Heather Pollard: Questions for HOY organisers

Helen McNaught on Carnutelabryere won the Olympic showjumping, Horse of the Year (HOY). Photo / Warren Buckland

Nearly two weeks have gone by since the last rail fell at the 2016 version of Horse of the Year with there being no expression from the general public as to how it was received - not in HB Today anyway.

Those who have followed my commentaries in the lead up to this 2016 show under controversial new management will know that I have been very critical of the spin from David Mee [SMC] and Cynthia Bowers [chairwoman of the HOY Board] in the months leading up to our show in March.

They endeavoured to deride the accomplishments of Kevin Hansen, his company and his volunteers, suggesting that the 2016 show would be "bigger and better", "more spectacular", "more spectator friendly", just "more". Specifically, there was going to be a flash new entrance way in to the Premier Arena, a ground-breaking Wine Village, and a Friday Night Extravaganza that would surpass all that had gone before. None of the above came to fruition. There was no entrance way at all for the public to walk through in to the show - not even the covered "hallway" that has characterised past shows. There was no "Wine Village" - Trinity Hill was the sole vineyard to front, with Mee failing to engage two others to take part. To the detriment of Trinity Hill, they were denied the prime position they enjoyed last year.

Now to Friday evening ... Apart from the slalom, which the grandstand folk seemed to enjoy, this occasion failed to live up to its billing. I sat it out so that I could write about it but it was destined to begin and end without it being able to hold a candle to its predecessors.

The McMillan Silver Fern Stakes heralded the start of the entertainment with the meagre 11 entries seeming to foreshadow the ordinariness of what was to follow. In 2014 there were 20 competitors in this class and last year there were in excess of 30!

I believe the performance of the widely advertised "star act" - Alycia Burton and her horse Goldrush - fell very short of what was expected from the hype. Alycia was signposted as an "extreme" free rider - no saddle, no bridle and with a repertoire that included jumping cross-country fences and showjumping fences of a significant height. Firstly, she was riding with a bridle - albeit not with a bit in the horse's mouth - and secondly the fences she negotiated were less than a metre high. Her performance failed to impress when compared to similar acts by the Wilson sisters in previous years and well short also of Pegasus, who performed at Kevin Hansen's show at Claudlands, Hamilton, last month.

As I have for the past seven years, I stayed on the grounds for the duration of the show - giving me the ability to have full appreciation of the ambience and general feel on the grounds. The competition aspect ticked along as expected - due in no small part to the dedication and expertise of the personnel involved in each of the many and varied equestrian disciplines.

Hawke's Bay volunteers put a great deal of effort into endeavouring to ensure that this year's show would not fail - employing blueprints established by the previous administration.

However, overall there was a lack of atmosphere. There wasn't the panache, the professionalism or the beautiful presentation of the Premier Arena that we have all come to admire and expect. Where was the ground matting connecting all of the trade sites each to the other? Where was the magnificent team of Clydesdales that were such a drawcard and a feature of all major prizegivings? Where was there any "connection" to pull the threads together to make the 2016 Horse of the Year Show a united piece of art, competition and competence?

Finally, I wish to ask SMC and its CEO David Mee, and Cynthia Bowers from the HOY Board why they employed an Auckland security firm - thereby overlooking Hawke's Bay firms who have been appreciated in the past and know the general demeanour of those attending the show. While last year's security firm - Red Badge - have Auckland owners, they have an office in Hawke's Bay where Hawke's Bay personnel are employed, staff who know the feel of HOY and act accordingly. I mention this only because the 2016 security firm seemed out of its depth to me. I witnessed an unpleasant clash of one of the security guards and a member of the public on Saturday afternoon. Such was the nasty taste it left with me, I no longer wished to be on the grounds and so I drove home early on Sunday morning to watch the big class - the Olympic Cup - on Livestream coverage at home.

Given my overall 2016 impressions, maybe I shall make use of Livestreaming and be not on the grounds at Horse of the Year again - or at least not while it remains in Hawke's Bay. That's a sad thought, though ...

- Heather Pollard, who lives in Napier, is a former competitor at Horse of the Year, was a volunteer some years ago and has been to every Horse of the Year since its inception in Hawke's Bay in 1999.

- Views expressed here are the writer's opinion and not the newspaper's. Email: editor@hbtoday.co.nz