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When people outside the horse world ask riders when they get a break, the answer is often uncomfortable.
“This is a 52-week-a-year sport,” said Grand Prix rider and trainer James Fairclough II. “We’re showing the week of Christmas. We’re showing the week of Thanksgiving. We’re showing the weeks of our annual meetings.”
For Fairclough, that reality isn’t a badge of honor. It’s a warning sign.
In a recent Plaidchat conversation, he spoke candidly about how the relentless, FEI-driven calendar has reshaped not just competition, but the entire ecosystem around it.
When Downtime Disappeared
Fairclough remembers a time when the season had rhythm. There were stretches of competition followed by real breaks—weeks when barns reset, horses rested, and people recovered. “When we did it domestically, we actually had weeks off,” he said. “Everything was shut down for an entire week.”
That pause mattered. Horses had time to absorb their work. Riders had space to think. Trainers could plan long-term rather than react week to week.
As FEI competition expanded in the United States, Fairclough believes that rhythm disappeared. “As FEI came into the U.S. market, that’s when we truly became a 52-week sport,” he said. “Nothing stops.”
Chasing Never Ends
The pressure to keep showing isn’t driven by ambition alone. It’s structural.
“With that many weeks of showing, everyone’s forced to chase the ball,” Fairclough said. “You’re trying to get your global ranking up.”
In Fairclough’s view, riders often feel they have little choice. Falling off the calendar means falling behind.
That constant chasing trickles down through every level of the sport. National shows are forced to compete with FEI events running simultaneously. Trainers split strings across venues or sacrifice visibility. Horses rotate endlessly to keep schedules moving.
The result, Fairclough argues, is exhaustion—physical, mental, and emotional.
Horses Feel it Too
Fairclough pushes back on the idea that increased regulation automatically equals improved horse welfare. “As much as they will tell you they’re looking out for the welfare of the horses,” he said, “when you add that many weeks of showing, everyone’s forced to chase.”
In his view, there is a contradiction between strict medication rules, jog requirements, and equipment regulations—and a system that incentivizes nonstop competition.
Running horses week after week, Fairclough believes, leaves little room for true rest or recovery. Instead, horses are cycled in and out of competition to sustain rankings, schedules, and business demands.
The Business Pressure Underneath
For trainers, the 52-week calendar creates an impossible balancing act. “I have to focus on my business,” Fairclough said. “What pays the bills.” The cost of nonstop showing—entries, staff, housing, insurance, logistics—adds up quickly. Even well-run programs feel the squeeze.
“You’re $5,500 a week in entries in Wellington,” Fairclough said elsewhere in the conversation. “That’s just to show.” Without a pause in the season, there is little opportunity to regroup financially. Expenses roll straight into the next week, the next show, the next circuit.
A System Built for Endurance, Not Longevity
Fairclough worries that the sport has confused endurance with sustainability. In his view, the current system forces people to run themselves ragged. It’s not just riders, but trainers, staff, and owners as well. “If I can feel it,” he said, “you bet the kids feel it.”
The danger, Fairclough argues, is not an immediate collapse, but attrition. Riders quietly stepping away. Trainers narrowing their scope. Young professionals deciding the cost—financial and personal—is too high.
Fairclough calls for some space. Space to develop horses without constant pressure. Space for national shows to breathe. Space for riders to build careers without living on the brink of burnout.
“We need to make it special again,” he said. “For the horses. For the riders. For the people coming up.”
In Fairclough’s view, rest is a strategy. And without it, the sport risks losing the very people it depends on to survive.
Want more insight from James Fairclough II? Listen to this episode of The Plaidchat and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform for conversations with the most influential voices in the equestrian world.
