You Can't Go to an Event You Don't Know About

I see it all the time.

Someone posts asking, "Are there any horse shows around here this weekend?"

Someone else is looking for a barrel race, trail ride, clinic, rodeo, team roping, horse sale or another equine event. They want to know where it is, when it starts, who to contact, whether entries are still open or just a little more information before they load up and go.

Then, a few days later, I see another post:

"Unfortunately, due to lack of entries, we've made the difficult decision to cancel..."

And sometimes that cancellation post is the first time I've ever seen anything about the event.

There's a problem here.

We Rely Way Too Much on Social Media

Social media is a great tool. It's just not a very good filing cabinet.

We post a showbill. We share it to a few groups. Friends share it. Maybe the facility shares it. Then we assume everyone who might be interested has seen it.

They haven't.

Social media decides what appears in our feeds, and posts can quickly get lost among advertisements, videos, news, arguments and everything else competing for our attention.

And let's face it—social platforms are built around engagement. They want the click, comment, reaction or share. Sometimes the content that gets the biggest reaction isn't necessarily the content we actually needed to see.

Meanwhile, that little showbill for an event 45 miles down the road may never make it onto your screen.

Remember When You Could Actually Find Things?

There was a time when horse publications were filled with calendars and pages of upcoming events.

You could flip through them and see what was happening this weekend, next weekend and next month.

Horse shows. Rodeos. Sales. Clinics. Ropings. Trail rides. Association events.

You didn't have to hope an algorithm decided you should see them.

Those days are pretty much gone.

So I decided it was time for something new.

That's Why There's The Showbill

The Showbill was created to give equine people one place to find what's happening.

Not just competitors.

Not just event promoters.

All horse people.

Maybe you're looking for your next competition. Maybe you're a spectator who loves watching a good horse show. Maybe your child has become horse crazy and you don't have the slightest idea where to start.

Maybe you're new to the area.

Or maybe you're just sitting around on Saturday morning thinking, I'd sure like to go do something today.

The Showbill is being built to help you find it.

Search for equine events by location, distance, date and event type instead of hoping the right flyer happens to appear in your social media feed.

And if you're organizing an event, list it.

Because people can't enter, attend or support an event they don't know exists.

But Events Are Only the Beginning

My vision for The Showbill is bigger than an event calendar.

I want it to become a one-stop resource for all things equine, for all folks equine.

That includes a marketplace where horse owners—and future horse owners—can find the things they need.

It includes a service directory because horse people travel.

You can't exactly pack your veterinarian and farrier in the trailer when you leave home.

When you're hauling a horse across the country and need a safe place to stop overnight, you should be able to find one. If you need a veterinarian, farrier or another equine service while you're away from home, there should be an easier way to find that too.

The goal is simple:

Find events. Find services. Find what you need.

All in a place built specifically for the equine world.

Western Is In. Some of Us Never Left.

Western is having a moment right now.

Western fashion, cowboy culture and the western lifestyle are suddenly everywhere.

I love seeing it.

But some of us were western even when western wasn't the coolest thing to be.

The horse world is made up of competitors, professionals, weekend riders, backyard horse owners, spectators, kids dreaming about their first horse and people who simply love being around them.

The Showbill is for all of them.

Whether you've been doing this your entire life or you're standing outside the fence wondering how to get started, you're welcome here.

It's Time for a Better Way to Find the Horse World

Social media isn't going anywhere, and it shouldn't. It's still a valuable way to promote events, businesses and organizations.

But it shouldn't be the only way people can find them.

An event shouldn't struggle for entries while people 50 miles away are asking where they can go compete that weekend.

A spectator shouldn't find out about a great event in their hometown because they saw pictures after it was over.

And a newcomer shouldn't have to know the right people, follow the right pages and join the right groups just to figure out what's happening.

That's what The Showbill is here to change.

The horse world is a big place.

It's time we had one place to find it.