Food at WIHS seemed to be an issue for those who took our survey, though it should be noted that WIHS does not have control over what type of food is sold in the Capital One Arena.
Fifty-
seven percent were somewhat satisfi ed with the food op- tions while 26% were completely satisfi ed and 17% were not satisfi ed. T e com- ments were a mixed bag often confl icting with each other. Some people stated how much they liked the food in the PwC Club while others said they did not like the food at that same loca-
Sabrina Dobbins Margaret Winters & Tyler Witt Sarah Ashley Tina Snyder Susan Porter Lydia McClain Angie Leihy Carol Dowling
FHI
Dan Kramer Ellen Stone Ashley Aycock Gale Joyce Carolyn Bayer
tion. One highlight however was the fudge vendor, who was very popular with spectators. T e shopping
results were also varied as 43% were very satisfi ed, 36% were
somewhat
satisfi ed and 21% were not satisfi ed. One survey partici- pant stated, “Love
the vendors at this show!” and another felt the options were better than in years past. Others would have liked to see more equine artists and there were some suggestions to have local as- sociations and groups set up booths like the USPC booth that was at WIHS this year. For those who were not happy with the shopping options, the common comment was the price point was higher than their budgets.
In terms of their volunteers and staff , both
FHI and WIHS knocked it out of the park! All but one person was completely satisfi ed with FHI’s staff and volunteers while all but fi ve were completely satisfi ed with those at WIHS. And… not a single person had a complaint about the people they met at either location. Comments about FHI included “great vol- unteers here,” “Our tailgate host was fantastic,” and “All amazing! Really outdid themselves this year.” One survey responder went on to state, “T e volunteers are the greatest. Friendly, smiling and making sure you are enjoying the event! Hats off to the cross-country crossing guard staff . Some people don’t understand the danger they put the eventers in or themselves and I was so impressed by the guy who was behind Bucks tent and kept spectators in line about crossing in areas other than marked cross ways.” At WIHS, comments included “Very friendly,”
“Anyone that
volunteers is wonderful” and “Staff
at WIHS and Capital One Arena are top notch.”
Venue When it comes to the loca- tion and facility, here again FHI was spot on with 100% of those who participated in our survey stating they were
completely
Margaret Winters and Tyler Witt won PwC tickets at the METS Silent Auction.
satisfi ed with the grounds and continued...
DECEMBER 2018 | THE EQUIERY | 15
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