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Post by sundance on Sept 13, 2015 10:43:21 GMT
What is it like?
Is it all on a surface? Are the stables secure? I have one who likes to climb the walls! Will I need to take my mesh boards to stop him getting his legs through the stable walls?! And wood to barricade him in?!
Do they have nice showers?
And is the food on site ok?
First time visitors and I like to know what I am dealing with in advance lol!
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Post by lottiemayday on Sept 13, 2015 16:36:53 GMT
Hiya we were there a fews weeks ago for royal london stables arent great I would take things to secure and unless they have moved them ground isnt great either.. there is the main indoor and smaller indoor and one outdoor school however the grass rings were good ground flat not rutty...there is a cafe, a resturant and a bar!! and food was good and not mega expensive and portions were huge ..showers werent great and pressure dropped completely a few times but aslong as u had flipflops did the job if u want any more info just message me xx
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Post by Welshcob92 on Sept 13, 2015 21:05:02 GMT
Stables are horrific, we went for the tsr show earlier this spring with 2 ponies, paid a fair price for the stables for one night, they were temp stables with a marquee style roof in an American barn set up, the roof was slack (not taught) so flapped in the slightest wind, with big rips and holes in it, the entrance to the stable block also had the flappy tarpauling over it, so that our 14.2 mare couldn't even fit under it, managed to lift it up, but then mare was petrified in the stable. Dirty wet floor in the stable that resembled a compost heap.
We immediately went to the stable manager/onley grounds staff,after one of our ponies put her head over the door, and the door flew open (very insecure and flimsy) a lady turned up to our stable (think she may own or run onley) with a very rude manner, would not help us with any of our concerns, and told us 'if we did dressage like she did, we would pay more for stables and get decent stables', very rude woman. After telling her we were not satisfied, one of her staff members stepped in and offered to put her own 2 horses out over night that were stabled at Onley, so we could have her stables for the night, lovely lady! All of this was in front of large group of people who were also complaining about there stables.
Sorry for the rant, but the whole experience was horrific, and I will not attend a show at Onley again that requires over night stabling, the worst I have ever used, and we have stayed away at over 20 shows this year all over the UK.
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Post by haggismarmite on Sept 13, 2015 21:10:02 GMT
Have to say unless they've changed them the stables are awful, very old temporary wooden ones, lots of projecting nails, splinters, dodgy doors roofs etc... Last time we were there overnight a couple of horses escaped and were found rocking our lorry at 2am. They are not good for a horse that is going to try to escape.
Rings inside and out are good, food is good and the butchers shop is fab but overnighting would be hard.
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Post by katie30 on Sept 13, 2015 21:45:21 GMT
I think there are some better stables. We had ok stables for Royal London. No probs at all. Guess any temps might be dodgy if he's really determined though.
Food lovely
Showers typical mobile ones but work well. Defo take flip flops!
Rings and good but lots of people had issues with horses spooking at the lorry body parked by the outdoor school and it was flapping
We found the staff helpful. I wonder if they have stallion boxes that may suit you better?
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Post by sundance on Sept 13, 2015 21:56:32 GMT
I'm staying 3 nights next weekend, eek, dreading it now! Think I might give it a miss, typical have paid out over £100 in entry fees, but better to be safe than sorry, never mind!
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Post by shettiefan on Sept 13, 2015 23:24:55 GMT
Had a dreadful time at royal London with stables. Offered us dirty stables and mills apart. Took 3 hours to get ok stable in side which were still not great either. Agree about showers take flip flops. Rings ok.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2015 5:41:43 GMT
Yep have to agree about the stables. We went to toys last year and one of ours got out of the stable within minutes of going in!! We were moved (had to as door hanging off) buy new stable not much better. Entire frame was coming down by the time we left. Had to barricade pony in. Found staff to be helpful though.
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Post by conniegirl on Sept 15, 2015 11:28:24 GMT
Unless it has drasticly improved since I went then the stables are death traps that are mostly flooded out anyway and the drive has so many huge pot holes will damage your car on the way in! The staff at onley are rude and unhelpful and after a disasterous experience there I will not go back! Its a shame as there are several big shows held there (ARCHES, TSR etc) but I wont put my horse at risk like that!
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Post by maihem on Sept 15, 2015 20:11:32 GMT
We have stayed overnight for Royal London for the last 5yrs and do it for the duration. Yes one year we had a stable that the door broke, but it was fixed within half an hour. This year we had a hinge break but again was fixed whilst we were at the rings. I always have at least 1 stallion and mare and gelding, one of ours this year was 17.2 and he was fine.
The staff are nice people and if you speak to them as you would want to be spoken to, they were very helpful. Bar, cafe and shops are great! The showers that are permanent are good but yes the portable ones can get a bit sludgy.
We will no doubt be going again next year. I hope if you decide to go that you have a great time and do very well xxx
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LinzyD
Junior Member
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Post by LinzyD on Sept 16, 2015 12:01:34 GMT
If stables are erected specifically for the event you are attending, you will probably be ok, but the temporary stables that are permanently on site are appalling, unsafe and filthy. It is worth finding out how many stables there are going to be. The ones that are put up for the big shows held there are generally no worse than at any other big shows, but they keep a couple of blocks of them up permanently for the smaller events and they are truly shocking.
I attended a dressage finals there earlier this year and if it hadn't been for the fact that I'd had a bad journey and couldn't face driving again straight away I'd have turned round and gone home. The stables were leaking, the roof was sagging, partitions were broken, the passageway was strewn with litter and bits of broken stable, the bins were overflowing, and everything was utterly squalid, and this was the first day of the event. And they had the cheek to take a 'deposit' for the stable!!! I refused to pay it, arguing that they should be paying me for cleaning up the muck of ages and ridding the area of hazardous litter. I made the best of things as everyone was in the same boat, and also I didn't want to have any upset while there on my own, but I then emailed the office after I'd got home and I didn't even get the courtesy of a reply. Like someone has said above, I've stabled all over the country for both showing and dressage and never had anything so bad.
Other things that I raised in my email to the office that also impacted on the overnight stay were: - A private party took place on the Saturday night in the cafe area, which can be hired out as a party venue. Guests at the party were fighting and marauding in the lorry parking area, which, being on my own, I found quite frightening as there was no security on site. The noise of the party and comings and goings prevented sleep too. Not directly the fault of the venue, but still their responsibility to ensure the site is safe, that their clients obey rules, and that their various income-generating activities are compatible. - On the Saturday day time two ponies were brought in to the stable line obviously directly from a low-value sale. Both still had their lot numbers stuck to their quarters. These were 'quarantined' in the temporary stables, away from the livery yard but right next to competitors' horses, and with total disregard for any health risk to competitors' horses. I know that's a risk that we take every time we stay away with horses, but the blatant disregard certainly added to my sense that those stables are unfit to put high-value horses in.
The catering facilities are excellent. The bar area is warm, welcoming and very pleasant. The loos are lovely and warm, always clean, and with plenty of loo roll. The on-site shops are nice. The showers are better than some. The surfaces are excellent. And there are parts that are really smart, like the office area and upstairs viewing gallery. The drive in is horrendous because of the pot holes. The whole site is scattered with discarded objects and detritus.
It's a really schizophrenic place, I'd say. Some elements are fab, and others are the absolute worst I've ever come across.
If I were you, OP, I would phone and find out exactly what the stabling arrangement is. If there are going to be stables erected specifically for the event, say you want one of those and NOT one of the ones that is always there. Take plenty of shavings with you - 4 bales at least - so that you can put a big, dry bed down even if there's a puddle in your stable. Ask also whether there are any private parties or anything else happening during your stay, and if so, what the security arrangements are, what time it finishes, etc.
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Post by Wiltshire Man on Sept 16, 2015 13:26:38 GMT
If stables are erected specifically for the event you are attending, you will probably be ok, but the temporary stables that are permanently on site are appalling, unsafe and filthy. It is worth finding out how many stables there are going to be. The ones that are put up for the big shows held there are generally no worse than at any other big shows, but they keep a couple of blocks of them up permanently for the smaller events and they are truly shocking. I attended a dressage finals there earlier this year and if it hadn't been for the fact that I'd had a bad journey and couldn't face driving again straight away I'd have turned round and gone home. The stables were leaking, the roof was sagging, partitions were broken, the passageway was strewn with litter and bits of broken stable, the bins were overflowing, and everything was utterly squalid, and this was the first day of the event. And they had the cheek to take a 'deposit' for the stable!!! I refused to pay it, arguing that they should be paying me for cleaning up the muck of ages and ridding the area of hazardous litter. I made the best of things as everyone was in the same boat, and also I didn't want to have any upset while there on my own, but I then emailed the office after I'd got home and I didn't even get the courtesy of a reply. Like someone has said above, I've stabled all over the country for both showing and dressage and never had anything so bad. Other things that I raised in my email to the office that also impacted on the overnight stay were: - A private party took place on the Saturday night in the cafe area, which can be hired out as a party venue. Guests at the party were fighting and marauding in the lorry parking area, which, being on my own, I found quite frightening as there was no security on site. The noise of the party and comings and goings prevented sleep too. Not directly the fault of the venue, but still their responsibility to ensure the site is safe, that their clients obey rules, and that their various income-generating activities are compatible. - On the Saturday day time two ponies were brought in to the stable line obviously directly from a low-value sale. Both still had their lot numbers stuck to their quarters. These were 'quarantined' in the temporary stables, away from the livery yard but right next to competitors' horses, and with total disregard for any health risk to competitors' horses. I know that's a risk that we take every time we stay away with horses, but the blatant disregard certainly added to my sense that those stables are unfit to put high-value horses in. The catering facilities are excellent. The bar area is warm, welcoming and very pleasant. The loos are lovely and warm, always clean, and with plenty of loo roll. The on-site shops are nice. The showers are better than some. The surfaces are excellent. And there are parts that are really smart, like the office area and upstairs viewing gallery. The drive in is horrendous because of the pot holes. The whole site is scattered with discarded objects and detritus. It's a really schizophrenic place, I'd say. Some elements are fab, and others are the absolute worst I've ever come across. If I were you, OP, I would phone and find out exactly what the stabling arrangement is. If there are going to be stables erected specifically for the event, say you want one of those and NOT one of the ones that is always there. Take plenty of shavings with you - 4 bales at least - so that you can put a big, dry bed down even if there's a puddle in your stable. Ask also whether there are any private parties or anything else happening during your stay, and if so, what the security arrangements are, what time it finishes, etc. Absolutely agreed everything with LinzyD. It was a nightmare to drive on that horrible track !1 And I was shocked the state of the stables when I drove passed !!
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Post by pipandflo on Sept 16, 2015 13:56:02 GMT
Is this where the Heritage Championships are held and do bsps competitors have to use these stables?
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Post by sallie on Sept 16, 2015 14:04:06 GMT
BSPS USED ONLY ONCE MANY YEARS AGO MAYBE IN THE 3RD YEAR BUT THE last several years it has been at Grantham oops sorry caps on not shouting
All the BSPS Champs are held at Grantham
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Post by marymary on Sept 17, 2015 7:26:16 GMT
Café and bar are excellent.
Driveway - awful.
Stabling - Horrendous have stayed twice first year we had broken glass in our box and I refused to put pony in it and they did to be fair find another box that was better.
We had bought hook up and no one could tell us where to park for that either ...3hrs later we had hook up.
This year it took an hour on arrival to find anyone who could tell us what boxes we had. A passing tractor driver helped us in the end .
Stables were truly awful and I paid £60 per box for them. Nearly loaded up and took ponies home again. They weren't wet but they were full of rubble massive chunks of breeze blocks one of our ponies got very stressed in them and he us used to staying away.
Am never stabling there again ever.
The grass rings are lovely and well kept have never been on their surfaces so cant comment.
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Post by Toaster on Sept 17, 2015 12:38:13 GMT
Its improving bit by bit all the time, the rubbish is clearing each time I go there and they are trying to address the driveway problem albeit slowly
In the next few years I think it will be a venue in high demand but as some people above say there are some fundamental problems that need to shoot up the list of priorities
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Post by sundance on Sept 17, 2015 19:10:49 GMT
Thank you for your responses!
I am here at Onley!
And I'm pleased to report it isn't half as bad as you make out!
I cannot find the flooded flappy dirty stables with ripped roofs anywhere. There are around 100 or more temp boxes on a flat yard. All are cleaned out and mostly empty. My first stable allocated had the door stuck shut, but I was moved straight away to another 2 in good repair. I cannot find any in disrepair or dangerous and I've been round the lot!
Driveway is fine, no potholes, just a bit juddery concrete, negotiated smoothly in 2nd gear.
Food limited choice but I am waiting for my chicken tikka now.
Arenas look a little tired, but not bad and grass rings look well maintained.
Water very slow though!
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Post by Welshcob92 on Sept 17, 2015 21:55:50 GMT
Thank you for your responses! I am here at Onley! And I'm pleased to report it isn't half as bad as you make out! I cannot find the flooded flappy dirty stables with ripped roofs anywhere. There are around 100 or more temp boxes on a flat yard. All are cleaned out and mostly empty. My first stable allocated had the door stuck shut, but I was moved straight away to another 2 in good repair. I cannot find any in disrepair or dangerous and I've been round the lot! Driveway is fine, no potholes, just a bit juddery concrete, negotiated smoothly in 2nd gear. Food limited choice but I am waiting for my chicken tikka now. Arenas look a little tired, but not bad and grass rings look well maintained. Water very slow though! The temp stable they hire in is better than the temp stabling they have up permanently for less attended stay over events so you are probably in the hired in stables..
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