It finally happened. After years of planning and construction, and a one-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the inaugural Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill came and went in the most spectacular fashion. Being one of only seven international events at the five-star level, and one of two five-star events in the U.S., the Maryland 5 Star had incredibly high standards to meet, and based on the results of a survey done by The Equiery after the event, it generally succeeded.

Who Did the Reviewing
The majority of those who took our survey were spectators (85.9%) while 14.3% were volunteers. We also had a few vendors (4.6%), owners of a competing horse (14.3%), sponsors (2.9%) and media (2.2%) fill out the survey. In addition, 0.4% were competitors and 2% were grooms or family members of competitors, giving our survey a well-rounded and diverse set of perspectives from over 450 people.

For the 4.6% who said they did not attend the Maryland 5 Star in person, most said they did not attend due to conflicts with other activities during the event (October 13-17). A few (1.1%) said they did not know about the event, and even fewer (0.4%) said they did not attend due to ticket price.

Nearly all of those who did not attend said they watched some of the coverage on MPT and were impressed with what they saw. Several international viewers also took the survey, with one person writing: “UK residents not permitted to enter USA. I was bitterly disappointed having planned to attend in 2020 and bought flights in April for 2021. I watched on Horse and Country TV wishing I could have been there.”

The majority (88.7%) of our survey respondents said they attended the event on Saturday for the cross-country phase. The second most popular day was Sunday for the show jumping finale (43.7%) and then Friday, for the second day of dressage (36.6%). We asked people to check off all days they attended and many reported they attended more than one day.

Tickets & Seating
Ticket prices seemed to be “just right” according to 50.2%, while 22.5% said the ticket prices were too high. No one clicked the “too low” box for ticket prices. There were a few people (20.9%) who said they did not pay for their tickets with most of those people being volunteers, sponsors, or vendors.

One complaint that came up several times in the ticket price section was that bleacher seating was uncomfortable considering the cost of the tickets. One person wrote in, “I bought Tier 2 seats for nearly $300 for three days and had to sit in bleachers. The location was super but was not comfortable at all and unless they change to seats with backs, I won’t purchase them again.”

Others suggested more affordable options for the average attendee with less VIP-type seating. Many also commented that on some days, people were not checking tickets so anyone could sit anywhere, which defeated the purpose of paying higher prices for better seats.

Our survey also showed that many people who attended were able to see the competition well (43.7%) while only 12.7% said they could not. Several people wrote in that they would like general admission tickets to be closer to the dressage arenas for Thursday and Friday.

The majority who attended on Saturday for cross-country were very pleased with how close they were able to get to the gallop lanes and cross-country jumps. Several people noted how much action they could see in the Sawmill part of the course with one person writing, “Sawmill area was amazing – offered vantage points of so many jumps including the water and the drop – two of the most iconic/worth photographing. Our group will definitely look for a similar spot next year!”

Vendors & Food
Those who took our survey were nearly split on the question about the Vendor Village. 39.3% said the Vendor Village was “just right” while 32.9% said there were “not enough options.” Another 2.1% said there were “too many options” while 25.6% clicked “other” and wrote in comments.

Comments included:
• “Most of the vendors were by the start of cross-country. It would have been nice if all vendors were in the same place, closer to the arena.”
• “Would like to have seen more tack store/gift options.”
• “The Vendor Village near the main arena was nice. We did not understand the odd semi-circle of smaller vendor tents. Honestly, a vendor area with a view of the jumbotron would be ideal.”
• “There were plenty of vendors but not enough shopping. Many vendors were real estate, etc. Would have been nice to have more diverse shopping options.”
• “Vendor village was too far away from the cross-country course.”

Several people noted that vendors in general closed down too early after the competition ended each day, although is is our understanding that vendors were asked to shut down early on Saturday and seek shelter in their vehicles because of the incoming storms. On the other days, vendors were told to open by 8 am and shut down 30 minutes after the competition ended each day.

Next year, the organizers should consider allowing the vendors to open longer than 30 minutes after the end of competition.

For the Food Vendors, our survey revealed that there simply were “not enough options” (58.1%). Only 12.8% said the food options were “just right” and 0.2% felt the food vendors were “poor quality.” Another 3.8% said the food was too expensive and 25.1% clicked “other” and added comments.

Most of the comments were about the food trucks on the cross-country course. Many felt there were just not enough of them, which created unreasonably long lines and wait times. Several people also said that in the future, they would appreciate water stands along the cross-country course with either bottled water for purchase or some sort of refilling station for reusable bottles.

The Venue
Although so many people in our survey made comments about how beautiful the Fair Hill property is, our questions about general venue accommodations such as parking, restrooms, etc., received varied responses.
For parking, 45.3% said the parking options were just right while 31.1% said they needed improvement. Only 5.8% said the parking exceeded their expectations. Most of the comments were that the parking location was fantastic but the traffic management was very poor, especially at the end of the day when most people were leaving all at once.

There were many requests for more signs as to which lots were for which type of parking (e.g. general admission, VIP, volunteers, etc.) as well as requests for more signs directing people to the various areas of the venue. Someone wrote in that large billboard style “you are here” venue maps would have been very helpful.
Having said that, however, 36% said things were easy to find while 35.8% said things were difficult to find – a statistically even split.

Our survey showed that 45% felt the bathroom facilities were adequate while 21.4% felt they were inadequate. The only write in comments about the bathrooms were that more port-a-johns were needed on the cross-country course.

As for the shuttle service, which apparently was only available on cross-country day, 51.2% said it was inadequate while only 8.8% said the shuttle service was adequate. Many people simply wrote in the comments “What shuttle service?” or “There was a shuttle?” Other people felt the shuttles that were offered, which were only from the parking area to and from the Sawmill Field, were too small and got crowded quickly and created very long waiting lines.

Next year, the organizers should consider bringing back the larger tractor driven “people movers” to help get people out to cross-country and back to their cars. Shuttle stops along the actual cross-country course would be helpful too, if the design of the course were to allow.

One of the places where the venue really shined was with its general hospitality of staff and volunteers. Our survey showed that 45.1% felt hospitality was “just right” while 29.5% stated it “exceeded expectations.” Only 8.8% felt the hospitality they encountered needed improvement.

Comments on hospitality included “Fantastic!”, “Volunteers were amazing!” and “Everyone was pleasant and happy to be there, but they did admit that things were a bit chaotic!”

One concern that attendees raised was that volunteers could benefit from having more information about where things were located such as bathrooms, cross-country start, etc.

Lastly, someone also asked why there were no mounted outriders as in previous years.

Official Program & Logo Wear
Many of our survey takers did not realize there would not be a printed program, printed course maps, or order of go available once they were on the grounds. The commendable decision to “go green” appeared to have back-fired slightly, with 37.9% of spectators saying they did not even know there was a digital program, and 5% saying the digital program needed improvement.

The most common complaint about the digital program was that it was too hard to see on the small screen of most phones, especially when standing out in the glaring sun. Others said the digital program was too large a file to download onto their phones, and many who tried found the wifi network either insufficient or unreliable.

On the other hand, 23.7% of spectators said the digital program was just right ,and 5.6% said it exceeded their expectations. One person wrote in, “Digital program was beautiful, but need some printed course maps and order of go each day.” Another person stated, “The program was very robust but not something I’d be looking through to easily access information.”

All in all, it seems while the digital program was stunning to look at on a larger screen, spectators want a program with maps and other essential information in hand while at the venue.

As for logo wear and official Maryland 5 Star merchandise… the only real complaint was that they ran out! If you missed out on purchasing merchandise while at the venue, you can still purchase items online.

Exhibitions, Horseland & More
One of the popular aspects of the previous “Fair Hill Festival in the Country” was the abundance of demonstrations, the kids zone, and the activities for those who may want more than just competition to watch. The Maryland 5 Star did not offer much in terms of extra activities. Only 7.9% of our respondents said the extra activities needed improvement, however, with 24.8% responding that the amount of extra activities was just right.

On the other hand, many (43.5%) respondents did not know there were any non-competition things to watch, although the majority of the comments said that spectators really did not have much time to watch demonstrations anyway. Many wrote in statements like “we came to watch the competition” or “we came for cross-country only.”

One “extra” that a lot of spectators did enjoy was the VIP Pet Experience put on by MARS Equestrian. Comments included “Loved the VIP pet experience” and “VIP pet experience was fun for my puppy!” In general, dog owners were pleased with how dog friendly and inclusive the venue was with one person writing, “I brought my dog and loved the dog tent, doggie daycare, etc.”

A suggestion that kept popping up in this section of our survey was for more kid-friendly activities such as face painting, and for photo ops or autograph sessions with the five-star riders.

Parting Words
When asked what their overall general impression of the inaugural Maryland 5 Start at Fair Hill was, 50.9% said it needed improvement while 25.6% said the event exceeded their expectations. The overall impression comments were varied with one common thread… this year’s five-star was a fabulous first time event that needs some tweaking here and there.

The Equiery hopes that the five-star organizing committee is open to the suggestions from its spectators. The Maryland 5 Star is an opportunity for the entire state to gain worldwide recognition, and we look forward to bigger and better events to come. After all, 81.7% of those who took our survey said they plan to return in 2022!

Sidebar: A Competitor’s Perspective
From a competitor’s perspective, the first Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill received mixed reviews. The overall impression of the event was split 50/50 between “needs improvement” and “exceeded expectations.”

Competitors were also split 50/50 on the Vendor Village between “just right” and “not enough options.” They all agreed (100%) however, that there needs to be more food options.

Parking received a 50/50 split between “just right” and “needs improvement” and a comment in the general venue section of the survey was “needs more trash cans.”

Competitors also agreed that the hospitality of staff and volunteers they interacted with was either just right or exceeded expectations. No competitors said this area of the five-star experience needed improvement.

The digital program got mixed reviews from competitors with 50% saying it was just right and the other 50% saying it needed improvement. Competitors were not happy with the official logo wear and merchandise options with 100% saying it needed improvement. One competitor stated, “was disappointed in the logo wear as the logo wasn’t really visible on the nicer clothing/jackets.”

The shuttles for competitors also seemed to be an issue, with one competitor writing, “shuttle would run from stabling to the vendor area, but no return shuttles were available” and “more accessibility to remote areas for grooms and owners.”

Competitors were also frustrated with the camping situation in the stabling area as they reported that more hook-up stations were sold then were actually available on the grounds. There was also a power and water problem when competitors first arrived, although those were quickly resolved.

When asked if they plan to attend the five-start in 2022, all competitors who took our survey said yes. One parting comment from a competitor was, “We will be back in 22, but wish it was closer to home! Well done, Mary [Coldren]! Thanks for all you do!”

All Survey Comments for Each Survey Question
1. Did you attend as… (check all that apply) – below are what people wrote in the “additional comments” section of this question.

  • PTV
  • Watched it on TV
  • Tailgate – we arrivved nice and early to get in our spot and it was great! Well organized and not busy at all.
  • Viewed it on USEF website
  • Volunteered in the stabling office from Oct 8th until Oct 17th and had a horse in the YEH 5-year old division.
  • Did not attend: Watched the events on MPT. Great television coverage.
  • Four of us attend every year. I filled out the survey once but maybe didn’t say enough how fantastic/beautiful the venue was and how impressed we were at this inaugural event. While there were wrinkles from a spectator point of view, it all seemed to go so smoothly from our observations of the horses/riders. We were impressed with all of that… just felt a little more disconnected than the old Fair Hill and missed our food truck picnic at the jumps. Needed more food choices at main space and out on the field… We felt lucky to be fit because the traveling was rigorous. Loved seeing all the dogs, as usual. Fun to have the option for the beer/wine tasting but there was no jumbotron so it was either/or for observing the event. Maybe consider a beer garden with seating. THere was so little seating for eating and no easy way to carry food to observe. ANd thank God we carried water because the line at the lone waffle truck at Mars Water was miles long. Maybe a handwashing station here and there would have been nice out there… LOVED the parking being close! Only troubled by rain causing everyone to flee at once, but all good there. The turf, footing, jumps and setting were fantastic… just spread out. Tractor shuttles would have made it easier to see more. Some of the tailgate spots seemed to be on the flats which made no sense — it isn’t a turf race… and REALLY REALLY needed more maps in place, more posters of order of go, more diagrams for how to get somewhere efficiently. I get that you have the phone stuff but it was hard to toggle between apps and maps and order of go. Big posters here and there would have been enough — don’t need individual pages… Well Done, Committee!! See you next year!

2. If you did not attend the Maryland 5 Star this year, what is the primary reason you did not? Please check all that apply.

  • too far away, and didn’t have the money to travel
  • unfortunately unable to attend but got to watch on MPT!
  • handicapped, not able to walk it
  • Watched it on PBS Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
  • physical problems with walking
  • I had a work colleague tell me he did not attend because he believed it replaced the Fair Hill Races and did not agree with that. He had free tickets and still did not attend. I let him know that that isn’t the case and that eventing does not use the new turf track, which he did not know. Community outreach is important!!
  • UK residents not permitted to enter USA. I was bitterly disappointed having planned to attend in 2020 and bought flights in April for 2021. I watched on Horse and Country TV wishing I could have been there ????
  • watch it on mpt it was great to sit home and watch it. and not have to drive to fair hill. MPT did a great job.

3. If you did attend the Maryland 5 Star this year, which days did you attend? Please check all that apply. NOTE – this question did not have a comment section.

4. What was your overall impression of the event?

  • The grounds/course were spectacular. Course map for spectators after the fair hill drop not great to see last few fences up close. Departure of parking a bit of a disaster.
  • Parking needs help! Directing traffic OUT from within the park after XC took over an hour to get out of stabling and on to main road.
  • Exceeded most expectations: just needs improvement with a few small things
  • Basically very good for the 1st one. Lots of small improvements needed.
  • There were certainly some kinks, but nothing I didn’t expect for a first time 5 star. People were generally very friendly and tried to help where they could!
  • Pretty good for a first time but needs to fine tune a few things for next year.
  • Overall fantastic! But do have suggested improvements below.
  • Good for an inaugural event, but some things could use improvement (ie more frequent and larger shuttles running out to the Sawmill Field)
  • Pretty close to “just right.” A couple of things could have been better, but it was an overall success.
  • Loved it, but would like more food options as well as more food and water available around the cross country course and better traffic control exiting parking lot
  • Great location and good for first year.
  • Needs MAJOR improvement for visitor/spectator experience.
  • So much was incredible but there were areas that need improvement (food and shuttles —I know the golf carts were a mess from working in that area). Signage was an issue, but the facility was lovely. My biggest issue was the lack of food on cross country. It’s a 45 minute walk and 1 truck with no options and an hour line? Plus an hour line for a 4-6 person golf cart? I had a minor medical issue and the lovely medics/volunteers offered me some food until we flagged down a shuttle (not from the line) but if there had been food, everything could have been easier. And the website made it seem like bags/food couldn’t be brought in… Saturday was the first day using main gate so I didn’t know what to expect.
  • It ruined my beautiful fair hill scenery
  • My overall impression was very positive, given that this was the inaugural event. But some things could have been improved.
  • Mostly great, with a few improvements needed
  • Quite good overall; needs more spectator shuttles for cross country & us old folks!
  • Thought the event itself was great. Needed more shopping and food booths.
  • Needs some improvements to handle more people but otherwise was very nice
  • Good start for first event but do expect it to improve
  • The course and facilities for the horses were excellent. A few improvements could be made for the spectators. I think they are the result of this being the first at this facility. I feel there could be more signage — when you enter, to show you where to get your ticket scanned; where the vendors are, etc. I think there should be more food vendors — lines were long on busy days. If paper copies of the program, course map, orders of go, etc. it would be helpful to note this on the FB or web page so that guests could choose to print these before they came. Reading these on a phone is challenging.
  • great start for inaugural event. some will complain about inadequacy of shuttle service but we walked entire course twice and it was fine. poor signage from entry to the cross country course – many nonriders did not know where to go. awards ceremony was disorganised and a bit of a disappointment after three days’ competition. Appeared as an afterthought. Too few cross country tailgating spots so some took it on their own to erect personal tents…very unsafe!
  • It needs some work to bring it up to the 5-star standard. I have attended The KY 3-Day and definitely had a better experience. The lack of equestrian event experience on the leaderboard board was very evident. Despite all the pitfalls, I still enjoyed the actual competition, but the overall experience left a lot to be desired. See comments below for more detail.
  • Great first time, but apparently needs more input from eventing people as opposed to general event planners
  • Beautifully done, beautiful course, just a couple of improvements I would note.
  • It was an amazing day of SAFE, challenging and beautiful Cross Country competition. The horses and riders handled the course and terrain and for me it was superb!
  • It felt rushed as many decisions were not made in advance
  • Exceeded expectations! There were logistics issues with food on XC and with XC day transport, but I’m sure you’re aware and considering future improvements.

5. What did you think of the ticket prices?

  • Ticket price would be fine if improvements are done
  • GA was just right. Tier 1 and 2, and tailgate was over priced for what you got.
  • I was hoping that the MD 5* would get some ideas from Badminton and Burghley where some options were a la cart – like you could purchase additional Membership/VIP tickets on top of 1 membership package
  • Was told 40 but my card was charged 45
  • Thought pricing was fair. maybe there could have been other combo’s.
  • Show jumping was too high for Tier 2. I did not expect bleachers without seat numbers. People didn’t fit and some also brought large dogs into the seating which is not right.
  • I think the price of one day’s event was just right. It would be hard to attend if they were any higher. Prices are too high for me to attend more than one day
  • We are legacy tailgaters for many years at fair hill. This year we expected prices to go up which they did but then they made us pay a crazy price for a tent when every other year we brought our own tent. Just made it extremely expensive and we are capable of using our own tents. The staff also never came by with the trash cans as promised.
  • We paid for a 5 star tailgating spot in middle hay field. It was quite a bit of money and things that were promised were not delivered. No trash cans, no accessible restrooms, no food vendors, could not hear the announcers, no shuttles, our tailgating spot was on a steep incline. Our tables were so unlevel things would just slide off. There were level areas nearby.
  • The box seats seemed like a great deal for box seats, but honestly being across the track and the view was misleading and not that great. We were quite disappointed and the images of the new facility were misleading on the ticket purchase site
  • The general admission price was fair. I bought Tier 2 seats for nearly 300 for 3 days and had to sit in bleachers. The location was super but was not comfortable at all and unless they change to seats with backs, i wont purchase them again. On Friday no one checked tickets so anyone could sit there and seats were not marked so my front row seats were open to all. While the VIP tent was very nice, again, no one checked for VIP pass and anyone had access. At the bar, it was not clear that they had a variety of drinks available cause only had signage for sponsor tequila drinks. The food in tent was good, sufficient.
  • I would like to see more affordable options for the average attendee and less VIP type seating. The chalets were practically empty.
  • Not a fan of the $5 added on handling fee… and I missed being able to pay in cash on site – cashless on site with eticketing took way longer than it should have
  • DMG paid for 2 of the $850 tickets
  • We purchased a tailgating option. Not really able to compare to anything. We did have a great spot and will definitely purchase again next year.
  • TV is free…????
  • Tier pricing issues—- HUGE price jump between Tier 1 & Tier 2. The Tier 1 Club ticket holders who paid extra for Club really shouldn’t have because their perks were actually available to all of Tier 1. And Inside the club, the drinks were more expensive than at the vendor locations.
  • Not really sure yet, I thought the prices were a bit high but grateful that we could make it work and afford it.
  • I was disappointed finding out that my “box seats” were super far from the arena and worse, the finish pole and two judge’s booths were in our line of sight due to the orientation of the dressage arena.
  • Seemed fair, but I’ve no basis on which to compare, haven’t attended other similar events.

6. What did you think of the Vendor Village?

  • Lacked Quality. Many empty unmanned booths. Needed more high value, and stronger equestrian based vendors
  • I think there should’ve been additional rows of tents and not the extended half circle of tents. Some people didn’t even know they were there until walking out to the start of XC.
  • Didn’t make it there sadly! So much walking haha!
  • I didn’t shop but looked fine
  • Felt like those vendors in the tents along the backside were really far away.
  • Too spread out, liked the previous set up better with many vendors under a large tent & close to food trucks & some xc jumps
  • Too spread out and far away from XC
  • The distance was too great between the sponsor row of vendors and the other vendors. Some of the more remote vendors seemed to get little traffic. On Sunday, the more remote vendors seemed to have very, very few customers and packed up early.
  • Many options were outside of my budget/price range
  • There were plenty of options, but I would have liked more options of things to buy on-site that were equestrian related. There were lots of local things but not horse related so I didn’t buy anything
  • More food options, more bathrooms, and more food/water in the XC course
  • Really spread out. We barely saw 1/4 of it.
  • Poor location for non-premium vendors. Lots of good vendors but very little traffic due to location & designed traffic pattern.
  • Unfortunate location for many vendors located too far from stands
  • The smaller vendors didn’t seem to get as much action. It would make more sense to have the smaller vendors be more visible and the big ones harder to access.
  • Didn’t make it there
  • I think the smaller tents were too far away. Not enough signage pointing towards vendors. Not enough food options.
  • Too far of a walk away from everything, bathrooms were hard to find
  • I thought the vendor village was good, better set up than before. i do think there needed to be more signage. I had no idea where the Food festival was
  • I didn’t love the location so far away from xc.
  • Closed too early after the Xc was done.
  • Didn’t really explore the vendor village — wanted to see as much XC action as possible
  • Again, it was pretty close to “just right,” but of course, I’d always love to have more shopping.
  • Missed many of the vendors in tents due to time/weather constraints
  • Great! Would always enjoy more
  • It was okay but even more would be better.
  • Not enough options and not all in one location (too spread out and not a village)
  • Too far away. And spread out too much.
  • Should be closer and not so far out back
  • Due to weather, we missed it. Waited to do it on the way out and the rain interfered
  • Walking distance to infield vendors was too far of a walk for older individuals or those with medical limitations .
  • Having most of vendors so far away was quite difficult. All need to be easier to access.
  • Due to the rain coming in everyone closed up, and we did not get a chance to shop. Looked pretty good though!
  • The horseshoe of vendors was too far away
  • Too many sponsor type tents and not enough actual shopping tents
  • I am not a fan of the individual tents. I liked it better when vendors shared a tent. With individual tents, it’s harder to “window shop.” Also, some tents would get crowded and then it was really hard to see what the vendors had.
  • Did not attend vendor area
  • Was most interested in the official merchandise. There was a vendor for that but they were out of stock of some items so I didn’t make any purchases
  • Didn’t get to see much due to the afternoon heavy rain
  • Good volume but not enough cash and carry product. Maryland 5* merchandise was a total joke!
  • Started to rain Saturday afternoon and all shut down never saw them
  • The layout in a semi circle seemed odd. Way too much walking. And we never found the food in the vendor village. We did not spend a ton of time looking because of the short break. There was so much open space I don’t know why the food vendors were hidden away. We did finally figure out that the big white tent called Club something? was open to “regular” people. All the other fancy white tents were for VIPs so it was not obvious.
  • Fine for first event but do hope it gets bigger….in comparison to Burghley…it was VERY small.
  • Vendor village was great—lots of vendors! I would have no problem seeing more, however. Fair Hill venue is fantastic.
  • Never got to see it too far from course.
  • The separation between them was confusing and there was too much space at the semicircle. Good for covid but felt disconnected from each other
  • Need a beer garden in the middle.
  • I did not get to check out the vendors due to shooting the event, but the quick walk I did do through looked really nice
  • I did not check out the vendor village
  • WAY too far and inaccessible on XC day. Most people are not prepared to make a purchase when they first arrive as they are anxious to get to their spot (like my group at 8am). By the time we found a “shuttle” (random person on a golf cart) to bring us back to vendor village from Sawmill around 11:30, almost all of the branded MD 5* merch was sold out. Should have more than one tent with official merch and make it more accessible – stagger a few throughout the XC course?
  • did not get time to shop 🙁
  • Never made it there too far from tailgate area and they weren’t open on Weds.
  • We never found and MARYLAND 5* merchandise
  • the spacing was tight, with the crowd on Saturday, it seemed a little difficult to get through the alley row. The other venders in the half circle out in the grass was much more open, you could walk in and out of each tent.
  • The vendors could have been more centralized. The food is one area, one set of vendors in an other area, still an other set of vendors in a third area.
  • The distance from the tailgate field to the vendor village was too far to walk during the break from the 3* to the 5*, and with no people movers, it was not feasible, so I was not able to visit the vendor village.
  • Location was problematic, too far and spread out. Not enough trash cans and those that were there were overflowing. Need bathrooms in the area.
  • did not have a chance to see the vendors because they all closed down due to rain (I think).
  • Some were too far away. Too many vehicles driving in vendor area making it hard to walk
  • Would have liked to see more vendors actually selling stuff and less things like yoga and CBD sellers and state agriculture departments
  • I think a big tent for vendors would have been better but luckily, the weather was good until late Saturday.
  • Not impressed. By Saturday the 5* memorabilia tent was empty/closed. Attempting to get to the vendors was overly difficult.
  • Vendor village was too far away from the CC course. In previous years, the vendor village at Fair Hill has been closer to at least one part of the CC course so we could shop and still be close enough to the action that we could watch some horses go through the course while shopping. We arrived at 7:30am, were set up by 8am, went to about 4 shops, then had to leave the vendor village so we would not miss the 3* CC.
  • The 5-star clothing vendors were out of almost everything by Saturday evening, and the prices were ridiculously high. This is an opportunity to sell items to SHOWCASE our Maryland event and let people know about it, not for a single vendor to make over-the-top profits.
  • They should be clustered together like at Rolex. Do you can go from tent to tent
  • Did not visit
  • The vendors were great- at future competitions would like to see one or two more of the larger tack shops added (horseloverz or something like it). also if the crowds get any bigger, the layout will need to adjust because the main vendor row, the paved area, will get crowded VERY quickly.
  • Expected more tack vendors
  • Didnt have time to shop but seemed like a lot of vendors, which I would like if I was shopping.
  • Did not get to see many because of the rain on Saturday
  • What I saw was fine but didn’t get to all of it–not that interested
  • Did not go
  • Looked good as I walked thru however I didn’t get to come back and visit the vendors after xcty due to the weather. Didn’t want to miss the action so I didn’t come in to see the vendors during the event.
  • The shops closed early because of the weather I didn’t get to the Vendor Village. I was surprised they were closed before 5 pm. I had wanted to check it out.
  • Lots of great displays but not much actual shopping/inventory. It was fun to walk around but there wasn’t much to buy (I didn’t walk through until Sunday so inventory might have been pretty depleted by then)
  • Did get to that area
  • Not well located and too spread out. By the time I had walked back from the end of the course I had no gas left in the tank to explore vendors like I had planned. The dehydration didn’t help my fatigue either.
  • Didn’t get a chance to visit after walking the entire course. It started to storm and they closed up all the tents.
  • there were plenty of vendors but not enough shopping (many vendors were real estate, etc., would have been nice to have more diverse shopping options)
  • The vendor village near the main arena was nice we did not understand the odd semi circle of smaller vendor tents. Honestly, a vendor area with a view of a jumbtron would be ideal. The vendors at the entrance were disappointing as only a few of those tents were rented.
  • The vendors closed early (as soon as the competitions wrapped up) the 2 days we attended. the selection of vendors was impressive and I was disappointed we didn’t have time to browse as we were riveted by the competition. Additionally, the official 5* shops ran out of product, so we missed getting that “merch” to show off to friends & acquaintances—which is a good thing since it showed how popular the souvenirs from the inaugural event were!
  • Didn’t spend any time there, as it started to rain at the end of the day.
  • As a volunteer I never made it over to the vendors
  • Seemed nice but again, no basis for comparison.
  • Didn’t get to see it because we headed onto the cc course right away, as the 5-star started early due to weather. and then it was too far to walk back for shopping, didn’t want to miss the riders.
  • Would like to have seen more tack store / gift options.
  • I didn’t get a chance to visit the vendors
  • Most of the vendors were by the start of cross country. It would have been nice if all vendors were in the same place, closer to the arena.

7. What did you think of the Food Vendors?

  • Not enough food options, & need water bottle filling stations & more options on xc course
  • Did not purchase food from Vendors
  • Not enough, need to be spread out more. Or more options along cross country
  • I think additional food out on xc would be beneficial for those with general admission.
  • Nowhere near enough options & no seating anywhere. Also no shade
  • Not nearly enough options and no options near XC on Saturday, especially for being told we weren’t allowed to bring food and drink ourselves.
  • Did not visit the food vendors mainly because it was difficult to determine their offerings.
  • Very long lines. Not enough options
  • The vendor I did go to was reasonably priced, fast, good service, and food was delicious. I was very happy with my food. That being said the line was very long and I would have liked to see more food options (even just snacks) as we trekked along the cross country course. That hike got me hungry and most of all THIRSTY. When we finally located a vendor out on the course they were out of water! That should tell you something. We need more breaks out there. In previous years much of the course was much closer to the vendors and food options.
  • The lines were ridiculous. Only in village/where you entered then way out by water but 30+ people deep. And no clue if the vip looking like section @ the water allowed commoners? So bought a water all day.
  • I didn’t get to buy from the food vendors but common complaints from spectators were #1, no food for the masses inside the track (compounded by only one track crossing/bottleneck) and #2, not enough food and drink options out on XC.
  • N/a, access to private sponsor area, did not explore food vendor options.
  • Did not eat while I was there. Would have loved to see food trucks along xc course
  • Tailgated & brought our in
  • Happy with the food/drink quality, just need more vendors since the lines were so long
  • We tailgated at SawMill and there was only one option- a waffle truck. Due to the poor shuttle service, you could not get back to where the venders were set up at the main entrance.
  • Not enough options along the cross country course. Especially water. Having free water would be a benefit and increase safety
  • The lack of food out on course was embarrassing. Especially since the FAQs said we were only allowed to bring small snacks. My group went hungry all day.
  • The vendors could have been spread out a little better on Saturday. Would have been nice to have them more spread out over the course.
  • Program maps indictated food vendors in the hay field and elsewhere but there were definitely none in the hayfield. I didn’t check the other areas as I was volunteering in the hayfield
  • U need more food vendors out on the xc course. There was 1waffle truck and the wait was over an hour long. We waited a half hour and moved 5 feet. There were still 20 people ahead of us. We wanted to see the 5* riders so left the line. Went to buy a bottle of water and that vendor was out of water.
  • Didn’t try any
  • I did not utilize any of the vendors.
  • Not enough options. Food was ridiculously high and the quality did NOT reflect it at all. Also one vendor claimed to be selling lobster. It was in fact imitation crab and charged $54 for two of them.
  • Under served – not nearly enough available F&B around the XC course. Lots of missed opportunities and too long lines. Hard to get even basic water.
  • Need MUCH more options spread throughout. Members of my group wanted to buy lunch or snacks and couldn’t find anything
  • Need more veggie and healthy options
  • Need more food vendors at the water feature in sawmill field. This was the highest spectator area and only one food vendor available.
  • There was one food truck if you wanted to eat on course, around the halfway point/crab area. Given the physical challenges walking the whole course, we weren’t going to walk down for lunch and then back up for the second half. I assume the course isn’t going to get less steep or shorter, so you need more food vendors for those who are in that area.
  • Did not visit food vendors
  • Good for this year. Room to improve. Healthier options w/o fried food
  • Poor quality, not enough options and way to expensive- spent 50 for lunch for two sandwiches, two colas, and 1 order of fries
  • See above comment about lack of food on cross country course but also there were only 3 food options at the main vendor area Saturday so you waited 15-30 minutes at one vendor for your food. The food there was wonderful but if there were more options, it would have been easier with shorter lines. People who just wanted water had to wait in the same lines. On cross country, the drink tent ran out on water at 10 am.
  • Food & water options along course might be an option. Long walk w/o H2O
  • Not enough food options in the cross country area. Hard to get to cross country jumps and then leave and find food.
  • Lines were extremely long. Did not eat.
  • Not enough options but the ones that were there were excellent!
  • No food vendors out on course~& would have like shorter lines
  • You have alcohol vendors galore but xc day you had 2 food trucks?! Is that a joke?! Did you want people drinking and driving cuz if so you def succeeded!! Food trucks aren’t bad but you should have had MULTIPLE (7-10) trucks in the infield with all the vendors before walking out onto course. Along with 3-5 trucks ADDITIONAL outside on course.
  • Not nearly enough vendors out on course. The layout of the course makes it very difficult to get back to the vendor village to eat. The vendors that were out there seemed to be in odd places and not easy to find. We only learned about the one between fence 3 & 4 because someone told us. The number of VIP tents out on course was overwhelming. Why can’t there be as many places for the majority of the people? We ended up not eating anything because of the long lines and not wanting to miss the competition.
  • Great vendors that were there but there needs to be a LOT more…especially more out on course on Saturday….and more options with coffee. The lines were too long.
  • Vendors I used were good, they just needed vendors throughout the course on Sat. There was no option for the folks walking the course to get water or food, except at the beginning or near the crab /water jump. We were told there would be vendors in the middle hayfields, and once again there was not.
  • There was a general lack of food vendors. I did not see any food vendors in the vendor village. Just a stand to buy drinks. There was ample space to add food trucks in the wide-open space in the vendor village on the way to XC. There was only one other food vendor by the crab water. It had a huge line all day. Please add more food vendors by the crab water area and/or Fair Hill bank. Then add more food vendors between the tracks around fences 3 and 4. There were so many VIP tents for the hand full of VIPs but hardly any food vendors for the many spectators.
  • More food options would be great. Also, each day, some food trucks moved, and that was hard to track. It would be nice to have multiple food areas. And access to food far out on the xc course.
  • Never saw any. Too far from course.
  • Not enough but also needed choices at Mars water and sling the way for water
  • too close together on the main thoroughfare
  • I did not get to check out the vendors due to shooting the event
  • I did not check out the food vendors
  • The food vendors around the main arena were ok, though could have done with some different options as lots of bbq and fried food but not a lot else. On XC day it would have been great to see more (any?!) vendors out on the XC course. It’s a long old walk back to get food. At Badminton and other major events you have vendors out on the course.
  • did not get time to eat!
  • Didn’t eat there
  • No food vendors in our tailgate area
  • Not enough options, lines were too long, i did not want to stand in line to wait for food and miss the action
  • we had a tailgate, so I did not need food vendors
  • Quality vendors. Would be good to make more of a court for the main vendors with general seating if possible. Need drink and food vendors in cross country
  • Not enough options (though I liked what was available) but would have really appreciated (and used) ones that were more spread out around the site – especially in the larger (arc shaped) vendor area. Having a food/drink vendor and sitting area down at the end of that walk would have been really nice as it got pretty warm on Friday afternoon.
  • I liked that it was local vendors but way more food options are needed. Of the ones that were there, I felt like the most of the prices were reasonable for an event.
  • What food vendors? There were food vendors?
  • Everyone in stabling wanted the crab bisque from Bucks but the line there was 20 to 30 people deep so we couldn’t waste our time standing in line to get the crab bisque.
  • Did not utilize
  • There were not enough food vendors around or near the CC course. I was told in correspondence with the organizers that there would be food trucks near and around the CC course. I guess there was food in the vendor village, but I never saw any. And there was only one food truck by the crab water, which had an incredibly long line. It would be nice to have food vendors throughout the CC course. If not food vendors, at least some places to buy drinks or water.
  • Ate at a tailgate
  • More coffee!!!!
  • the options were good and the prices seemed normal for an event of this caliber, maybe a bit on the expensive side but the food was very good. main issue was not having an expansive seating area to sit down and eat. sunday at lunchtime the lines were crazy and it took forever to get food. if the event gets any larger it may make sense to have a dedicated food area where there are several vendors centrally located around picnic tables or a tent with tables. also for cross country day there were not NEARLY enough options out on a very long course. the beverage options in particular were just not enough. having been to kentucky multiple times it was really nice that you really didnt have to go far to find a park-run stand selling their two signature cocktails plus a standard selection of beer/other drinks. would love to see that for maryland. having the 3 vendors giving out drink samples was clutch though! if they could bring in a company that did the standard fair concessions along with the more specialized food trucks and drink vendors, it would be perfect.
  • Only one coffee truck! Wait line an hour. Not good, especially for Sunday morning.
  • Did not try any of the food vendors. Food at these events are usually too expensive so we brought our own. But it looked good!
  • Brought own food
  • The options that were available were fantastic! Would have liked to see another coffee truck other than Waffln Joe’s, the line was always very long for coffee and I ended up bringing my own coffee in on Sunday.
  • There were not enough in the main area and the lines were ridiculously long.
  • Did not visit food vendors. Might have, if they had been scattered a bit more around the venue. The few that were available had very long lines.
  • Didn’t encounter food vendors. Encountered alcoholic beverage vendors.
  • In the main food vendor area I felt prices were significantly higher than past years. Because of the layout v/s past years the majority of the food vendors were a long distance from most of the cross country event. More food vendors spread throughout the cross country course would be very helpful.
  • Too few opportunities to buy water on a course that required TONS of walking. I didn’t bring anything as I had heard the warnings of bag checks, then I got super dehydrated. Not fun!
  • I thought there were areas on the course where a few more food vendors could have been placed. I have never organized an event so logistically I could be wrong. OR have beverage stations, ie: water bottle filling stations randomly placed throughout the venue. Otherwise a lovely event, with equally lovely volunteers. Thank You
  • Didn’t have true opportunity to try any due to weather
  • This was the most disappointing aspect of the event. Very limited options with super long waits. The vendors seemed overwhelmed with the crowds. The access to food and beverages on xc was the worst. We were lucky and had friends tailgating around jump #4, but when we got to the water complex in the Sawmill field we found a huge VIP area with very few people in it, one food truck with tons of people waiting (and not in a good spot to view anything) and one beer tent with limited options. At the very least, I would have loved to see a group of vendors near the jumbotron on xc. At least that way you can still see the action while waiting. I think something that would be very successful would be to have snack carts driving around the course (like you see at a golf course), with snacks and beverages so everyone can enjoy the day, otherwise as a GA spectator you were screwed.
  • It would be more convenient to have some food trucks dispersed on the XC courses. There were several, but with very long lines and concentrated in only a few places.
  • Great! Except on XC day by the crab. Waffles were delicious!!, but it took my husband from the time the 3* finished to the time eleven 5* horses went by to return with food. They were the only option. More vendors with a simple-to-serve menus would be appreciated, as well as a stand selling only bottled drinks, for speed of service.
  • I did not use the vendors.
  • Few options to sit down and eat. Long lines already at 11:30 for lunch; maybe more vendors needed? Seemed like a lot of booze vendors.
  • did not check out the food vendors
  • There were way too few options. In addition, the lack of food and water options on the cross country course on Saturday was dangerous since we were told that we could only bring very limited food/water in to the venue.
  • Thurs/Fri was okay – although not many vegetarian options. Saturday on the cross country course there was a real lack of food available without going back to the vendor village area. Would have been great to have more options on course so we could get food while watching.
  • Not enough options on Friday. On Saturday not enough locations. Not sure about options by the other vendors but by the roller coaster jump only one overwhelmed food truck and a drink vendor out of water. If you went back to the food trucks near the other vendors there wouldn’t have been any way to walk all the way back out on course for the 5star horses- even if the schedule had not been changed. More food vendors with Water, could have been around the course. It would be helpful to have food and drink vendor locations ( as well as ports potty and shuttle locations marked on a map).
  • Did not eat.
  • Didn’t even notice them Saturday. They were great on Sunday!
  • Volunteer food was provided.

8. What did you think of the various options to View the competition? Such as general admission, ticketed seating, tailgate spots, VIP tents, etc.

  • I really liked the screen at the end of cross country. I wish there was more screens by the beginning of the course to be able to watch the rider all the way around.
  • Would like to see more on site video options. A screen that faced the vendor tents on the back side of the turf course. Another perhaps smaller one behind the grandstand along that portion of vendor row. A good opportunity to sell more sponsorships.
  • Not sure. I just had general admission. I could see all the jumps fine but had to walk a lot (4 miles or so)
  • Tier 2 tickets should have had seats instead of bleachers, they weren’t even numbered for Sunday. I bought a numbered seat for real money and sat on a bleacher smashed in with others with no elbow room. Tailgate options should be released the same time as the regular tickets.
  • Most box seats in front of GA were empty and GA was very crowded on Sunday. Seemed more GA seating would have been better than all the empty box seats where no one was allowed to sit. Seemed to be a waste of space and would have better utilized for GA tickets
  • Most options pricey and zero response re: options when I emailed to inquire.
  • The xc viewing was great but it was hard and extremely hot to see the dressage from the GA grandstands.
  • I think of the most part it was good but the start of xc was hectic and could use improvement
  • Attended on cross-country day: the venue said there would be courtesy shuttles to various areas of the course but we never saw one. Lots of people were struggling walking around to the course
  • Good in some spots, poor in others. Suggest a giant screen in vendor village or in stadium (with a beer garden). More tailgate spots!
  • Cross country was very far away for people to walk to. Not enough shuttles so people walked.
  • The tier 2 covered seating needs work, signage for the stand and the seats.
  • Needs more shuttles to XC more often
  • I was in box A113, which was a nice little area. However, it should have been sold as “obstructed view.” The sheds with the dressage judges obscured much of that competition.
  • Tier 2 seating was not even numbered for dressage and not enough space was given per person for show jumping. We had six tickets and only enough room for four adults. I also thought tier 2 was supposed to be individual seating. However, all seats made for good viewing.
  • No seats available in general admission for Sunday due to crowd size. You sold more tickets than u had seats. No assigned seating in tier 2 for dressage, even though it seemed there would be when we selected our seats online.
  • Those with accessibility issues were very limited. The shuttles were absolutely inadequate. In past years the cross country was closer to the main vendor area and even went through the arena which made things much more accessible. There should have been a jumbo screen in middle hay field as well.
  • Need less volunteer seating and more GA seating. A large portion of volunteer seating was empty. Also, need better speaker system as it was difficult to hear announcers.
  • GA seating was difficult for older individuals to climb to top of grandstand . Not enough transport available from tailgate areas to other areas of x country
  • Tailgate options. At the Middle Hay Field our tailgate spot was on very uneven ground sitting on the side of a slope of a hill. Tailgate tents were on top of your neighbors and there were no shuttles to help transport all people (including disabled, elderly, injured, those with small children) to different parts of the venue to enjoy the entire event and location.
  • The grandstand across being across the track made it difficult to see the main ring.
  • Cross-country was viewed well once you figured out how to get to the course. Sawmill shuttle service was HORRIBLE. Not enough shuttles and NO explanation of where the shuttles were going.
  • Very poor Seating for general admission. Seemed to cater to the vip.
  • We walked to various spots on cross country day, so we saw all that we wanted. But we visited with friends at a tailgating spot which had pretty limited viewing. Had I purchased a spot there I would have been very disappointed.
  • Variety of options was good. Somewhat draconian posted restrictions on GA caused concern ahead of time but security was sensible at the venue. Tailgate spots need to be further from the galloping lanes! Roping was tight around many of the combinations and people leaning over whooping didn’t allow horses to use all the space. The tv cables were initially in the gallop lane then moved to the tailgate space where only people could trip on them. Use double roping by the tailgates to keep spectators a few feet back and accommodate the cables.
  • Could get close but signage not great directing – asked many locals volunteering and they were equally confused
  • Did not see the competition as was a vendor
  • Could see the competition happening right in front of us very well! Hayfields tailgate-our tailgate location just needed to be much more level
  • We had tickets centerline general box which we had hoped would be good viewing, but they ended up as limited viewing seats. Maybe list any seat options that will have blocked views in the program next time. We couldn’t see half the dressage tests due to the placement of two judges boxes and the finish line post. It was disappointing. However, if we had seen prior that they were limited view seats we would not have bought there.
  • We had a box in the permanent grandstand seating and the diagram online did not make it clear the track would keep us quite far away and dressage was definitely hard to see. Sitting on the long side for dressage is preferred and what we thought we were getting. We could see decently well for SJ.
  • At CC spent so much time walking it was hard to see event — doubling back here and there would help — distances make it hard to revisit areas — and I’m fit.
  • ticket purchase was limited- but Dressage seats were unused and unmarked. XC was typical, but I took my mother who walked on a bad knee-transport would have been very nice for her.
  • There desperately needs to be a shuttle to take people out to sawmill field. Also, we ordered assigned seats for dressage and show jumping and it was a hot mess! The seats (which were bleachers and not the originally offered individual seats) were not labeled on Friday and there were not enough seats on Sunday.
  • I was a volunteer, so I saw my area of the course well.
  • Sawmill area was amazing, offered vantage points of so many jumps (including the water and the drop – two of the most iconinc/worth photographing). Our group will definitely look for a similar spot next year!
  • We paid for reserved seating for the SJ and the ‘seats’ were so crammed in together, it was impossible to actually fit the right number of people on a bench.
  • Got to see short amount of competition then the storm rolled in
  • The screen for viewing should have been at the crab water where most of the spectators were
  • I wasn’t sure that I would be allowed into the GA seating with my dog, so I wasn’t able to view ANY of the dressage in the main ring. I also had no idea how to get to where the YEH competition was happening, so I didn’t even try to go there.
  • At the 4 star, you had several options on which direction to watch CC.  It was way too long with no options. There was no where on course to get water for dog/self. Needed seating options on CC.
  • The view was great but that was the only positive. I bought tickets in Teir 2 West. It was a disaster. I paid for an assigned stadium seat and got an un-numbered bleacher. It was a free for all. I expected far more from my seat option. It was obvious event organizers had issues with the seating but elected to not communicate that in advance of the event. That’s terrible public relations. I’d recommend more cheap to intermediate priced seating. The chalets were rather empty as was the Tier 1 East section.
  • I was in a box with front row seating for stadium so I was quite happy — but I intetionally did not go to cross country day because I could tell that it was going to be a miserable spectator experience and I elected to watch on TV instead — where I could see a lot more than one jump and would also know who the competitors and horses were. With no paper program, I wasn’t sure I would have any way of knowing who was on course if I were to be there in person.
  • I set up the TV set in the stabling office so we were all able to watch the live streaming using my computer and personal hotspot. All the stabling volunteers loved being able to watch the live streaming when they were not busy delivering shavings and ice.
  • There wasn’t a place where you could see a large portion of the course. Tho’ not sure that could be done. There is a lot of walking involved
  • Stadium general adm is too far from the ring
  • I loved being so close to the action! However as the event gets larger the seating will need to be much more organized, and then probably scaled up. when we arrived to our covered seating for stadium on sunday, there were no labels on the bleachers. the volunteers tried to explain where people’s seats were but because there were no labels, it took forever and held up getting to seats by several minutes per group. then spectators clearly were sitting wherever they wanted anyway, which was fine because it was not sold out.
  • I thought the arena was fantastic. The cross country was really really long to walk and we missed watching a number or riders except to see them gallop by because of the time it took to trek to different jumps.
  • Cross country viewing good. Will get VIP in future for jumping and for dressage.
  • Need more speakers, more video watching areas and shuttle service
  • Dressage difficult to see from general admission area
  • Long walk. Very uphill. There was a shuttle but only from the water
  • Was only there on xcty day so was out on the course. Can’t eval seating
  • The tv coverage of XC needed a couple more cameras to cover the whole course. Commentators were very good. It was a shame that Spencer Sturmey wasn’t part of the team too as he brings great knowledge and is an interesting commentator. It was great to have competitors slots in the commentary box. More interviews with riders at the end of XC would be an improvement.  Sound reproduction from the press conferences wasn’t good
  • We had reserved seats in the Tier 2 grandstand – the bleachers sucked while the general admission had chairs. plus, the reserved seats were only for the events on Sunday. Made me feel like the reserved seats were not worth the cost / price at all considering the seats weren’t labled until the last day of the event and people stopped checking the tickets by the time the 5* riders were in the arena. Additionally, people should remain seated or wait until the rider in the arena is finished their ride – similar to an ice hockey game. This was rarely enforced.
  • We were extremely bummed to realize how far away our tickets were. There’s were tons of empty seats that were closer but when I was ordering tickets none of those locations were available.
  • Did not really review the options, as a friend bought GA tickets which is what we came in with.
  • Could see the competition well – it was great! However the Aintree stands were like a broiler oven on Thursday and Friday. Miserable! Any way to install an awning? The chilly weather saved the day on Sunday but we can’t expect that to happen consistently.
  • I paid $275 to sit in bleacher seats. On Friday those tickets were not checked so anyone with general admission could sit there. Also seats were not numbered until Sunday so on Friday our group -1 which bought tickets the minute they went on sale — had to find and mark seats With our things to be sure we could sit together and know where to find each other. We purchased this option because general admission seating was SO far from the arena rail. I won’t but that option again.
  • General admission by the arena was quite far from the ring with the track between. But the view was excellent.
  • Loved the large screens on cross country !

9. What did you think about Parking at the venue?

  • Horrible. Took over an hour to get out Not fun with a 10 week old baby
  • Media parking was a great location but friends who were in general parking had a hard time getting in and out of the venue.
  • Parking was fine but exiting was difficult on Saturday.
  • Vendor parking needed police to help regulate traffic so vendors could leave.
  • Had media parking so had no experience of any other.
  • Seemed adequate. I only used general parking Sunday
  • shuttle to and from would be helpful
  • It was fine location-wise but the attendants did a poor job parking people. It was very difficult for me to leave and get out because we were so packed in and lined up poorly.
  • Vendor parking was adequate, but it was relocated from a great spot to a much-less-great spot after load-in had completed. Last minute surprises are no fun. Parking shuttles were inadequate.
  • Leaving was the worst! We sat for over an hour.
  • Parking was inconsistent. I had sponsor’s package and was told to park further away even though there were just 2 rows of cars parked already closer. Better communication
  • They have to do MUCH better at getting people out at the end. It was very bad. Especially since we were starving!
  • The parking itself was great. Traffic exiting was horrendous – some of that is inevitable, but it could have been helpful to have more traffic management at multiple exit points and at intersections within the facility (like around the barns)
  • Arriving was wonderful, leaving was over an hour of waiting
  • Parking will always be a problem at large events. I thought it was handled well. Would have been nice to maybe have a shuttle to the far away jumps. Us old people need help LOL
  • As crowds increase it might be necessary to have attendants directing parking
  • Trying to leave at the end of the day on Saturday was a nightmare. I waited in my car in my parking spot for 45-60 minutes before even attempting to leave due to the massive traffic jams.
  • Parking in the beginning was fine, but exiting the parking lot took way too long
  • Parking at a 5 star generally is what it is.
  • Vendor parking was WAY too far away without reliable shuttling. We paid extra for more passes only for it to be faster and easier to park in general parking. Very disappointed.
  • Parking was still relatively close, but more parking attendants would be helpful as spectators are leaving/entering. Also, there were nowhere near enough shuttles to take people back and forth from the venue to parking, which was extremely difficult for those with mobility issues.
  • Again distances were an issue without any assistance for elderly or those with medical conditions.
  • It was great, a little more direction at the end of the day would be helpful.
  • Exiting parking lots was a nightmare. Need better organization
  • I had no issues (was in and out with few issues) but I know parking for others on cross country day was a mess. I heard that it took 45-60 min to leave the lot. Having people direct people out of all aisles would help (in a front aisle I lucked into someone letting me out because every time it was my turn, they let pedestrians cross and then the next bunch of cars moved. Someone thankfully just let me out and we had no parking attendant monitoring our rows. Still, I was out in about 10 minutes.
  • Waited 1hr to get out of parking lot jam on Saturday—no one was directing traffic in lot.
  • With everyone leaving at the same time on Sat, it was a nightmare.
  • The actual parking was fine, but some signs indicating general parking versus vip parking would have been helpful.
  • It was ok with good weather but would be challenging in bad weather without a terrain vehicle. Driving a Prius was a bit low in the field and could be stuck in mud
  • Parking was good til it was time to leave. I went Saturday it was pouring at end. Everyone left at once. The first exit they were letting everyone out. The second exit they were only letting 2 or 3 cars out at a time. We sat for over 1/2 hour before we were able to move to go to first exit to get out. Then there was no wait.
  • Need coordination on traffic control. One side of the parking lot moved quickly while the other never moved. After sitting for 40 minutes and moving 5 cars lengths we turned around and drove to the other exit and we were out in 5 minutes.  Suggest forcing vehicles to exit a certain direction to expedite traffic and if possible close road to local traffic at key times. I would rather get out of the parking lot and figure out how to get to where I need to go than sit for an hour.  Signs on road directing to parking were very tiny.
  • General Admission parking at the end of XC day was a complete disaster. General Parking as setup right now will not be able to handle more spectators.
  • Was terrible. Especially when it rained and had To wait almost an hour and half To get out!! By the Time we got out the rain stopped
  • Plenty of space, good volunteers, close to venue—but a crosswalk bridge or light needs to be in place. The policemen manning traffic were pretty annoyed doing their jobs, and it was the first impression many had of the venue. 🙁
  • Loved that it was close — might need mobility shuttles given distance at back — we were close
  • Needs improvement- placement was fine but the lack of signs and total chaos was ridiculous. This maybe the first 5*, but certainly not the first Event.
  • Parked in Media parking
  • Well I had to park where the volunteers were instructed, I do you know family members who attended as spectators had to walk quite a distance without any assistance in order to see cross country. A tractor with a long trailer for shuttling people to the back part of the course would have been much appreciated. Just like used to be done for the 4*L
  • Exiting was a problem when everyone was trying to leave at the same time, i.e. Saturday.
  • I think the parking was handled really well, it was organized and realatively close to the venue but fit everyone
  • The lot was fine, although I got there before any police were there for direction. If I had not known the area well, I would not have known where to park – the signage was non-existent. When the police did arrive, they had no idea where anything was, or the best way to get to where we needed to go. I don’t know if volunteers with knowledge of the venue later showed up to help people get where they needed to go, but there were none when we got there.
  • Location worked but rows need to be marked. Difficulty finding car! Signage getting in and out of the lot not clear
  • It was fine for me, but I heard that getting out was very difficult on Saturday and Sunday
  • The parking was about what I suspected and was sufficient. One recommendation would be to have a secondary option on Gallahar Rd somewhere around the old venue for cross country day. This would allow for a short walk to Sawmill Field where a significant number of humps were located.
  • Totally lucked into a spot right on the road — would not have to have been further back in the parking lot.
  • The RV parking in stabling was awful. There were 11 permanent parking spots but they were filled with rented RVs for the foreign grooms and other officials. Apparently 45 or so other people paid for water and electric hookup but when they arrived on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, the generators and the big water truck were in place but there were no hoses or electric cords. RV folks were not happy. They all (or most of them) did get their hoses and electric hooked up eventually but not with a lot of noise.
  • Parking is what it is for a large event. What else could you do?
  • I had a tailgate spot and it was perfect! I didn’t see any shuttles or buses dropping people off throughout the day, so I’m guessing the general parking was not so great.
  • the parking was great, especially being free! however as future events get larger i think parking attendants are going to be necessary. i tailgated so i didnt get to see it saturday but our guests joining for the tailgate said it did not go nearly as well as the other 3 days
  • Purchased tailgating spot
  • Waited 1+1/2 hr to exit parking after cross country.
  • I had a tailgate spot which was perfect!
  • The parking was fine, but it took almost an hour to get out. It was sort of a free for all with people playing chicken with their cars. I don’t think the police were prepared for the number of spectators, and the rain caused too many people to leave at the same time
  • Needed more entrances and exits for general admission parking. Created quite a traffic backup that took too long, both coming and going.
  • The parking space available worked fine. The directing of traffic needed help, especially at the end of the day. Saturday the spaces were all parked too close together and there were some cars unable to get out of their spot mid day.
  • Parking was ok, but leaving was a nightmare. Over one hour to leave the event. There needs to people guiding cars out. It put a damper on the day.
  • Fairly accessible, but would have been better to have multiple entrances so police didn’t have to manage the bottleneck.
  • helpful if there were signs
  • Love that you can walk in from there. Terrible experience in getting out in a reasonable amount of time.
  • Needs better parking for volunteers
  • Parking was convenient but needed better staffing at exit time
  • Parking was fine. There needs to be better shuttle options, not only to and from the entrance, but to areas on the cross country course, especially for older, less mobile spectators. I know that the traffic issues at the end of XC were worsened by the weather, causing more spectators to leave at the same time than usual. However, there was need of much improved communication between the sheriff’s officers on each entrance and better signage at the exits.
  • I heard complaints, but I thought it was well done for general parking. The people working the lot were amazing.
  • The location was good. There needed to be better traffic management (although the sudden rush to exit due to the weather was beyond anyone’s control).
  • Volunteers had special parking.

10. What did you think of the Facility?

  • General signage wasn’t great. Need signs above eye level so folks can find things. Needed signage to tell folks where to go once they parked.
  • Hard especially for non Horsey people to navigate..very cold and segregated..need less expensive vender and tailgate spots to draw more people. Also shopping qS way to segregated. Need people movers not golf carts!!! More Porta pots, trash cans, and food, drinks and dog watering stations around xc.
  • Beautiful facility & jumps but layout was all wrong. Way too much walking to see the xc jumps & not enough food vendors & I never saw any sort of shuttle. A lot of people I talked to while walking had similar thoughts
  • It was over an hour brisk walk from the arena to XC. Xc was not spectator friendly. The tracks were too far apart in the beginning of the course. The 3* should have come back and ended near where the 5* does so horses can be seen going out and back from one spot. I saw no shuttles, which were promised. Was also promised water stations and there were none. There wasn’t a single trashcan on XC and an inadequate number elsewhere. There did seem to be an acceptable number of porta potties.
  • Hitched a ride on somebody’s golf cart. Shuttles were few and far between compared to previous years.
  • There was a shuttle service? My mom definitely could have benefited from that on XC day
  • There was a shuttle???
  • There needs to be a paper program or more signage/maps
  • The course map showed that there was supposed to be food available in various areas of the course but we saw none. The bathrooms were clean but not many options on course. Did not see any shuttle service
  • I think the VIP areas should’ve been cordoned off as it seemed anyone could gain access. Great for those who didn’t pay $$ to attend. I also understand there were some supply chain issues
  • The cross country course is ridiculous. Too much walking. I take long walks regularly & am in good shape. One shouldn’t have to walk the entire length of the course to see jumps. There should be some areas to “cut across”. Also, the parking was inadequately marked. The sheriffs directing traffic were frustrated because people would stop to ask where they should park. It appeared that general admission parking included the south side of 273 (where we used to park to catch the buses), but that wasn’t the case. I formerly lived in Cecil county, have family there. I drove 220 miles to attend. If the cross country isn’t changed to permit crossing areas, I will not attend next year. That would be a shame, because it has been the only “vacation” I’ve scheduled for the last 20 years. Fix it, PLEASE.
  • Crossing the road from the general parking area was a bit dicey.
  • Need more signage, it wasn’t even clear how to get to main gate from parking. Need dedicated shuttle stops, especially for handicapped and elderly.
  • Food was hard to find, especially on xcountry course. I thought I read there would be 9 food trucks, but we only saw 1 on course. No water/drinks available without waiting in crazy long food truck line.
  • I thought it was easy enough to find things but heard several complaints about needing better maps of the venue, a physical program, and posted maps in several places if no physical programs available. The shuttles need to have better signage. Need a shuttle on both ends of the XC course. If you’re going to park vendors so far away you need shuttles running all day every day not primarily on both ends. Had to walk several times which is not ideal when carrying boxes of goods.
  • Never saw a shuttle out at our tailgate area. It was a problem for those who rely on it. In years past it was always an option
  • The first of two big issues I had were a huge lack of shuttles, which would have been hugely helpful on the cross country course for those of us with mobility issues. Also, there were hardly any food options on Saturday, and the only ones available were at either end of the very long course. It was a good thing I brought my own snacks, otherwise I wouldn’t have eaten all day.
  • The bleacher seating for reserved grandstand seats was terrible. It was so tight you couldnt get past people to get to your seat and it was very uncomfortable because we were crammed in there like sardines. Expected a bit more for $40 and $60 tickets prices. Accessible bathrooms need to be in every location, especially near tailgate spots. Shuttles need to be increased and run to multiple spots along the cross country course as it has in past years.
  • There was no water out around the course for spectators, we were told to not bring a lot of refreshments with us. I could not find water without going all the way back to the entrance.
  • Beautiful well done. While volunteering cross country spectators were asking where trash bins were for their empty food containers. None nearby
  • You had the opportunity to build a spectator friendly, easily accessible venue to maybe draw both regular horse people and new comers and it fell short. The young event horse stuff was so far removed from the 3 and 5 star that it made it difficult to do both. Signage was poor, and the cops directing traffic were utterly clueless- my wife is a retired cop and was disgusted with their lack of ability to move traffic
  • The shuttling situation was a mess. 4 person golf carts did most of the shuttling (some 6) with 1 or 2 gators with wagons. But the gators were often doing errand call shuttle service and the golf carts weren’t adequate. I am sure the old hay wagon isn’t possible but there has to be some happy medium. It was a very far walk to cross country (and even further back in the pouring rain). I feel like I missed most of the 5* waiting in line for food/shuttle/medical emergency. Overall the event was lovely, but the shuttle situation needs…improvement. No fault of the fabulous volunteers.
  • Showjumping reserved seating was met with various obstacles blocking view of the event
  • We were encouraged to bring refillable water bottles, but there was no water! Bring back the haywagons to transport lots of people around the XC – the shuttles were insufficient.
  • Needed a big (huge) information location map that is easily seen to navigate the location for XC, vendors, if you’re too blind to see it online on your phone lol
  • A map of the entire grounds needs to be posted in a prominent place on website.
  • it was difficult to find things,the bathroom facilities were adequate,the facility was great,the shuttle service was inadequate,I marked shuttle inadequate because I didn’t even know it was available. I did not see signs marking shuttle station. Couldn’t find the food
  • Shuttle service to the various areas was non existent. I felt so very sorry for those with mobility issues due to the varied inclines of the terrain ???? Also, our tailgate was on a very unlevel location in the middle hayfields. Location A-2, it was very expensive and there was no Screen in the field so we could watch the other areas, they were only near the dressage arena and near the roller coaster jump. As well, the PA system was very poor many times, so that meant we could nether see or hear what was happening on course
  • Can’t comment on shuttle, when I come to an event, I expect to walk.
  • Never saw a shuttle.
  • Beautiful setting jumps were awesome but we felt disconnected from horses and food/drink
  • Not NEARLY enough signage. No idea where to park upon arrival, had to go into VIP parking and get turned around (as a bunch of other cars in front/behind us did) and then eventually saw one tiny sign only facing one direction. No signs from parking area indicating where to enter the venue – main entrance was visible, but no indication that it was the only entrance. Upon entry, no directions to different tailgating spots, volunteer laughed at us when we asked how to find the shuttle, and directed us to just walk the course til we found our spot. We actually enjoyed walking the course, but we are a group of able-bodied 20somethings and it still took us almost an hour to reach our spot. We had no idea if we were going the right way the whole time and were just hoping for the best.
  • Need more trash cans everywhere! Need more food trucks up in sawmill field during XC.
  • Need better signs and a printed program
  • I never saw a shuttle
  • venue was great, well organized, good atmosphere, i think it would of been nice for there to be better access to maps, schedule (since there was a time change, i did not know about it)
  • The facility was well done for the competitors, which is primary, but the atmosphere for the spectators was lacking.
  • it was difficult to find things,the shuttle service was inadequate,My friend and I split up because she was volunteering and when she tried to find where I was at my friend’s tailgate spot, no volunteer could even tell her where our fence was because they had no maps, anywhere. It is too large a facility not to have directional maps and signs. Twice I was asked where was I in relation to the pink truck. I have no idea because I never saw the pink truck since it was so far away. But no one near the pink truck could tell my friends how to get to our fence. Apparently, it was a 20 minute walk from the pink truck to the tailgate.
  • Need better shuttles especially to Saw Mill Field. Hayride type of tractor works (these have been used for Cecil County Fair in the past). Signage an issue. Too small. Need clear directional markers to tickets and in gate. Not enough trash cans and those that were there were over flowing. Rest rooms largely in one location and not visible by main venue area. (fine for cross country) Parking signage too small and letters need to be bigger!
  • I didn’t even know about the shuttles – they need much better signage/advertising and should probably be larger than golf carts. Bathroom facilities were fine for Friday, but I’m not sure how well they worked out on Saturday and Sunday with more people there.
  • it was difficult to find things,the bathroom facilities were inadequate,the shuttle service was inadequate,A better site map, especially for cross country day would have been nice. Never saw the beer, wine, and spirit tent. One person told us they had tickets to a VIP tent but couldn’t find it.
  • There was no shuttle. With the new course design, a few tractors and wagons, like FHI had, is a necessity!! The cross country course is far away from the entrance and difficult to get to for those with mobility issues. A large majority of the jumps required a significant hike to get to. Very little of the course could be seen from the main event area.
  • The Tier 2 bathroom trailer was significantly undersized and was supposed to be exclusive to that section. Definitely not the case. Sunday the urinals were overflowing. They decided to pump it out halfway through the 5-star show jumping. So for my $66 ticket I got to spend an hour smelling feces. More port a potties are needed in the main area. And trash cans were incredibly sparse. I saw trash laying everywhere. Trash cans are cheap and most people will use them if readily available.
  • It was very difficult at first to figure everything out. EVERYONE was complaining about everything from the website to the food to where everything was. I kept saying we have the best people running things but it is like the first day of school when everyone is in kindergarten or in college. No one knows where there classes are being held or the teachers do no know the kids names. By the last day, everyone knew pretty much how to work the website and how to get to the different places.
  • It was difficult to find thing because there wasn’t a lot of signage pointing to the different areas. We ended up in the wrong place quite a few times due to lack of signage, especially when trying to get to the vendor area from out on the CC course. The staff kept saying to use the ‘digital program’ which was pretty much pointless to even try on a cell phone screen. I did not see any shuttles or shuttle stops anywhere throughout the facility. In past years, there was a shuttle that would take you to the different sections, saving time and allowing spectators to see more of the course in a shorter amount of time. It would have been nice to have that. I was able to see all of the jumps on the 3* by watching just two horses go over each obstacle. I was not able to see every jump on the 5* and watched only one horse go over most jumps. There also were not enough trash cans placed throughout the facility. People were piling their trash in the port-a-pots because there wasn’t anywhere else to put it.
  • There should have been big maps posted with “you are here.”
  • Better communication when where to walk course for visitors
  • Map of venue would be helpful. Road signage to event would be helpful.
  • There were a lot of things to love. I really do think it was great. It did take us a while to get our bearings thursday afternoon upon arriving- we walked most of the venue before finding bathrooms which after a couple hours driving was first order of business. also we were sitting in the covered seating for stadium and during the last three riders they decided to pump the porta potties right behind us during the last three riders which smelled, of course, AWFUL. i did not see shuttles at all. would be nice to have marked shuttle stations if they’re going to be offered, and then post maps on social media.
  • Only difficult to find Middle Hay Field. Everything else was easy.
  • Didn’t see a shuttle. Facility was beautiful!
  • More signage is definitely needed. I am very very familiar with Fair Hill and it was still difficult for me to find things. Parking signs were small and hard to see the direction of arrows. On Thursday at arrival there was police presence but no one directing which way for GA parking, etc. I had viewed maps ahead of time so knew where to go but can see out of towners having difficulty. Bathroom signage behind the GA stadium was also poor.
  • Did not use the shuttle service, because we didn’t see any signage. Not a problem for us, but might be for people with mobility issues. In general, signage could have been a little better – but it wasn’t a huge issue and volunteers were very helpful.
  • MORE TRASH CANS! We ended up buying food at one of the food trucks on the cross country course, and by the time we finished eating there was no place to throw away the trash.
  • The lack of distributed course maps meant a HUGE amount of confusion and unnecessary wandering. Poor cell signal did not allow for accessing online course maps.
  • communication needed MAJOR improvement
  • Needs more trash cans
  • Please do not tell people (who obey the rules) not to bring in any outside drinks or substantial food. As a GA attendee with a dog, and having missed the food vendor alley on the way in, we had no place to get ourselves or our dog anything to drink or eat except by relying on the kindness of other attendees. And we would have happily paid for food and drinks while out on the course, but there was only a waffle place with a very, very long line, or alcoholic drinks to purchase, again with a very long line. Being avid eventing fans, we did not want to return back to the start and miss a ton of the action, where the vendors were. And there were no porta potties that we saw until we got all the way out to fence 4. This was after driving 2 1/2 hours to get to the event–we were getting pretty desperate. Some in the parking area or obvious at the entrance would have been greatly appreciated.
  • If the water jump is a turning point of the course there should more spectator amenities like a vendor village and food court in that direction. Possibly incorporating the turf track into xc or the infield as spectator/ shopping would be make it feel very immersive
  • ,XC day – too few shuttles for too many people! After XC I saw a long line of spectators, some elderly, some definitely not the walking type, waiting in the hot sun, no shade, hoping something would show up to get them back to the main area. The gators with the trailer/straw bales were awesome, you could employ a fleet of them on Saturday operating on a continuous loop from the main area to the far end of XC. Also could use a regular stream of golf carts running alongside the XC to pick up stragglers who overestimated their ability to walk hills
  • There was a shuttle? Printed maps and info next time will help tremendously.
  • The facility was great. Signage could have been better. On Friday, it was very difficult to find out how to get to the cross country course.
  •  I heard there was a shuttle service and it would have been nice to be able to shuttle to the furthest point of cross country and walk back, but I never saw any shuttles. Also, I heard there were water stations. There were not. I didn’t want to lug around a gallon of water. I brought a bottle, expecting to be able to refill it, even if I had to pay. But there was nowhere along the xc course to get water until the furthest point, where there were 2 vendors. The lines were long at both and one ran out of water. Maps of xc with locations of water, bathrooms, food vendors, and jumbo trons would be great.

11. What did you think of the general Hospitality of the staff and/or volunteers you interacted with?

  • I was a volunteer and I personally liked who I worked with. However my team captain was very disorganized. I was also extremely insulted that I and other volunteers were told we couldn’t have the hats and shirts we were promised because they were reserved for volunteers near the cameras. Basically a big F U to the 80% of volunteers behind the scenes. We were also promised the shirts to wear the day of to be recognized as a volunteer and were told to wear black, yellow or red long sleeve until we got our shirts. It was so hot in my long sleeve and then I didn’t get my shirt until the end of the day so I could have worn a more comfortable outfit had I know a uniform wasn’t going to be provided/required. The food was fine for me but I fear also lacking for those with dietary restrictions because only turkey sandwiches were offered. I feel a food voucher for the food trucks would have been better for dietary restrictions and less work for hospitality volunteers who had to make the sandwiches.
  • The volunteers were delightful. I primarily interacted with one staff member who was nice and friendly but only intermittently helpful.
  • Staff/ volunteers were overall good, though I think some were not well informed about various aspects of the event. We were told a shuttle would take us out to XC yet none were actually running
  • Everyone was fantastic and friendly but generally not knowledgeable about anything. Need more signs everywhere
  • I had minimal interactions. But I overheard a few conversations where the staff/volunteers couldn’t answer basic questions.
  • The volunteers were very nice but none of the ones I talked to seemed to have much information about where things were or ways to help us. I think they needed a little more training on the overall event at least on the cross country day that I attended. But everyone was super nice.
  • We had a volunteer in the middle hay fields tailgate who created us and told us that garbage cans would be arriving, but they never showed!
  • All VOLS and staff were great; policemen working traffic were angry to be there.
  • Great but seemed sparse — missed the outriders — always nice to chat with and pat their horses
  • I work in events so I completely understand day-of stress, and I know this was a new, overwhelming event, and ultimately people are gracious for volunteering to be there. We did feel that every volunteer we interacted with seemed huffy and frustrated to have to stop and answer our question.
  • All of the volunteers were pleasant but most seemed to be confused as to what their duties were or how to successfully execute their tasks. A clear lack of leadership and organization.
  • the volunteers I came into contact with were friendly and personable. Unfortunately, they were under prepared for the task (not their fault), but the most common refrain was “I don’t know” when asked for directions, locations etc. They also seemed frustrated knowing that they had been thrown into the event with little preparation and no back up. More than one complained that there were no programs or maps they could use to show us where things were.
  • Most tried. Some lacked information
  • volunteers at the entry on cross country day were overwhelmed. very disorganized.
  • Volunteers seemed to be left in the dark about a lot of things, and were as frustrated as we were that there was no signage, or paper program, etc.
  • Of course, the general hospitality of the stabling staff was great. Only one or two meltdowns which were resolved with hugs. The hospitality in the main room where we got out $850 lunches was great. The food was yummy but Saturday’s lunch was the same as the lunches the volunteers got. They should have had crab bisque one of the days though.
  • The volunteers were nice, but they did not know where things were…like where the tailgaters were. I understand it’s not that they weren’t trying to be helpful, but that the 5-star organizational team did not prepare them for their duties.
  • Staff/volunteers were friendly but not well informed.
  • Most were helpful. Some no so much as did not know locations within facility.
  • I would post large maps of the x-country course at intervals along the route so you’d know where you were and how far you had to go. Would have been especially helpful to find the crab water jump. It was too bright to see the map on my phone.
  • Fantastic! I interacted with folks at the info booth, the shuttles (including a volunteer who was not a shuttle volunteer but drove me back from Saw Mill on his gator anyway), and the tier 1 grandstand volunteers. Everyone was pleasant and happy to be there, but did admit that things were a bit chaotic 🙂
  • My group was quite confused about the program and where to go. No one at the entrance told us about a QR code. And when we asked how to get to the start of the X-Country jumps the volunteer had no idea. He was friendly enough, but was not helpful.
  • Most weren’t able to provide answers to questions. Especially about navigating the grounds.
  • Fence judges need more formal training, be taught to flag down riders and how to restart them on course. Many spectators did not have adequate directions where to go
  • I was a volunteer. All the others I met were danrastic
  • They were all great! Many did not know answers to questions like how to get to the XC course (Friday) or where the nearest food/water was located (Saturday).

12. What did you think of the Digital Program?

  • Didn’t want to download an app for the event so didn’t use
  • Very difficult to read on a phone. Also the poor wifi on the grounds caused it to load very slowly.
  • It was a little difficult to flip through. Folks like to have a physical program to save and get autographs etc.
  • Go back to a prize list. I’d say most older people will not use well..not user friendly
  • Want a printed hard copy program. This was a frequent wish of everyone I spoke with.
  • At the minimum, printed order of go should be available for spectators, perhaps worth a QR code to scan to reach the digital program.
  • prefer paper course map
  • I loved how detailed it was but I wish it was easier to navigate and jump between pages
  • Very well done, but would have liked the option to buy a printed version
  • Rather have hard copy. Digital was fine but hard to read on phones in the sun.
  • I liked the digital program but i think the organizers need to realize that many sponsors fall into the AARP-plus age group so may not be as tech savvy as others. Many people wanted paper copy of start lists for example
  • It was nice but still can’t beat the paper ones. I missed the paper order of go too
  • The program was beautiful. I understand that some spectators aren’t digitally inclined. I am but my biggest issue with the program was that the file size was so large that even downloading at home on fast wifi was problematic. Consider breaking it up into sections so those Teri g to download onsite can get the key info they need.
  • Physical order of go & programs are better
  • Physical paper maps of the XC course would have been nice.
  • I would’ve liked an option to buy a printed version.
  • Digital program was a bit confusing, and many people I came across didn’t even know it existed! I think it should be an option and not the only choice.
  • I knew there was a digital program, but at least 50% attendees were not aware of it.
  • Didn’t use it.
  • Hard to use. Paper program is easier to follow through out the competition
  • I would have paid for a paper copy
  • If you’re only going to have a digital program, it was way way too long and the interface is terrible on a small screen. Half the time the later pages would not even load or would have to reload as you scrolled through. Needs a table of contents you can easily interact with if it’s going to be so long. Please have physical programs. Also please have a picture and name of every XC jump. Also please include heights and breeds of all horses in basic entry list without having to go to separate page about the horse.
  • A digital program is nice but is only useful if you can access it. Unfortunately I could not access it at the competition because the cell service at Fair Hill sucks regardless of the cell carrier you have.
  • Would have been nice to have some print options (especially order of go/leader board)
  • That is too much information to view on a phone screen, especially in bright sunlight. Also, the website was terrible. It was hard to find the information you needed at any given time. Please bring back printed programs or maybe at least consider an app where it is easier to access information. The course walk in the app was great though.
  • Paper programs should have been available upon request for those not tech or digitally savvy
  • Personally prefer a physical paper program with day sheets of competition
  • I realize the event was being eco conscious, but I still prefer a paper program. Not everyone carries a smart phone to an event.
  • Difficult to see digital program due to glare
  • Would not load on my phone. NO paper map, order of go, standings…VERY disappointed
  • It was very hard to try to figure out the digital program while sitting in sun and people all around me. Hard to see the phone and negotiate the website. I never knew exactly who I was watching. I used to hold onto the paper list of riders all day as I watched them go by checking their rider number with the names on the paper. I also never found the map on the website.
  • The program looked beautiful and provided great information but too hard to read at the show on my phone. Please provide the option to buy a printed copy. I like it as a reference on show days and then i put it on my coffee table. it’s also great to get rider signatures.
  • Digital program was fine but would have liked option of traditional paper program. Had to rely on cell phone battery lasting all day.
  • Did not really interact with this
  • It worked fine for me but as a VIP tier one ticket holder…I missed getting the package of goods. That makes it feel special. I think they would do best if they sent us laminated ticket to wear that had the scanning bar code. There are older spectators and owners for whom the digital was too complicated
  • I wanted a program to hold in hand as you could not see the phone screens in the sun well at all! And I like to take notes! Advertising was lacking on the grounds as well
  • Horrible. Need programs on paper not on phones!
  • Didn’t understand there would be no other choice. Needed more maps and signs — don’t come to that event to look at my phone all day — hard to see in the sun etc
  • Bring back printed program- people will pay for it, bring it home, look at it again, see all the advertisements, show their friends etc. pictures of the the jumps would be amazing to have
  • The times in the program and on the website didn’t match!! Very confusing.
  • i am old school and would of preferred a printed copy of the program
  • Why weren’t the vendor names links hot links to their respective websites? Order of Go on the 5star Jumping was listed as the same sheet as the 3 star jump order of go.
  • If you could download it, it was fine. Cell service is spotty in that location, so it was not much help during the event. I would have at least liked a printed map and order of go.
  • Sun was too bright to find anything on my phone.
  • Reception and service is awful in that area and always has been so it made pulling up the digital program slow if it pulled it up at all.
  • It needs some improvement. The start times in the program and on the website never matched.
  • Hated it. Hard to see and read — takes too much time to find things in it and if you try to you will end up missing the action.
  • I only looked at the digital program once and it started on the last page instead of the first page. Hard to read on my iphone but there was no internet service or WIFI in the stable area so I did not look anymore.
  • I tried to purchase a printed program at the merchandise stand, but none were available. I asked several places for an order of go for the day, but those weren’t available either. Very frustrating! The staff kept saying to use the ‘digital program’ which I’m sure works well if you have excellent cell service and a fully charged battery. Also, looking at something designed for a full screen on a cell phone screen is not ideal. To look on a cell phone, you have to switch back and forth and cannot look at the map as a whole. The map in the program did not show the walking paths, only the course and where to find vendors. Food was marked in areas that there were not any food vendors. And bathrooms/port-a-pots weren’t marked at all. No shuttle stops were marked on the map, but I guess that’s because there weren’t any shuttles. There wasn’t an order of go anywhere in the digital program, making it hard to figure out when the pairs we wanted to see would be on course. I understand reducing the paper waste, but there are times when a couple of papers just make more sense. They don’t need to be fancy, colorful things. Just a b/w copy with order of go on one side and map on the other would be great! Otherwise, it should be made very clear in the ticket email so people know what to expect and can print their own at home.
  • Terrible – very hard to read, connectivity was bad, and not conducive to looking up, for instance, a particular rider and horse combination. This event is too big and too important to the state to go on the cheap for a program. People go to these events expecting them. If the venue can’t afford them; raise the price a few dollars or get more sponsors to provide the program.
  • Digital program was useless at the site. Too small to read on phone, bright sunlight made it even more difficult. There should be hard copy print programs for people to keep as souvenirs, even get autographed! (Where was the autograph booth?)
  • Equestrians want paper. Needed a program. Orders of go and maps
  • I loved the digital program, but would have paid for a really nice printed copy as well.
  • I would still like a printed program. It’s hard to see what you need on the small phone screen
  • When we did look up the program it was ridiculous that we had to scroll through so much to get to anything. We gave up.
  • For crying out load we don’t want to be squinting at out phones what if the battery dies..bring back paper….and maps and shuttles and signs and volunteers who can answer questions.
  • I took pics of the map when I came in. Pulled up order of go off website
  • I very much missed having a paper map and order of ride list. Trying to manage both on the phone while also taking pictures was a pain.
  • it would have been nice to have a regular program option so I wasn’t constantly scrolling on my phone to find things.
  • AWFUL! There wasn’t a sufficient network for all of those people to use their phones to access and download the information on the digital program. Either make the cell network MAJORLY better or print out programs and sell them – people will pay for that!
  • A basic map and highlights would have helped. The program was very robust but not something i’d be looking through to easily access information.
  • Digital program was beautiful, but need some printed course maps and order of go each day.
  • Horrible we really needed a paper program, the what digital program was the theme of the day and it was sunny so people had a hard time seeing their phones
  • prefer the paper version but those that used it were satisfied
  • It was a great idea. However, if you didn’t print it out, you couldn’t see it on your phone due to the sun reflecting off the screen.

13. What did you think of the Maryland 5 Star logo wear and merchandise options?

  • The entire MD 5* logo is horrendously ugly and childish looking.
  • More merchandise needs to be present. Nearly sold out at 9am on Saturday
  • All sold out…
  • Lack of merchandise options
  • Limited options & no smaller sizes available even Fri AM – disappointing
  • Overall I really liked the quality and selection. You should definitely get riding sunshirts with the logo. I bought my items on Thursday but later in the event friends were upset everything was sold out, especially women’s sizes
  • Terrible choices and very few items available.
  • Needed more!
  • Terrible choices and very few items available.
  • All sold out before 9 a.m. Saturday
  • Loved it, but you sold out of shirts! I stole the last one off a mannequin
  • I’m sure as the event goes on there will be more option, but different designs would have been nice on shirts etc
  • Much was sold out by Sat am. Not much avail on website beside pre-order.
  • The merchandise tent we went to had very limited options, not sure if there were others around that we didn’t see.
  • There was NO logo wear left by Sunday between 3* and 5 * stadium (first opportunity to get to that area). Very disappointing to have no option to commemorate a great first time attendance. Feedback from others said there was not even much/good selection earlier in the week.
  • Very limited choices due to uncontrollable factors, but please offer the option to purchase online once the merchandise does come in !
  • I wanted to buy some tshirts and possibly other items but everything was sold out!
  • I truly despise the logo. You had three disciplines to choose from and went with some random Barbie horse looking thing. So no interest in buying any of it.
  • They ran out by Saturday
  • Need to have much more in stock
  • Barely anything available in the one shop that was open. Was really excited to buy something but severely lacked.
  • Not many options left to purchase by end of day on Saturday the 16th
  • Needs BIG improvement! I was so excited to buy a MD 5* sweatshirt, and I went into the tent on Saturday afternoon to find very few, very expensive options! Fair Hill always had the best logo gear! Very disappointing
  • Poor quality- no variety- no women cut tees
  • Needed more stock! They ran out of baseball caps!
  • It was great except there really wasn’t anything left on Sunday morning. More is needed next year!!
  • I liked it, but it sold out too quickly. I was unable to get a tshirt in my size. I would also like more options in the clothing styles and colors. I felt like there was more available in 2019. I would like the option to buy merchandise with the fair hill international logo on it, as well while I am there
  • By the time I went to get something on Sunday, everything was sold out.
  • Sold out on Friday of all women’s wear. People were buying huge amounts of clothing which left none for many others. Very disappointed. As a vendor I thought I’d have time to buy mine on Saturday morning and was so disappointed to find them sold out by 8AM Saturday. Many, many guests missed out on inaugural swag and I heard a lot of complaints.
  • Sizes and items were missing. Had to order online.
  • More merchandise and more variety next time- a lot of items sold out before the weekend.
  • Seemed to run out of stock on saturday
  • Sold out and replacements never arrived. I did not buy what I wanted on Wednesday because I was told more and different options would be released Thursday – nothing new ever came and everything sold out really quickly (good for you guys but I had money to spend! ????)
  • Sold out on Saturday; much more stock needed (even just for basic ballcap)
  • By Sunday there wasn’t much left and many of those left were pretty pricey.
  • Disappointed in the limited stock. We were there Friday morning and things were already selling out. Also disappointed in the lack of dog items.
  • Didn’t have time to get to the merchandise tent on Saturday. When we went at 8am on Sunday morning everything was mostly sold out.
  • Products limited , however this is related to deliveries not being shipped as ordered. This is a pandemic related issue.
  • I was disappointed in the selection of apparel in the Maryland 5 shop. The logo needs to be on the back of a long sleeve tshirt, and the front shoulder. Not a 3/4 zip up to be found. Just your basic stuff that would have easily sold. No basketball or bucket hats.
  • Not enough. All sold out
  • Should have been the first booth people saw upon entering. Not much design selections and even less size selections.
  • I was disappointed when I stopped in Friday. It didn’t look the quality it should have been for a 5*. But, the scarf I picked up Sunday that I didn’t see/notice was lovely and worth every penny!
  • I didn’t really like the 5 star design – but I’m not creative, so I can’t offer a suggestion – sorry!
  • Sold out before XC day was disappointing
  • Personally, not interested in logo wear
  • What I saw was good but they need more.
  • Didn’t purchase anything b/c was waiting for Sunday to catch a deal. But it was all sold out, which is great for the event!
  • The logo merchandise was almost gone on Friday morning! Very disappointed with finding sweatshirts and hats. Was glad they had the pins
  • They were sold out by everything on saturday morning????????‍♀️ Clearly need to be prepared for more customers. Also EXTREMELY PRICEY
  • Didn’t know where to buy official merch until end of day and when we found it, inventory was almost gone.
  • Didn’t see much for kids, would have bought something for my child at home if there had been options for that. More stock was needed. Much of it sold out before the last two days.
  • Loved all the options but went to purchase a shirt Sunday morning and they were already sold out. That was disappointing.
  • mentioned previously – only available at one (far) location, sold out of many items by 11:30am Saturday
  • I tried to buy online before the comp but hats weren’t on the website. Then when I got to the physical tent, they only had small hats remaining. Disappointing.
  • I wanted to buy clothing but the size options were so limited. Apparently there were delays in delivery. Such a shame!
  • Many items were sold out in my size on Thursday. Need more stock.
  • everything was sold out by Saturday, not enough inventory. I wanted some logo items to remember the first MD 5 star, and couldn’t get anything, nothing online looked appealing.
  • I hate the logo, so I don’t think I would be inclined to purchase anything with it on it. The logo does nothing to relate to what the event actually is. It’s a bad generic horse on a star with Maryland colors. It makes me think that the event is a 1 star, not a 5 star. Nothing about the logo says “Eventing”
  • I thought it was nice, but expensive. Didn’t buy a hat bc $30 for a ball cap was too much.
  • sold out of smaller sizes early on. need women’s specific fits next year
  • I did not like the selection but I did like the folding cane like chair things. When I went back the next day to get one or two, they were all sold out. DMG did buy a white shirt for Zoey.
  • There was NO Md 5* logo wear/merchandise to buy. Very disappointing on Cross Country day!
  • Disappointed that there wasn’t any merchandise left for us. Also disappointed that there weren’t printed programs for sale. We arrived at the main entrance merchandise tent around 8am on Saturday, CC morning. They were out of adult hats and out of adult t-shirts. The tent in the vendor village was not open, but all other vendors were, so we couldn’t shop there. We were told there was merchandise at Fence 8, but there wasn’t anything set up there. We were not able to buy any merchandise.
  • As mentioned above, terribly overpriced and not much selection by Saturday afternoon. I saw volunteers wearing very nice shirts, and would have liked to purchase something similar at the store. Instead I was directed to shop online. Depending on where it is made, it might come in by next year’s 5-star.
  • Logo is great but needed better wear
  • the merch was SEVERELY lacking. not a single item had the year on it, nothing said inaugural, really wanted a large typographic/styled poster to get signed by as many riders as i could find which was not available. Willing to offer my services as a merch designer!!!! and i would still buy stuff if it was made available after the fact!! the only item i walked away with from the whole event was our tailgate spot sign.
  • A lot of stuff sold out by Saturday
  • It wasn’t open when I came by and wanted to purchase. Should be selling in multiple locations
  • I had hoped to buy something after the show, but everything was already packed up.
  • I was very disappointed in the offerings. I visited the tent first thing Thursday morning and the options were slim.
  • Very nice some things were sold out by Friday AM which was a disappointment…and some of the prices were absurd. $124. For a light weight Polar Fleece Vest which after buying in bulk and embroidered was a 500% mark up. I buy and get logo wear embroidered.
  • Saw some people wearing logo/merch and liked it – but did not want to hike all the way back to vendor village where (I assume) we could have bought some.
  • Missed it as I wasn’t able to visit vendors
  • High priced.

14. What did you think of the non-competition demos and activities? Such as Horseland, Military Showcase, VIP Pet Experience?

  • I only knew demos were happening but happening to be walking by when they were going on. Without a printed program it was hard to keep track of what was going on when.
  • I was a volunteer for Military Showcase
  • I only saw one, was not aware of them.
  • On xc day once out of the main arena area, the extras were missed.
  • They were all shortened or moved up in time, so you couldn’t watch them and watch xc, especially given the time to return from xc. Nearly 10 minute walk from startbox to the arena.
  • I didn’t take time to visit them
  • Unable to attend.
  • Need signage and a daily schedule posted near entrance.
  • Was not able to see this. I heard good things though
  • Wasn’t interested
  • Did not see
  • Didn’t watch them
  • Knew they were there but didn’t watch or visit them
  • More child friendly activities or crafts in the future would be awesome. Also more photo ops would be fun. I enjoyed the live music
  • Did not see any
  • Did not get an opportunity to experience any.
  • Didn’t go see them
  • Vip pet experience was neat. Missed all the demos, probably related to how hard it was to find that info on the website.
  • Being so far separated from the mainstream flow I feel the additional non competition activities got lost and were missed by many
  • We came for the cross country only.
  • It was impossible to make it back to the main arena Saturday due to shuttle. I chose not to attend Horseland. The VIP Pet Experience was pretty barebones come Sunday.
  • Didn’t check them out
  • I knew they were there, but did not view/participate in any
  • Not relevant to me. Came for the competition!
  • Didn’t really give this much thought other than to think the VIP Pet experience seemed great
  • I didn’t see any as I was too busy.
  • Love Elisa Wallace and her mustangs! Mars pet VIP experience was very fun. We didn’t catch the military showcase and we didn’t bring kids so didn’t visit horseland.
  • Could not find them and I brought 3 girl under 10.
  • Liked the Chincoteague pony demonstration
  • Knew of these- but they were not announced or signed that drew my attention to them. Or, were being held at a time when getting to the location was more trouble than it was worth.
  • again, no signs, luckily I volunteered so knew where it was- not set up well, unsafe to let kids into animal areas uncontrolled- pony rides would’ve been safer, why no face paining? not worth taking a child to- needs more engaging/ interactive fun things
  • Did not get to try them due to storm
  • I saw these activities but did not participate so I can’t judge
  • really cool, nice to have stuff for everyone, love that MD 5 star is so dog friendly and inclusive. I brought my dog and loved the dog tent, doggie daycare, etc.
  • These area were good but a designated area for younger children and more seating such as picnic tables or benches would have been welcome, maybe in the vast open areas behind the stands and in front of the vendor row.
  • Never got to that part of the property to see them.
  • Need more information about what is offered and when. An activity electronic board would help
  • VIP Pet experience was fun for my puppy!
  • Loved the VIPetexperience. Shame that Military showcase demo was impacted by move-up of 5* start time – very poor attendance.
  • Did not attend any of them
  • I did not get to spend much time watching them because everyone from the 3* were checking out and getting their passports etc.
  • I wouldn’t know, it was too difficult to get back to the main area from the XC course to watch/view.
  • I saw it but didn’t really watch it closely.
  • Did not watch any other activity
  • Good ideas but didn’t personally participate
  • Did not have a chance to check these out – mostly because of the weather.
  • Wasn’t there for these demo’s. Tho did see Elisa Wallace’s demo with her mustang on her website and had heard about the demos and activities from a podcast I listened to prior to the event.
  • Was way too busy walking the course and taking in the rounds and missed the extras!
  • I would have liked to watch the YEH East Coast champs
  • Had no idea about the other demonstrations – the communication was lacking so much that we were not aware of them happening. Hence the communication needs to be majorly improved. Put it on the website under the Schedule category.
  • we didn’t attend any of these since we were riveted by the competition and missed them.
  • I was more interested in the competition which was going on, and it was along way back from the middle of the course; if there was a longer break between the action, I might have taken advantage.
  • Horseland – meh. Some minis and a Rocky Mt something. Seemed sparse. Nice for little kids to pet a pony. Nothing for non-equine type adults to learn about horses. Elisa Wallace was great! Didn’t see her but I’m familiar with her work with Mustangs, and my family was impressed. The military showcase – I didn’t see it, spent the day at XC. I was told that it was some people riding around, nothing really “military“ about it, they apparently weren’t in any sort of uniform. No context. Did the caissons show? I didn’t hear any mention of them. I know of a living history U.S. Civil War cavalry unit that puts on a good spectator show and static living history display. Cavalry demos with narration – saber charges and stuff – and they welcome interaction with spectators. At least one member also does a Revolutionary War and WWI impression, and is well versed in the history of US horse cavalry. www.secondcavalry.net
  • Knew they were there… didn’t see any.
  • Only saw horseland. Fair not great
  • Unnecessary. Also, because some of it was shown on the big screen in the arena while they were performing, you were not able to watch xc from arena seating.
  • It’s fine to do these things but you need to understand that spectators spend Saturday ON the XC course. Without shuttles to/from XC there was no time to get to them and see XC.
  • Didn’t have time to watch
  • Too busy to see any.

15. Any additional comments you would like to add about the Maryland 5 Star?

  • Shuttle would have been helpful. I looked for them! It’s a LONG walk out to see the whole course or to join your tailgate, and I’m in good shape.
  • The biggest issue I had was general lack of communication. It seemed that too many people that were staff/volunteers did not actually know what was going on and thus couldn’t answer questions like “where is the YEH dressage going on” etc. And the lack of a printed program was a huge pain in the ass. I also think the YEH Championships needs more of a presence within the whole event. It is a huge deal to the competitors, owners and breeders and seemed to be treated as an after thought. Overall though I am impressed they got it all going and pulled the whole event off. It is a big thing to plan and execute and organize and they did an overall good job. Just some things to tweak for the future.
  • Need headsets with commentator, need magazine type souvenir program, need paper orders of go each day. More stadium seating. Shuttles to cross country course
  • More bathrooms needed around arenas for volunteers and spectators. Too confusing to buy alcohol. $35 for a ticket is too high and confining. Merchandise was limited, and most “logo wear” had a barely visible logo. What happen to the people shuttle to get people out to XC? More signage needed every where for every day.
  • Some things to improve for sure, but they knocked it out of the park for their 1st year – great job!
  • Need more signage along the roads
  • Everything for the most part was awesome, however, it took an hour to get out of the general parking that afternoon.
  • A handout with a map and services provided like the shuttle
  • I think it was a great inaugural event! Lots of avenues to explore for future. Maybe a Junior committee could be established and have events to get kids involved such as WIHS kids day which has historically been staffed by their junior committee. 🙂 Many friends commented that general parking was atrocious – I’m sure that mostly had to do with the storm at end of Saturday and more shuttling type options. Like from the farthest point of XC to parking. Had to go all the way to top of the hill to get food and come back and miss multiple riders when there’s plenty of room in the middle of the course for a couple of vendors.
  • Overall great!
  • Need to do a better job for spectators so they can get to all the jumps. I would have loved to get to the crab jump complex but it was too far to walk
  • Food options in course were limited, long lines, and they ran out of water!
  • The 3* finish was ridiculously far through the woods from stabling and the shuttles were too few and far between for riders staff to get there and back in a timely manner.
  • Needed more trash cans. Need Water bottle filling stations.
  • General parking was a bit of a hike, especially if you were older or had kids
  • Fabulous event!
  • Handicap accessibility was poor. I am glad I did not bring my disabled family member, which is a shame. The facility was beautiful and wonderful from a competition perspective. However, more signs, shuttles, garbage cans, and merchandise were needed. By Sunday, all Maryland merchandise was sold out. I would have liked to purchase soft shell jackets and sweatshirts, men’s and women’s. Bleacher seating inadequate and packed too tight considering COVID. Cross country course was beautiful, but hard to navigate on foot. Perhaps more entry points? Volunteers were great!
  • Loved having this in my “backyard”
  • More signage needed, it was confusing getting to cross country. Was hard to hear any announcing on cross country course. Many more shuttles needed.
  • Volunteers that are interacting with the public need to have bright color shirts that say Staff. Many spectators don’t respect.
  • You need more vendors. There should be more jumbo screens to watch the competition from the various vendor locations. General seating was rough because it’s so far away with the track in front of it. You need more reserved seats. I would have bought reserved seats for dressage & show jumping but they were sold out.
  • I feel fortunate that we have a fall 5star in the states!!
  • Horse people need to be on committee not government officials
  • The directional signage was poor. The map of the venue was not detailed enough. As vendors, there was no P.A. System and we could not hear any announcements nor broadcast of the event. I also attended as a member of the press. There were no press kits. No rider bios, no history of the facility, no schedule, etc. Printed kits should be available to all media members. Need more food vendors. The lines were very long.
  • More shuttles, and food on the cross country.
  • There needs to be more food truck options during cross country. There was only 1 food truck on the course by the water jumps and the line for food was well over 1 hour wait.
  • Where there dog agility trials as in the past? A kids play area? I didn’t see anything. No actual program was disappointing. It’s impossible to read/see it on a phone in the sun. Need more places to get water. It was 80 on xc day & so much walking & nowhere to get water. Also no trash cans to be found on course.
  • Not nearly enough food and water throughout the course and in the vendor area. We couldn’t even find the food tent! I’ve attended the FHI fall event since it began and have been to Rolex many times. Plenty of food and water options at both of these and easy to find them
  • Please listen to the people who have ran FHI in the past, these people had it figured out. This was not as positive an experience as the usual “old” FHI. The old track on the other side of Gallaher was more spectator friendly. This was clearly run by non horse people who don’t know anything about what horse people want to see in a competition. The marketing showed that, as well as the rules and policies for attending. The rules felt like those for a stadium game where there’s fear of a riot based on the outcome.
  • Amazing event but needs more seating for GA on Sundays. Long lines for food. Maybe add snack or beverage sites along the xcountry course. Very long walk from xcountry course back to food area. Not enough shuttles to accommodate the large crowd on Saturday. Will definitely be back next year. Should offer more tailgate tents as well.
  • Better food. More seating. More spectator advocates. A sample cross country jump in the spectator area.
  • I think it was a valiant first effort but has room for growth and improvement. I would recommend the organizing committee prioritizing the visiting of other similar events in Europe to see how they operate and to see the end results of their work.
  • Excellent facility and course design. Lacking in conveniences for spectators: No water available beyond vendor area, far from cross country course (I did see one food truck with at least 40 people in line). No trash cans. No shuttle. Limited spectator seating and tailgate spots.
  • I think quality for spectators has declined from previous years. I appreciate the increased pressure of hosting a 5 star but if things remain the same for next year I likely won’t return.
  • Needs more food vendors in XC course at main water complex, all food or drink vendors need to accept CC
  • Needs more trash cans and water stations. Online FAQ page explaining restrictions and rules was confusing, oddly restrictive, but not at all enforced. Very difficult to get around the venue from one end of competition to the other quickly and easily, even as someone who is very active. Needs more crossing guards on xc course, as the spectator viewing areas were in some places very close to fences and in others very far apart. Crossing areas were not conveniently placed. Parking needed more attendants an exits, took an hour to leave.
  • You need more trash cans. Several people brought it up. The ones you had were to small. Trash was flying out when the wind started blowing.
  • The announcement system on XC wasn’t great. I couldn’t hear most of what they were saying
  • More trash cans and could have used more food trucks on other end of the course…my friends wanted to eat and we had to go back to the start and I missed some of the x-country.
  • Better signage needed – for venue from main Rd, for parking, how to get to xc etc. Would love to see more vendors as well – seemed like most places were selling high dollar items, not much for other $$ ranges. Otherwise, had a fabulous time! Well done for the first year!
  • We paid for the beer and wine ticket for XC day. It was in vendor village, which did not make sense since we were in the course all day. Maybe it should have been midway through. Would not pay extra for this again.
  • As far as spectating it was fun and I liked the shops and viewing area for XC. There needs to be better viewing with coverage for GA in dressage and the volunteer situation could be greatly improved. The volunteer situation was pretty disorganized and people’s frustrations were showing through and it’s appealing that hats and shirts were only provided to those in front of cameras
  • Seemed to be lacking lots of food trucks, shuttles, logo wear, jumbo trons….
  • It felt very much like an event organized by people who have never been to an event. XC shuttles were wildly inadequate. I’m not convinced the vendor parking shuttles that were promised ever actually existed. Food for the masses (non-VIP) was concentrated in one location and there were few choices. (I tried to spend money on food on Wednesday after the jog and was unsuccessful in locating any.) Non-premium vendor placement was poor and made worse by the traffic pattern. Signage was abysmal — getting lost just trying to get into the venue was a constant complaint from volunteers, spectators, and fellow vendors. The box office was wildly incompetent with will-call. (I was specifically instructed to leave vendor passes at will-call. This was THEIR solution to the giant credentialing snafu and they somehow still lost hard passes.) They definitely needed someone directing vehicular traffic over the track crossing when it was over, particularly at load-out. The only porta-john I could find at the venue on Wednesday was at the far end of the warm-up rings near the jog strip. (And I later confirmed that I hadn’t missed anything — the trailers hadn’t arrived yet.) On the plus side, the competition venue and warm-up rings looked great. The XC course was beautiful, rode well, and the turf held up well. Other than Saturday night, the traffic situation seemed well-managed. I know at least one kiddo who had a fabulous time in Horseland. I’m told that the food vendors were great. The livestream and live scores worked perfectly, and the vendor wifi was wonderfully stable. (No one came to my booth, but at least I got to watch the competition!) The restroom trailers were about as well-managed as such things ever are.
  • Leaving parking area needs to be streamlined better
  • Layout was a bit awkward. Not enough signage for bathrooms, info on seating. ADA access was tough. Took too long between end of stadium jumping & winners lap. So many people left and winners lap is best part
  • More food trucks; at least 10-15 options as the lines were long. Add food vendors, bathrooms, and screen tvs in vendor village. Add more food options at saw mill. The alcohol vendors on Sunday for stadium were amazing and do that again but offer for all 4 days. That was different than the beer/wine/spirit event going on. It was a big hit!
  • Excellent draw of domestic and international talent. Amazing course. Excellent viewing for all phases. New areas of fair Hill were well done and nice to see up close after watching the progress from afar the last 2 years.
  • We tailgated. No actual info on finding spot. Last minute 530am email of time change when driving 2 hrs. Luckily we were early. Loudspeaker need to be turned up. Jumbo Tron in xc areas not behind a bathroom by grandstand. More food / drink options on xc. Great start just need to improve !
  • Need better access to the tailgating areas, very hard to get to timber A and B sections !!! We had a great view, but it hard to cross over and access the other parts of the event. Need better shuttle service to access all the cross country points of interest, very much missed the people mover tractor from the old fair hill international. The access path from vendor village to cross country course was very narrow and congested.
  • Listen to what people tell you to improve upon. There are many areas that need help.
  • Excellent event
  • Disappointed that there wasn’t more Maryland 5* merch to purchase. REALLY missed paper order of go. Not enough shuttles, food, drink & porta potties on cross country. Bleacher seats unmarked presented some problems. Otherwise, great vendors, enthusiastic volunteers and spectacular horses and riders made for an overall wonderful experience.
  • I know I said the Maryland merchandise needed room for improvement. But I understand there’s nothing you can do when your boxes of clothes don’t show up. It was just disappointing I wasn’t able to buy anything as everything was too large on me.
  • More food vendor options would be awesome! As an attendee for 4 days, I got bored of food/drink options.
  • Please for the love of all things bring the busses back as the shuttle. I along with hundreds of spectators were stuck in line waiting for the “ shuttle “ at SawMill to take us back to the ticket area to then walk to our cars. Elderly people as well as my own toddler grandchild were completely drenched-when caught in the storm. If there was a place to post pictures in this survey I would post the picture I took of the insane line and lack of shuttles.
  • Need better shuttling of people from the barns to the young event activities at saw mill. Also more shuttle options on Saturday for spectators from the first fence to other fences. Alot of people/spectators were complaint about all the walking they had to do.
  • Needed more food options by the stadium to reduce lines on Fri & Sun. For Sat need food and water options along the course, not just at each end. 2 mi is a long way.
  • What a wonderful event, really top notch, except WOW were the food and parking situations absolutely terrible.
  • I thought it was wonderful! Everything was spot on. So happy to have this in our state!!!!
  • Would love more logo wear options!
  • Way more bathrooms, shuttles, food and drink needed. Especially on XC. If you were not a VIP you were screwed. Nowhere to fill water bottles as promised either.
  • Overall, the inaugural 5* was a grand slam! The facilities were world class as were the competitors. I’d like a paper sheet to mark up my notes during a section. Your volunteers were welcoming and enthusiastic. I was unable to get directions or find signage for handicapped parking. But volunteers who saw me limping along cheerfully offered us a ride right to the dressage ring. I can’t wait for 2022! You guys made Maryland proud!!!!
  • Really disappointed in the cross country course. The jumps were nice but the out and back layout made it very difficult to see more than one jump from any location. Too far of a walk to see the entire course. Also $40 ticket for Saturday is ridiculous, you couldn’t buy a 2 or 3 day discounted ticket at the gate and online the extra fees were also ridiculous.
  • Need better directions for shuttles to enable the public to use them. Would love to see affordable/show day sales at vendor stands
  • The food options there all looked really great, but I heard people around me in the grandstand that they waited in line for 40 minutes!
  • The course itself was beautiful! I do wish there were more vendors for shopping…definitely not enough food vendors. The lines were insane compared to Kentucky (and those get pretty crazy). There were no drink stands either outside or the tasting event. Trash cans were lacking. Bathrooms were plentiful and clean! Parking was fine however it took 2 hours to leave…
  • Over all an excellent job! The signage on the road could have been better for directions the arrows were to small. I was also surprised by the lack of trash pick up out on the course. Specially by the crabby water jump. Would have been nice to see a large map of the course on Saturday, maybe in a couple places. But once again thanks you for putting on an excellent event.
  • Maybe more food/ water truck on XC course. Better music for stadium. If I heard that one lousy song one more time, I’d would just faint. Large XC screen in arena was hard to hear & pony show was loud?? Very beautiful venue, very well done, definitely worth the ticket price. Seating not marked well on bleachers tier 2. Little bit of confusion had some rude people yapping. Volunteers (& bless them & I volunteered many years at FHI ) were not really checking tickets in tier 2, which lets some freeloaders. Great job ????????
  • Very well done!
  • Could use “you are here” maps located throughout, more bathrooms, more shuttles and vendors located closer to action. Tents for sponsors, VIPs etc were not well marked. Should be more responsive to sponsors and vendors. Was not a good selection of logo clothing. Cross country course was beautiful. Good seating for show jumping.
  • Need bigger signs and more signs directing people to different areas. Police on Friday didn’t seem interested in directing traffic out of parking at the end of the day. They need to get out of their vehicles. Like the bathrooms in the trailer behind tier 2 seating. Like the outdoor sitting area in the infield under the tent. Would be nice to see live scoring during the dressage. Need louder PA system during cross country. The Finish pole blocks the view from the Grandstand. Can it be temporarily removed during this event? Serious issues with seating in Tier 2. Expensive tickets for bleacher seats that aren’t marked. People bringing dogs into cramped seating didn’t help. Also in wind the sides of the tent flap loudly. Everyone did a great job but expectations for next year will be higher and I think more people will come so time to work out the kinks. We all want this event to be the best in the world and you are not far off!!!!
  • More bathrooms on XC. The fancy bathrooms ( near main arena) were fantastic ( give the person who rented them a raise!). Vendors were great but would like to see more ( but shopping is not a major draw for me). Only ate at one vendor ( crab bisque!) but would like to see more food trucks. Where there any food vendors out on XC? Loved ( but didn’t get to try) the beer/wine tasting ( was with young daughter) but great idea. Volunteers were wonderful. I did not like digital program. I did like (loved ) link to live scores ( used it all weekend). Overall, you did a fantastic job.
  • The vendors behind the stadium were not in a good location. They seemed to be hidden and were not laid out well.
  • I loved the VIP pet experience! Made it so special
  • Still a great weekend for a first event! Have no doubt it will get better. Let me state again though- MORE SIGNAGE…EVERYWHERE (and bigger shuttles, golf carts don’t cut it.)
  • Overall, the event was incredible!! The only suggestions that I have are having more refreshment options out on cross country, and more screens up on course so that you can see more of the action, regardless of where you are. It was hard to see or hear about what was going on anywhere except for near the big screen by the corner. I also thought that parking when leaving was very disorganized. I saw two men actually trying to get people out, and about four standing around while cars from 4 different directions were trying to leave from the same exit.
  • Everyone did such a great job for the opening year! Although the event exceeded my expectations overall, we need more food on course and more drinks available out there too. Champagne??! Nothing available at the sawmill area for any services. Maybe I just missed them? Bathrooms were beautiful, but out of water and shut down randomly. The main shopping ally was great, but the outer small tent areas kept changing. On Saturday, went to find some places i visited on Thursday and they were gone. Never came back. Weird. Shopping worked better at the one visit I went to in Kentucky in 2012 and felt more festive. Parking…. Well, I was able to park in VIP. My daughter had to park across the street. It took her over an hour to get out of the parking area on Saturday. The police were simply not doing a good job of directing traffic. Perhaps fire police are better suited? I had no idea what the schedule was for every day. Didn’t know of activities that took place. Couldn’t find the tent with fresh fruit and veggies on Sunday. Maybe it was the mimosas? Maybe it was confusing? See if anyone else didn’t know anything… but still had fun:-) Overall – a very well done job this year.
  • Wish there was more merchandise with Maryland 5* on it! We found one tent that had children’s tshirts, scarves and a few pins. We were hoping to get adult t-shirts with the year and event, long sleeve shirts, ball caps, or sweatshirts. Was really looking forward to it but even looking online, everything was sold out even though there were some cute options. We wanted to bring back a souvenir for our barn friends that couldn’t make it. Besides that, we had a great time, the grounds were beautiful, the jumps amazing, and the shuttle a life saver. We didn’t know there was a digital program and with the crowds we didn’t end up getting any sort of information about the venue. We had trouble finding the cross country start and only found out about a shuttle back from the crab jump by accident. Didn’t purchase any food because of the long lines. Parking could use more signs, we had trouble finding general parking and got stuck in the vip area caught between crowds. Despite it all, i had a blast and will be back next year with friends in tow!
  • Shuttle service and end of day traffic flow are both in desperate need of improvement for 2022.
  • Have attended for many years and it worked fine. Had an extra year but not as good as when it was 3/4 star. No one knew where handicapped parking was including the police. Entering with electronic tickets was hassle as phones didn’t load quickly. Was not aware before hand that there would not be paper copies for order of go and course. Taking pics at gate with loads of other people not convenient. And looking at it on phone in sun is impossible. 2 food vendors near entrance no one knew about and 1 in field for 10,000 people. Basically no 5 star merchandise for sale on Sat -said vendor trucks did not arrive. And nothing special on merchandise to say if was inaugural event. Golf carts to transport that many people to the course was a nightmare. Should have had buses. And course if very long and doesn’t seem conducive to walking. Died today circle back at all. When storm was coming I. Should have sent all carts to be lined up to get spectators out quickly. Anyone we asked any question didn’t have a clue. Miss the organization of the 3/4 star
  • need a lot of improvement in shuttle service, both from the parking lot and to the saw mill.need a program like the old 3 star,need a map and a running order sheet
  • Overall, it was a fantastic experience. I especially appreciate all the volunteers.
  • Fantastic event. Well planned and executed. Can’t wait until next year!
  • Need more non-competition activities especially for children and the rest of the community, make this a “festival” that even non-horsey people want to come to, need better signage everywhere, need lots more transportation/shuttles within the event, Tier 2 assigned seats were not adequate/large enough for a normal adult to fit during show jumping, Tier 2 seats were not even numbered during dressage nor was anyone checking tickets…why pay extra for reserved seating? Sponsor Tailgate area needs a dedicated host that has access to someone who can provide them with all that they have been promised and can be an ambassador for the sport explaining the competition, Speakers need to be louder out on cross country course…at least in Timber A, B, and Sponsor areas, Should have beer, wine, spirits tasting all the days as well as more local food vendors. Need more food and drink vendors on the cross country course and more water stations available for spectators, more shuttle, more shuttles, more shuttles. Hype up the Future/Young event horse and make sure there are shuttles for people to get to them. Should be busses or hay wagons to bring large number of spectators to all areas of the cross country course. Need dedicated handicap shuttles and a way for people to flag them down. Needed more shuttles to get people to cross country course walks. Needed dedicated shuttles in morning and evening to get vendors to their tents. Give the public the opportunity to see horses closeup and educate them about horses…again more children’s activities. Hype up U.S. and MARYLAND bred horses as well as riders in the competition. Would like to have heard more about breeders of the competition horses…especially MARYLAND bred horses!
  • Fantastic event!!! I plan to be coming every year!
  • Needed better signage, better traffic flow (on foot), more bathrooms, & more food options. Even in the Cincoro club there weren’t many choices, and many food vendors offered the same things (i saw lobster bisque in at least 4 locations, & buttternut squash bisque in at least 3). I was happy to walk all over XC but there should have been more shuttles for those who weren’t able to walk as much.
  • Nice inaugural event. Please add more food options and place through shoe grounds. Please add vendors just selling beverages/light snacks so u dont gave to wait in crazy long food lines for water. Need more trash cans around for fog waste. Buying tickets online was difficult to understand/site hard to navigate.
  • maybe more food options, the few food trucks had very long lines
  • We needed more trash cans!
  • Walking the cross country course was long. Is there a way to provide shuttle service on XC day? There is no short cut to get to the middle or end which makes it difficult to see that part of the track without walking the entire course. More bathrooms would be nice. The bleacher seating was not well marked for show jumping day and seating was too close together. Beautiful venue and well done for first time show!
  • I purchased tickets to the wine/beer showcase which was difficult to find. A dedicated tent with TVs to watch the event would better. I was unaware there was a shuttle. More vendors on course would be good.
  • I was pleased with so many things. But spending $62 for a bleacher seat was really not good for Tier 2. I would like to see some Tier One seats available for packages of one or two days. And I noticed only about half of Tier 1 was filled. Of course you could use twice as many shuttles. Overall it was a great day. The signage was limited. It was hard to find tier two. I was disappointed to not see any permanent bathrooms on Sunday. Half of the spot a pots near the betting windows were locked. That was quite strange. The dogs in the grandstands were horrible. People were trying to sit in their seats being pushed out of the way by a hundred pound dog.
  • Please add more food options for the general public on the xc course.
  • Need WAY more food and non-alcoholic drink options. These need to be available scattered throughout the course, not just in the vendor village area (but there also need to be more options in the vendor village). Nobody should have to walk for miles to buy a bottle of water. Need many more and larger shuttles, and possibly to have shuttles going to more than one spot on course. There need to be people directing traffic within the parking area (not just at the exit) when everybody is trying to leave.
  • Would like to see more vendors, and more if their products.
  • Signage needs improvement. Parking signs were too small to be easily visible while driving. Signs identifying ticket sections were inadequate, event staff could not direct spectators to appropriate sections. Shuttle service did not run smoothly or know where to drop spectators off at tailgating locations. Could use signs to direct spectators on cross country to short cuts to/from the infield/parking. Have maps readily available for spectators to identify where they are going. Better instructions for how to access tailgating spaces. More parking attendants to help direct traffic. The bathroom facilities were emptied in the last few minutes of the competition on Sunday. The smell was horrendous while trying to watch the completion of the event. Tailgating spaces were spectacular. The course was magnificent and had an authentic Maryland feel. Additional events scheduled helped with the appeal to my non-horse loving tailgate attendees. The location and set up of the vendor village was excellent. The complementary cocktails was a huge hit with my tailgating guests as well as myself. The arena was beautifully done.
  • The biggest issue all weekend was lack of food and drink vendors on XC course. Woefully inadequate. Please have options spread throughout the course rather than in just a couple of places. The course was such that it took a long time to go out and back and with only a couple of options with massive lines and no options for those with dietary restrictions, I was left without anything to eat all day. By the time we came off the XC, the food vendors had packed up with the rain coming in. The other issue was lack of shuttles out to the water and back. Too few for so many. I mean I hear there was a shuttle but we didn’t even see it. A good sign the event was well attended, but the ability to pop on a shuttle and pop off again at various places would have made a huge difference. Especially when there was limited food and water on the course. I am fit enough to walk and expected to, but time wise it would also have made it easier to see more of the jumps so it would have been nice. It would have made it more accessible too. There were some elderly people who were clearly having a hard time of it out there.
  • VIP Pet and Horseland were great but didn’t even know there were others. Again, better signage, maps, and a physical program would go a long way.
  • Desperately need shuttle for XC day. Some people severely struggled getting around to the far side of the course. I loved the tractors/hay cart shuttles at one of the years i went to the 3/4* held. Could do the same but have “tractor stops” along the Gallagher entrance from the parking area.
  • For an inaugural event, I’d say you guys nailed it! Most people I talked to were very pleasantly surprised by how beautiful everything looked. The cross country course is unbelievable and truly worthy of being called a 5 Star! The stands cleaned up really well and the arena looked great as well with the variety of seating around it. Some people didn’t know there was a whole other vendor/information center on the other side of the track. Too bad there are only porta potties (although there are also buildings with bathrooms on the grounds. I’m thinking the “Tea Room” building should be used for something- maybe a VIP competitor, owner, rider, trainer, sponsor lounge? I am looking forward to October 12th-16th 2022!
  • More shuttles to sawmill field and the hayfield are a must and they need to continue to run for at least 30 minutes after the competition ends. I spent over an hour following the course up to Sawmill Field as I was initially told there were no shuttles. After the competition was over, I got stuck out in sawmill with at least 20 other people in the pouring rain. It took me 45 minutes to walk back to general parking. And I had to walk through a creek that had no bridge. Signage was inadequate to direct people to and from sawmill field. I suggest a set up similar to the Cecil county fair with tractors and hay wagons to shuttle people. I could not find a schedule of events and knew nothing about the demos that were going on during the break. And I’m also disappointed there were no hard cop
  • Please see above comments. It’s always been my favorite event of the year and this year was frustrating. The course was incredible! I will give you that!
  • Need more bathrooms. As a volunteer I barely had time to make it to the bathroom on breaks in the schedule. It got worse as certain bathrooms stopped working. I saw one ADA bathroom period? Bathrooms were hard to find and few and far between. Need better options for and management of shuttles. The old FHI 2/3* had a decent walk from the end of xc to the vendors and food but it was doable. Walking from Sawmill to vendors/main arena is only doable perhaps once and only if you want to miss an hour of competition, which made it not worth it. We looked for shuttle stops and saw two in the entire show. Long lines and barely filled golf carts. Need more stops, even if it’s just a general route like a bus. Need BIG SIGNS. We missed parking a few times because we couldn’t read the signs until basically driving on top of them. Need MAPS POSTED! “you are here” would have helped a ton with orientation and explaining where to go. Or posted maps that people could take photos of with phone. Digital program was way too hard to access and page through. Was nearly impossible to find Xc course map.
  • I loved the cross country. 2 things that would help would be. Places to get at least water along the course and food at the far end. Better shuttle . Never did see where it was. At the old course this was very well done. For the most part it was excellent. Congratulations. The course was amazing and we loved it.
  • I loved the event! I typically spectate at the fall 4* and it was amazing to see how much work had gone into this new location. Overall I was impressed with the event. My only significant complaint is that it took an hour and a half to get out of the parking area on Saturday.
  • Add better/clearer signage without needing to pull out phone for a map each time
  • Need more food vendors esp on course. Wait was too long. Need more beverage stands on course. Need shuttles. on course.  Better traffic management in leaving parking lot. Grounds were beautiful
  • Loved watching xc. Just the right mix of challenge and safety. Not enough time to shop vendors since they closed with the rain. Ticket prices are way too high for kids 10-18. Parking was horrible! Both coming and leaving. Took over an hour to get off the lot. Need better shuttle service. Perhaps consider what you will do with spectators during severe weather. More non competitive activities for kids. Markings for spectators on course was difficult to figure out. Loved the Jumbotron. Hard to hear announcers.
  • Lovely event!
  • Would like to have had more and varied food vendors, as well as shops. I didn’t mind the walking, but felt the shuttles could have been better particularly at the end of the day. Many were caught waiting in the downpour at Sawmill Field. Could have been more proactive in getting shuttles out there considering the impending weather. That said, I had a wonderful time – the facility & course was beautiful. The organizers, staff, and volunteers did a fabulous job. Feel so honored to have a 5* in our state.
  • I’ve attended the previous 3* event for years at Fair Hill and have always loved it. The new grounds and course are stunning, but a bit more work needs to be done to improve for next year. I believe the event will be spectacular going forward, and as COVID continues to decline, that can only help make this awesome.
  • People could walk right up into stands but having paid a lot that was annoying. Food tent with ticket and food options there need work. More porta potties or mobile bathrooms.
  • The organizers definitely missed the mark in accessibility. Fair Hill had done a fantastic job with hay rides/shuttles in past years and people were depending on it again, especially since it was advertised. The vendor area was pretty disappointing. We always looked forward to that and expected more tack and gift vendors. The free samples of cocktails and local products was fun!
  • Don’t run cars, trucks, golf carts and garbage carts through the middle of the vendor area. They should use a back access road away from the crowds. Overall though, this was a great event. Can’t wait to see things improve!
  • Seemed disorganized for xc day. Kentucky is many times better.
  • Great event overall, will definitely attend again, but if you want to maximize vendor access you would have to increase shuttles
  • Overall great experience. It needs way more food vendors, better signage/maps, and more shuttles. Also more merch, by Saturday almost all of the merch was sold out, and I was ready to spend $$$! Course and facility were top notch, turf was INCREDIBLE, but it was priced like Kentucky, and it’s not Kentucky caliber yet. With time it definitely could be, and for a first-time 5* I think it went really well.
  • A very corporate event that did not acknowledge the small town it has moved into, local artisans or people of age or medical condition not requiring handicap designation.
  • The only concern I had was the lack of locations to purchase water –
  • More shuttle service throughout especially at the far end. Better availability of start list and course map. Drink (ie water) and food vendors on course
  • FairHill is a beautiful place and the venue is amazing. The decorations fell short to me. I walked around to see flowers beside potty’s that did not find their way into the ground or display. I also saw places where someone started to plant and just up and left containers still on the ground. And flowers need to be watered a lot to stay fresh.
    The ring decoration of flowers in the dressage was a disappointment to me as well. I am a box holder at Dressage at Devon, which may make me a little picky. With Longwood gardens not to far away maybe reach out to them for a plan to improve, maybe a local garden club, or school club for various displays for people to vote on. Something to improve the flower decorations. Once they are up they need to be watered! All volunteers need to pick up trash no matter what the job is that they are doing. If you see it pick it up. This needs to be worked into the volunteers plan from the start.  Shuttle service for volunteers to and from all locations is a must.  Think local, I did not see a yard sign anywhere when coming into area for event. People love to see yard signs ( have no idea why). For me when I see them I will google or FB to look it up. I went to the gas station and spoke with counter girl who had no idea what was taking place. She has a girls scout troop always looking for things to do. The local restaurant 3 miles down the road had no idea how big affair was going to be. Yes there was one banner on over pass and electric bill board on highway, but maybe more would help draw people in. Maryland 5 Star apparel was extremely disappointing. I was looking forward to this and did not purchase a thing. No t-shirt long or short sleeve with logo on back and something small on the front shoulder. No wick away anything. No 3/4 zip ups. This may be because of the pandemic. Needs improvement.
  • We went at opening Saturday since we couldn’t stay all day and were surprised by the complete absence of breakfast/coffee options or any food options at all in the morning. By the time we made it out to the far end of the course we did find the coffee food truck but there was a massive line and no other food options. We ended up leaving pretty hangry as we didn’t bother to stand in that line. I thought it was all beautiful but breakfast and better food all day is my only suggestion!
  • I am very glad to see Fair Hill obtain a 5 star event. I look forward to future events and hope that since this is the first occasion for a larger event of this scale but I would be remiss if I didn’t provide some fair and truthful feedback. 1- My family and I splurged on a tailgate this ticket. We were at the middle hay field. We arrived very early and were excited to set up our location. To our frustration out tent was on the slope of a hill and everything was not level. Tables could not stay flat. Items slid. It was frustrating because there were other level spots mere yards away from where we were set up. Tents were on top of each other and we were all very close to our neighbors. A volunteer Stephanie assured us several times that a trash can would be provided and dropped off to us. One never came. As a matter of fact no trash cans were available anywhere in the area. Walkers and passers by asked to borrow tailgate tent patrons trash bags since none were available. People even began to throw trash into portable toilets. The portable toilets were adequate, however I was frustrated that there were absolutely zero accessibility toilets for less abled people in our area. No shuttles were available at all. In the past Fair Hill had tractor rides from different parts of the field to allow older, less abled, or those with young children to view the entire venue. Not be forced to stay in the same spot. It’s a problem that has to be addressed. Accessibility is a very big concern and I really think you missed the mark with regards to this issue. The vendor area was small and under stocked. There were zero vendors in the middle hay field. There were very very few food vendors and on a hot day the lack of options for beverages was frustrating. Most items were sold out before Saturdays events even started. (Sweatshirts, apparel etc). Signage and maps etc were inadequate. Website was difficult to use/see (if going digital make simple).
  • Maryland 5 Star hats were sold out early Sunday and the t shirts didn’t show up until Sunday. The white hats that volunteers wore are great. A greater variety of food options for vegetarians and vegans would be appreciated. The waffle truck was fabulous!!  More options for single day reserved seating tickets at more reasonable prices would be appreciated. Every volunteer that I had contact with was friendly and knowledgeable!
  • Food vendor options around the course would be great, but refillable water stations are necessary or you need to tell spectators that they will not have access to water outside of the vendor village.
  • Needs better lay out more like a loop do you don’t retract your steps at the end
  • Please have the port o potties next to the tier 2 seating serviced AFTER the final show jumping, not during! The smell was unbearable! While technically, dogs weren’t allowed in the stands, there were plenty and it was fine. Please continue to allow them. The doggie day care was a bust. Only available for the first day!!
  • Beautiful venue and exciting to watch! Can’t wait for the next one. Food lines were crazy long and hot dog and grilled cheese were cold. Needed more water stations.
  • Too many to list here. Will be emailing them.
  • I want the event to succeed so please consider changes to food on cross country and shuttle. Better signage would help too. It’s a good event but can be better if suggestions are considered. Also, if bag restrictions won’t be enforced, take that stuff off the website… Also, vegetarian and gf options for volunteer lunches would be great! Even just having a salad would be appreciated!
  • How long before all this mess us gone, and it returns to beautiful, scenic fair hill??
  • Great venue. Huge undertaking. Just disappointed that people who couldn’t afford a vip box did not have a great view of the showjumping.
  • The sound system could have been better XC. But I had a really great time.
  • The ticket ordering needs to be much easier and clearer as to the options, especially if someone doesn’t know much about the event.
  • Had a blast and proud as a Marylander
  • We have been coming the the cross country phase of this event for at least 25 years and love it. This year was hard for us because the jumps seemed very spread out and we weren’t sure where to go without walking forever. The golf cart and small shuttle system seemed difficult to get back and forth to things easily. We could have used more signage directing us to where things were. Ticketing area, entrance, food, jumps, etc. We will definitely come back next year and try it again now that we know a little more what to expect. Maybe even be a volunteer. As I said earlier. Everyone helping was extremely pleasant even if they couldn’t always help us figure out what we needed to know.
  • Definitely needed more food vendors and bathrooms as well as shuttle services around the XC course. I volunteered Sat and heard over and over they needed the hay ride back that took people around the xc course. Maybe personalized options for those that really can’t get around the course but want to watch family/friends at certain times. Like a golf cart Uber! The amount of dogs was a little concerning. One got loose and chased a 3 star competitor resulting in a runout at fence 10. I had my volunteer hat on Sunday and was asked many times where I got it—so many people wanted logo merchandise and there wasn’t enough. As a horse person, I knew about the event but I didn’t see any advertising “around town” for locals. Facebook advertising was scattered and difficult to navigate. I wanted an easy “one stop” for all information. If I thought about it I could find it, but I wish the menu of options was easier. The xc volunteer meeting was the best idea! Great to know where you are going before crunch time, and to see the jumps. It was a nice day so ok not having my vehicle at my jump, but if the storm or just rain was during the event I REALLY want to be in my truck. Brian is amazing coordinating on the radio-don’t know how he does it but he is worth his weight in gold! It takes a village and I am so happy to be part of the this one! Possibly provide a volunteer area at show jumping??
  • The arena and xc course were top notch, beautiful and fun to watch! We had a wonderful weekend. While there is room for improvement, it was super for first year out. Because the xc course is so long and far away from the vendors, they definitely need shuttles, and food and cocktails on course. Bring out more food trucks on Saturday! The vendors were disappointing only in their quantity. There wasn’t enough shopping and too many non profit type booths. I talked to a vendor who was not there and they said it was way too expensive. Perhaps have tiered pricing for types of vendors to not only attract big names like dubarry but also boutiques. After attending Burghley with the most incredible shopping, there is so much room for improvement. In UK, the shopping also attracts non horse people because it’s so amazing. Maybe they should check out their model for attracting vendors.
  • Make the far end of xc a secondary “destination”. With multiple food trucks, somewhere to sit down and eat, and a bus stop for a shuttle that runs on a schedule (every half hour?).
  • Great job with the event! My only suggestion is to increase food/drink vendors – include something besides alcohol for drinks, add quick grab n go snack vendors. If you get negative comments about general admission parking after the event, don’t blame the staff! The staff who were flagging/controlling traffic did great and kept things moving. They also stayed professional, despite challenges. We were parked in one of the last GA rows and got out of the event about an hour after XC finished, which is reasonable for such a large event. We watched (and noticed people in other vehicles watching) another attendee get out of her car – leaving it running and blocking traffic – to inappropriately berate the traffic control staff for not getting her car out faster. Our reaction as well as the reaction of the attendees next to us was that she was completely out of line.
  • More shuttles, more food tents scattered everywhere
  • Leaving general parking was a debacle. Need food vendors in vendor village. Printed map/program would be helpful, no one wants to look at their phone all day for info or tell people to print ahead before arriving
  • More food vendors are needed. Stood in line for 45 minutes for a coffee. Need more vendors on XC. Vendors…. Can we please have some vendors that a normal working horse person can afford? As an average Joe rider, I did not even feel welcome walking into some of the vendor tents. Can there be vehicle only lanes? Nearly got run over by staff/competitor carts and trucks that were everywhere. On Saturday during the rain, while everyone was trying to get out of the general lot, the parking staff all huddled under a tent while we got stuck in the field for an hour plus. That parking staff was just atrocious. The event in total was wonderful! Hope to make it for the whole thing next year. Thank you for keeping general admission affordable! Love FairHill as a competitor and a spectator.
  • I really enjoyed all four days and thought things were very well done. I just suggest more food options out in cross country. One waffle truck was all I found and it took forever to get our food. Pony club out there with a table selling snacks: granola bars, apples etc would have been amazing. The venue also needs more seating. This show is going to grow, more spectators will come and Sunday spectators were having to sit on the stairs of the bleacher GA seating because there wasn’t enough seats.
  • Could have more bleachers at the jumps. Husband has 2 knee and 2 hip replacements. I had back surgery. We still walked the 5 star course. First time attending an event like this 64 and 74 years old
  • The shuttle services were poor esp considering the weather. Many people were left in the rain due to lack of shuttles and many empty golf carts and gators etc could have helped carry people to shelter. Also while leaving the parking area I witnessed several near collisions due to excessive congestion. Several cars nearly crashed into one another, and another vehicle that could not get traction narrowly missed rolling into the vehicle behind them. Improvements are definitely needed for the parking area when leaving the event.
  • It was a great event for the first year but definitely room for improvement moving forward. Lack of food and waiting an hour in the parking lot to leave were my two biggest issues.
  • Signs were so small too hard to read. Should be posted before turning on to main road. Leaving parking area was a nightmare. Better informed volunteers , more shuttles
  • Terrific inaugural event!!
  • I did not stop and take a picture of the facility layout, which would have helped, but I did not think it would be so difficult to find food. Recommend creating more paths for spectators to access xc course. As attendance grows the small path between warmup and the start will be a huge back up. We came back through the path that brings you to the stabling and had to figure out a way to get back to the vendor village. Maybe make some new paths through the woods and mark them with LARGE signs/flags
  • I had a tailgate spot that was not what we thought it would be…we couldn’t see anything. The lack of shuttles made it hard to get around. I never did find a map of the facility. I think maps both digital and hard copies are important….and more shuttles. A lot of improvements can be made for the tailgate spots too. Just setting the tents slightly differently could give better viewing.
  • The volunteers & staff were AMAZING: well organized, generous, friendly! We had a non-profit booth there on Friday & got help schlepping our stuff there from a shuttle driver. Wish the non-profits could have comp’d booths but I do understand the event needs to make $. The vegan food options were good but the lines were long, bring a few more vendors in for Saturday/Sunday. This would be a very difficult event to attend if handicapped or elderly, it takes creative thinking but would love to see XC more accessible for these folks.
  • Everything was great. The only thing that stood out as really needing improvement was food options. The lines were very long and there weren’t many vendors. Because of this, we did not eat during our visit.
  • The XC crossings need to be improved. Crossing guards need to have the ability to close the crossings with ropes. Similar to how it is done at Kentucky 3Day. Crossing guards need radios to be able to know when a horse is coming. One poor inexperienced crossing guard was placed at a crossing where she could not see the horses coming. The nearby fence judge had to warn her to close the crossing. There also needs to be 2 crossing guards at each crossing to close each side of the track. I saw many close calls and even one where a golf cart was allowed to cross right in front of a galloping horse.
  • Xc course was very spread out with less pinch points where able to view many jumps
  • It really was a great time!!
  • Great event with lots of potential. XC day needs shuttles! Also needs to have many more food truck/drink options throughout the course at various points. Would be nice to have demos/activities going on throughout the day on Saturday for people that can’t walk the entire course as it is quite exhausting for some. Leaving at end of event needs to be better thought out for parking lot. Official merch tent needs to be front and center, not hidden in back. Bathroom facilities were great and very clean. XC course was beautifully designed. Had a good time and look forward to returning. Overall great event that with some improvements, will be a destination event like Kentucky.
  • Fantastic job on almost everything. The venue is awesome, the high level of competition was exciting, and best of all NO HORSES OR PEOPLE GOT MAJORLY INJURED OR DIED while running this event. I would pick to come to this again, maybe even over KY. Beautifully done!
  • Stop with digital. Give us maps and itinerary on paper.
  • Needed more shopping! Where were Dover and SmartPak! Those are both closer to MD than KY
  • Need signage, need shuttles — line was absurd, way too much walking, need food and drinks on the course. We couldn’t get around so got to end and it took an hour to walk back ate lunch at 3 and missed the end because of distance. Just hard to see the course but it was lovely and the grounds were beautiful. Idea: have a check stand for merchandise or coats so you can buy something and not have to lug it. Maybe more jumbotrons?
  • Needs better sound system and maybe a few more screens for viewing. It would be nice to be able to follow along with the riders from different points on course. The sound out by the crab ???? was very poor. Food vendors were inadequate. Had to stand in line for 11/2 hrs for a waffle on xc day. Merchandise tent needs to be front and center! It wasn’t easy to locate and by the time we did it was completely sold out! We were not able to buy merchandise. Knowing it was just the 1st year it was incredible and we look forward to next year!
  • Would like to find food scattered or atleast somewhere to buy water and Gatorade
  • Having been to Ky & FHI I was disappointed with the things that mildly irritate, but overall was there to watch the horses and riders, which was fine.
  • No signs at all!!- didn’t even know where to enter, box office not identified- entrance not welcoming, should’ve been decked out as well as the jumps were, need more potty’s- in parking, spaced throughout, the one ladies facility flooded with shit all over the floor- need more Trinitrons, picnic area out in the middle of no where- a designated spot to pick up a shuttle- surprised no one was hit by a gator or gold cart- they need to have a separate route instead of where all the people are walking/ congregating, bit check on the other side with separate exit path so horses don’t have to go through the rings, I could go on and on- daughter has planned events like this on a smaller scale- her comment was- this was coordinated by amateurs, maybe riders, VIPs etc were taken care of but more focus should’ve been on general admission ticket holders- Volunteers where told we’d get a shirt and a hat- then told hats would only be given to volunteers who would be in the public view- quite a slap in the face to all us peons working behind the scenes- as if we weren’t worth it- team captain did get us shirts- some didn’t bother since there was ONLY ONE SIZE! Seemed to be lots of confusion- on a GOOD note- jumps were fabulous and gorgeous- loved how well MD was integrated into the jumps- rings were great- everyone was friendly- Well- that was a mouthful wasn’t it- thanks for listening!
  • Overall a great event. It was very difficult to figure out where things were or how to go to different places. For example, I bought a combo ticket for the beer & wine expo and had no idea where to get my samples. On XC day there needs to be more food and beverage options scattered around XC. I walked in the main entrance and hiked out to the XC course only to return to leave the event 5/6 hours later. There were a ton of people in the top field and hardly any food or drink options. I did love that the tailgate spots were on a different side of the course from the main walkway for spectators.
  • I would like to commend everyone involved for organizing a great event! I would say that the suggestions that I have heard overwhelmingly are that the food vendors were completely over run resulting in lines that were well over 1 hour long. More vendors would be great. The other would be to add more tack and apparel vendors. Most felt that the shopping was very disappointing.
  • More food trucks on course
  • FHI put together an exceptional event every year. Things really went downhill with the new team that has ZERO horse event experience.
  • I had wanted to sign my dog up for the VIPet during the day I was fence judging. I could not figure out how to sign up for it through the website, so I gave up and left my dog at home.
  • Overall, a great first event and we were so happy with our tailgating spot and the fact that the weather held out. With a few improvements it would be absolutely spot on. The major issues we noticed were the lack of signage, no clarity/organization around the shuttle system (MUST be improved or it’s best to just not offer it – don’t expect people to hike an hour back to vendor village and then be stuck there waiting for an elusive shuttle that will never come), and the quality of the PA/announcer. It was okay during the 3*, but completely inaudible during the 5* the only thing you could occasionally make out was the person’s name, but none of the commentary. We also noticed there was nearly no social media promotion of the event. I am from MD but currently live in Ocala and most of my trainers/barn mates here did not even know there was a 5* being held in MD. It was difficult to find ride times and info on competitors beforehand. There could be more of a social campaign ahead of the event next year. The livestream of the dressage and stadium was great, easy to access, and clear! It was a beautiful day, great course, and we will definitely be back next year! Thanks to all who volunteered, I know how chaotic it must have been and the pressure they felt so thanks for making it a good experience for all nonetheless 🙂
  • I would be nice to hear the commentators through my ear buds – the internet was a problem on xc so i didn’t know what rider was making there way around
  • Please improve the loud speaker system on cross country as well as way more shuttle options
  • Please include shuttles next year to the cross country jumps everyone was very dismayed the hay wagons where taken away. I saw some physically handicapped people struggling to walk the course it was sad.
  • The shuttle service was poor. The course is very spread out and needed regular service. People can’t be expected to walk miles to get to the start of the course. Perhaps park people in Sawmill Field? Also, not enough food vendors in the main trade fair area or on course. The view from the permanent grandstand was poor for dressage with judges’ stands in the way, and was generally too far away to be able to see much.
  • A super first year, with room to improve and look grow. Excited to come back in the future.
  • More trash cans are needed. Need a better shuttling system. Even for fit, healthy people, it took so long to walk to and from sawmill field. Need at least two more food options up in sawmill field. The seating labeling in tier two was non existent on Friday. Limited labeling for seating was present Sunday, but was SO confusing. Many people weren’t in the right seats.
  • The competitors need a toilet in the area for warm up for cross country
  • Need more trash receptacles on XC grounds. Need shuttles to take people out to the XC jumps. That was too much walking for older people! The general parking lots were poorly marked and the officers directing traffic not helpful AT ALL!! (Rude actually!) More general admission seating both on the XC course and at the jumping stadium.  Having said all that, it was still a great event!! I drove six hours to see it and I’ll do it again in a heartbeat! See you next year!
  • The organizers knocked it out of the ballpark on their first inaugural event. Yes, many things could be improved slightly but come on, that was an incredible event.
  • Headed to the back side of the course needed some trash cans and maybe a water station or two. I know covid has an impact on water stations
  • Needed more activities for kids, wine and liquor festival should have ran the whole weekend.
  • I attended via TV coverage and loved it!
  • I am excited to see the MD 5 star evolve over the next couple of years, and am so glad to have this event in MD
  • It’s a great event for horses and Maryland. Most of the business went into Delaware due to the lack of rooms and restaurants nearby. Hopefully the show can improve on the vendor and spectator experience.
  • The competition was great and the course was gorgeous, loved that I got to watch Thursday, Friday and Sunday on the live stream and MPT, and I even went home on Saturday and watched again on MPT. But from a spectator’s point of view, the event as spectacle was disorganized and spectator unfriendly. I have attended Fair Hill for over 25 years, Plantation Field, the Maryland International, so I am not new to the sport (though this is my first 5*). I understand this is the first year, and I know it will improve (and I think the organizers got lucky that last year was cancelled so they had an extra year), but it was almost as if the organizers decided not to listen to the wisdom of others who have done this before,
  • Wonderful cross country course! Very good first event.
  • Signage really needs work – I really wanted to watch some of the YEH stuff on Friday, but I didn’t know where it was or how to get there, so I completely missed out on it. Would like to see more food vendors and have them be spread out more throughout the site. I miss the old hillside seating from the Gallaher Road site. But overall, I had a great time and am excited about the future of the Maryland 5 Star!  Oh, and I LOVED that MPT covered the event – it was great to be able to watch the event on my TV at home (or streaming on my phone) on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon when I couldn’t be there in person! What a great way to promote the sport to EVERY Marylander!
  • General parking was a disaster when leaving. It was total gridlock and we saw no one directing traffic. That needs to be fixed! There were no garbage/recycle cans on the cross country course. Not even at the bathrooms where they provided paper towels to dry your hands but no place to dispose of the towels. I never once saw a shuttle and saw no signs about them. Were there even shuttles? There was no mention of how late the vendors would be open on your website. So I didn’t know if the vendors would even be open after the competition on Saturday. I would have preferred to shop for an hour or so after the competition so that we could have avoided that mess in the parking lot. A lot of the vendors that were out in the open individual tents were closing up as we left, which was understandable due to the rain, but we had no idea if the large vendor tent was open or not, so we just booked it to our car to get out of the rain. A covered area with benches/tables for eating would have been great. If one existed, we never saw it. The PA system in the general admission bleachers was inaudible. We were not able to hear anything that was going on in the arena. This was Saturday before the 5* cross-country began. The decision to begin the 5* early was a very good decision, considering the weather forecast. Well done. On your website the 5* was scheduled for 2-4. When we got there we saw the first competitor was scheduled for 1:03. It would have been nice if the website could have been updated to reflect that. The volunteer at the schedule site told everyone that it had been moved up a further 45 minutes due to the weather. I understand that not being updated on the website as it was a last minute decision based on weather. The cross-country course was beautiful. Lots of places to walk and get good views of the course. I really enjoyed the event and am thrilled to have a 5* in Maryland. But PLEASE do something about the parking!
  • Need more transportation available to get to XC areas.
  • So grateful to have this event. Stunning facility. Beautiful jumps. Not a dressage show. Overall…very nicely done for a first go. Also despite the difficulty of the course, truly appreciate that safety of rider and horse was considered with both technology of jumps and optimum course time.
  • I was thrilled to be able to watch it on MPT and hope that will continue to be the case in future years.
  • There really needs to be a real shuttle service for XC like the Fair Hill International had. Expecting people to walk the entire course from start to finish to see everything was ridiculous. There was a “shuttle” advertised by the ticket booth to go to the Sawmill field however it was just a few golf carts that would randomly stop at the line and pick a few people up. People waited forever for this supposed “shuttle”. Also, please go back to printing out the day sheet orders of go!!! It was a pain to constantly have to pull my phone out of my bag, go to my photos to look a picture I took of it because there’s no printed sheets. Plus reception is horrible in that area so the digital program was basically useless as I hardly had enough service to utilize it.
  • I have attended the FHI 2-star, 3-star for the last 10+ years and my wife has gone for the past 20. That event was run flawlessly. The new 5-star, not so much. The lack of equestrian event experience by the new leadership group was obvious. Their policies included no multicompartment bags, which everyone ended up bringing anyway, so that was a win for the spectator. The policy also said limited food was allowed, but thankfully also wasn’t enforced. I had email conversations with the CEO. He was greatly concerned about security, as evidence by the larger than usual police presence, yet I, and others, unknowingly walked in through a gate without anyone informing us it wasn’t the entrance. We have been to a significant number of 3-Day events, including KY 3-Day. I would give the Maryland 5-Star a C grade at best. Maybe the leadership organization shouldn’t have been so quick to dismiss everyone who ran the old FHI. They knew what they were doing and ran a fantastic event.
  • How about some more vendors!!! Not everyone can afford Stubben!
  • The event was not spectator friendly in any way. No signage. Uninformed volunteers. No directions on where to find one’s area seats. Also, we were a sponsor and we saw no evidence of the signage and co-branding that we had been promised. We scoured the place looking for our banners and they Just. Weren’t. There. We consider that a breach of contract and are considering our options for getting our sponsorship money back.
  • Many stable area concerns regarding lack of/no security at FEI tents, no drug testing, poor or no information regarding locations of anything, shuttle system inadequate, yellow ticketed/chastised for using golf carts to get groom equipment to warm up rings near timber course. Uninformed volunteers and staff. Overburdened electrical systems at RV camp sight. (52 trailers spliced/plugged into 10 RV outlets with exposed wires not in conduit in rain. Was very dangerous. )
  • I came upon the TV coverage on MPT completely by accident. Why did the channel not publicize it? Why did MHC not publicize with an email? I’m on the Equiery email DL, never received any heads-up from it. I seem to have been deleted from Equiery hard copy. I also thought the camera work and commentary on TV did absolutely nothing to increase viewership and interest. It assumes a highly sophisticated viewer (I’m moderately sophisticated, not a fanatic), and has not altered its treatment in the 5 decades I’ve been bored by the Olympic equestrian coverage. If broadcast media think viewer expansion is beneath them during the event, they could have at least produced a series of 1 hour documentaries about horse function, breed, performance and how it influences each portion of the event. Such programming could have discussed what judges look for in dressage, talked about origins, the evil of rollkur, for example. Traditional horse sport coverage seems the equivalent of NASCAR’s infancy coverage, though eventing has been around for decades. Yet when PBS holds its funding blitz, it hauls out the horse programs because they spark viewer interest and enthusiasm and are such a good fundraisers. What part of this untapped potential does the horse world not get?
  • Watched it all on MPT Thanks well covered
  • I really missed coverage from EquiRatings. I hope next year EquiRatings is involved. I love playing Eventing Manager, the data, and podcasts.
  • Shuttle would run from stabling to the vendor areas, but no return shuttles were available. More accessibility to remote areas for grooms and owners, please, but thank you for having some options available!! Was disappointed in the logo wear as the logo wasn’t really visible on the nicer clothing/jackets. Limited caps available on Saturday, and no caps left on Sunday! CAMPING!! Please don’t sell hook-ups that you don’t have. Got to the parking and had to wait for power, and the water was mostly gravity flow. Not an appropriate camping site with the tight parking, and extra vehicles being allowed to park around the campers. It was hard to pull out of the parking area on Sunday. Lots of improvement needed for RV slots. I did see during the 3* XC that there was confusion on pulling up the horses on course after a rider fall. That’s very concerning as it seems show officials on course didn’t know what to do, so the rider was stopped by the crowd. Would like to see people on the 3 & 5* courses with “SOME” expertise in fence judging.
  • Is there any way to add Equiratings coverage to this event? They cover all the big 5*s, and do a huge amount to help everyone get excited in the lead up (interview, preview pods, etc), and make it so much easier to get non-horse people engaged. I missed not hearing in real time about records that could be/were set. My significant other has no interest even in watching an event without Eventing Manager with me (he’s a big fan of fantasy football, and now fantasy eventing), but I’ve actually got him to agree to come to Kentucky in person next year because he follows it so closely through the app. As soon as he found out Eventing Manager was not on offer for Maryland, he had no interest in hearing about the goings-on, something that I have really come to love in our household in recent years. For the horsey set, having Eventing Manager helps draw focus and investment in less high-profile combinations, and is a wonderful accompaniment to watching because you have combination-specific stats immediately at your fingertips. PS The review shows also do a great deal to help with the “horse show hangover”!
  • This was overall an awesome event! There were just a few things that could have made it better for spectators. Of course, the horses are the focus, and that did not disappoint! Not to mention how the notorious Fair Hill weather cooperated just long enough to get everyone completed on course on CC day. Thank you to the organizers for a wonderful time!
  • Better merch that has the year on it so people can remember when they went. Posters! Better signage, it was very hard to find the tailgates.
  • A great first-time effort, but the planners need to get together, do a hot wash, and address a number of the things that did NOT go right. People had a hard time figuring out where they were due to lack of signage, and the volunteers didn’t even have maps to help people find their way. The event needs a hard copy program that people can also take with them as a souvenir of the day. The wine, brewery, and distillery tents were also not well advertised, which could have been done in a program. The cross-country course was spectacular, and the riding was a treat to watch. The Maryland Horse Council tailgate was also a nice feature, and thanks to those who organized and manned it.
  • Am looking forward to watching it again on MPT. Cross country jumps were beautiful! Liked the comments and interviews from the competitors (and Gov. Hogan) would have missed this if I went in person.
  • for tailgaters – if we had been able to leave the way we came in would helped with traffic. Also saw MANY who brought their own tent which was prohibitted
  • I saw several elderly people on the x-c course trying to flag down golf carts to get a ride, but were told that they could not be picked up. There needs to be more shuttle service around the course on x-c day.
  • I think for the first year and everything we’ve been through in the past two years this event was executed as well as it could’ve been. There’s always room for improvement. The cross country is very long and hard for most people to get to. I had heard there was issues with shuttle volunteers. Which explain the lack of transportation for persons I can’t navigate the course. Food vendors in the middle of the cross country track would’ve been great.
  • Spread out some of the food venders so that you can purchase food in different areas
  • Better signage. Advance signage in the area Pony club involvement Outriders.
  • great to see it there – welcome 5*
  • There are tons of areas to improve but for being the first time running a 5*, i think it went great. i also attended the last FHI and have been to Kentucky multiple times and i think this was right on par. However the space as laid out, while beautiful, i think is not going to scale well as more and more people make this a destination event. overall i think the current scale made sense for the amount of people, if being on the small side, but as reports of how great it was get out more and more people will come! great problem to have as long as they handle it well! so many things were just absolutely perfect, really knocked it out of the park. The one recommendation i would like to make is to have a dedicated social media coordinator for the event. it was hard to find information online regarding course walks, rider signings, etc and if there was a person or even volunteer who’s entire job was to collect and disseminate that type of information it would be great. they would mostly just need to follow the sponsors and media outlets. whoever was doing the social and the instagram stories though did a GREAT job, shout out to them for reposting so much stuff from all the riders and fans social media. it just needed to include more of the where and when type information (understanding there wasnt a whole lot of that going on this year anyway).
  • 1. Please have a ton more food and drink vendors on the cross country course. Add little stands selling water and snacks in addition to the alcohol stands. Get as many food trucks as possible. More food options are also needed for show jumping. The lines were too long we just sat hungry. 2. Add signs it took us an hour of walking to find a bathroom and food. It’s nice that they hid them from view at the stadium but I literally had to post in an online forum to find out where they were located. 3. Widen the path to walk out to cross country. In the very beginning it was way too narrow esp with covid. 4. Please please please pick more than 3 songs to rotate through during show jumping. It was kind of funny the first few loops but really took away from the experience by the end. We sat through the 3* and 5* and heard the same songs over and over and over again5. Better plans for traffic control, Sunday was great we got out quick but local police did not figure out the best plan on Sat and it took an eternity. Other than these suggestions it was still a fantastic event and we will be coming back next year!!!
  • Overall a great experience to be part of inaugural 5*.
  • PARKING – on saturday, getting out was a nightmare!!! Like the bad days of Jiffy Lube Live. They need to get that under control for next year. More ppl actually in the parking lots directing rows, and on the road about 1-2 miles outside of FH. Made the days of riding the school bus worth it. The downpour of rain understandably made everything worse, but it was BAD BAD BAD! Enough to think twice about going next yr. More distribution of food trucks/food options for xc day – where the VIP tents were. There was no people movers (Tractor with large cart) available) so it was a couple miles walk between vendors and xc course. Better merchandise – they were unprepared. Everything was sold out. Offerings online are bleak and do not have the same things as was on the grounds.
  • More options on food and beverage.
  • Need more speakers on XC so everyone can here what is happening on course
  • Shuttle!!!shuttle!!!shuttle!!!
  • More food options, more bathrooms, better viewing options like Kentucky has — multiple large screens everywhere
  • The PA system was not working which is a huge bummer in this event. Also, need way more food vendors and some trash cans along the course for spectators to use
  • I had a great time. The cross country course exceeded expectations. Definitely some teething problems eg having walked to the middle of the cross country (3 miles) only one vendor selling food. Bathrooms were gross by Sunday. During the rain storm on Saturday some of the vendors tents were leaking and destroying merchandise but all in all a wonderful experience. I will be going again next year.
  • Need a constantly running, higher capacity shuttle/haywagon from the back of the course to the show rings/vendor village. The wait for shuttles made it not worth bothering. The geography/length of the course, and lack of accessibility makes this extremely difficult for fans with any sort of physical limitations, or kids, to spectate. FOOD: with such a large course, and difficulty getting back to the front of the facility, there needed to be more food trucks/drinks available on the far end of the course. There was only one so I missed being able to spectate in order to get needed food. Trash: could not find any trash bins out on course. Eventers are awesome, so everyone packed out their trash, but this needs addressing. Parking – seemed like enough parking, and entering was very well organized with efficient staff to make it work. The exit was an absolute disaster. Exits, especially the lower one, were blocked by crossing pedestrians or held traffic from the upper exit. The upper exit was more organized with staff present to direct traffic, but the lower was impossible. Most of us had to weave through the line to get up to the upper exit. A better system for crossing pedestrians (a bridge even?) would probably make this easier to coordinate. The course and actual competition were amazing, A+ to course designers, artists, etc. Volunteers were friendly and helpful, though some manning crossings seemed slightly inattentive. The VIP and tailgating options seemed really nice. Also, the website really should have had a map of the entire grounds – without adequate shuttling, it was very difficult to know how to get back up front without walking the long way around the course.
  • Very well done for the inaugural event! Some communication and confusion issues that I’m sure will be worked out. The smaller vendor tents (the horseshoe) could be moved closer to the grandstands
  • The venue and competitors were amazing. I hope they can bring other horse events there during the year. We were in the stands at the end of the ring, as the other seats sold out quickly. The big screen was too far away to read. It might be nice to have another screen so we get a clearer view. It would also be nice to have somewhere to buy water along the cross country course. It was hot, and wei were very thirsty.
  • This was my first major event actually attending, and I brought my non-horsey husband. We both had a wonderful day (until it rained and we got soaked). The grounds are beautiful and the jumps impressive. I’m so proud of Maryland hosting an event of this caliber!
  • I really enjoy attending this event, but the lack of food/drinks was disappointing. I would like to see more food vendors along the xc course.
  • If you go digital, go digital all the way. I looked for 5 star merchandise and didn’t see any. It was a long walk to the course. It would be nice for staff to offer cart rides.
  • Very nicely done. The porta potty got filled and were shut down. We were in the section across from the VIP tent.
    We were told we had assigned seating but that was not the case for Friday dressage. Sunday stadium it was way overcrowded. We had to sit sideways to fit everyone on the bench seating. The canvas flaps on top of the bleachers flapped terribly in wind gusts and and several competitors had difficulty negotiating fences by the area. Cross country was beautiful. Lovely event over all
  • I would have liked more information about the horse and rider teams that fell…are they okay, what was the cause, was a veterinarian needed, was the rider sent to the hospital…etc.
  • The cross country seemed difficult even for a 5 Star mainly due to terrain variation, especially the long hill.
  • *Shuttles- seriously lacking. The trek out to Saw Mill is tough. Long long lines for shuttles (if you could even find one). As mentioned earlier, a non-shuttle volunteer drove me back from the YEH on Friday since I couldn’t time getting a shuttle back right. *Food vendors- definitely need more vendors out on course. I read online beforehand that I’d be able to refill my water bottle throughout the course so did not come prepared with water for the day. Those water stations were non existent and I only found one drink vendor in Saw Mill. *Tier 1 seating- the rows and sections were not labeled for Thursday or Friday. By Sunday they were (for a lack of a better term) half assed. In section 1 & 2 there were seats that were double labeled (Section 2 Row H seats 1,2,3 for example were in 2 locations) *Walkways across the track were not put in place on time. On Thursday afternoon it was still being put together. At 9:45am on Sunday morning the walkway was still being placed. The gates opened at 8. *the walkway when you first entered the XC course was SO crammed. And that was only with 14k in attendance. Needs to be widened for a bigger crowd. *found it odd that the crowd had to walk on Big Elk Chapel Rd, but later found out it was closed for traffic so OK *the entrance was not in a good location given where most people were entering from GA parking. It was tough to see *on Thursday the police were not helping spectators cross the road. This is a main highway and felt that was very unsafe.  *Overall a FANTASTIC event and I will return for years to come. *very low amount of spectators at the YEH. Shuttles were not easily found (I had someone radio one for me), there were no signs stating where to pick up a shuttle, and there were not any announcements on how to get over there. If I knew I could have driven over I would have just done that.
  • There needs to be a LOT more signage and information about things like shuttles and where things are on the course. We had a great view from our tailgate spot, but it was difficult to see any more of the course–more viewing screens around at major areas would help. And PLEASE have at least drink/snack vendors places around the course.
  • General admission seating for dressage was too far away to see.seating was ok for show jumping
  • It was great to have MPT broadcast the XC on Saturday evening in it entirety!
  • Leaving the parking lot really ruin what was a great day. I can only assume it’ll be better next year.
  • Tailgate tents @ $250. Which is rice of tent to buy…we should have gotten a table and 6 chairs. Don’t pre empt the tailgate spots by last minute shoving sponsor tents that completely ruined everyone’s view, do not put tents so close to rope lines again blocks views, and actually take the time to sit where tailgaters will be and see that EVERYONE has a clear line of sight. We love to tailgate and paid the premium to have views obliterated by sponsor tents never intended to be there. We chose our spots for the view. Also get your signs out…
  • I was very disappointed in the logo wear. I had intended to buy a vest and a polo or tee shirt but only bought a cap. Did not care for unisex sizing and such a dreary selection. The volunteer lunches were not very good. The venue was lovely. I didn’t think much of the yuccas and pansies for decoration. I think mums would have been more decorative. Overall, I think it came off very well!
  • Needed more signs for General parking and VIP parking. Directions to the front gate. Did not know there was a shuttle service available.
  • Spectacular to watch and be a part of. I enjoyed every minute of this fantastic event!
  • Missed having paper showing MAP of the 2 courses. Also missed having paper of order. Too difficult to keep looking on phine
  • Great first attempt but plenty of lessons to be learned
  • It far exceeded my expectations – I had a wonderful time. Already looking for the dates next year to put on my calendar! I brought my dog (best friend) with me, and she also had a great time (so many treats with all the vendors!).
  • Great event and course design! Would have liked to see more tailgate spots offered (and many were left empty because sponsors didn’t use them). And more food/merch at various spots along the course. If there was an option to stream live audio of the commentary, it would have been great to have that publicized a little better. It was hard to hear the announcers unless you were pretty close to the speakers, and a stream would have allowed us to follow each rider/horse a bit more closely.
  • Overall, the event site was beautiful. Gorgeous decorations and flowers everywhere! The two courses were amazing, well planned and built. The staff and volunteers were helpful and friendly. The few things I would like to see improved are: 1) more shuttle service around the xcty course or at least from furthest field to first field, 2) more food options at furthest field (where the crab water jump is). Also heard from others the lines at the food vendors were really long so more food vendors overall (I was fortunate to be invited to a tailgate party that had food), 3) loud speakers at middle field so could hear progress around the course (seemed like that was in place for the 5* but not the 3* – it was probably being worked on). I’m sure there were bugs to be worked out as things were going on so completely understand and felt like this was a great event. I wasnt there on the dressage or sj days but watched on livestream. The arenas looked fantastic!
  • Fair Hill facilities have never looked so spectacular! I competed there in low level events (Novice and Training levels) in the 1990’s, and although the terrain is familiar and the wooded paths have been improved I was truly blown away and very proud of what has become of this wonderful MD facility! Kudo’s to all involved in making this happen!
  • The event’s Facebook presence was dismal.
  • Amazingly well done for the first year! Definitely some growing pains and room to improve but overall a fabulous event. Competitors and support persons were given the royal treatment, great amenities and the courses were unreal. Will definitely be back!
  • The broadcast were great I watched while doing other thing the live feed that USEF showed it live and it was fantastic I loved every minute of it. I was at the 4 star in 2019 and would have been there but couldn’t make it this year
  • Volunteers navigating public through the grounds & crossing obstacle course need intensive training. Few dogs ran onto obstacle course chasing horse. Dogs should not be allowed in that area. Questioning if dogs should even be allowed to attend. Water stands anding out or selling cold water through out the grounds beneficial.
  • I am coming next year!
  • Such a super event. Well done indeed. Will be back next year. More food and drinks vendors needed – especially alongside the XC course. The ones at the far end were out of water pretty early on. Also maybe some more GA tents/areas to get out of the elements for a moment along the XC course. Parking was great – until the end on Sat when it was raining and everyone wanted to leave at once. Not sure how that can be fix but it took me 45 mins to be able to get out of the field. Again, over all I was very impressed and loved the event. Thank you so very much!
  • Additional Jumbotrons would be helpful for those who don’t want to spend most of the time not seeing rides because they are walking between fences.
  • As an all-day volunteer, I did not see everything. But what I saw was great. Nice job!
  • Maps should have been handed out at the entrance. The shuttle service should have been available to everyone and clearly signed. I know several horsemen who did not attend the x country day because they could not walk out to the jumps.
  • Thought almost everything was very good to excellent, except many more shuttles for spectators are needed next year, many more food vendors should be added, and the sound system needs to be improved. Maybe I just didn’t see this, but might be good to have designated pick-up and drop-off areas for shuttles around the course and facility and show them on the map. Getting a shuttle seemed a bit haphazard. We tailgated but noticed as we walked around that there weren’t a lot of places to get a snack or drink. Our tailgate was near the start of the course, and we could not hear the announcer at all. As we walked around, some places had good sound, and in some places it was muffled. A big screen closer to the start of the XC course, maybe near Fence 3, or the ability for spectators to live stream without being members of USEF, would be really nice.
  • Overall, I thought it was a very impressive and well-organized event! A few suggestions for improvement: add more food vendors (the lines at lunchtime were very long!) and give better access to the order of go (we had trouble finding it and the online flipbook was difficult to navigate on a phone).
  • Couldn’t find the food festival on Sunday. Better signage needed for stadium jumping etc. Overall, a great first event, just needs a few improvements to make it more amazing!
  • I would like to communicate with someone about more ideas. Don’t get me wrong, I was so super happy about the event and loved being there and was very happy – however, there was a lot that was lacking that caused major disappointment and frustration. Please feel free to contact me at 443-991-0843 or marissa.waskiewicz@gmail.com (my name is Marissa0.
  • There seemed to be a feeling of delineation between VIPs and those who were not.
  • Needs shuttle options and more food and water options on xc.
  • Superlative effort and we extend congratulations and thank you to the organizers, volunteers, sponsors, competitors and all associated with this FANTASTIC event. I couldn’t be prouder to be a Maryland Horseman!!!!
  • XC course map board on course for spectators if paper copies not allowed.
  • Thank you for asking for and listening to attendee feedback.
  • We wished there was more food, ESPECIALLY near water complex. The lines for food in main area were crazy
  • Should have more water and food venues halfway through the course maybe on Gallagher rd? It was too far to walk the entire course without food or water in between
  • The PA system was horrid. No one could hear who was on course anywhere on course.
  • Loved it and I’m very excited for the future!
  • The merchandise options could be expanded. They missed a trick not having any inaugural merch and the polo shirt options had a really small logo and limited colors
  • The facility was awesome, although more shuttles might help with cross country since it was so spread out. Would have liked to see a lot more vendors and food options. We had the impression there would be water filling stations but did not see any, and the food trucks ran out of water at various times. Our box seats did not give us a great view, particularly since the judges’s boxes blocked the view. The staff and volunteers we interacted with were extremely nice and helpful. I think the event has great potential. Too bad there aren’t more restaurants and hotels in the area.
  • Overall a good experience and all of our interactions with volunteers/staff were very pleasant. Some areas to improve: Need more signage/directions on how to get to different areas (YEH competition, XC course, etc.). More shuttles and better advertising of shuttles. Need more food and water options and more vendors. Our box seating was very far from the arena and our view was blocked by the judges boxes in dressage.
  • It was a great weekend
  • Please oh please for the love of all that’s holy… PLEASE don’t play that awful, AWFUL (AWFUL!) muzak during dressage and show jumping, ever again!! It was distracting, grating, and downright soul crushing! I wanted to concentrate on fit, amazing horses and accomplished riders, and I had an instrumental version of Kenny Rogers repeating itself four times (!!!?) before other something else equally horrid grated over the way-to-loud loudspeakers. (Though playing “She thinks my tractor’s sexy” while the John Deere zambonis were grading the ring was kinda funny, very ‘Murican, for a ‘Murican event 🙂 Time and place. But no more muzak. Please, ever. Never a good time or place for that.
  • There needed to be more food options. Especially at the water jump. There was only one food truck and they were slammed.
  • The flow for spectators in and out of vender row should not interfere with the horses entering the arena. It was a beautiful sight but lacked directions for spectators to the cross country course. There was signage but we only found it because we knew where we were going. The need of buses to shuttle spectators from Saw Mill Field would be better than golf carts. Once out on cross country there was a need for more food trucks and drinks. Love the big screen!!!
  • It was fun, just needed more readily available info.
  • Enjoyable day overall
  • To pay 275 to sit on bleachers with no assigned seats is a little bit too much.
  • I loved it, and thought it was well done for the most part. Shuttles and water availability were my big issue. We got caught in the downpour Saturday so unfortunately didn’t get a chance to check out all the vendors or watch any demos or activities.
  • Super event but you have to improve the logistics of parking . Took me two hours to exit the general parking after the marathon on Saturday . Yes, it rained but the pedestrian walking and two policeman can’t handle all the cars leaving at the close of the event. The whole event was a A but the parking was a D-.
  • Could not find a course map for cross country – need to have one more easily accessible
  • The bathrooms situation was AWFUL, and one food truck on xc was SHAMEFUL. This was essentially a public health nightmare between the bathrooms near the CInco Club and lack of hydration options on xc.
  • Very little logo wear to purchase on the day I attended. Wanted more options ..l would ha=e spent a lot more money but there wan nothing to pick from.
  • Our experience overall was good – great range of competitors attended, the competition was fun, things mostly ran smoothly, and we were happy with our trip. However, some areas of improvement: Signage could be improved – finding the right access to the Tier 2 grandstand wasn’t clear, on Thursday the paths were still being set up, how to get to the Sawmill Field for cross country wasn’t clear (we wanted to start there in the morning and tried to walk – got lucky and happened to get a ride from someone driving past but don’t know how we would have found it otherwise!). Seats weren’t labelled in Tier 2 on the bleachers. Even after they added labels to some of the seats on Sunday, it still was unclear so actually was more distracting with people kept trying to figure it out rather than just sitting down. I love dogs but dogs in the grandstands also isn’t a great idea especially when the seats are full. $81 for seats on bleachers without backs was tough – my mom is in her late 60s and actually skipped part of the competition on Thurs/Fri since it was so uncomfortable. Parking locations were good but could use better direction on entry/exit – my friend waited over an hour to get out of the lot on Saturday. Food options on cross country were almost non-existent. As I said before, we enjoyed our trip to Maryland, but I do think a few changes will really make it a top-tier event.
  • Lack of shuttles on XC day and limited/no food/drink in course are my primary concerns. Myself and many of my eventing friends who have attended major events all over the world have many suggestions— most of which bring significant improvement for minimal cost. Although I applaud the effort to broaden the fan base/attendance, the organizers would be better served by reachBig out to the eventing community to understand what their foundational fan base wants before spending any more time trying to get Baltimore Raven fans to attend something they don’t understand.
  • The course was absolutely beautiful and interesting. This was the first event so one would expect some bugs. If shuttles and their routes could be readily available, water more available, food sites identified ( some snack food would also be great) and porta potty locations identified the event would be great.
  • Great first run. Would be helpful to not have to backtrack on xc course. It was a long walking course approximately 6miles per fit watch.
  • The organizers promised shuttles for cross country and there were none. Even with the storm vehicle after vehicle just drove past us all walking back. And plenty of parked UTVs by a tent near the end of cross country. No shuttle back to parking after cross country. The facility looked amazing. The volunteers I spoke to were lovely.
  • Very unaccommodating to those with physical limitations due to course layout and insufficient shuttles. Not enough food/drink options out on course. Almost no logowear available by noon. Gorgeous course and jumps though!
  • I believe everyone who volunteered will have a small list of things we can do better next year. Over all great first 5 star event.

16. Do you plan to attend the Maryland 5 Star in 2022? (this question did not have a write in comment option)

17. Please explain why you will or will not be attending the Maryland 5 Star in 2022.

  • Huge potential just needs refinement. Great competition event for region.
  • Who can resist a five star?!
  • I will most likely be there as media again for 2022.
  • I have gone to every FHI fall event as well as every Kentucky 4*/5* event for 10 years. My daughter is a competitor.
  • I will be volunteering.
  • Loved it this year & I expect it to be even better next year – can’t wait!
  • coincides with Pennsylvania National Horse Show unfortunately.
  • Loved 2021!
  • excited to see the top riders/horses
  • Fair Hill is a fantastic venue and as a Maryland resident I was proud that this level of competition was in my home state.
  • Excited to see the progress and watch this level of competition and see it grow to be as big as it can be!
  • Great new facility! Good competition!
  • depends on what’s going on
  • Will hopefully be attending as an owner groom or family member of competitor.
  • Fabulous event! Happy it’s here in Maryland
  • It’s great to have a 5 Star so close to home, exciting to see top riders up close
  • I had a great experience both volunteering and spectating. Friends from Colorado are already planning to visit next year to watch.
  • Overall it was a wonderful experience, just needs some changes!
  • A great venue all year round. Hoping to be attending as a competitor next year
  • I’m sure there will be improvements next year
  • While I think there’s much room for improvement it’s so exciting to have another 5* in America, especially practically in my backyard. I love Fair Hill and can’t wait to see how this event progresses over the years.
  • I live an hour from FHI and won’t miss a chance to watch the best in our sport!!
  • Loved the venue. Looking forward to better seating options for general admission in 2022 and more food options. Great job!
  • Depends on my schedule.
  • We would like to come to the show jumping next year.
  • Only if it’s not so hot & I can bring my own food
  • I’m hoping this can be a successful event.
  • Overall the event was very enjoyable, especially considering it was the first year. Some of the rough edges can definitely be addressed in the next year for 2022’s event.
  • Great event and well run especially considering coming right off a pandemic.
  • It is a tradition in our family to go to Fairhill on a wonderful weekend in October
  • It will clearly get better and better as time goes on and will continue to be a premier equine event in the country.
  • Great event!!!
  • I have attended these competitions my whole life, all across the uk, the us and Canada as a spectator, competitor and now as a husband of a competitor. it’s a way of life and I will go as often as possible.
  • World’s best eventing competition close to home!
  • My biggest request is to please make walking the cross country course a little easier/more enjoyable for us. More frequent bathroom breaks, places to sit and rest, and extra food vendors are needed. I’m sure the layout of things worked better when everyone was centralized around the main ring, but when visitors are spending hours literally miles away from food/drink options it made me very cranky and I was ready to leave early because I could not find anywhere to get a drink. I have not needed to pack anything in the past because this was not a problem in the past. I waited forever for a shuttle back as well and don’t remember that being a problem in the past either. I did not know there were other events taking place and found it extremely difficult to find a map on your website. Overall the event was very classy, the food you did have was very good, and I enjoyed the course and the jumps. Would like improvement in amenities for spectators on cross country day. For $40 I expected more. I also would enjoy more variety as far as vendors. Many of them were too high end for me.
  • I love eventing and want the venue to succeed.
  • It was a beautiful experience. All the volunteers were extremely helpful. Thanks.
  • For the first year, it was amazing and I can’t wait for next year
  • Love Fair Hill and am so happy we have such an amazing event in MD. Thanks for all of the hard work!!!
  • I will attend because I love the local riders and spectating. It was a nice set up for XC and I loved to be up close to the riders with a challenging terrain. I’m not sure I will volunteer again though
  • Great courses
  • I will likely attend some portion as a spectator and would consider volunteering. I will not return as a vendor.
  • Wonderful venue. Close enough to visit yearly.
  • The competition was superb
  • I was impressed with the event! I have volunteered in the past with not great experiences but this event changed my mind
  • I would love to attend in 2022 but some improvements need to be done. Definitely more food vendors are needed. We didn’t think that the Concourse Club by the stadium was open to general admission but someone told us it was. If that is the case, it should be clearly marked as such. Some of the vendors weren’t open while we were there (not sure if it was because of the weather forecast for cross country day). Water/drink availability for spectators on course would be ideal as well.
  • Love the experience and the event. Will be attending every year to follow.
  • It’s the new best weekend all year!
  • Fantastic time, so much to see and do that I hope to do multiple days next year.
  • Excellent event, it was so exciting!
  • It just depends on if I can get away
  • If the shuttle system is not improved upon I will not attend. We are an eventing family and would be disappointed if that were to happen.
  • Had a blast even with the minor shortcomings. It’s awesome in our backyard.
  • There to spectate the competition and shop.
  • I think this event will get better every year. They did an incredible job considering we’re in the midst of a pandemic
  • Fantastic competition, and great terrain, easy to find good spots to watch at every fence. Please get a better plan for draining the parking lot at the end of the day, and if you can’t get enough food vendors out on course, put up signs or notices or somehow warn us.
  • I am looking forward to the event already and am planning on a tailgate spot!
  • Vendor
  • I was surprised at how awesome everything was. I loved it. Will definitely be back. Parking was tough because everyone left at the same time on xc day but that’s uncontrollable.
  • The level of competition was top notch. The upgraded facilities are world class. I grew up near the USET in NJ & have attended the Olympics. You are setting a new standard. Well done all!
  • Might go if ticket prices are lowered
  • In A few Years this event will be as good as badminton – I can’t wait to see it evolve
  • I will definitely attend if I am still living local, but may be relocating to Colorado prior to the event next year.
  • I have not missed eventing at Fair Hill since I moved to Cecil County. My calendared is already marked for 2022!
  • Happy to have a 3 & 5* event in our area! Thanks for making it happen & praying it continues for years!
  • I will attend to see the amazing, horses, riders and course.
  • Not though for people with mobility problems.
  • Plan to attend. World class competition in a beautiful location that I don’t need to fly to!
  • I love eventing. Best sport ever…and venue is within driving distance (eastern CT).
  • Overall excellent experience
  • Expensive. $20 for a lobster roll on a piece of bread. Not enough seats for general admission stadium, people were on top of one another in Covid times. Cross country day needed more food out on course. Vip tickets should allow dogs, or somewhere should allow dogs for stadium day. You say to bring dogs, cancel the doggie daycare, then not allow them in the stadium?
  • Event and facilities were awesome.
  • See comments above on cross country
  • While there were suggested improvements (which did not ruin my day, by any means!), I think the event was incredibly well-run. The course was amazing. As a Maryland native, I am so proud to see an event of this quality take place there, and am so excited to see how it evolves over the years.
  • I am over the moon, excited that Fair Hill was chosen for its part in the global 5* lineup. I want nothing more than to support its continuation by attending and bringing family and friends. Already making plans for next year!
  • I’ve been going to fair hill the past few years and love the venue, atmosphere and that it’s close to home! Glad to see a 5 star run there and will definitely be back next year!
  • Overall, an enjoyable event with high quality of competition.
  • Excellent event, close to home, well run, great shopping!
  • The facilities are beautiful, great xc course and great competitors. Didn’t feel I got what I paid for in reserved seating of Tier 2, but hopefully that will be figured out. I hope the organizers will take to heart the criticism of the first event as I believe they can make this even better than Kentucky! I look forward to seeing the Maryland 5 Star become a must see attraction for the whole community.
  • Can’t go every year but wanted to go to the first one
  • Level of competition was outstanding to watch. Great event to have close to home.
  • yes of course i will come back – it’s a 5 * duh !! 😀 can’t wait too see how year number two will run !
  • I will because it’s a wonderful experience & I live nearby & want to support these horse related events.
  • Easy to fly in and out of cities nearby. First class competition!
  • it was super fun and I’m excited have such a prestigious event in MD
  • Its close by and i volunteer!
  • This was a wonderful experience! So many people were introduced to eventing and horses in general. There was such great shopping. I’d love to see even more shopping next year! This felt like a mini Horse Expo (like the one in PA) and that seems to do really well. It would be great to see more demos!
  • I have a conflict with parents’ day at my daughter’s College.
  • Overall it was a great event!
  • It was a delight to volunteer at such a well run event.
  • It was a spectacular event despite the need for improvement. I will continue to support a 5* in the great state of Maryland. I am proud to have this in my back yard and have already booked accommodations for 2022 and plan to tailgate again. I will also be volunteering next year. I loved every minute of my weekend at Fair Hill!
  • I would likely go or volunteer.
  • I’m going to be a vendor so I’ll be there. It seemed to run well as a competition but there were a lot of logistics that need fixing. 1. If you’re going to make us go through the trouble of having photo credentials, actually print them. 2. Vendor setup and breakdown need to have an in and out entrance and exit for cars to avoid traffic jams. 3. More maps and signage. 4. Run shuttles constantly. 5. Have more food options arena side on XC day to really encourage guests to shop. 6. Have a water refill station for those who bring their own bottles. The amount of plastic bottles generated by the event is insane especially when many people are eco conscious. 7. Actual staff and volunteers were great, kudos, just need better organizing. 8. All the free drink sample stands were great fun. 9. Pet experience was great. 10. Maybe feature more local rescues and not just Freedom Hills.
  • I will always support my sport as much as possible. If plans continue properly I will be competing in it next year.
  • I have been coming to the Fair Hill International 3-day Event for many years. Although I was sad to hear the event had changed from the original course, etc., now that I’ve experienced it, I’d say it’s a vast improvement and I am excited for what the future holds for the Fair Hill 5 Star because it’s been a very successful and memorable experience the first time in my book! Congratulations on all the hard work for a job well done!
  • I will be back next year! The event drew some of the best competitors in the world and I had a lot of fun watching them!
  • Hope to attend if can find hotels. Seems like they are all booked already. Or they have been reserved for whatever reason. Hard to b relive they are booked already.
  • Ticket prices are high
  • Overall great experience. A 5* that did not disappoint! I plan on attending more than one day and am hoping I’ll be able to volunteer.
  • As frustrating as some of the issues were, I ultimately had an amazing weekend and know that the team will make improvements before next year.
  • Great event
  • The thrill of watching the competition will bring me back. But my mom may not be able to attend with me anymore if accessibility issues aren’t fixed.
  • Competition was great. Staff were friendly. Can’t wait for next year.
  • It was difficult and disappointing to get around on xc
  • May go to Kentucky in 2022. Time and budget does not allow for both every year. Will definitely go to Maryland again in the future.
  • It was a great horse day. I got a sunburn and drove home in wet jeans, who could ask for more lol! That’s good humor there. We had a great time.
  • It’s only a few hours from me, and we had a lot of fun. We probably won’t go for all of the competition days though, just XC day. Not enough activities/food vendors/other sites to see to warrant going for all four days.
  • I will likely attend as I live minutes away and am able to do stairs and walk long distances . My elderly boarders , family members and friends were unable to enjoy this years event due to inability to access areas due to distance so unless there is better accommodation for people needing extra assistance they will not go back .
  • Great first year. A few improvements to be made. Looking forward to next year
  • I love FairHill, it is a beautiful place. I am in the horse world so for me it is so exciting to have such a beautiful place close by.
  • It was a tradition of ours to always go to the Fair Hill International and it’s a really nice event to look forward to each year. We were a little taken aback by the major jump in ticket price from the old event so that would be the only thing to prevent me from coming since it more than doubled the price.
  • I think the course and the event for the riders was top notch. I think some real time and attention need to be made for the spectator experience. The potential is great but it missed the mark. I went to Fair Hill when it was a 3 star event. It feels like, for the spectator, that a it was a step back in the experience. I’ve been to Kentucky for Rolex. They owned the 5 star experience for spectators. They embraced it. They ensured to have something for everyone. I am truly concerned about the accessibility issues such as no shuttles, transports and the lack of accessible restrooms in the tailgate areas. Fair hill should be completely and unwaveringly inclusive to everyone. To be honest it feels like I may have gotten a worse experience because my family and I indulged in a tailgate ticket. The middle hay field felt like it was disregarded and dismissed. No signs, vendors, screens, PA system failing, volunteers, trash cans or consideration. We will really have to consider if Fair Hill makes some adjustments.
  • Just depends on who is competing
  • Terrific to say world class athletes at a beautiful venue so close to home.
  • We are so incredibly lucky to be able to see competition at this level within driving distance of home! Well done!
  • Great event just a few kinks need worked out
  • For a first year event it was extremely well done. Organizers and volunteers were all friendly, relaxed and made experience. The event itself…spectacular.
  • I want to see if they improve upon anything.
  • I attend Fair Hill every year as a volunteer and spectator. Next year will be no different.
  • No interest
  • We would love to support a local premier event. However we were disappointed in the lack of shuttle service and delays (because it was advertised) therefore we did so much walking on foot that we were too exhausted to enjoy the event. On Saturday there were minimal places to get food and drink which added to exhaustion and poor experience. Leaving the event parking lot directed by law enforcement was a nightmare. On Sunday we were disappointed in the price of our seats for showjumping due to various obstacles blocking view: fence line, support beams, screen was too small.
  • I’m sure next year many of the kinks will have been worked out. And I had a great time despite this year’s kinks. I really look forward to coming next year!
  • It’s an awesome competition, right here in Maryland, that attracts the best event riders from around the world . Who wouldn’t want to see that?!
  • It is wonderful to see all the top riders in the sport and it’s a beautiful facility.
  • I will be volunteering more—so many different jobs I hadn’t thought of and would like to explore. Excited to see the changes as the event grows.
  • I attend every year with friends and we always have an amazing time. Next year friends will be coming from the UK. Let’s impress them!
  • Great time!!
  • Have attended every FHI.
  • I’m local; former eventer
  • Overall, loved it!
  • The venue is close, one I’ve competed at, and love. It was affordable and I hope to bring some of the 4H club next year. Please don’t price out the average eventer like Kentucky Landrover has.
  • It’s an amazing time. I go with my mom and my sister to make a girl’s weekend of it and it’s closer than Kentucky
  • Close to home. Why not?!
  • Depends on weather, ticket pricing, and personal schedule.
  • Had a great time, hopefully issues from this year will be addressed and fixed.
  • Will be back as a vendor.
  • Seeing some of the most talented horses and riders in the sport compete in a location I can drive to is extremely exciting!!
  • I’m local and this is an important event. I have high hopes that it will continue to improve.
  • Fantastic, world class event w/ lots of fun surprises. We didn’t get to do it all in this trip. Thank you for allowing non-profits to set up Thur/Friday.
  • It is so exciting to have a 5* in Maryland and we are happy to support it!
  • My decision to attend is not based on the event’s quality. I live very far away and may not be able to attend every year.
  • Great start to an epic event – just need to work out some kinks and have a lot more food/beverage options available
  • Overall fantastic first year! Keep up the good work!
  • Will plan to be back, have always loved Fair Hill and this will be a fabulous 5-star event once the kinks are worked out.
  • We are moving next year, not sure where we will be located. But if I can make it work, I’ll be there again.
  • The course was awesome but changes need to be made for spectators.
  • I always go to Kentucky so I hope to get to Maryland too! I’m in Cincinnati so it’s not as convenient but it’s just so fun to attend these things. It needs a trade fair with more like Kentucky to make me really want to go every year.
  • Come almost every year for 25 years
  • Very exciting and we can’t wait! Hoping to move into the area and would love to be able to help with this event!!
  • I will attend, it was beautiful, everyone was friendly, and it was nice
  • After this year’s experience, we will most likely plan to attend 2022’s XC event, but not dressage or show jumping.
  • Overall awesome event!
  • I have volunteered at Fair hill for over a decade, and I’m just so excited that it is now a five star. I plan to continue volunteering for years to come. I do hope you’re able to fix issues with ticketing and shuttling. My family members who came to spectate on Saturday arrived and were told there was no more general admission tickets (huh??). They spent $50/each on a pass to the beer garden which they were never able to locate despite asking around. They also would have appreciated a shuttle service to the back of the cross country course. They never made it to the big water complex at 15 because it was just too far of a hike for them. You really need to find a way to get people from the front to the back of the course so they’re not spending their entire time at the event hiking.
  • Overall it was a great event – I support the horse industry and the State of Maryland
  • Because it is so cool to have a 5 star up north
  • Over all it was a great event.
  • I’ll be back living in New Zealand. So a little far to come!
  • I’m only one hour away!
  • I have been attending and competing at Fair Hill for many, many years and I was so looking forward to this big event! You did not disappoint! I loved it!!
  • Hope to see more of the event next year, weather really cut down the time we could stay
  • I will attend but probably not all 4 days as I have in the past for the same reason as this year too much disorganization at the administrative level. Very disappointed with the delay in getting tickets and passes until the night before and then tickets not scanning. Horse events of this caliber need to be run by people with experience at running horse events at this level. Also many of the things people loved about the international were gone. Also very little coverage of young horse and 3 start competitions.
  • XC was course was great, loved seeing the international riders, and the SJ was great
  • Can’t wait! I attended via TV this year and would like to attend in person next year.
  • I always attended the Fair Hill 2 and 3 start in the past, I love the venue.
  • In a vendor booth again.
  • It is so special to have something like this in my home state. In a little over an hour, I can be at the venue, watching competition as great as any in the world. I could never get to Burghley or Badminton; Kentucky is doable, yet I have never done it, but Cecil County is so accessible. Next year I hope to see shuttles or people movers helping people get around, a printed program (autographs, anyone?), better organization on the non-competition side (one friend who is a vendor told me “The show was great but disorganized. From the vendor’s point of view it wasn’t vendor friendly and the girl in charge sent emails at midnight for the next day which would be need to be implemented by 6:30am that morning. I don’t think she had any experience which was surprising considering the level of the horseshow.”) Someone I know was sent their tailgate ticket at 9:30 Friday, and it didn’t work on Saturday.
  • Wonderful courses and good field of riders
  • I’m hoping to attend if my schedule allows – given some of the feedback I’ve heard regarding parking and getting around the XC course, I think I’d rather go on Thursday or Friday when crowds are smaller. If they improved shuttle service and food/drink options out on XC, I would be more willing to try Saturday.
  • The one thing that would keep me from coming back is the parking situation.
  • Would like to volunteer as well as attend as a spectator and have more time to go through the vendors
  • Longtime amateur rider who believes support of upper level events is key to improving sport.
  • I love watching top level eventing so I will attend again next year, but will most likely rethink my seating options and how I want to go about viewing the cross country course. The spectator experience needs some work but the horses and riders always put on a good show.
  • Had a blast! Volunteers were amazing and very helpful. Social media presence was fantastic!!! Cudos to MPT for broadcasting and the social media teams who got me around the venue.
  • I want to support the sport and our amazing 5 star athletes, even though I think the folks in charge this year were incompetent. I assume they will not be the team in charge next year.
  • Of course, we plan to attend in 2022.
  • Support of the sport, excitement of event, looking forward to improvements for viewers.
  • 5* only Cutting its teeth. Upward and onward to continued success!
  • I loved the horses and the beautiful venue. It was a lovely day and I would like to attend again. It didn’t hurt that a friend invited me and had a tailgate. Congrats on your successful and beautiful event!
  • If there is some advance publicity that alerts me, I will be able to set aside time and make plans to be there.
  • Physical limitations
  • Love Eventing!! We will be back in 22, but wish it was closer to home! Well done, Mary! Thanks for all you do!
  • As stated above, my significant other can get pretty engaged with an event if he can play Eventing Manager, but otherwise he doesn’t particularly care. We’ll be heading to Kentucky next year because he followed it closely with me from home this year, but I can’t see him agreeing to come to Maryland if he doesn’t feel invested. We’ll come one year if they have it, or else go somewhere where they do. Either way, I will watch Maryland online! Thank you for putting on a beautiful event.
  • Fair Hill is a must see on my annual calendar! Next year is already blocked off. A great way to show off Maryland’s love of horses!
  • It was a fun event not far from home, and the people who attended were friendly and happy to be there. The level of competition was world-class, and no horses are riders were seriously injured.
  • Too many other activities going on in October.
  • it’ll depend on pricing for the tailgating and whether more shuttles are available
  • We hope to be able to attend. As a veterinary solo equine practictioner it can be hard to get away but will will try to plan a day or two to attend in 2022. Very impressive for a first year! Kudos to all !
  • Because I can see all of the big Eventing stars in my “ back yard”
  • Overall, it was a good event. The x-c course looked great. Hopefully they will iron out some of the kinks for next year!
  • I’ve always attended Fairhill in the fall. It’s always around my birthday and we always have a tailgate. Will continue to do it And excited to see the new grounds and event grow
  • Overall it will be a phenomenal ever being a few tweaks
  • we will absolutely be back next year!!! planning to tailgate again! we had a great time and it was so exciting, even our non-horsey husbands were into it.
  • Great tailgating spot and lots of fun while attending
  • It’s close to me and was really fun to watch.
  • Learned about cross country! Exciting! Loved watching jogging.
  • Reasons above. That all being said, the change in the show and the grounds was amazing!! It was nice to see MD invest so much money into the sport and the facility. It was like seeing a mini KY three day right in my own back yard. In 3-5 years, I’m sure all of the issues mentioned above will be ironed out. So happy to have had the inaugural so close to home.
  • Beautiful time of year to start a new tradition
  • Loved the level of competition and in general the setup. Can’t wait to see how it evolves next year. The entire staff was great and very friendly. Great job
  • Beautiful venue, love watching upper level eventing
  • Tailgate was really expensive but lots of fun. It would be nice to be able to have a 2nd car to bring stuff in for the tailgate. I also think tents should be included in the price.
  • Want to see horses and riders
  • So much fun, so close to home!
  • We may attend, if I can get enough people together for a tailgating spot. I want to bring my kids, and without that sort of home base and our own food, etc, it is extremely not kid friendly (unless they make big improvements to the shuttles and food options)
  • Great, fun exciting event! Volunteering was great fun! Awesome people!
  • I’ve wanted to go to Rolex for years. Now I can see this sport in my own state.
  • We had a great time. I will probably volunteer next time because I love being involved and helping.
  • If I can find a place to spend the night close by, I may attend next year. Fairhill lacks ambience.
  • The nervy of the event came through the television. It appeared to be so much FUN!!
  • I plan to attend providing that my health is good and the weather is decent.
  • Ticket prices too high
  • I loved watching the Eventing equestrians at such a high level.
  • The courses were amazing, the volunteers were amazing. I am certain that the first year was a learning experience and will continue to improve!
  • In spite of things that need improving, it was a lot of fun!
  • Thoroughly enjoyed the experience
  • I’ll attend because of the horses and riders. I’ll just bring my lunch and leave early.
  • I enjoyed volunteering!
  • Hope to attend. Might have a calendar conflict.
  • To see such high caliber competitors in this lovely venue is just the best thing ever!!!
  • I love seeing elite riders so close to home!!
  • Relatively close!
  • Will probably be there as vendor (for non-profit). Might also go with one of the many tailgating groups that invited me.
  • Awesome event
  • Would be most likely to attend if there are enough tailgate spots.
  • I plan to attend as I love the experience in person. I love watching the horses gallop and the riders intense focus prior to a jump.
  • I want to be a volunteer again.
  • Everyone that went loved it that I have talked too
  • Great start, can’t wait to see next year’s improvements.
  • Depends on personal schedule. Weather. Exciting to attend this year given inaugural event of 5 star caliber. Drive is several hours one way. May stream event rather than attend.
  • Worlds best competing in my back yard!
  • Will arrive earlier and hopefully it won’t storm!
  • I want to support Maryland’s 5 star and it is a chance to see some of the best horses and riders in the world.
  • It was a wonderful event. Loved watching these top horses and riders up close. The venue is gorgeous. So happy we have this in Maryland!
  • It’s a wonderful competition—exciting to have this top level in our area. And the cross-country jumps were so fun and creative. It was really interesting to see how the riders and horses managed them.
  • it’s amazing to have a 5* practically in our backyard.
  • I would like to communicate with someone about more ideas. Don’t get me wrong, I was so super happy about the event and loved being there and was very happy – however, there was a lot that was lacking that caused major disappointment and frustration. Please feel free to contact me at 443-991-0843 or marissa.waskiewicz@gmail.com (my name is Marissa).
  • There are only 7 five * in the world and we have one in our state. I intend to support it as long as I can and plan to increase my participation in the future.
  • Depends on what other obligations I have and Covid state of affairs at that time.
  • I enjoyed the competition. On the whole it was a great event. Would like to see more food, and shuttles too and from the water on xc. My aunt is disabled and we did not have her come because it would’ve been too difficult for her to view the xc
  • I go every year with family as a tradition
  • Supporting our competitors and local venue.
  • As a volunteer I worked seven days, had to by my ticket, and saw none of the competition not sure I am up to it again
  • I plan to volunteer again
  • I go to every five star I can!
  • Because it’s awesome! Great job, and I’m confident it will just get better and better! Bravo, organizers! (P.S. – please kill the muzak… :-/)
  • Unbelievable day. Upfront and personal with the horses!
  • I enjoyed volunteering and would like to volunteer again next year. World class venue!!
  • I’d like to go, if the weather’s good and I can figure out the shuttle & course layout.
  • Nice day out. Will visit more vendors
  • The cross country course is amazing. Could use a few shuttle options though
  • It was a great event and I know that many improvements will be made now that the organizers know that 20,000+ people really WILL come!!
  • stay home much better and safer.
  • We’ve always wanted to go to Kentucky but it’s too far. We’re so excited to have a 5 star close to home (2 hours away for us.)
  • Fabulous to watch the best eventers in the world and such a great venue to build a bench for the next generation of competitors. I am sure the investment will bring many other A rated dressage and show jumping shows to fair hill. Md junior Tryon!
  • It depends on how much I believe they will have corrected the problems.
  • Parking at this year’s event was terrible. Prices were high for tickets. It will not be the inaugural year .. so not as important.
  • I’m not sure yet if we will attend all 4 days next year – we already have tickets to Kentucky 5* 2022, rolled over from our original 2020 purchase – but likely will come at least for cross country. We are definitely excited to have this option closer to home and look forward to next year’s competition.
  • I will attend because I’m a huge lifelong eventing fan and I will always support the sport and the horses & riders — my decision to attend is not based on my spectator experience.
  • The course, horses and riders were great. The setting was beautiful. I trust the organizers to make improvements for the spectators. I’ll bring some water and print out a course map!
  • I love eventing and want to support Maryland equestrian events.
  • Unsure. Price slightly high and I got lucky exiting parking this year but wouldn’t count on that again.
  • Will attend next year. Very much enjoyed the coverage on MPT. Hope that will continue for 2022. Had a wedding to attend this year.
  • I can’t wait to start planing and prepping for next year !