Who goes to shows all alone?

Mary Poppins

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Oct 10, 2004
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Since I got my lorry in October, I have been out to several venues. Right from the start I took him out alone to my local riding school, and I have also been out alone to a jumping clinic at a new yard.

I have got so much planned over the summer and haven't always got someone to come with me. I don't always want anyone to come with me either, and as Ben is so easy I don't really need anyone. I guess I feel abit odd on my own as everyone seems to travel with someone else.

Who else goes to shows totally alone? Do you only go to venues that you know alone, or if you know people who are going to be there?
 
A bit different as I don't drive a lorry or tow but I take the pony I ride to dressage alone (and have done the same with Rubic). We hack the 1hr ride there alone, do our test (if the weather is nice we'll hang around for results) and then hack home. It doesn't always make for an easy day and I do enjoy having company but to be honest I just like getting to the odd wee show so for me it is worth it. I know the woman who organises the dressage well and I know a few people up at the yard the dressage is at too but even if I didn't know them or if I knew they wouldn't be there I'd still go.
 
I think that people at shows are generally very friendly. If I was all alone and had a problem with Ben I am sure that someone would support me. I guess the only issue is if I fell off and had an injury - might put some emergency numbers in my lorry just in case.
 
Yep im like you MP, I never have anyone else to take with me and my ponies are as good as gold alone....I do have my OH and dog as they make good navigators and the ramp is too heavy for me :tongue:

I do find it a bit lonely sometimes, like on fun rides I see the groups of ladies together and feel quite sad about being on my todd :frown: but then again there are plus points to being a one man band....like doing the hell you want without having to ask anyone else lol :wink:

I think id have more fun going out with other people though....I always take it too seriously when im alone lol!
 
I think id have more fun going out with other people though....I always take it too seriously when im alone lol!

Are you a member of a riding club? I have just joined one and I am hoping to meet friendly faces at the riding club events.

Even if someone wanted to come to the same events as me (most people on my yard are serious competitors), my lorry cannot take more than one big horse so I can't offer anyone a lift.

I like doing things on my own, I guess I worry that I appear to be billy no mates!
 
Are you a member of a riding club? I have just joined one and I am hoping to meet friendly faces at the riding club events.

Even if someone wanted to come to the same events as me (most people on my yard are serious competitors), my lorry cannot take more than one big horse so I can't offer anyone a lift.

I like doing things on my own, I guess I worry that I appear to be billy no mates!

Not at the moment, I would like to be though. There are plenty within an hour of me, I just don't know which one to join.....One that I was going to join ended up being anti pony riders, so that put me off to be honest!!

Yes that's a good point, I could just about squish 2 x small ponies on board mine....but would rather not!

My OH always says to me that he see's lots of lone people at shows/fun rides....I don't tend to notice lol! :giggle:
 
Me, I do, if I can hack there!

I belong to the riding club but don't really know anyone. I just chat to anyone and everyone, it's never been a problem.
 
I used to, still would if I had nobody to go with and there was a show I wanted to go to.The longest trip I did on my own was from here to Ardingly in the south of England. Went to the British Championships.
 
I do. Usually I pre enter, hack up, find someone to go to the Secretary tent for me and then hack back. Usually I can find someone to show june which helps as they are good for holding the cob and going to enter etc
 
I do! I actually quite enjoy it!

If you attend regular RC events, you should gradually get to know everyone and you won't feel so much like you're going on your own. I can't wait to re-join one later this year!
 
I would struggle to go to a show surrounded by OH and friends!!! I have enormous awe and respect for anyone who is brave enough to go to a show. They used to have regular shows on my old yard and I was always amazed how capable and easy the competitors made it look - things like loading and unloading.
I am not really one for doing anything with the horses alone, I prefer OH as he's a great calm influence and never gets flustered.
 
having been in a situation where the box broke down coming off a busy dual carriageway just before a roundabout, I would not travel alone if I had my own box. Luckily there was 3 of us eg. one to halt/warn traffic, one to check pony and one to get help! I would not have been able to unload onto the dual carriageway without someone stopping traffic (police went by but were not interested at all to help us!) ...
 
having been in a situation where the box broke down coming off a busy dual carriageway just before a roundabout, I would not travel alone if I had my own box. Luckily there was 3 of us eg. one to halt/warn traffic, one to check pony and one to get help! I would not have been able to unload onto the dual carriageway without someone stopping traffic (police went by but were not interested at all to help us!) ...

I don't mind traveling alone in my lorry. I don't go further than 30 miles away from the yard and there would always be someone to come and pick me up if I broke down. I also have equine breakdown cover. I see it as far more dangerous to hack alone on the roads rather than travel in a lorry alone, but I guess that's just my perception of what I feel safest doing. I must admit I wasn't overly impressed when I was driving down the motorway on my own in the rain and my windscreen wipers jammed up twice which meant I had to stop on the hard shoulder and free them, but it hasn't put me off traveling and no-one could have helped with that anyway.

I think that when you drive a horsebox you really do get a very wide berth from other drivers and I feel far safer in my lorry than I do driving my car.
 
Ive done shows alone, usually just local RC. I knew if I was ever stuck with something there would be someone about to help as it was a friendly one ( usually!)
 
I don't mind traveling alone in my lorry. I don't go further than 30 miles away from the yard and there would always be someone to come and pick me up if I broke down. I also have equine breakdown cover. I see it as far more dangerous to hack alone on the roads rather than travel in a lorry alone, but I guess that's just my perception of what I feel safest doing. I must admit I wasn't overly impressed when I was driving down the motorway on my own in the rain and my windscreen wipers jammed up twice which meant I had to stop on the hard shoulder and free them, but it hasn't put me off traveling and no-one could have helped with that anyway.

I think that when you drive a horsebox you really do get a very wide berth from other drivers and I feel far safer in my lorry than I do driving my car.

we were about 3 miles from home and a friend could collect us (but could not park her box right next to us so I had to get pony across a busy roundabout etc). i still had to unload into the road etc. luckily my pony was very calm but I wouldn't want to be roadside alone with a horse that starts to stress or go ballistic. breakdown cover can take ages to arrive, in the meantime you could be stuck in the middle of the road alone with a panicking horse in the back etc. (i'm sure this is very rare, but since it happened to us in a modern, well serviced box ...) ... def agree though, I wouldn't hack alone on busy/big roads either.


having said all that, I know quite a few people who travel alone quite a lot, sometimes with multiple horses.
 
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Last summer I stopped on the A303 for a girl who had a new trailer and discovery and had a blowout on the discovery tyre which had caused her to crash into the central reservation. She was alone, and very frightened and really happy to have someone horsey with her. Nothing I could do but chat to her and try to slow the traffic, but it was moral support. The police took absolutely ages to come but the horse was luckily very calm. Not sure how long the lorry to pick the horse took to come because I left when her husband arrived about three quarters of an hour later.
 
Lets not turn this into tales of horseboxes crashing, I know that it could happen but I don't want to read about horror stories when I am excited about planing my shows. I have taken all reasonable precautions and if something bad happens I will have to deal with it, just like I would have to if my car crashed and my kids were it in (which actually worries me 100 times more than crashing my lorry) My question is more to do with going to an actual show and being there all alone, rather than how you get there, or fail to get there!
 
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