The lone chinchilla who isn’t currently embroidering new EN hats has worked through a bit of the EN Census results. It is slow going, but interesting. Here are a few numbers for all you statisticians…
–Out of 1200 responders, 48 states (plus DC) were represented. Are there no eventers with internet access in Hawaii and Nebraska? Virginia was the most common response (106), followed by Maryland (69), Pennsylvania (66), Kentucky, and North Carolina (both 61). Even Wyoming, Alaska, and both Dakotas showed up. I’m looking at you, Nebraska; Hawaii, I know you’re too busy sunbathing on the beach.
-International presence was pretty impressive. 117 readers from Canada, mostly from Ontario or BC, but in six other provinces as well. Around the globe, we saw 12 from the UK, 11 from Australia, 5 from Ireland, and a few from New Zealand, Mexico, Italy, and France. Compare this to last year’s Census, with 5 Canadians and a lone Australian…we are taking over the world, folks!
-Nearly 50% of responders have competed up to Training or Preliminary level, plus about 20% at the lower levels. We have plenty of upper level competitors too, with 6% having gone Advanced. We strive to make the site appealing to riders of every level, because we all have something to bring to the table. And there are also many readers who’ve never competed, but still enjoy following the sport as volunteer, organizer, parent, or spectator.
-The average age of our reader is somewhere in the low 30s. It’s a pretty even dispersal, though, among age groups.
–The average eventing experience is 12 years (the same as a year ago). Many readers, though, are just getting into the sport. Almost 9% have been eventing since before I was born; I feel like a young pup with so much more to learn! There were plenty of eventing enthusiasts who don’t event at all…so here’s a shout-out to all you hunter/jumper and dressage rebels indulging in your guilty pleasure. We’re happy to have you; now, come join in the insanity!
-Also from the Experience category, we found many supportive parents of eventers. Which made us think: we would love to hear from you! We certainly wouldn’t be where we are today without our wonderful moms and dads. It would be great to share the Parent’s Perspective here on Eventing Nation. If you have thoughts or experiences to share, please send them to [email protected] with “Parent” in the title.
Thanks for reading and contributing.
Go eventing!
