Survey Says... Readers Rate FHI, WIHS and Maryland Million October has come and gone and Equiery


readers are already looking towards 2020 ac- tivities. Before we start speculating about what costumes will show up at next year’s Washing- ton International Horse Show or what the new Fair Hill International 5* cross-county course will look like or which Maryland Million sire will top the winnings at Maryland Million, Equiery readers have sounded off on what they liked and did not like at this year’s WIHS, FHI and Maryland Million. Of the 40 people who replied to our survey, 47.2% attended WIHS, 38.8% attended FHI and 30.5% attended Maryland Million. Seven survey responders attended two out of the three spectator events and no one who responded at- tended all three events.


The Dutta Corp Fair Hill International


(October 16-20) Out of the 14 people in our survey who attended this year’s FHI, nine had been to FHI before and


fi ve were attending for the fi rst time. T e ma- jority (85.7%) of those who attended FHI went on Saturday for cross-country. T e second most popular day was Friday’s dressage day with 57.1%. One hundred percent of those who took our


survey were completely satisfi ed with the level of competition off ered at FHI. Our question about the food options got mixed


reviews. Four people said they were completely satisfi ed with the food options at FHI while six people said they were “somewhat” satisfi ed. Two people said they were not satisfi ed at all while two did not comment. Some of the write-in comments about food at FHI were: “did not ac- cept credit cards,” “very few vegetarian options,” and “lacking in variety.” Most people were completely satisfi ed with the


vendor/shopping options at this year’s FHI, with four people saying they were somewhat satisfi ed and two stating they were not satisfi ed. Most of the write-in comments for this question were suggestions on having more vendors and more variety in vendors. One person requested “outfi t- ter” type vendors such as country sporting goods seen at the larger English events. All but one person wrote in that they were


completely satisfi ed with the parking and shut- tle accommodations. T e comment “really easy, the buses were coming and going constantly” pretty much sums up FHI’s transportation op- tions. Another person wrote, “the bus drivers were really nice and helpful, the staff at the gate was friendly and there was a lot of good food.” Nearly 100% of survey responders said they www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580


were completely satisfi ed with the volunteers and staff they met at FHI. “Everyone I en- countered was very pleasant and helpful to me and my children love the kids corner,” said one responder. One person checked off “not satis- fi ed” and wrote in, “Always enjoy petting the outrider horses with our kids but very few of them this year.”


Most of those who attended FHI this year


loved the grounds and location of FHI. Two people said they were somewhat satisfi ed with the facility and one wrote in, “looking forward to seeing the new facilities completed.” T e majority of people who took our survey


were completely satisfi ed with the ticket prices of FHI. Two people were somewhat satisfi ed. One person wrote in that they are concerned prices will be too high next year with the new fi ve-star. When it came to rating the non-competition


entertainment and exhibitions off ered at this year’s FHI, 64.29% were completely satisfi ed while 33.3% were somewhat satisfi ed. Out of the 14 FHI survey attendees, all but


one say they are planning to attend the 2020 FHI. Here again, the ticket prices for the fi ve- star came up with one person saying, “Hope- fully the price stays where I can bring the whole family again.” For photos from this year’s FHI, see page 28 of this issue!


Jim McKay Maryland Million


(October 19) Of the 11 survey who


responders


attended this year’s Maryland Million, two were attending for the fi rst time and nine had been to this race day before. Nine people were completely satisfi ed with


the level and amount of races off ered this year while one checked off “somewhat satisfi ed” and one person did not respond to this question. An overwhelming majority of survey respond-


ers were completely satisfi ed with the food ven- dor options at Maryland Million with just one person saying they were somewhat satisfi ed. Most people were somewhat satisfi ed with


the vendor and shopping options at Maryland Million with only three people saying they were completely satisfi ed. One person wrote in that they only noticed a hat vendor and would love to see a full vendor village in the future. Most people were happy with the parking ac-


commodations at Maryland Million while one person wrote in, “parking was further away this year and the golf carts were good but maybe add a few more next year.”


All but one person was completely satisfi ed with the volunteers and staff they met at Mary- land Million and all but two people were com- pletely satisfi ed with the facility and location. Our ticket pricing question was almost split


between “completely satisfi ed” and “somewhat satisfi ed.” T ough technically, three more peo- ple checked off completely satisfi ed than those who checked somewhat satisfi ed. Seventy-two percent were completely satis-


fi ed with the non-racing entertainment and ex- hibitions off ered at Maryland Million this year with 18.9% saying they were somewhat satis- fi ed. One person wrote in that they especially “loved the hunting exhibition.” Ten people said they plan to attend the 2020


Maryland Million with one person saying they are not going in 2020. For photos from this year’s Maryland Million, see page 18 of this issue!


Washington International Horse Show, presented by MARS Equestrian


(October 22-27) All 17 of the people who


replied to our survey stating that they attended this year’s WIHS had been to WIHS before. In general, those who attended WIHS were more vocal in terms of providing additional written comments to each of our survey questions. T e most popular night was T ursday with


41.1%, Friday and Saturday were tied for the second most popular nights with 35.2% each. Only two people who replied attended Wednesday’s show and one person attended Tuesday’s opener. Fourteen responders were completely satis-


fi ed with the level and amount of competition at this year’s WIHS while three were some- what satisfi ed. One person wrote in that they love Military Night while someone else said the Hunter classes are “always well showcased at WIHS.” T e costume class was also a favor- ite with our survey responders. One person did state that they felt the show needs some re- vamping saying, “it needs more... classes during the week. Maybe a whole local night and a hunt night. It needs a more human face and needs to attract more spectators.” Food options seemed to be a hot topic at


WIHS just as it was at FHI. Eleven people were completely satisfi ed, fi ve were somewhat satisfi ed and two were not satisfi ed. Comments included, “not many options but food was good,” “ate elsewhere,” and “I was at a friend’s


continued... DECEMBER 2019 | THE EQUIERY | 15


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