first published in the December 2023 Equiery

For 65 years, the Washington International Horse Show has brought world-class competition to the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, and this year’s show was no exception. From October 23-29, local, national, and international riders converged on the Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro for hunter and jumper competition.

Equiery readers had a lot to say about this year’s second show at the PG Equestrian Center.

Who, What, When…
The majority of our respondents were spectators (81.8%) and the second group were media (9.1%). The remaining respondents were volunteers, owners of competing horses, guests or grooms, and family members of competitors. No competitors filled out our survey this year.

Our survey responders were split 50/50 between those who attended WIHS at PGEC in 2022 and those who attended the show for the first time.

This year’s show saw a significant increase in the number of people who attended the daytime competitions throughout the week. This could be because the daytime program was free this year. Attendance every day except Monday was up. Thursday was the most popular day with Wednesday, Friday and Saturday all seeing equal attendance from survey responders. Monday was the least attended day, followed by Sunday.

Of the evening performances, Thursday continues to be the most popular, and this year Thursday saw a jump in attendance. Saturday was the second most popular evening followed by Friday. Attendance at all evening performances was up over 2022.
Survey responders felt ticket prices were “just right” again this year; but significantly more respondents “did not pay for tickets” – 45% this year over 24% in 2022. This could also be because admission was free for the day-time performances.

One person commented that they felt ticket prices were too high stating, “Too high for barn night and don’t like that you have to purchase food in order to get a front row in certain sections.”

Overall, our respondents felt this year’s show was an improvement over 2022. Forty percent said with 40% said their overall impression was “just right” and 20% said it “exceeded expectations.” Thirty percent said the show “needs improvement,” but this was a decrease from 2022.

One person wrote, “The two show jumping competitions were great however missed the terrier races and various riding exhibitions and demonstrations from the old days and hunt night festivities.”

Although the majority (68.2%) of people who took our survey stated they do plan to attend WIHS again in 2024, this was down from last year’s survey results. There was also an increase in those who stated they were undecided about attending next year.

The Venue
Spectator viewing reports were similar to 2022 with 45% saying the view was “just right” and 45% saying they “could see the competition well.” Ten percent selected “other,” with one person writing: “Overall excellent from everywhere BUT at no point did they mention obstructions such as a judges table – which of all things was in front of the most expensive front row seats that required food add-on option.”

Parking this year received better reviews with 75% feeling it was “just right” and 15% saying parking “exceeding expectations.” Only 5% selected “needs improvement” in relation to parking. However, one person pointed out that “leaving the facility at the end of the show was a nightmare – needed more attendants to help direct traffic.”

Survey responders reported that signage within the venue was better this year with 63.6% stating it was easy to find things and only 4.5% stating it was hard to find things. Fewer people this year felt the facility needs improvement, but one person did feel the arena was “too small for grand prix jumping.”

Overall, hospitality of staff and volunteers got a bump up this year with 50% stating their interactions with staff and volunteers was “just right” and another 25% stating interactions “exceeded expectations.” There were 25% of survey responders who stated they did not interact with staff and/or volunteers.

Vendors
Reports on the shopping vendors were similar this year with 50% feeling the vendor area was “just right,” 45% stating there were not enough options and 5% selecting “other.”

Food vendor comments show an improvement over 2022, but most people (63.2%) still felt there were not enough options. One respondent said: “Food trucks were a nice attempt to provide more than last year but they were too inconveniently located. Plus, no one wants to leave the arena and miss anything especially on barn night when you’re with kids. More indoor food vendors are necessary with family friendly options.”

WIHS logo wear also saw a similar response to 2022 with a slight decrease in the number of people who felt the logo wear was “just right” but also a slight decrease in the number of people who felt it “needs improvement.” There were also 31.6%, which is slightly less than 2022, who stated they did not see any WIHS logo wear.

Write in comments included a need for more kid size t-shirts and some disappointed spectators who said the logo wear booth was closed after the show while people were still shopping.

Digital Program
For the second year in a row, WIHS did away with its traditional printed souvenir program and went with a digital version. A majority of people, however, (55%) still do not even know there is a digital program. This was actually an increase over 2022.

Show Extras
While most people go to WIHS for the competition, the demonstrations and extras that WIHS traditionally presents are also a big draw. This year’s show saw an increase in those who felt the non-competition demonstrations were “just right” (55%) with an increase for those who felt these demonstrations “exceeded expectations.” Unfortunately, our survey also showed there was an increase in those who did not know about the non-competition demonstrations.

Kids’ Day this year was not held at the National Harbor, but there was a Kids’ Day outside the PG Equestrian Center. Unfortunately, our survey showed that as it was last year, most people (75%) did not know about Kids’ Day. This was the same for other special events WIHS offered – 84.6% of survey responders reporting they did not know of any extra events.

Parting Words
At the end of our survey, we asked responders to write in any additional comments on this year’s show and why or why not they plan to attend in 2024.

“Even with the need for improvements, it is an incredible experience for kids and families! We can’t wait for next year.”

“It’s a shame that the show was pushed out of Capital One Arena and DC. The event seems to have lost its luster at PGEC.”

“Loved it!”

“While very happy the show is out of DC, this year’s WIHS did not capture the magic of years past with so many educational and demonstrations and exhibitions and vendors of all types.”

“The best class of barn night is the costume class but it never starts until 9:30ish. Half the crowd is leaving before and during the class as a large percentage of the audience are kids that just can’t function the next day. Please move that class up in the schedule even if it means moving the time up or swapping with the FEI class.”

“It’s a rare, local family friendly opportunity to be up close to such incredible jumping, riders and mounts. Improvements are needed but we will be back again in 2024!”