As we know far too well by now, Covid-19 has wrought changes in a horse show routine that likely will never return to its pre-pandemic state.
Those who have adjusted will fare best when the virus is just a bad memory. So on the plus side, it has been a time for the nimble to innovate and find a way to clear the obstacles they have encountered in this difficult era.
Derek Braun, the man behind the Split Rock Jumping Tour, knows all about difficult.
New Mexico’s tight Covid restrictions forced the cancellation of his August 2-star show in Santa Fe. Split Rock’s competition that ran with April’s Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event wasn’t held when the eventing had to be called off.
Rowan Willis and Blue Movie over the Split Rock fence in the 2019 grand prix during the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event. (Photo © 2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
Then forest fires added to the burden of a bad year, leading to cancellation of the first week of Derek’s Sonoma, Calif., show. Prior to this, the California show was Split Rock’s biggest, selling out annually.
“It was a worst case scenario disaster,” Derek remembered.
“We dealt with so many variables we could never have predicted during a two-week span in California. To give everybody the security of the welfare of horses and rider beyond Covid was difficult to maneuver. My team gained a lot of grit and learned a lot from that experience.”
Oh, and his first Longines FEI World Cup qualifier, a 4-star scheduled for an arena in Fort Worth during December, also had to be cancelled because of Covid, which wreaked havoc on 2020’s indoor shows.
But he found a pivot position by expanding into the hunters. The catalyst was his purchase of the two Country Heir shows in Kentucky which, unlike his fixtures, offered hunter competition.
“I can’t say I would have thought that I would go in the direction of hunters in general because I’m so passionate about show jumping,” said Derek, but he emphasized, “In the past, I’ve always been open to any opportunity that I thought was good for myself and my team and the direction of our tour.”
Now, he believes, hunter competition is “a natural progression for myself and my team.”
Derek pointed out that the Kentucky Horse Park, home of Country Heir, is eight minutes from his farm, so it was a perfect fit.
“It is a very popular show in general. We hope to grow both sides of that event,” he continued, noting plans call for bolstering the jumper side of Country Heir and at the same time adding “some unique touches” to the hunter side, so competitors can “feel special and like they’re getting what they paid for.”
That may include live streaming, more extravagant awards presentations and rider bonuses for every division “just providing more opportunities and experience for everybody in every division. We’re so used to doing that for every division for every class in the jumper ring. We’re going to bring that level of detail and attention and exposure of all the hunter divisions as well.”
With the ice broken, the hunters are becoming part of Split Rock’s plans not only for Country Heir, but likely for a couple of other events that “may also incorporate hunters in some fashion,” said Derek, adding the Split Rock team is thinking of adding such divisions to the Santa Fe and Columbus, Ohio, shows.
“ I feel we’re really ready to handle a 1,500-2,000 horse horse show, whereas we’re used to handling 400 horses. It’s a totally different ballgame. We want to bring the same level of organization and attention to a 1,500-plus horse show,” said Derek.
“It’s the right time to hit it out of the park.”