by Ronda Payne/ Special to the 黑马磁力
It takes a lot of work to invite and host upwards of 5,000 people at Thunderbird Show Park for the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup, but the tbird team is more than up for the challenge.
The team of close to 150 people ensures guests and competitors receive the best experience possible when at the show park, said Warren Kean.
He is tbird鈥檚 director of marketing and special initiatives,
鈥淎bout 130 people work for us seasonally over the four busy spring and summer months,鈥� Kean explained.
鈥淎nd 15 people work here full time, year round.鈥�
Considering the fact that tbird is 86 acres with numerous rings, restaurants, vendors and more, it鈥檚 a lot to manage.
Kean said the team takes care of everything from hospitality and construction to maintaining the riding rings and horticulture management.
It could mean creating a new visitor experience like the recently built vendor cabins or painting jumps to ensure they are fresh and visible.
One team member, Skyler Brittner, is the tournament technical director.
He鈥檚 been working with tbird for about six years.
鈥淒uring events, I create, on a daily basis, the overall scheme of the day with start times for each individual class based on the numbers,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the direction of the riders and the horses for each individual day.鈥�
Brittner has been in the industry since he was in college.
In fact, it wasn鈥檛 intended to be his career as he worked in the equestrian industry as a side job while going to school.
鈥淚t was just a summertime job,鈥� he explained.
Gradually he advanced through various roles and now spends about nine weeks of the year in Canada at tbird and about 25 weeks on the West Coast of the U.S. in similar roles.
Obviously managing horses and riders as well as the ring surfaces is a full job for an event as big as a world cup, but Brittner is also the safety coordinator.
鈥淪o in any emergency situation, I鈥檓 always on hand to direct,鈥� he said.
He added that in his overall role, 鈥渢here鈥檚 a lot of small little parts. I鈥檓 always walking around, keeping up quality control with the rings, making sure the rings look right and the jumps look right.鈥�
Quality control is a big deal at tbird and as Kean said, comes down to service and the overall experience for which the show park is known.
鈥淲e run international show jumping competitions, but really we鈥檙e in the service industry,鈥� he said. 鈥淓verything our people do is to make sure the horses are safe and that spectators and competitors have the best experience possible.鈥�
Most of the team, like Brittner, have worked for tbird year after year, so they know their jobs well and have gone through training that can run from two weeks to up to four years, depending upon their role.
鈥淏asically, there鈥檚 daily operations of the show of many different aspects,鈥� Brittner said. 鈥淭bird is unparalleled to anywhere I鈥檝e worked. They get the right people for the jobs. It makes managing the grounds pretty simple. It鈥檚 a fun environment and the management and the people that you work with, they make you want to do a good job.鈥�
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READ MORE: tbird drives boost in 黑马磁力 agri-tourism
and
World cup: A party within a party in 黑马磁力
.
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