A great horse show on Friday night…. but
by Fairgoer on 2023-11-16Coca-Cola Coliseum - TorontoMy husband and I are seasoned fair goers and have been organizers and volunteers for over forty years in an agricultural fair. The Royal was on our list every year for a span of about 15 years; life took over and this was our first return visit in many many years. Time brings change- in our opinion some progressive and welcome; others leaving us wondering . To start: 1. Parking indoors under the facility was a plus except we did not find the signage that helpful regarding access to an elevator (Challenging mobility issues, Walker). 2. Once we entered the facility it was not immediately obvious where we were or where an information kiosk might have been located to help us navigate the facility. Yes. I know that a map and info was available online but sometimes it is more informative to speak to a person. And truthfully I did not find the online map that helpful while actually being onsite. So we did not know where to possibly rent a motorized vehicle and continued with just the walker. A suggested plan/ map of options of where to begin the tour might also have been helpful. 3. We found that putting all the food vendors in one area (which seemed to be a long way from the agricultural parts of the fair ) made for a long walk to get a snack or drink especially if you were in the horse/ cattle areas. 4. The ramp up to the « carved butter display » was great…except after waiting in the line going up the ramp, the only way off the ramp was down the stairs. Not handy for those with strollers, walkers, wheelchairs or other mobility issues! Further on accessibility, it seemed that manouevering between the portable viewing stands, cords and the little showring where cattle were being shown, was a bit tight. I don’t know but I don’t recall seeing a place where persons with mobility issues could view events in the ring in the Horse Palace. The only access to the second level of the Horse Palace was by the ramp. Very difficult pushing a walker up the ramp and would have been near impossible in a wheelchair given the structure itself ! 5. We loved the barns and animals; the Holstein judging was interesting, the border collie demo super ( we could not get into Super Dog Show as there was no space left.) We also enjoyed watching exhibitors practising in the ring in the horse palace. Our tickets for the horse show were great- J level. We loved seeing the competitions- esp the Percheron six horse hitch, battle of the breeds, four in hand and of course the jumping (esp the top placing Canadian jumpers!) While the Australian guy (sorry don’t remember his name) was entertaining to watch for a bit, it was very difficult to understand his explanations- sound was not clear which was disappointing. Just an observation- I know times have changed but there did not seem to be as many exhibitors in the classes that we watched as I had seen years back. So in summary- we enjoyed our first return to the Royal after many years of absence, once we had oriented ourselves by doing a lot of walking! The pricing of tickets was acceptable and fair food was pricey but it all is everywhere! Perhaps our age and recent mobility challenges have made outings more difficult and we now recognize the importance of essential services. Some things like signage, accessibility, and person to person access for info are of critical importance to be able to fully enjoy a visit to the Royal. Thank you for letting us share our perspective on our experience at the Royal on Nov.10.