Week VIII Is Here!

(with no rain in sight☺)

It is hard to believe that Desert Circuit Week VIII is here. When the skies opened up and we started hearing about COVID-19 for the first time twelve months ago, who would have predicted what was to unfold? Against all odds, we are approaching our last week of Desert Circuit 2021 and our eighteenth week of competition this season. Talk has turned to vaccines, summer plans, and optimism about life returning to normal. 

We have a fantastic week planned for our last week here in the desert. The big events couldn’t be bigger, with our FEI CSI 4* and $250,000 Grand Prix, the Ronnie Mutch Equitation Championship, and the $100,000 WCHR West Coast Hunter Spectacular. With strong participation, the competition will continue to be fierce across every division that we run. It will be a great time to capture that first, or another, blue ribbon!

Like an awards show, we have too many people to thank for the success of our second season. The list is long. We appreciate the support we received from Riverside County and the confidence they had in us to be able to run safely. The team at AMR provided top-notch medical response but also supported us with the County and provided the needed nod of confidence that we could run during a pandemic. Every single member of our team, from the office to the gate to the maintenance team raised their game to make sure we could meet everyone’s expectations. In a pandemic year, our sponsors and vendors stepped up during considerable uncertainty. 

Mostly, we owe thanks to every trainer and exhibitor who had confidence in us this year and attended our events. COVID-19, and more recently EHV-1, protocols tested everyone. We, like you, long for the days of sitting by the ring on a seat next to a friend. We appreciate your patience as we learn and improve. We took note of all of the suggestions, including parking and security, and aspire more than ever that everyone see a part of themselves in the horse park over time.  

We start construction hours after competition ends on Sunday afternoon, with a long list of projects intended to continue our efforts to build a truly international competition facility. These include the replacement of the Grand Prix and GP schooling footing, completion of the landscaping in the hunter competition area, redesign of Jumper 3 equitation ring, expansion of the bridle path, and a new 5* grass competition field. When you get back you’ll find we used every day of the off-season to improve the horse park. 

Finally, we look forward to welcoming everyone back here in the fall for the 2021/2022 season, absent a few things we are glad to see in the rear-view window – masks, temp checks, hand sanitizer, protocols…

Have a great summer of riding and we hope to #seeyouinthedesert this fall!

Steve

We look forward to welcoming everyone next week for the beginning of Desert Circuit 2021. Hopefully you are as excited as we are about the schedule and special events during the eight-week circuit. We wanted to share a few thoughts and updates as we await your arrival. 

COVID-19

It’s certainly disappointing to still be facing the pandemic now, a year after we saw the first signs of it at the end of Desert Circuit 2020. We are all ready for it to end. Unfortunately, the pandemic is going out with a fury and we face an even more challenging situation this circuit than we did this past fall. We have had strong support from everyone – exhibitors, trainers, vendors, sponsors, our team, and all of the relevant oversight organizations watching us. We continue to update our protocols to ensure we can create a safe environment for everyone. WE NEED YOUR HELP! We need everyone to adhere to the critical protocols – wear a mask unless you are on a horse, stay six feet apart (even from your best friends), and take advantage of all of the disinfectant stations around the property to wash your hands frequently. We are going to be very strict in enforcement. Remember as we do this, we’re all on the same side and want the same result, everyone stays safe and we continue to operate. 

In addition to the extra precaution when you’re on the property, we will also have extra rules when entering the property. On a periodic basis, we’ll be spot-checking for valid credentials by asking for your phone number. While this may add some time at the entrance gate, we think it is important to make sure we limit access to the people who can legitimately be at the horse park. 

TEAM

We have made a number of changes to our team to continue to improve our ability to run a first-class competition and provide a great experience.

The most prominent change is the addition of Pat Boyle to our competition team. Pat will serve as Technical Coordinator – Hunters/Equitation along-side Skyler Brittner, who will serve as Technical Coordinator – Jumpers. Both will be assisting Phil DeVita, the Competition Manager. With 13 rings running during most of Desert Circuit, we wanted to make sure we had the depth needed. Pat obviously brings a wealth of experience, as well as a passion for great hunter rings. 

Another change, a bit less visible, but quite important, is a new Chef for our VIP kitchen.  We welcome Wes Brittner to the team. Wes is the Chef at the VIP restaurant at Thunderbird. We’re excited about tasting his food here in the desert, as well as having an expanded baking program on site with home-baked pastries and bread each day. Be on the look-out for an expanded catering menu soon as well.

IMPROVEMENTS

We still have a long way to go to improve the facility. But every chance we get, we invest to make DIHP the place we all want it to be. The break between circuits was just four weeks this year, but we did have time to complete a number of additional projects. We have replaced the lights in the Grand Prix arena and warm-up area to the latest in stadium lighting technology. We are excited about having our first competitions under the new lights this circuit. In addition, we are finalizing the installation of a new, large video wall in the Grand Prix ring. Both of these improvements will add to the Grand Prix experience for riders.

We have replaced the footing in Jumper 4 warm-up. The initial feedback has been quite positive. Should the footing perform well over this circuit, we’ll continue to use this new footing for additional rings. 

Steve

#seeyouinthedesert

Steve

#seeyouinthedesert

“Rome wasn’t built in a day.” After a two-hour long walk around the property last week with several of my partners, I shared our progress and what didn’t get done. The response was this quote. We have now owned the Horse Park and competition for just over 15 months. With all that we have gotten done, there is still so much more to do.

OUR GOALS

Our aspirations for the Horse Park are clear. We want the West Coast to have one of the few amazing national destination equestrian facilities. A place to spend the winter season, or just a few weeks. A place with great competition for riders and horses of all abilities. A place that top riders from around the country are excited to come and compete at and where our local riders, whether professionals or emerging athletes, can compete at a high level, as well. A place that doesn’t compromise on the quality of the footing or the aesthetics. Simply, a place that we are all proud of and a place that helps to build the sport. Our vision will take years of work to achieve, so once again, we ask for your patience.

We think we have made solid progress on the facility, on the competition, and on our desire to create a fun, great experience for everyone. Please share with us what you like, what you want more of, what needs to be fixed next, and what you don’t like about what we are doing.

THE PHYSICAL PROPERTY

No doubt, the first thing you’ll notice when you drive in the stable gate is the addition of three new schooling rings. We added 252,000 square feet of schooling rings so that riders can work their horses away from the warm-up areas for the competition rings. Each new ring measures roughly 280 by 300 feet. The rings are all sand, without synthetic material, to give horses a different surface to ride on a feature fencing by RAMM Horse Fencing. We think you’ll enjoy riding in these new areas and if some of the non-competition schooling shifts to these rings, we think the warm-up areas will be significantly less congested.  We’ll also designate portions of these rings each morning for lunging. In addition, we have added footing sand to the retention pond that many used for lunging as well. So, we think you’ll find that area safer for horses now. Since we have added so much space for schooling and riding, we have taken away the small lunging area by the office and returned it to much-needed parking.

We have made two major changes to stabling for this year. First, we have again reduced the number of stalls in the pole tents. Last year we went from 96 to 84 stalls per tent, and we have reduced the number further to 72. We think this should provide the needed extra space for proper physical distancing during the era of COVID-19. All of this added space will increase the width of the aisle ways. We think folks stabling in the pole tent folks will be excited by the extra space and to find they are just 20 feet from the entrance to the new sand rings!! Second, we have added two new clear span tents with a total of 125 stalls for FEI stabling this year to address the issues from last year. In addition, for both the FEI tents and the pole tents, we have rebuilt the base under each tent with fresh sand to add height if it ever floods again (please no!) and to provide greater comfort for horses.

When you get to the show rings you’ll find lots of changes. We want folks to love walking into our rings for competition. This year you’ll see the beginning (yes, there is lots more to do) of making our rings “beautiful!”. On the hunter side, we lengthened rings 2 to 7 to add an extra stride down the line (and along the way added drainage in the back). And we have started down a path to create the feel of individual rings with hedges and desert grass surrounding each ring. We seem to have gone crazy with desert grass but we think you’ll love it – and for sure it beats worn green carpet! We had planned on completing a new wall along the property at Hunter 7 but our permit was delayed. We hope to complete it during our break before Desert Circuit. On the jumper side, we think you’ll see the beginning of a new grand prix ring starting to take shape. We have moved the entrance to the corner near the new shade structure and closed the old entrance. We also added a new water and drag entrance on the back side. Once again, you’ll see new landscaping and when it grows in, we think the one thing you won’t see any more is the airport! One of the many things that didn’t quite get done yet is the new video board for the grand prix arena. It is scheduled to arrive on November 7 so we’ll put it up before Desert Holiday. The new video board is 28’ wide and 17’ high, so plan for a few “movie nights” in the grand prix ring in your golf cart! We closed the old water and drag entrance in jumper one and we think you’ll be surprised as well at the difference it made. We are also experimenting with using the schooling areas for Jumper 2 and 3 this year for competition.

And of course, there is the issue of footing. We spent considerable time this summer reflecting on the progress we made on footing and researching what others were doing. There is no doubt in our minds that the program undertaken at Palm Beach International Equestrian Center and Tryon International Equestrian Center seemed far ahead of what others were doing.  And we heard constant praise from folks who traveled to Traverse City.  So, we have made a change and embarked on a very data-driven approach to our footing program. We feel comfortable making a change at this point because the majority of the feedback from last year was that we made significant changes for the better and we were thus operating from a solid base. On the ground, our footing team will be headed by Kyle Gould of Four G Surface. He has led the footing program at Traverse City for the last four years.  He’ll be on the grounds full time. We are more than thrilled to have him lead our efforts. Importantly, we have hired Bill Hawe from iEquiTek to lead the analytic efforts on our program. Bill is deeply involved in the programs at Tryon and Wellington and well, the results speak for themselves. We are also bringing in Travis Gould from JTWG.  The partnership between iEquiTek and JTWG is what created the amazing WEF Hi-Pro™ Ultra Competition arenas in Wellington and Tryon.  We hope to capitalize on the inflection point in the industry that work has created.  We’ll update everyone along the way as our plans solidify.

Finally, on the ring side, we have started work on two big grass fields. You’ll notice the old grass derby field is under construction and the ground from the retention pond to the RV park has been cleared. You probably won’t notice the new water pump and thousands of feet of new irrigation system we put in but it was a critical first step to building great grass fields. It turns out the holes in the ground in the derby field came from a lack of water pressure. So, we have built a new irrigation system and we’ll be planting new grass on improved ground, first where the old derby field was, and then in the larger area behind the retention pond. By next year, we’ll have two very good purpose-built grass fields ready for competition. We’ll use these for special events.

OUR COMPETITION

Speaking of special events, we have obviously begun to change the competition schedule significantly. We want to hold the best competitions – for jumpers, hunters, and equitation – on the West Coast at the Horse Park.   

We have obviously expanded the number of weeks of competition and expanded beyond hunter/jumper shows. In addition to National Sunshine Series and Desert Circuit, we have added our December circuit, Desert Holiday. We’ve gotten great response and beyond great competition, December happens to be the best weather in the desert!

As part of a collaboration with West Palms Events, we increased the prize money for Week II of Desert Holiday to create a $100,000 Grand Prix and added a $50,000 rider bonus as part of a Fall jumper circuit. We believe collaboration with our fellow show managers is critical to building the sport on the West Coast. We have also collaborated with LEG Shows & Events to add the National Sunshine Preview to begin to address the issue of affordability in the sport. We hope to build on this program in the future.

We have five FEI weeks as part of Desert Circuit, including four 3* events, and one 4* event during Week VIII. Week VIII will also include our second $250,000 Grand Prix of the season. Finally, on the jumper side, we are thrilled to be part of the planned Major League Show Jumping League, as both a host and a team sponsor. If the League works as planned, we’ll be hosting two 5* events in the desert next December, and you’ll see the DIHP team riding to success in the season finale.

We remain committed to the best hunter program in the country with eleven derbies this year, including two $50,000 and one $30,000 International Derbies in the Grand Prix ring. We applied for two WCHR weeks and only received one (Week VIII DC), but we’ll keep pressing for next season!

We’re proud to host two World Cup qualifiers for dressage this year and expect this to continue beyond this year. We are hosting our first reining show as well this year.

We worked hard to create a great schedule with meaningful, differentiated competition for everyone. We listened to everyone’s input on the schedule and attempted to hopefully address everyone’s wishes and wants!

As we described in our FAQ’s issued about the upcoming season, we’re going food happy this year! We are not allowed to open our restaurant, but you’ll see food trucks galore in our recently upgraded hospitality area around the Parlanti bar. We think it will be “the place to be” this year! And we’re incredibly proud of the permanent restaurant we have built in the VIP building, which will become a staple of food and fun in the future.

Lastly, we have made great strides in cleaning up the property and making it a better place for our team to work. We have invested significantly in new equipment for the team and to create work areas that are professional and safe for our employees. I think you’ll find an incredibly proud and committed team that is ready to help ensure you have a great experience here at the Horse Park.

We are committed to a transparent approach to running the Horse Park. We hope this information is helpful and we’re here to listen.

Have a great season and let’s stay safe!!

Steve

#desertproud

We are so glad to have you back with us! Here are some helpful hints to help you navigate your way around the new and always improving Horse Park during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PLEASE REMEMBER, OUT OF RESPECT FOR OTHERS

WEAR A MASK

WASH YOUR HANDS FREQUENTLY

STAY 6 FEEET APART

WHO CAN COME?

We have been granted a permit to run our competition by Riverside County Department of Public Health as a “professional sport without spectators.” The State of California, Riverside County, and USEF prohibit spectators at our competition. USEF rules allow owners, lessees, riders, athletes, parents, trainers, coaches, and any other support personnel/staff that are essential to providing care to the horses or athletes to attend the competition.  As a clarification, the USEF rules do allow parents, not just a single parent.  If you have any questions about whether someone can attend or not, please reach out to us and we’ll answer any of your questions. You can find us at info@deserthorsepark.com.

HOW DO I GAIN ACCESS TO THE HORSE PARK?

Each individual coming to the horse park will need to apply for and get credentials. The process for applying for credentials is simple and can be done on our website. When you apply for credentials, you’ll be asked to sign our COVID-19 release and our general release.

In addition, we’ll need your “group” leader to approve your application for credentials. Each “group” leader, e.g., trainer of a barn, will provide a list of approved individuals in the group, e.g., all exhibitors, all barn staff, all parents. Once we have the list, we’ll simply approve each individuals’ request.

Once you have your approval, just come to the entrance and provide your name or phone number. You’ll receive a wrist band that you will need to wear during the circuit. We’ll provide a fresh one at the next circuit, but you won’t have to apply again.

CAN I “VIOLATE” THE 6’ RULE WITH MY FAMILY?

We know that many people at the horse park are with their family members or folks they stay with at night. We will allow people to “define their bubble” and be closer than 6’ when they are moving around the horse park and in VIP. We’ll provide a numbered lanyard to each registered “bubble” at the horse park. It will be pretty simple. Just wear your matching numbered “bubble” lanyard with other members of your “bubble” and we won’t ask you to stay 6’ apart. You can apply for and get your lanyards at lanyards@deserthorsepark.com and pick up the lanyards at the office. Please be aware that if one member of your “bubble” were to test positive during the horse show then all members of the “bubble” would be required to leave for the appropriate quarantine period.

WILL THERE BE TEMPERATURE CHECKS?

We’ll be doing temperature checks at the entrance to the facility and between the RV park and the horse park. It will just take a few seconds, and as long as your temperature is below 100.4 you’ll gain access to the park. You’ll be given a daily wrist band that confirms your temperature is below the threshold.

WHERE DO I PICK UP PACKAGES IF THEY ARE DELIVERED TO THE HORSE PARK?

The package drop-off building is now located just inside the stable gate on the right hand side. This allows for UPS and FedEx to make deliveries without having to drive throughout the facility. It also lets us watch it more closely. You can easily drive a car or golf cart and we’ll help you from there.

WHERE IS THE GOLF CART RENTAL FACILITY?

We have moved Dever to a new location which is easily accessed from the new entrance road. You’ll find them across from barn 18 and 19 where the old shavings and hay yard was located. For more information please visit https://deverrentals.com/national-sunshine-series-at-desert-international-horse-park-thermal-ca/

HOW CAN I FIND MY STALL LOCATION? IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH MY STALL WHO CAN I CONTACT?

We have a great team to help you with stalls and barns. If you need help with your reservations (we know, the new system didn’t quite work as we wanted it to), there is the ever-present Skyler to help. He can be reached at stabling@deserthorsepark.com.  Around the barns, you’ll find Brian Wallace all of the time. His job is to make sure everything is working to your satisfaction in the back of the house. He can be reached at Wallace@deserthorsepark.com or by phone at 818-912-0720.

Our current plan is to put the stall maps online before folks start arriving so you know where to go.

HOW DO I ORDER FEED AND BEDDING?

So far so good with our new feed and bedding system online. Just click on the icon on our website and you can place your pre-arrival order as well as your orders during the show. Again, Brian Wallace will be around to make sure your orders are delivered as you need.

HOW CAN I FIND MY VENDOR SPOT?

As you will see, we have some exciting new vendors joining us for National Sunshine Series as well as many of our long-time partners.  When vendors arrive, they are to call Chris Mayone at 845-943-9990 and he will be happy to assist for placement. For electrical and other mechanical concerns vendors should call Hans Van Meehan at 760-399-2716.

HOW CAN I FIND MY RV SPOT?

Reserve your RV space on www.deserthorsepark.com by clicking on “RV Reservations”.  After filling out all of your information and making payment online, you will have a confirmed reservation at the DIHP entrance gate.  Upon arrival with an RV at the entrance gate, give the entry employee the name you used for your reservation and an employee will direct you to the RV park and help you get to your new desert home!

If you rented an RV from a 3rd party and had it delivered to the DIHP RV park before your arrival, simply give your reservation name to the DIHP entrance gate employee and they will tell you which lot number your RV is parked in.

HOW WILL THE HORSE SHOW OFFICE WORK?

Show office hours will be 7AM-5PM Tuesday-Sunday. We have changed the layout of the show office. There is now a single entrance and a single exit. There will be only six desks staffed and you’ll need to wait until there is an office person available before you go to the open desk. We have tried, and sometimes succeeded, in making everything available on line. Entries must be filled out online through showgroundslive (SGL) or through Equestrian Connect. All adds and scratches can be done daily (the day before you show) on SGL. Online add/scratches are due by 4:00PM. There will be no day-of adds so please make sure to have all changes done by 4 pm the day before. Please email us at showoffice@deserthorsepark.com for any questions.

IS THERE ANYTHING DIFFERENT ABOUT SHOW DAYS?

Showing is why we are all here! We’ve tried to make our shows safe, enjoyable and user friendly. All orders (for classes that require them) will be posted online at showgroundslive.com the night before you show. In order to not have crowding around the in-gate booth or the course board, all courses for the following day will be put up online on our website under the “Daily Course” icon. Also, there will be daily signups for each ring on showgroundslive so you can know exactly when you will go.

RIBBONS AND AWARDS:

Our famous awards leader, Jen Glass, spent the summer at Traverse City learning the best way to give out ribbons during COVID-19 precautions and make sure there were big smiles at the end of each class. We’ll follow her lead and make sure we give our ribbons and awards safely, but we’re not skimping here either. And of course, our swag shop will be open again with all of the great award and purchase choices.

WHAT IF I’M HAULING MY HORSE IN?

We have drastically re-vamped our haul in protocol. In order to haul in you will need to make one weekly reservation for “your weekly reserved haul in spot”. You will have a dedicated spot for your trailer and horses with very close access to water, wash racks, trash cans, restrooms and manure dumps. There is a small daily haul in fee per horse. For more information, and to make a reservation, please visit our website and click the “Daily Haul In Reservations” icon.

FOOD:

We think good food is important to a fun horse show!!

Our current plan is to provide food through a variety of Riverside County approved food trucks. The food trucks will be on property from Wednesday to Sunday and will be located centrally around the Parlanti Bar. The food trucks are currently scheduled to stay until dinner time to enable everyone to find an easier solution to dinner when restaurants in town have limited availability.

The VIP area has been turned into a permanent restaurant (pending approval on October 20 from Riverside County). VIP will operate as the Oasis Club on its normal schedule, Wednesday to Sunday from early morning until mid-afternoon. Outside of the normal VIP schedule (and new for this fall!), we’ll operate the Desert Grille with food available for purchase. The Desert Grille will be open Monday and Tuesday (all day) and each evening.

The current plan is to offer our same variety of food in VIP this year. But we do have some limitations. As a new approved restaurant(hopefully!), we can operate like any other restaurant in Riverside County. Under level red, we are allowed to have outside tables and up to 100 people inside at any one point. Each table has to allow for physical distancing. So, while a table will have eight passes, there will be only four chairs for use at any one time. The exception, of course, is if the group operates within an approved “bubble” and are wearing their lanyards.

In addition, we have added a “to go” element to VIP this year. Each VIP table holder can order food to go by going to our website and clicking on VIP food ordering icon. Once you place your order, you’ll be able to pick it up at the entrance to VIP.

Please call or text Chris Mayone 845 943 9990 in regards to availability.

AND IF YOU JUST NEED HELP

We’re always around. You’ll find lots of helpful people walking around the horse park to be helpful. Some will be gently reminding you to wear your mask and follow protocols for physical distancing. You’ll find them in fun new t- shirts and vests. In addition, if you ever need something and can’t find someone, there is a “get help” icon online on our website that you can report an issue and we’ll respond quickly.

Our final week of our inaugural Desert Circuit is quickly approaching and is packed with exciting classes, events, and championships to conclude the circuit. Our schedule is filled with highlight events beginning on Thursday through Sunday. These past seven weeks have been wonderful to share with our exhibitors, trainers, vendors, and sponsors and we cannot wait to enjoy Desert Circuit Week VIII.

Week VIII welcomes the first World Champion Hunter Rider (WCHR) week for the Southwest Region in 2020. We are eager to kick-off WCHR competition here at our desert home. Additional prizes for the High Point and Grand Champions will be awarded in the following sections: Adult Hunter, 3’3” Amatuer Owner Hunter, 3’6” Amatuer Owner Hunter, 3’3” Junior Hunter, 3’6” Junior Hunter, Children’s Hunter, Children’s Pony Hunter, Pony Hunter, Conformation Hunter, Green Hunter, and Performance Hunter.

Throughout the week, we will also be welcoming the North American Youth Championship (NAYC) Zone 10 Junior and Young Rider Selection Trials to our Grand Prix Stadium. The NAYC Training Class and Jog will take place Thursday afternoon, the NAYC Junior Qualifier will take place Friday afternoon as part of Class 611. $7,500 Jr/Am/A-O & NAYC Jr Qualifier 1.40m, and the NAYC Young Rider Qualifier will take place Saturday afternoon as part of Class 414. $25,000 Jr/A-O/Am Classic & NAYC YR Qualifier 1.45m.

On the schedule, you will also see a majority of the Young Jumper Championship (YJC) classes moved to the Grand Prix Stadium. We hope this allows for the horses in these classes to gain more experience and further their training. 

Friday brings our $40,000 Stübben Grand Prix to the Grand Prix Stadium. The course will be designed by Marina Azevedo of Brazil. If there are ribbon placing athletes not previously qualified for our Inaugural $250,000 Invitational Grand Prix, the top two athletes will be given Wild Cards for the $250,000 Invitational Grand Prix on Sunday.

We will also welcome USEF Officials on Friday to host a Safe Sport Town Hall for our exhibitors. A Junior Rider Open Q&A with Sonja Keating, the Executive Vice-President and General Counsel for the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), will be from 10-2 PM in VIP. Immediately following the $40,000 Grand Prix, we will hold the Safe Sport Town Hall from 4-5 PM in VIP. 

Saturday brings the final Hunter Derby in our Marshall & Sterling Hunter Derby Program: the $50,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby. This will be the only derby of the season to be held in the Grand Prix Stadium. The jog, sponsored by Marshall & Sterling, will be at 7 AM and the class will begin at 9 AM, sponsored by BUTET. The winner of the derby will receive a custom BUTET Practice Saddle. There is a warm up in the Grand Prix for derby riders Thursday afternoon (Class 1601).

Later Saturday evening in the Grand Prix Stadium, we will also host the R.W. Mutch Equitation Championship, not before 4 PM. The Championship is named in honor of Ronnie Mutch, a beloved trainer, judge, and horseman. The class consists of two rounds and riders are responsible for walking the course, schooling their horse, and competing in the championship without any communication from their trainer. There is a warm up in the Grand Prix for R.W. Mutch Equitation Championship riders Thursday afternoon (Class 1601).

During the R.W. Mutch Championship, we invite you to join us for a viewing party, hosted by Andalusia Country Club. The party is open to all exhibitors and will take place in VIP. Complimentary food and drinks will be provided. The viewing party will run for the duration of the R.W. Mutch Championship.

At 4:00 PM on Saturday in the EQ International Riders Lounge, there will be a memorial to honor the life of legendary horseman, Richard Keller. Please RSVP to Allison McEachern at (831) 915-5676 or email mceachernfarm@gmail.com.

On Sunday, we welcome the accumulation of top riders from Weeks I – VII who have qualified and are competing in our $15,000 U25 Invitational, sponsored by EquiFit, and $250,000 Invitational Grand Prix. The $15,000 U25 Invitational welcomes back the top 15 riders who have accumulated the most prize money in the $1,000 U25 Classic Weeks I – VII. The $250,000 Invitational Grand Prix will challenge the top 30 riders who have accumulated the most prize money in the two Grand Prixs Weeks I – IV and VII as well as the FEI CSI3* Diamond Tour classes during Weeks V and VI. The winner of the Invitational Grand Prix will also walk away with a complimentary one-year lease of an STX Van.

Between our $15,000 U25 Invitational and our $250,000 Invitational Grand Prix, we will celebrate everyone’s success during Desert Circuit with our Parade of Champions at 10 AM. There, we will congratulate the Second Half Circuit Champions and the Full Circuit Champions for Desert Circuit 2020. We will also crown our Great American Insurance Group Leading Hunter Rider and the Irene Neuwirth Fine Jewelry Leading A-O Hunter Rider. The Leading Hunter Rider will receive one ton of Purina feed and the Leading A-O Hunter Rider will receive a piece of jewelry from Irene Neuwirth Fine Jewelry. During this time, we will also be celebrating the retirement of Triumph, owned by Farber Farms LLC.

After the Parade of Champions we will welcome not only our Leadline class, but also our Parent/Adult Leadline class. Parent/Adult Leadline is open to all parents whose children/juniors have competed in any division at Desert Circuit 2020. Parents will be led at a walk with optional work at the trot. Awards will be presented based on the judge’s impressions in a variety of categories including: suitability of mount and rider (or lack thereof); most obvious first time in the show ring; most likely to have actually shown before; or best theme. Please complete the Horse, Rider, and Handler Bio in the office prior to the start of the class.

At the completion of the $250,000 Invitational Grand Prix, we will turn back to the Great American Insurance Group Rider program and crown our Leading Jumper Rider. The winner will receive a custom Top Jock Tack Trunk. Top Jock offers a wide range of high quality boxes including horizontal trunks, vertical lockers, grooming boxes, saddle racks and more. 

As you can see, we have a jam-packed Week VIII for our exhibitors and we cannot wait for you to experience it! Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram, @deserthorsepark, to see the fun happening in real time! You can also text DIHP to 474747 for time sensitive updates at the horse park.

No doubt, after footing, the most challenging part of a show our size is the schedule. And, in case anyone was concerned we didn’t hear the feedback on scheduling, I’ll state the obvious, we have a lot of opportunity to improve in this area. There were a lot of factors that contributed to the schedule challenges we had during NSS, including the pure number of events/special classes held during the two weeks (too many!), a new team using new software (we won’t be as new this winter!), the failure of our computer network, especially during NSS1 (this really caught us by surprise because we had invested in a new network but clearly did not have the redundancies we needed and now have!), the number of rings needed (we planned to use ten rings but needed twelve, which resulted in more significant last minute changes across rings!), some peculiarities with Showgroundslive…I could go on, as the list is much longer.

I think you’ll take some comfort that this has been the focus of our attention since the day we finished NSS, and continues to be our focus. Beyond these more mechanical things, what constitutes a good schedule for one trainer is not the same as what constitutes a good schedule for another trainer. Which ring should a class go in? Friday/Saturday versus Saturday/Sunday trade-offs? What divisions do we start with first thing, and who gets the anchor spot at the end of the day? What time should the day end? And then there is how well we deal with the minute by minute conflicts which arise across the rings. So, here is where we are and the big question is what are we doing about it.

First, we are planning to use all twelve rings all eight weeks during this winter circuit (week one we’ll be using Jumper 4 for USHJA Emerging Jumper Rider Gold Star Clinic). If we have fewer trips than expected, we do not plan to consolidate rings, we’ll just finish earlier in the day. With twelve rings, our target is to finish by 4 pm during Tuesday through Saturday and by 2 pm on Sunday. This does not mean we’ll always hit these times, but it does mean that we are using our resources (judges, staff, rings, jumps) to aim to finish earlier rather than later.

Second, we have received a ton of suggestions for what should be going in each ring, what sequence, and other individual trainer preferences. You’ll see more consistent use of the rings each day, e.g., all 3’6” hunter classes in the same ring for the day, the low height jumper classes in the same ring, and we have planned in alternating weeks for starting/finishing divisions Friday/Saturday versus Saturday/Sunday.

Third, we have enhanced our computer network and dedicated a team to building the schedule on a daily basis based on signups. We are constrained by the Showgroundslive cycle of signups by 5pm and schedule release by 7pm, but we should have fewer changes from the weekly schedule that we publish.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we continue to listen and adapt. After we posted our prize list a few weeks back, we received, and continue to receive, lots of good ideas and suggestions. We can’t always meet an individual request and we know at times what helps one trainer has a negative effect on another. We ultimately try to do what we think is fair. We think we have been able to address the vast majority of the suggestions, ideas, and comments we received and published an updated prize list yesterday. If any of the changes create a problem for you, please let us know as well. We’ll continue to listen and make further adjustments. Our goal is to make the show and the schedule about what you want. Just drop us a line.

As we make further changes, we’ll release an updated prize list and you’ll always be able to tell by the reference at the bottom right hand side of the page the date of the latest version. The most recent version has “revised December 15” on it and the link is attached below.

https://deserthorsepark.com/…/DIHP_DC20_PrizeList_FINAL_121…

We have lots of new things set for the winter circuit and we’re incredibly excited to see you there and get started. #seeyouinthedesert

From our Desert Circuit 2020 Prize List:

We look forward to welcoming everyone to our first winter circuit at the Desert International Horse Park. For those who are returning after National Sunshine Series, we are thrilled to have you back. The November shows were a great trial run for the eight-week winter circuit and we listened to all of your feedback and went to work on as much as we could get done in the nine weeks between the shows. For those of you visiting us for the first time, we hope you enjoy the improvements we have made and look forward to your input as well. To everyone, we wish you the best for a fun, successful, and safe show experience for you and your horses.

Our efforts to improve the experience at DIHP center on three areas – the physical show grounds, the hospitality and the competition. I wanted to highlight a few of the improvements we have made since NSS as well as our objectives and highlights in the competition. On the physical show grounds, we have addressed the following issues:

1. Additional shade and seating for exhibitors, trainers, and fans – We know it can get hot when you are on the show grounds for many hours a day. We have added tents with additional seating on the berm at the entrance to the Grand Prix arena and on the ground along-side the arena. We have done the same for Jumper 4 where no shade or seating existed and added seating at Hunter 7 where none existed. We have also purchased new seating which you’ll find in all of the shade structures by each ring and on the berms above Hunter 1 and 2 and the Grand Prix arena. Hopefully this will make the place even more comfortable for everyone.

2. Additional shade and comfort for horses – You’ll find at the top of the hunter schooling area and at the far end of the Grand Prix schooling area our first efforts to build permanent shade structures that work for horse or horse and rider. They include fans and misters to keep everyone out of the sun and a bit cooler. We look forward to your thoughts on these as we envision adding these more broadly around the rings.

3. New tents/stalls for horses – We are excited to add a row of eight clear span tents with 65 12×12 stalls in each. These tents are located right behind the permanent stalls. Obviously addressing the need for additional larger stalls has been a priority of ours. We think you’ll love these new places for your horses. We have shifted our pole tents to the third row with the best of our 10×10 stalls. Importantly, we have lowered the price of these stalls and believe these two options will help to improve the affordability of being at our horse shows.

4. Additional cleaning, painting and landscaping – We know the general condition and appearance of the horse park is critical to people enjoying being there for many weeks. We think you’ll see further improvement here and you’ll come to love the “noise” of our sweeper every Monday morning as we try to keep the place clean all circuit long.

5. Expansion of vendors – You’ll notice the new Ariat store when you come back for the winter. It is located where the coffee shop was during the 2019 winter circuit. We have contracted with Hayutin & Associates to run our school and with The Grand Paw to offer dog pick up and drop off service. We have quite a few more surprises and think you’ll find our longer and more diverse vendor row a happier place to shop.

6. Upgrade of wash racks – We continue to make more progress in upgrading our wash racks to ensure each has an adequate amount of shade and rubber mats for the safety and comfort of our horses.

7. More jumps – We got great feedback on how our rings looked at NSS, and with all twelve rings in use for the eight weeks of the winter circuit we made another purchase of jumps so that all of the rings have a great, challenging feel for the horses.

8. Additional signage and traffic control – We want everyone to be safe walking and riding around the horse park. We know the bumps by Barn 1 might not have been popular with cars but I know a few horses who slept a bit better. We continue to work on signage and traffic control so that all are safe.

On the competition side, we are incredibly excited about our line-up. Ultimately, our goal is to host great competition and be a catalyst for the sport on the west coast. Some of our highlights include:

1. Expanded hunter derby program – We’re excited to run a USHJA hunter derby every week this coming winter. We have three international derbies and five national derbies. Two of the international derbies are $50,000 classes and are a direct response to a desire to host the top level of derby competition at the horse park for the hunters.

2. Consistent and meaningful Grand Prix program – Rather than offer a single large purse, we have scheduled a six-figure Grand Prix every week. The vast majority of riders wanted a consistent large purse opportunity with an associated challenging course. We’ll end the season with a $250k Invitational for the riders who had the most success during season.

3. New FEI program – We understand that a robust FEI program is central to the longer-term success of the top jumper riders on the West Coast. We will be running a 3* both week five and week six. We have also adopted a tiered structure to give more riders the opportunity to participate in our FEI weeks, with nine classes each week ranging from 1.35m to 1.55m.

4. Young horse and young rider program – We continued with our young jumper program for 5, 6 and 7 year olds. As in the past, there are no entry fees for these horses. We think it is important for us to continue the efforts to support of owner and trainers to develop young show horses. On the young rider side, we will continue with the U25 overlay for weeks one to seven and we have added a separate $15,000 Invitational for week 8 to celebrate the success of our U25 riders.

5. Lower height jumper program – We had a number of discussions with riders who participate in the lower height jumper divisions. We have decided to shift all of these classes from blue ribbon to pinned classes so that these riders can gain experience in real competition and have the pride of getting a real blue ribbon.

6. Lower height hunter program – In response to requests from riders and trainers competing in the 3-foot divisions and below, we are offering some exciting new elements to the line-up. These include handy rounds, a hunter hack division, derbies, a pro-am challenge, and a 3’ equitation challenge.

7. Fun classes and awards – With all the great serious competition, we thought it would be fun to add a few things for the support teams behind our competitors. These include a family class and a parent lead line class. And importantly, we’ve added groom awards for all Grand Prix classes and hunter derbies.

We hope these highlights make you as excited as we are for the winter. As you know, we are riders and horse people at heart. Lastly, many people, too many to name, have helped shape the competitor program. I want to give a sincere thank you for all your help. This is a long journey for us and we are committed to making DIHP as fun and enjoyable as possible.

#seeyouinthedesert