I know that die-hard horse enthusiasts eagerly anticipate the airing of television coverage of such events as the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** and the Budweiser American Invitational. Having the opportunity to watch the legends of the sport compete is invaluable for fans and young riders, especially since many of them aren’t necessarily able to travel to the shows to see them live. All those individuals who have worked so hard and invested so much to make it possible deserve many kudos and our gratitude, to be sure. They have made great moments in horse sports accessible to a multitude of fans who would otherwise only read about them in magazines like the Chronicle.
But the simple fact remains that horse sports on television have yet to attract a large broad-base audience. The average non-horsey television viewer doesn’t get excited watching David O’Connor in his victory gallop, or seeing Beezie Madden jump a clear round, because they just don’t know who they are. How do we make them interested?
I believe that the key to answering that question lies in telling the human-interest stories behind the riders and horses. Some of the most popular portions of NBC’s Olympic coverage in 2000 were the stories of the underdogs, such as the swimmer from Africa who took longer than anyone else to complete his laps, but who got the most cheers because the crowd knew what an effort he had made just to compete.
We need to find those stories in our horse sports and highlight them to capture the interest of the general public. A perfect example would be from the Budweiser American Invitational (April 16, p. 104)-Derek Petersen took seventh with the fastest four-fault first round. It was the biggest night of his life, and his parents had flown in from South Africa to watch the class. His round, however, was announced in the stadium just as all the others, with his name, hometown, and a synopsis of his recent wins.
Don’t you think the audience, both of the class and the TV coverage, would have related to the fact that competing in the Invitational wasn’t just another class to Petersen, but instead the realization of years of dreaming and hard work? What better way to address the elitist aura of our sport than to highlight the fact that this competitor, 17 years before, was working as jump crew for the Invitational? And that by working his way up through the ranks and being surprised by one phenomenal horse, he wound up living a night he’d only imagined.
Non-horsey spectators who become avid fans won’t do so because they know the horses, or the fact that an Olympic gold medalist is riding. They become fans because they start to care about the people and the horses. Tell the story behind the competitor, not just their record of wins. It doesn’t even have to be for every rider, but pick one or two to focus on and spark an interest in the crowd.
Yes, doing so would take a little bit of research, but it would be worth it. Imagine if when Derek Petersen had galloped into the ring, the announcers had given the crowd his background, and made it clear for them just how important this class was to him. Don’t you think they would have cheered just a little louder for him, and maybe even thought about following his career?
My father once said of horses, “They’re all brown, and they’re all expensive.” We may bridle at that characterization, but to the average observer, that’s the truth. We need to make the horses and riders individuals, with interesting stories, to capture the attention of the general audience. Find a way to make a spectator relate to a rider or a horse, and to care about how they perform, and you’ll keep them from changing the channel.