International rider Carmen Edwards believes “innovation can enhance the sport” after experiencing a new 1.30m competition with a twist – and calls for more people to “act like the farmers” to raise awareness of the welfare risks involved with long delays when transporting competition horses into and out of the UK
It’s difficult to argue that showjumping hasn’t become elitist when the costs are so astronomical. If you wanted to start out in another sport, you could buy a pair of football boots or a cricket bat and spend under £1,000 a year.
For your average groom or rider, the sport doesn’t feel exclusive, but if you’re serious and want a 1.60m horse, being worth a few million isn’t enough. You need to be extremely wealthy or have secured the right owners and sponsors to get you there.
Consequently, we need to have different markets, so it was good to see the new JCL Insurance Brokers premier league showjumping class at Aintree International Equestrian Centre (25 January) land so well.
It attracted 1,500 spectators on a Saturday evening in mid-winter, so credit to Jane and Sam Chewins of JCL Insurance Brokers, and Aintree manager Carly Sage for the excellent promotion.
It might not be the pinnacle of the sport at 1.30m but the competition’s knock-out format was digestible and didn’t drag on, and everyone was trying to win.
It was easy for the audience to pick out a favourite – riders were given the spotlight, with coloured jumpers to wear and a good introduction.
It would be fabulous to turn this into a league – not to sit alongside existing formats, but to replace some of them – bolstering spectator interest while creating another market for horses.
At the moment, a 1.30m horse might suit a children-on-horses rider, or someone progressing, but you could double demand if this became a league people vied to win.
It could even be a future format for our 1.30m national title: 10 rounds of knock-outs, followed by a final at Stoneleigh.
While I risk contradicting myself – in my last column I argued that Britain already has too many “meaningless” championships – I think the takeaway is that innovative formats, and the use of technology, can enhance the sport for everyone. Smaller series can also help buffer showjumping from elitism.
Worthy of admiration
I don’t want to sound like someone who doesn’t want the top sport to succeed. I want to be there as much as the friends I’ve grown up with: the ones who have made it, like Harry Charles; Rob Murphy, who is working hard at Jos Lansink’s, or Joe Trunkfield and I, who are still getting there.
Scott Brash is certainly worthy of admiration. He doesn’t come from a starry background and his achievements are unprecedented. His dedication and talent have been shown in recent weeks – to win three five-stars on the bounce is almost unheard of.
So it’s a shame he doesn’t get the wider recognition he deserves. If someone scored three hat-tricks in the Champions League, it would be all over the news.
We need to act like the farmers
If there’s one area where we should definitely be making more use of technology, it’s travelling horses abroad. Making horses stand on a lorry for three hours at a port is a welfare issue. If we all published videos of how our vet checks went, it would be a disgrace.
Why can’t the paperwork be emailed ahead, accepted, and a 24-hour window granted to leave the country? So at Dover you scan a barcode, your carnet is on-screen and on you go?
The current expense makes it elitist just to leave the country and what are we paying the money for? It’s not one person’s job to change, we need to act like the farmers.
It won’t happen overnight, but the best time to plant a tree is always now.
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