Author Topic: Cost of Showing. (Read 3859 times)

sabrina · « **on:** June 25, 2011, 01:52:37 pm »

Had my blacksmith this morning as we have a few shows coming up and the ponies were due for a trim. He started talking about the cost of going to the Highland Show. Now I have always dreamed that one day we would take a couple of the ponies but the cost is just too much. Entry fees, stable fees for 3 days as native ponies have to stay the 3 days, somewhere for the two of us to stay as we just have a trailer and this morning the blacksmith was telling me that showing people have to pay to park their lorries etc for the time they are there. to me that is just plain stupid and I now understand why there are very few who go from here with their Shetland ponies. Most of the public pay to get in to see all the events and show stands, the animals are a big part of the show and pay to enter them in a class should be enough. I now understand why pony owners are giving it a miss.

bazzais · « **Reply #1 on:** June 25, 2011, 04:16:20 pm »

Prize for winning a show = about as much as it costs you to buy a can of coke and a burger.

It all about boosting your stock saleability in the end and if the show is well run and respected it goes alot further is your a winner.

I can see what you mean to some extent with these large shows that are open to the public though - they should be welcoming exhibitors and encouraging them to attend for the paying public to enjoy.

Baz

Fleecewife · « **Reply #2 on:** June 25, 2011, 04:27:04 pm »

It's not called the royal highland avarice society for nothing

I think it must be THE most expensive show to enter, and for most of the livestock there it's FOUR days....four very long days. OH and I have just one day more to go for this year, but as we are arriving at the great watershed between life as a human being and life cast upon the muck heap of old age, I can't see us being able to afford to go in future.

doganjo · « **Reply #3 on:** June 25, 2011, 07:01:10 pm »

Where will I find you Juliet? My pal Enid and I will be there - providing it isn't bucketing at our repective homes when we get up that is!

goosepimple · « **Reply #4 on:** June 25, 2011, 07:57:01 pm »

Hope you did ok yesterday (Fri) Juliet, it was me helping to push your heb's booty in the show ring. I was thinking about showing next year but will think again - Kelso/Border Union Show in August is brilliant - busy, great variety of stock and stalls - a smaller (but not small) do-able version of the Highland Show, may be worth investigating prices there. Hope you're not too shattered/disillusioned by Sunday night!

Rosemary · « **Reply #5 on:** June 25, 2011, 09:43:29 pm »

It cost me £20 to enter three fleeces and £27 to courier them down to the show. I did get a free entry, which saved me £22. nd you don't have to look after fleeces

I watched the private driving today - one class had no entries, another three had one (including the shetland pony class), the donkey / mule class had two, Highlands had three and the over 13.2 class had seven (won by a very glamorous Hackney that had come up from Gloucestershire). Apart from the last class, I thought that was a bit disappointing.

Looked for you Juliet but you weren't around.

Anke · « **Reply #6 on:** June 25, 2011, 10:18:47 pm »

And if your animals are penned you will need to pay for their pens too... I don't think the Highland is for me (goats or sheep). Also the Shetland classes are very big, about 20 animals in omst of them, so to catch the eye of the judge is quite difficult. Definitely not for the beginner.

Goosepimple - Border Union is great, two day event (for the goats), one day for sheep (and I can go home for the night too). I also take my goats to Wooler for the Glendale show, August bank Holiday monday, once you get your GG's - there are other GG breeders there, and very nice too (but you probably need a tent to sleep in for the night if you show milkers, for the youngstock it is just the Monday).

I actually find the entry fee for Highland at 25 quid is just extortionate - if I wouldn't be able to get a band to get in, then I wouldn't bother! (Plus parking, plus some food, plus driving there...) How can families afford this sort of thing at the moment?

Fleecewife · « **Reply #7 on:** June 26, 2011, 01:06:53 am »

<<Looked for you Juliet but you weren't around>>

Couldn't face it today so went to Woolfest instead

. OH was there.

Doganjo - forecast is for rain. We are in the sheep lines, in the smallest of the marquees, just north of the NSA tent with the wool and fleece stuff in. The Hebs are right in the middle of the marquee (good in the rain but stifling in the sun), just a couple of rows of very black sheep.

Thank you Goosepimple for shoving my naughty sheep's backside - I have bruises all down my arm from her horns. Sorry I didn't have time to speak

The judge was not keen on multi-horned Hebs so we were all put down at the bottom of the line-up - ah well, that happens at least one year in two and is one of the reasons multi horned Hebs are so rare. My tup who won the 4 horn trophy last year came only 7th this time (but you get a very pretty-coloured rosette for that

) and one of the shearling ewes came 8th in a large class - but no rosette. It was noticeable that all the Scottish Hebs were in poorer condition than those from the deep south, as a result of the harsh weather we have had.

Thank you Anke for stopping by - it was good to meet you

We are going to Kelso for the Hebridean National Show which is being held there this year so looking forward to that, but it's another judge from south of the Border, though not far south, so we'll see what happens there. Will take my 2 horned tup as well as the 4 horns and a polled shearling ewe - there is a diversity class there so that will be different.