First off, I want to say a huge “YOU’RE WELCOME!!” to all the thank-you’s we have received after the Rolex/Derby/Badminton bonanza. Your kind words really keep us going, and it’s nice to know our hard-working (and sometimes futile) efforts are appreciated.
That said, I want to encourage everyone to keep communicating with us! Let us know what you like (Rolex videos) and don’t like (headline scrolling Twitter feed) and we’ll do our best to adjust the site’s content as we can. We do this crazy site for YOU, as much as us, so speak up if you have an idea! We’d love to hear it! Send an email to John ([email protected]), Leslie ([email protected]) or me ([email protected]), or leave a note in the comment section. We read every comment posted here, and try to respond when we can.
Speaking of the comment section– y’all commenters have been on fire lately! And we love it! Believe it or not, John does grow tired of hearing himself talk (lord knows I get tired of it) and it’s wonderful to read insights and thoughts from the rest of Eventing Nation (that being YOU). Please continue to share breaking news, story updates, or just your general thoughts on life and horses. We want this site to be about YOU, and not just our drivel we dribble on the screen. Get to know each other, share advice, sympathy, or congratulations, debate and discuss hot topics (air vests?!) and have fun with it. I *know* you support each other– read any of the comments from a Rider Profile! We’d really like to keep building more community-type environment here, if that’s ok with you.
One thing, though. Some of the comment conversation gets a little muddy when readers don’t bother to label themselves…it’s hard to identify which “Anonymous” poster you’re responding to. I ask that you please make up a name— use your initials, your home state, your dog’s name, get creative with something clever– I don’t care what you call yourself (make me laugh!) but it would be nice un-anonymize the comment section a little bit. We do NOT require you to register, or even provide an email…but a name would be nice!
Other site features: I’m sure most of you have been here long enough (and wasted enough company time) to play around with the site format. We try to make articles easy to find, with a comprehensive category listing, and quick-reference tabs on the upper menu bar. There’s always the search tool, too! If you’re having trouble locating something, let us know– we’ll find it for you, and try to improve the site’s searchability.
For those of you who created a user account, you may also make use of the “favorite” icon next to the comment bubble of each post. Ever wondered what that little star was? If you’ve logged in to your account, you can click on the star and it registers that you “liked” that post. Pretty much NO ONE does this, but it is there if you would like to use it. Enough “likes” would tell the author to write more of it! A little note in the comment section works just as well. (John’s investigated an easier “like/dislike” function, but no luck yet.)
We have a lot of really awesome stuff coming up in the next few weeks (including the “Fruit Salad” referred to in the post-Rolex Live Blog). May has officially become “Reader Appreciation Month” and we want YOU to make the site your own!
- I would LOVE to hear your success stories (or failures) of attempting the grooming tips you have learned on this site. Before and after pictures would be lovely, if you have any to share! Hopefully these first-hand accounts will be featured in an upcoming Jog-Up column. I know many of you have been practicing your braiding– let’s see what you’ve got!
- Do you have any good Rolex photos? Send us your best ones, especially of fans and the crowd… who knows, it may become our new headline photo! (Contest details coming soon.)
Once again, thank you for reading, and for all your support. We have the BEST fans in the world, you prove that to us every day. (But we aren’t surprised…eventers are truly the most awesome people on earth!) You make us proud to be a part of this sport, and we’ll continue to do our best to serve the Nation.
Go Eventing!
