Key Equestrian Event forced to close

Credit:
Lorianne Garrison, The Ottawa Citizen, ottawa citizen
Published: Monday, March 12, 2007

A major Ottawa horse show that brought an average of 20,000 people to the area each year has been canceled over a financial conflict with the city.

The 2007 Capital Classic Show Jumping Tournament and Festival won’t run this year because the city downloaded expenses to the event and increased show costs by 70 per cent,  Capital Classic president Ralph Shaw said Monday.

The show had been paying $30,000 rent a year to use the 270-acre Nepean National Equestrian Park, including upkeep like watering the grounds, staffing the park and extraneous costs that the city now says  must come from the show’s coffers, Mr. Shaw said.

But those extra costs, which amounted to $21,000, increased total show expenses to $51,000. The show, as a not-for-profit organization with a limited budget, cannot afford the increase, Mr. Shaw said.

Officials from Kubota Canada Ltd., the show’s main sponsor, were unavailable for comment.
Aaron Burry, the city’s director of parks and recreation, said city council decided in 2004 to pass on the costs to the show as part of a bid to get festivals to cover more of their own expenses. It was felt they could provide the services for less than the city.

Mr. Burry said the city did not increase the show’s rent, which is about $6,000 a day.
Speaking for Mayor Larry O’Brien, David Gibbons said the city had phased in the initiative over three years.

While the show knew the downloading was coming, Mr. Shaw said there was no way officials could raise enough money to meet the costs.

“It’s not like we can go and conjure up more money to give to the city,” he said. Mr. Shaw said the show tried to get the city to lower the rent by $10,000 to $20,000, but the city would not negotiate. It’s too late for the show to run this year, and it won’t be held next year unless the rent is lowered as requested, he said.

But Mr. Gibbons said he felt there were other motives behind the show’s cancellation.
“There’s a show in Quebec that’s cutting into their sales,” he said.

In a press release, the show admitted another factor in this year’s cancellation was “the detrimental financial impact” of the Equine Canada and the Ontario Equestrian Federation’s withdrawal of their Jump Canada series and Federation Equine International status in 2006.

Without the international status, the show couldn’t have a World Cup class in 2006, according to Jeremy Denouden, horse show manager and chairman of the competitions council for the Ontario Equestrian Federation.

Certain elements of the 2005 show led to the international status being withdrawn, Mr. Denouden said, but it shouldn’t have had a big financial impact, despite losing the World Cup class. “If I (as a show manager) were to lose my status for World Cup, it wouldn’t effect my sponsorship. Lots and lots of horse shows don’t have World Cups.”

The loss of the federation’s sponsorship was a “punishment” for scheduling issues in 2005, Mr. Shaw said, but they could have had international status reinstated this year, had the show run. The downloading costs were the main reason the show was cancelled, Mr. Shaw stressed.

The Capital Classic show was the only A-level horse show —the highest caliber of competition — in Ottawa, he said.

“The cancellation of the Ottawa show is a big loss for jumpers. (But) I would count on, in a year or two, someone trying to create an Ottawa horse show again.”

Alan Chesler of the equestrian body Jump Canada, and father of 26 year-old Frankie Chesler, who won the 2005 Grand Prix in the Capital Classic, said he is deeply saddened by the loss of the Ottawa show.

“It’s just a terrible thing to lose that show. The crowds that come out for it are just phenomenal,” Mr. Chesler said.

The Capital Classic was scheduled for its 20th show on July 18-27 before the cancellation was announced last week.

One of the largest shows in Eastern Ontario, last year it attracted more than 700 horses to compete and offered a pot of $150,000. Mr. Shaw said a study had shown the Capital Classic brought in $7 million to $8 million annually to the area.

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