NPS qualifiers

[nappies]

Can someone please tell me why you have stopped the NPS qualifiers. Always came to your shows but not now as not an PUK fan. Dissappointed!!!!!!!

[Admin]

Welcome Nappies, the SWPA Chairman will be on Later and will be able to answer your question.

SWPA are always welcome for feedback and sugestions.

[droppy]

I apprciate it is hard to get NPS panel judges, BUT it was great swpa did the qualifiers aswell as PUK, the NPS seems to be dying a death in cornwall and devon areas is there anything we can do to help?

[medwinatswpa]

nappies said:

Can someone please tell me why you have stopped the NPS qualifiers. Always came to your shows but not now as not an PUK fan. Dissappointed!!!!!!!

Hi nappies welcome to our forum.

We stopped the NPS for a variety of reasons which are:
1. Lack of NPS judges in the SW particularly M&M's. Lack of judges who are willing to come and judge at shows that are not county shows or area qualifiers. [This is a problem that the NPS need to address directly - suggestions made by the SWPA committee to support this have not even been given a curtesy of a reply.] AND there are those judges that could, and would, come but wish to compete at our shows, not judge!
2. High costs of expences to reinburse judges from outside the area. £260 paid last year to one NPS judge at the Welsh show.
3. Lack of entries - no show will continue to run classes that are not supported and therefore considered unpopular. Our review of all 8 of our shows concluded that within our 3 that held NPS qualifiers last year there was little interest in the Picton and Intermediates and same in the pony breeding classes, Lead Reins and First riddens. In just the same way we have dropped the Burghley Young Event Horse for PUK. We invited two judges to judge that series of classes and did not have one single entry. The NPS workers at our summer show had few entries too. I know some NPS M&M's classes had 4/6 entries [like the one you were in], but when you look at the entries in our own qualifiers - they were huge!

SWPA is first and foremost an association who have always put the members first. We are not here to run shows for the non-members who just want to chase a particular qualification at an odd show. They do not make the shows pay - it is the support of the membership that is the financial profitability for the association and keeps it afloat. We put on a wide range of classes and aim to cater for the majority who want to qualify for their own regional championships at our Sept 3-day show. We run a very open association where the membership are invited to comment and have a say in how the association is run - done through the facility of our annual AGM. Many are saying that we put on too many classes and to address that we have chosen to drop the ones that are not supported or profitable.

I hope I have answered your questions as fully as possible, but feel free to ask again if I have not.

PS - Our Welsh show this year has Welsh Medal classes and Performance classes as requested last year

[medwinatswpa]

droppy said:

I apprciate it is hard to get NPS panel judges, BUT it was great swpa did the qualifiers aswell as PUK, the NPS seems to be dying a death in cornwall and devon areas is there anything we can do to help?

Support those who wish to start up shows in your area by offering to help and consider attending meetings or going on to a committee. If you run your own shows then you can choose which qualifiers to run such as NPS, BSPS etc. With an "open" committee and plenty of help and teamwork you will make an organised show sucessful - trust me!

PS Anyone wants any help to get a new show started - just email me

[droppy]

Thanks for comments Medwin they are being taken on board, just as I have asked if people interested in shows for cornwall I believe only a couple have replied, Like you say you dont put them on if they dont cover costs with all the help that is required to set a show up

[kitty]

I understand and totally agree with everything you say but when we did the NPS LR and FR last year, the classes were better supported than at the Trinity Show this year and nearly all of those competitors also entered the PUK LR and FR which meant that they were also supported.
A couple of our friends from Cornwall and Devon didn't go this year as they didn't want to make the journey for just PUK qualifiers. We also know people who came down from Birmingham and Leicester last year as you had all the qualifiers in Wales. And now we've even lost NPS Area 26 so if anyone knows of any shows (apart from Area10), in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset etc. that have NPS qualifiers, please let us all know.
NPS will have to reduce their costs and make more judges available or reimburse them at a higher rate or offer some sort of grant system to show organisers when judges have to travel long distances. I really don't think any of us want to lose them and there are a lot of very good ponies down here to represent the South West at the Champs, and a good number are owned by SWPA members!

[droppy]

Area 10's show is not untill 12th Aug a bit late to try and get qualifiers. Lets us know if there are anymore, perhaps if some judges see this they might offer their services.

[kitty]

Sharon, do you mean Area 26?

[titch]

Yeh 26 is on the 12th of august

[karen]

area 10 is 1st of july

[nappies]

Thank you for your reply. Taken on board. It is a shame therefore there is not more support for the NPS as we always enjoy your shows because of the welcoming atmosphere-even when it was the first time we competed.
Have noted your medal class!

[droppy]

Yes Lucy I mean area 26 you know I am stupid....

[medwinatswpa]

We have suggested to the NPS that just for one year they should open their judges panel to assessment done in a similar way to PUK. With a non-NPS assessor and done with validity and reliable assessment the judges panel would have new, fresh blood that would be in sufficient numbers to address the problems they are experiencing this year. You cannot ask experienced breeders and existing panel judges with years of experience between them to do two years probating. Some take it as an insult and walk away!

PS Did we get a reply? No

[titch]

Seems like they are a little narrow minded and a little unhelpful