The California hunter/jumper show scene has grown exponentially during the tenure of show manager Robin Serfass. When she won a Pacific Coast Horse Shows Assn. championship as a junior back in 1973, Robin earned the points by campaigning at nine of a possible 10 shows. “There are now 132 A shows in California, and I wouldn’t even know how many unrated shows,” she says with some amazement.
With her husband Bruce Carlson as her only full-time staffer in Equestrian Enterprises, Robin now typically runs 45 weekends of shows. Ninety percent of them are in Southern California, including Bakersfield.
Her resume includes a long list of top-rated competitions. She took over management of the Del Mar National in 1985, overseeing its growth into a two-week event and running it for the next several years, and she started the A show circuit at Del Mar’s Showpark.
Today, Robin prides herself on the non-rated shows that comprise the bulk of Equestrian Enterprise’s agenda. She has managed the Portuguese Bend Horse Show, a fundraiser for the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, for 20 years and it occupies a special place in her heart. This past fall, the volunteers who helped the show raise $400,000 for the hospital gave Robin a special 20th anniversary bracelet that she treasures.
Above all, she treasures having such a long and ongoing run in the West Coast show management scene. During what off-season there is in the competition schedule, Robin and Bruce love traveling the world. California Riding editor Kim F. Miller enjoyed speaking with Robin just before the manager and her husband left to spend the holidays in Chile.

Kim: What is the good and bad outflow of having so many shows?
Robin: When there were fewer shows, people really did their training at home and used the horse shows to test their progress. You had three or four weeks to work on what you needed to at home between shows. With so many competitions, people don’t really have the time to adhere to a plan for developing their horses and riders.
Of course, there are plenty of trainers that are capable of bringing them along while being on the road all the time, but I think a little bit of that developing process is lost.
The upside is that there is so much opportunity! For example, here I am at my stage in life and if I ever want to go back to competing, I don’t have to jump 3’6”. There are plenty of divisions out there that anyone can do.

Kim: Why are you such a fan of the unrated horse shows?
Robin: I feel I’ve been really effective with these shows. They are less expensive than rated shows because there are not so many association-mandated expenses that have to be passed onto the competitor.
Competitors get a chance to show at the same venues, with the same jumps and judges, as rated shows.

Kim: I gather all these rated and unrated shows are thriving?
Robin: Yes, because there is a good base to support them. During a recent weekend in Southern California, there were five shows at five different venues, representing probably close to 2,000 horses.

Kim: What is your relationship with the other big show managers on the West Coast?
Robin: We all seem to work things out well and we all want each other to succeed.

Kim: Have the United States Equestrian Federation’s changes to the “mileage rule” show date protection policies affected you?
Robin: That’s a perfect example of how we all work together. This year was supposed to be a “rotation” year, where they would switch to a weekly calendar in which they’d say, for example, that you always had week 36 for a particular show date. The California managers, including me, Larry Langer, Stephanie Wheeler and Dale Harvey, got together and decided that didn’t work well for us. We all signed waivers that we were in agreement about not wanting to switch to that system.
I think we are an unusual group in how well we get along. Again it has to do with the size of the active showing base in our area.

Kim: From a manager’s perspective, what are some of the things you would most like exhibitors to know and/or consider?
Robin: The biggest thing is probably consideration for other exhibitors, which usually comes up in using the warm-up ring or holding up a show ring. When people hold up, or want to hold up, a show ring, it impacts everybody. I like what trainer Karen Healey says about treating a show as a test. If you have to spend 25 minutes schooling in the practice ring, you probably shouldn’t be at the show.
In terms of the show office, some of the worst nightmares come from incomplete entry forms. Much of this will be eliminated as we move to more electronic entries, through sites like www.horseshowtime.com. But you would be amazed how hard some of the hand-written entries are to read, and how often people don’t complete them. Some shows are charging fees for incomplete entries, which I’ve not gone to yet.

Kim: What percentage of exhibitors at your shows enter online?
Robin: About 30 percent. And it is going to go more that way, as we gear more toward the electronic age. We are moving away from regular mailing hard copy premiums in favor of posting them on the website.

Kim: What do you love most about your work?
Robin: Working with the people I work with, most of whom I’ve known for a really long time. I love the competition and it’s fun to see people coming along. I knew Lauren Hough, for example, from when she was a pony rider and now she’s an Olympian. I’ve followed a lot of competitors who now have kids competing.

Kim: Do you ever have time to sit down and actually watch the show?
Robin: No!

Kim: What is your background as a rider?
Robin: I grew up in Riverside, and first competed at the age of 13. I rode with John Lipari and, later when I was a student at UCLA, with Marcia Williams and a bit with Debbie Sands. After I graduated in 1978, I went back to La Jolla Farms, and rode with Arthur Hawkins, Richard Keller and John Lipari.

Kim: How did you get into show management?
Robin: Right around the same time that I was riding at La Jolla Farms, those trainers began holding shows for their students and I began helping out. There were not such specialized positions in those days. I worked in the office, announced at the back gate, and anything else that was needed. My next step was working for Larry Langer.
In 1979, I and two partners, Jeff Gilbert and the late Don Reese, formed Equestrian Alternatives and we took over the old Indio show. In the winter of 1980, there were huge rains that flooded the arena, and the DAA didn’t want to do it anymore.
In 1986, I formed Equestrian Enterprises, Inc.

Kim: Was your husband Bruce a horse guy when you met him?
Robin: No. He was what I like to call a “civilian.” But it became pretty clear after a few years that, if we wanted to travel together or do anything together, he couldn’t have a regular job. He is invaluable to me. He maintains all of our jumps and plants and coordinates equipment and everything that doesn’t directly involve the competition itself.

Kim: Do you get to ride anymore?
Robin: I made a little surge in 1995 and competed at Bakersfield before I took over running it. I admire adults who ride. It’s not something you can do once a week and stay proficient at.
I’ve had an investment horse with Mary Gatti for the last couple of years, but, no, I haven’t been riding myself. But I may still!

Kim: Thank you, Robin. It was a pleasure talking with you!
Robin: You are welcome.