by Katherine O. Rizzo (first published in the December 2024 Equiery)

The fourth MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill took place October 16-20 under sunny skies and unusually warm temperatures. Entries in the CCI5*-L were low this year, not surprisingly, due to this also being an Olympic year. Entries were low at several other five-star events around the world. Equiery readers did not seem to mind the low entries as survey results were positive in many respects. Full results are below!

Attendance
Although the official attendance numbers at the event were up by 11% over 2023 according to event officials, the total number of people who responded to our survey was lower than last year. However, the number of spectators (91.1%) who took our survey went up by nearly 20% over 2023. The number of volunteers (15.6%) remained the same while the number of vendors (15.6%) who took our survey went up by 14%. Note, some of our survey participants attended the event in multiple ways such as being a volunteer and sponsor.

The number of people who stated they did not attend went down this year. One person who did not attend stated ticket price was their reason. Others stated they had conflicts with other activities that week.

According to survey results, Saturday, October 19, cross-country day (82.2%), remains the most popular attendance day with Sunday, October 20’s show jump day (35.6%) being the second most popular attendance day once again. The numbers Sunday were slightly lower than 2023. Both dressage days (Thursday, October 17 and Friday, October 18) showed an increase in attendance according to our survey with Friday (31.1%) being the third most popular day followed by Thursday (20%). Wednesday, October 16, which is the first horse inspection day (11.1%), showed similar attendance by survey participants as in 2023.

Eighty-six percent of our survey participants have attended previous Maryland 5 Star events with 73.3% stating they also attended in 2023, 68.9% also attended in 2022 and 64.4% also attended in 2021.

Tickets
Most survey participants once again felt ticket prices were “just right” (52.3%) while the number of survey participants who did not pay for tickets (25%) went up as did the number of people who feel ticket prices are too high (20.5%).

Forty-two percent of our survey participants purchased general admission tickets; 31.1% attended through cross-country tailgate tickets. The other popular ticket options according to our survey were preferred seating and VIP ticketed areas.

There also were a few sponsors, volunteers and media who took our survey. These were among those who did not directly pay for tickets.

General Impressions
Overall, survey participants were pleased with the event once again with 53.7% stating their overall impression of the event was “just right.” The number of people who clicked “needs improvement” (26.8%) went up by 10% this year as did those who selected “exceeded expectations” (14.6%).

The biggest improvement this year, according to survey results, is the spectator viewing areas. All but one survey participants said they could see the competition well, which is up by nearly 50% over our 2023 survey results.

Those who interacted with Maryland 5 Star staff and volunteers all had positive experiences with 54.8% stating staff/volunteers were “just right” and 38.1% stated they “exceeded expectations.” The “just right” numbers are about the same as 2023 whereas the “exceeded expectations” numbers went up by 15%.

Parking results remained about the same as 2023 with 67.4% selecting “just right,” 16.3% selecting “needs improvement” and 9.3% selecting “exceeded expectations.” Several people commented that getting into general parking is fairly easy but getting out can still take too long. One person specifically wrote “love the new Saw Mill preferred parking entrance.”

While the shuttle and bus service at the Maryland 5 Star has improved considerably over the years, survey participants would like more shuttles at the end of cross-country day to expedite departure from the venue.

Food & Vendors
Responses related to vendors were not as favorable as in years past but those related to food were up this year.

Fewer people selected “just right” (45.2%) in response to our vendor question, which is down by 5%. However, the 26.2% that selected “needs improvement” is down by nearly 10% over 2023. Those who felt the vendor village needed improvement mainly cited too many “expensive” items.

As for food vendors, 42.5% of survey participants selected “just right,” which is up by 10% over 2023. Specifically, positive comments were made about the local food and drink options. It should also be noted that several people commented that they either brought food to tailgates or were provided food through volunteering and VIP tented areas.

Non-Competition Extras
The Maryland 5 Star organizers packed the event this year with several non-competition demonstrations and activities. Overall, survey participants felt this year’s extra activities were an improvement over 2023, with 46.2% selecting “just right,” which is up by 10%. The number of people who selected “did not know” (17.9%) about the activities went down by 15%. Several people (20.5%) selected “other” and stated that they knew about the activities but did not participate in any of them.

In fact, 44.4% of our survey participants stated they did not watch or participate in any of the extra activities this year. For those who did, below are the most popular activities offered this year.

  • 1st – Local Beer/Wine/Spirits Expo (20%)
  • 2nd – Maryland 5 Star Corgi Cup (17.8%)
  • 3rd – Hall of Champions (13.3%)

A suggestion from a survey participant for 2025 is to include a jousting demonstration since jousting is Maryland’s official state sport. Another survey participant made a point of writing in, “the musicians are a great touch and very talented” and the MARS VIP Dog area remains a favorite destination for spectators with dogs.

Digital Program
The digital program, created by Eventing Nation, got an overhaul this year with the addition of several articles written by either Eventing Nation or Maryland 5 Star partner media outlets like The Equiery. This revamp seems to have caught the attention of survey participants with more people selecting “just right” and fewer people selecting “did not know” about the program. However, there are still 46.5% that did not know about digital program.

The most common comment in our survey about the digital program was how people had trouble accessing it while on the competition grounds due to poor internet service around the grounds.

For those who did read the digital program, here are the top most enjoyable pages according to our survey:

  • 1st – cross-country maps (24.4%)
  • 2nd – schedule (22.2%)
  • 3rd – rider/horse bios (11.1%) The following three articles tied for the top most enjoyable articles in the digital program according to our survey: “One Last Hurrah for Ian Stark” by Sally Spickard of Eventing Nation, “A Letter to Fair Hill from Jennie Brannigan” by five-star event rider Jennie Brannigan, “Fair Hill’s History: More Than a 5*” by Katherine O. Rizzo of The Equiery

Website & Socials
New this year, we asked survey participants to comment on both the Maryland 5 Star website and their various social platforms. Overall, the reviews across the board were overwhelmingly positive.

For the website, 73.8% stated the website was “just right” while only 16.7% selected “needs improvement.” The most useful pages on the website, according to our survey, were:

  • 1st – ticket sales (46.7%)
  • 2nd – results/live scoring (42.2%)
  • 3rd – visitor’s guide (33.3%)

Sixty-six percent of survey participants felt the Maryland 5 Star social media presence was “just right” with 15.4% stating it “needs improvement.” The breakdown of social media platforms used, according to our survey, is below:

  • Facebook (71.1%)
  • Instagram (28.9%)
  • YouTube (13.3%)
  • X (2.2%)
  • TikTok (none)

Parting Words
Overall, 75.6% of survey participants stated they plan to attend the Maryland 5 Star in 2025, which is slightly lower than reported in our 2023 survey. Twenty-two percent said they might attend in 2025 and 2.2% said they will not be back in 2025.

Here are a few of the responses on why people will attend in 2025:

  • “It’s a fantastic experience.”
  • “Really enjoyed it this year. Noticeable improvements. More seating and food on cross-country was much better.”
  • “Wouldn’t miss it! Puts Maryland on the international map!”
  • “Every year it’s getting better and we may have a 5* horse next year… only seven five-stars in the world and this one is so close to home!”
  • “I love being able to support this level of competition in my home state and enjoy being a sponsor.”