Autumn shows and game fairs

Managing softening autumn ground

Through summer, showground grass is usually firm and a buggy runs across it easily. By autumn, the ground is turning: earlier rain has begun to soak in, dew sits longer, and a wet spell softens a field that would have shrugged it off in July. So autumn ground needs more care than summer ground, and the wet-weather thinking, covered in wet weather events and buggies, starts to matter again.

This does not mean a buggy cannot work an autumn show; most autumn showgrounds are still perfectly usable. It means the ground is described honestly, the routes favour the firmer going and any hardstanding, and where a wet autumn has left a site soft, trackway on the key routes keeps the fleet moving. Autumn is the season where the ground conversation returns after the easy summer, and it is worth having properly.

Shorter days and lighting

The other autumn shift is daylight. A show that ran comfortably in full light through a long summer day finds the light going earlier in autumn, so the operating hours compress and any late activity, the pack-down especially, happens in fading light or dark. That makes lighting on the buggies matter again, and it means the breakdown, which is heavy work at any show, is more likely to run into the dark than a midsummer one would.

So plan the autumn show day around the shorter light, and equip the buggies for dark running at the ends of the day. It is a small adjustment from summer, but an easy one to overlook when the habit is set by the long days of the peak season.

The familiar show mix

Underneath the seasonal changes, an autumn show or game fair is the same large-site hire as any other: officials and stewards moving to a schedule, exhibitors needing stock and stands shifted, and a broad public across many acres including older and less mobile visitors who benefit from an accessibility provision. The acreage is the constant, and it is why these events use transport regardless of season. The detail of the show mix is in the county and agricultural shows and game and country fairs pages.

As with any show, hire for the build and breakdown, not just the show days, because raising and striking a large rural site is heavy work and, in autumn, increasingly likely to happen in soft ground and short light. Tell us the site, the dates and how the ground drains, and we plan an autumn show hire for the softening ground and the shortening days.

Common questions

Is autumn ground a problem for a show buggy

It needs more care than summer ground, because autumn rain and dew soften a field that would have shrugged them off in July. Most autumn showgrounds are still usable. We describe the ground honestly, favour the firmer going, and use trackway where a wet autumn has left a site soft.

Do shorter autumn days affect the transport

Yes. The light goes earlier, so operating hours compress and the pack-down is more likely to run into the dark than a midsummer show. The buggies are equipped with lights for dark running at the ends of the day, and the day is planned around the shorter light. It is a small but easy-to-miss adjustment.

Is an autumn game fair the same as a summer one for transport

The site and the mix are the same, officials, exhibitors and visitors over many acres, but the season changes the ground and the light. Autumn ground is softening and the days are shorter, so the transport is planned for wetter going and dark running that a summer fair would not need.

Should we hire for the build and breakdown

Yes, as at any show. Raising and striking a large rural site is heavy work, and in autumn it is increasingly likely to happen in soft ground and short light. Hire for the full period, not just the show days, and we plan the vehicles for the conditions the build and breakdown will meet.