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Finally the summer has arrived to Europe and everybody is looking forward to the summer holidays. The show season is continously in full progress and nearly every weekend there are one or two shows held throughout Europe. Horses, trainers, handlers and teams are consistently travelling from one to another show, from one to another country - nearly restless. On one side it is good to have so many shows and options to choose from and go for, but we should not close our eyes realizing some consequences. More and more shows are low in the number of entries, and only a few do still record a good number of horses participating. Menton, Aachen and Paris are definitely among the shows still attracting, but others are missing the number of horses, even higher rated ones, and several shows had to be cancelled this year.
So what is the future? To have shows with 30, 40, 50 horses only, classes with only 2 or 3 horses? Shows with "show nomads", so the same horses again and again just at another place and another weekend, sometimes maybe even in front of same judges again and again?
Originally we had so-named "breeding shows" - shows where breeders, owners and enthusiasts could meet, could see the horses, lines, sires and progeny, families and breeding programmes to get more varied view and ideas. Nowadays the show bizz in the truest sense of the word is dominated by the business, well professionalized, but also money dominated most of the time. To take a horse from it's home stable directly to a show to compete and achieve results and success, is nearly impossible. It needs to be sent for weeks and months to a professional training to get prepared for a show presentation, has to follow a long term training and show plan, year and year, it has to be constantly seen and to turn out to a show and attention. The life of such a show horse is that one of a model and sportsmen, with consequent daily work, with much money behind and hopefully ahead, and always ready for the stage. For some people this advanced need is not affordable anymore why they need to try in their small or limited possibilities.
To
see strong and fair competitions in the true sense of a horse- and sportmanship: a fair and correct competition, first in attention and respect to the horse, but also to all participants, and to enjoy a win but also being able to lose. In all sports we know - today one wins, tomorrow someone else will. A result is not only a matter of quality, but also of the condition and circumstances at the specific day. And the best competitor of this day should win, no matter who or what!
In this sense, we wish a good and fair further show season, some nice summer holidays, and 'Ramadan Mabrouk' to the people and friends from the Middle East and Muslim community, who are presently fasting and celebrate their holy month of Ramadan until mid of August. |
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