As we look ahead to an exciting 2025 season, British Eventing Organiser, Nicky Helyer shares what it’s like behind the scenes of a BE event.
Weather challenges
The start of 2024 for an Organiser of a British Eventing event anywhere in the UK was challenging to say the least as events fell like dominoes with either the preparation for the event being affected or the forecast on event day. In the 18 years since James and I have been involved with Kirriemuir, the past 15 as Organisers, the wet spring meant we had water lying in places on the farm we had never seen before in 34 years of farming at Auchlishie.
Together with our course builder Brad we battled and strategised in an attempt to run – putting new hard roads in and hiring in a specialist low ground pressure forklift but it soon became evident we would need to pull the event – the first time in its history. As we are an equestrian centre running other events we were under immense pressure to fulfil other commitments to other organisations who had already booked and still reschedule BE if we could.
Running any early outdoor event in Scotland you will always be challenged – we have dealt with snow which was so slow to melt we had to dig the jumps out of the snow drifts, we even built a snowman in the start box!
We have faced rain on the morning of the event so heavy you could not hear yourself in the marquee – resulting in a quagmire as people drove and got towed in, whilst the end of day the wind got up and dried the ground so much that everyone drove out and the next day the ground was dry enough to chain harrow!
The all important team
Our main aim at Kirriemuir is to provide the best going we can and this involves all year round management, composting the harder areas to provide body and better turf – mowing and using the slitter roller to ensure the competitors find the ground in peak condition.
So if the weather has played ball and all is going to plan your next hurdle as Organiser is that you are completely reliant on everyone you have booked or asked to help turning up on the day.
In no particular order doctor, ambulance, vet, horse ambulance and farrier are key because if any of these don’t make it the show is over before you start, so I always breath a huge sigh of relief when they hone into view on event day.
This is closely followed by dressage judges, show jumping judges and scorers, cross country plotters and control and start team again without these some of whom travel a long distance to come to Kirriemuir we could not run and I cannot stress enough how valued every single person who has an active role at the event is to us.
No event runs without volunteers they are the backbone of our sport and competitors need to remember this – we need somewhere in the region of 100 volunteers across the disciplines and our aim is to look after them so well for the day that they are queuing up to come back and do it all again.
My work as Organiser starts in September when I start booking my key players and infrastructure such as loos and comms equipment, and then onto sponsors, programme and endless paperwork. Each year you think it would get easier but there is always new rules to deal with and you are always looking to improve on your performance from last year.
This year BE asked competitors to fill in a Q&A feedback and Kirriemuir’s came back very positive. We looked hard at the small percentile who had left negative comments to see if we could have made a difference but my general comment to this, if you have never volunteered at an event you have no idea of the commitment that as event organisers we make to running an event.
In short you need a fantastic team at home with staff and family working together which we are so lucky to have. James holds qualifications as BE course designer and builder which makes a huge difference when we are changing layout between events often on very short timescales. For instance this year he changed the whole third of the course onto new tracks between a qualifier and a final in under a week, not only moving jumps but reflagging and the numbering the whole course and then re mapping it.
Meanwhile I pay a small part with my mobile flower trailer as I’m trying to emulate the professional course dressers who make it look so effortless to transform a plain wooden jump into an exotic paradise of colour.
Use it or lose it
The growing trend in all sports of last minute entries is a major headache for event organisers in general now and this we are seeing in non equestrian sports as well at our Brechin site.
We have the same costs for an event whether we run with 180 competitors or 250 and the time will come when we have to make a call as to the viability of an event so I would urge competitors to support local events – the old saying use it or lose it has never been more apt. Sponsorship is an integral part of any event support but this is getting harder in the present economic climate for us as a small peripheral event.
We run events such as British Eventing for the love of the sport
It is certainly not for the money if we added in the man hours we put in to set up and take down, it would not even come close but on a bright spring day with clear skies and the sound of the tannoy echoing across the nearby glens it all seems worthwhile.
Thank you to Nicky for sharing her thoughts from behind the scenes.
Find out more about Auchlishie here!
