The two horse shows organised by the Bolesworth team are usually very well organised, with a strong influence on entertainment away from the arena as well as in it.
This year's Bolesworth International Horse Show was no exception, with the unofficial strap-line that it was the biggest one ever. The shopping village now included a music stage which provided late night entertainment on both Friday and Saturday nights - more of this later - and the show took on a more county show type feel over the weekend as a third arena hosted demonstrations and displays.
The three-star international show was pretty much as I remembered it from previous years, culminating in the Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon. The daily schedule was long, with jumping continuing until after 7 or 8pm most nights, especially Friday and Saturday, when it dovetailed straight into the musical acts on the stage.
I would like to give a particular mention to the arena party in the International Arena. I noticed how fast they were to react not only to poles hitting the floor, but also to lost shoes and loose horses. By contrast, one foreign member of the Castle Arena crew could have done with spending less time on her phone.
On the subject of the music, I feel the show got one evening spot on but much less so the other. Friday night got everybody revved up with the Ride and Drive, and then the live band was Rick Parfitt Jr's. They got the audience demographic just right, playing a range of timeless covers which filled the stage area and created an excellent atmosphere. I didn't stay for much of the DJ who followed but first impressions were that she also got the tone absolutely right, playing bangers from the start.
On Saturday, on the other hand, I felt the Brand New Heavies were a bit too "big band" for the young audience, who didn't seem to enjoy the jazzy vibe, brass section etc. Trevor Nelson was the DJ who followed them and his set was very different from the night before, with a strong Motown and R&B feel, which appealed to some but not all, judging by the queues for the bar!
Bolesworth 2023 Facilities
On the subject of the bars, I feel they got this wrong. On Wednesday and Thursday evenings there was no extra entertainment as such, which was fine, but for those of us on site who had been working hard all day, a drink was calling us. There were three bars in total. The International Arena Bar shut at 8pm, leaving the Riders Bar by Hospitality and Hospitality itself as the remaining options. If you didn't have a Hospitality wristband then this was not an option, so when the Riders Bar closed at 10pm that was your lot. Luckily security on Hospitality had their common sense heads on and let people go to the Hospitality Bar where they could be served more quickly on the condition they then returned outside. This was especially popular when the Riders Bar started to run out of popular drinks.
On Friday and Saturday, though, the International Arena Bar was the only bar open late, which often meant ridiculous queues and long waits for service. Understandably enough I saw a lot of exhibitors and riders drinking their own booze on these nights.
Other facilities were excellent, especially the toilets and showers. These were provided by Blue Loos from Malpas and set the standard for show facilities. Starting or ending the day with a hot and powerful shower was wonderful. I was a little concerned when the public camping area around the exhibitors camping filled up on Friday and appeared to be sharing the same facilities, but I needn't have been concerned. They continued to be regularly serviced and I never had to queue or wait.
One small observation was that the toilet area beside the Castle Arena is no more. Instead, the loos had moved to the back of the stage area, a short walk away, but this was not immediately obvious or well signposted. Wednesday and Thursday saw a few people wandering around looking for them!
There were a small selection of eating options on site, including jacket potatoes, pulled pork, fried chicken, crepes and pizzas. The pizza trailer beside the Riders Bar became a firm favourite with many, although this meant long queues between 5pm and 9pm. However, the staff there worked ridiculous hours and rivalled the toastie unit at HOYS for longevity and service.