Organiser FAQ

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What is Showdiary?
Showdiary is a free promotion, on-line booking service and show management internet site for equestrian shows around the UK and Eire.

Is Showdiary responsible for bookings?
No. Showdiary is like a multimedia equestrian newspaper. We are just carrying your advert for your show. The booking form is held on-line until downloaded by you. Showdiary is not responsible for any inaccuracies or withdrawal of any events. Please advise us of any mishaps by emailing to complaints@showdiary.co.uk . We may wish to withdraw an event from the site under certain circumstances.

Am I charged a booking fee?
No. The site is totally free for entrants and organisers.

How does Showdiary make money?
Showdiary is totally financed by Charles Owen & Co.(Bow) Ltd. of Wrexham. As the Charles Owen brand is used by so many competitors, it is our way of saying "Thank you". We are also supporting the overworked and under resourced show organisers by advertising their event. The easier it is to attract riders to a show, the more shows will run and so our beloved sport will grow.

How do I become an authorised organiser?
When you apply to become an organiser, we will review whether you are a genuine organiser. You may use the site but entries will only displayed to riders once we have carried out our checks. This may take some time, but we will email you as soon as we can to advise whether your application has been accepted. You will understand that members will not want spoof events or fraudulent event organisers who will give the site a bad name. We will require proof of your eligibility to accept credit/debit card payments.
Upon joining the site, you entered in your name and details. If you are not acting as show secretary, then the show secretary details need to be entered in the organiser details, who may be under 18. You can do this on the home page by pressing update. You need to enter your name and address in the member’s box. All entrants make the booking with the member who must be over 18. If you resign from being responsible for the show, then you must inform us immediately with the name and address of your replacement who must be over 18.

My shows are members only, how does showdiary help?
Showdiary tells riders in each area what is happening.
Imagine seeing lists of events for your organisation or breed .
It is a great way to promote yourself and attract members or interest in your breed.

How do I promote my event?
See helpful tips on completing details.
First, you need to type in your Terms and Conditions of Entry. Using a programme such as Notepad, type in or copy and paste your Terms and Conditions of entry. Save the file as a "Text Document" and with a . txt extension. Note down the directory in which you save the file.
On the Showdiary welcome page , click on "Add and Edit Shows and Classes".
Click on the top right hand button labelled "View/Add Show Terms and Conditions of Entry".
Click "Add new Terms and Conditions of Entry" .
Enter the name and location of the file containg the Terms and Conditions of Entry. Use the browse button to ensure the correct directory address.
Enter the name of your Terms and Conditions of Entry. You will only ever see your own Terms and Conditions of Entries. So choose a name such as "Showjumping 11/02". this will allow you to choose the correct version of your Terms and Conditions of Entry.
Click "Submit Terms and Conditions of Entry "
Review the Terms and Conditions of Entry displayed.
Click "Back to Shows".
Click "Add a show" button. Complete all the boxes. If the showground has no postcode ( as with many fields), then you need to find the multimap grid reference to help entrants find you. Click here to find out how to do this.Tick the pre book box if you don't allow on-line booking of your showsChoose your Terms and Conditions of Entry from the list displayed.
Press "submit " and review the details entered.
Press "check map" to check that the correct location of the showground is being displayed. If not, then press "update" and enter a multimap grid reference. Click here to find out how to do this. Either click "update" or "next" to proceed .
Highlight the showname in the list. Press "add a class" to start entering classes in your show. If it is a donation ride, you should think of this as a show with one class.
Complete all the boxes and press "next".
Review the details and press "update" or "next".
Your classname should now be listed. Continue to add classes until the show is complete.
Nothing is displayed to be booked until you are an authorised event organiser, and you activate the show and each class. To activate the class , press "activate" next to the name of the class in the list for that show. To activate the show, press "return to shows" and press "activate" next to the name of the show . For authorised organisers, your show will be instantly available for bookings.
Log on as a rider and do a search for one of your classes to see that it is correctly displayed including your conditions of entry and fees . If there is a problem, deactivate the show immediately and if you cannot sort it out, email us at help@showdiary.co.uk.

Can I repeat a show on a different date without entering the whole event again?
Yes. As it can be a very time consuming typing in a show, we have created a shortcut to repeating a show the following year or the following week.
First you create an exact copy under your new showname and then you edit it using the normal update tools ( see changing show/class details).
On the home page, press "repeat a show". Select the show to be copied from the list. Type in the name for the new show. For ease of use, it is better to choose a name that is easily identified, e.g. the year or date of the show. Select the original date of the classesand select the new date of the classes. N.B. for multiday shows, one day needs to be done at a time. Press "next".
If the show is multiday, press "amend another date". Otherwise press "home page". It is important that all the dates of the show are amended before returning to the home page so the classes are all grouped under one show heading.
Review the details of the new show by pressing "show page". See changing show/class details.
Finally, activate the classes and show to start to take bookings.

How do I find the multimap grid references?
Multimap,www.multimap.com, is a great utility to help people find places. It will display a map of the area based upon the town, village, postcode or grid reference . Many showgrounds or starting points will not have postcodes, so a grid reference needs to be provided. This takes the form of two 5 digit numbers labeled gride and gridn.
This is not the most elegant solution, but it is very workable. Press "map reference" . A new window will open titled Multimap. Enter a postcode, or address into the search box .This should be as near as possible to the showground. Press "search" to create a map of the area with a red circle on the location you entered. Use the arrows to the left of the map to move and the "+" and "-" buttons to zoom in and out .This will enable you to place your mouse pointer over the location of the showground. Click the left mouse button. Read the web address line at the top of the window. ( If this is not displayed, then you need to configure your browser, by using the shortkey sequence in internet explorer "alt+V", "alt+T", "alt +A" ).
The web address line will read something like this:
http://uk2.multimap.com/clients/browse.cgi?X=330000&Y=346000&gride=330130&gridn=346002&width=700&height=400&client=M6&db=pc&scale=10000&multimap.x=400&multimap.y=159
The important numbers are after the words gride= and gridn= . Make a note of these two numbers and enter in the boxes on the show form. Remember , if your showground has a postcode, no grid reference is required.

Helpful tips on entering details on showdiary
Organiser details
Details should be for the Show Secretary or the person to whom entry forms, cheques and enquiries will be sent.
Review the method of payments you will accept from entrants. For credit/debit cards, you will need to fax on 01978 317778 / 846814 or send a copy of your merchant authorisation. The address is Showdiary, Charles Owen & Co (Bow) Ltd, Croesfoel Ind Park, Wrexham, LL14 4BJ.
Please send us no passwords.
If the member is not the show secretary, then the member details should be entered in the member’s box including an email address.
Show details
The title of the show should be in capitals and no longer than 60 characters. It should be unique and easily identifiable. A year and month will be automatically added. For weekly shows end with the day of the month .
The place and address should be the address of the showground or starting point. If there is no postcode, then enter a multimap grid reference. (See How do I find the multimap grid references?). Remember, it is two 5 digit numbers .If there is a postcode, no grid reference is required.
Select the group of counties in which the show takes place. Please note counties bordering on two or more regional divisions will be displayed in all those regions.
Conditions of entry
This is your legal contract. Every entrant has to agree to this as part of the booking process. The contract is between the member and you, as the rider may be under 18.
Please consider the health and safety requirements, the refund and discount conditions and the judge’s final decision. Remember to state to which country’s laws the contract is subject .
Please view other organiser’s rules, but remember copyright laws.
Class details
The class title can be 70 characters long. It can include the sponsors name.
The class description can be 140 characters long. This is displayed below the class title and should inform entrants the requirements to be eliglible for the class. It can save a lot of time for everyone if this is clear and specific.
The class info can be 1000 characters long. This can detail prize money and further details of the class.
The time of the class can be the expected time of the start of the block of classes, or 00:00 if no time can be specified.
The ring no and class no can be 12 and 6 characters respectively and can contain letters and numbers. Your show is sorted for booking by date, time, ring no, class no in that order. Please note as the sorting is alphanumeric, A comes before B and 10 comes before 2. Therefore please number using leading zeros, ie for upto 999 classes, classes should start as 001.
Select the discipline and group from the drop down list.
Select by clicking on the eligibility of the boxes: Junior riders, Senior riders, Horses, Ponies. You must choose two, but you may choose all of them.
Select by clicking on your requirements:
Discipline membership no for rider, horse, owner. e.g. BSJA affiliated events.
Centre or other membership no . e.g. to be able to claim discounts or preferental treatment.
The entry fee should be in sterling for the UK and euros for Eire.
If you offer an early booking discount, enter the amount of discount, not the discounted fee.
Enter the last date for booking to be entitled to the discount. For cheques this will be the date of receipt of the cheque. For credit/debit cards, it is date of booking.
If you offer a membership discount, select the membership no requirement and enter the amount of discount, not the discounted fee.
How do I know when somebody has booked?
When a rider enters your show, an email is sent to the show secretary’s email address. It is important that you confirm or reject the booking ASAP.
To gain payment and entry details, you need to run one of the following reports.
To ensure security, no details are emailed to you.

How do I obtain payment details?
We have chosen the booking date as the relevant date as we expect you to process payments as bookings are made.
On the organiser’s home page, press "view payments received". Enter the dates of the bookings for which you require details. The payments details listed are for all the show registered to you and sorted into payment types.
If you accept cheques, then the cheques listed should be "in the post". If you have not received them within 7 days, we suggest you email the entrant advising them. This can be done by clicking on the email address in the payment list.
If you accept credit and debit cards, this is the only means to obtain the credit / debit card details. To accept credit and debit cards, you must be a registered merchant and a copy of your authorisation should be sent via the Royal mail not via email to Showdiary, Charles Owen & Co. (Bow) Ltd., Croesfoel Ind. Park, Wrexham LL14 4BJ. Please do not send any passwords to us .Do not store the entrants payment details on your hard disk as you may become liable for any fraudulent use of the card details. It is considered bad practice to store credit/debit card details on a computer that is connected to the internet.
No validation or checking has been carried out by showdiary. Process the information as though it was received by mail order.
Once you have accepted the entry , you can press the confirm button . This is relayed to the entrant when they use their diary function . It can also be useful to check which entries that you have processed. You can always unconfirm an entry, for example, if a credit card or cheque bounces, you do not receive the cheque in the post.

The filters on the report are really useful if you wish to remove payment types or confirmed/unconfirmed entrants from your report . To remove a type, just untick the button below the label and run the report again. The report can be printed using the print button on your browser. You can search for a name by using the browser's FIND on the edit menu (short key CTRL F).

How do I register to accept credit and debit cards?
To accept credit and debit cards, you must be a registered merchant and a copy of your authorisation should be sent via the Royal mail not via email to Showdiary, Charles Owen & Co. (Bow) Ltd., Croesfoel Ind. Park, Wrexham LL14 4BJ. Please do not send any passwords to us .

How do I get entry information?
There are 6 reports to obtain entry information for your shows:
1) A count of the entrants per class for a selected show.
This gives you an indication of the popularity of each class.
2) A list of the name of each rider and horse in each class for a selected show entered via showdiary.
This gives a checklist for your stewards for your whole show.
3) A copy of the entry form detailing the horse and rider for a selected class entered via showdiary.
This could be a long report. Running report 1 will tell you how many pages.
4) A copy of the entry form detailing the horse and rider in each class for a selected show entered via showdiary.
This is a very long report. We suggest you save this to disk as your printer may run out of paper frequently.
5) A list of the name of each rider and horse for a selected class .
This gives a checklist for your stewards for a class.
6) A count of the entrants per class for a selected class.
This allows you to see how many entry forms will be printed when running report 4.
How do I run Report 1
Select the show on the show page. Press " View the number of entrants to this show". Print the screen. Press "back to shows " at the base of the page to return to show page.
How do I run Report 2
Select the show on the show page. Press " View a list of all names of horses and riders in this show ". Print the screen. Press "back to shows " at the base of the page to return to show page.
How do I run Report 3
Select the show on the show page. Press "View a list of all entry forms to this show ". Printing the screen could generate a long report. If you run report 1, then you will know how many pages. If there are many entrants, it is suggested to save the page using the browser’s commands: click on "file" and choose "save as". Choose a folder ,file name and "save".
Press "back to shows" at the base of the page to return to show page ..
How do I run Report 4
Select the show on the show page. Press "View/Add classes".Select the class on the class page. Press "View A list of all entry forms to this class ". Printing the screen could generate a very long report. It is suggested to save the page using the browser’s commands: click on "file" and choose "save as". Choose a folder ,file name and "save".
Press "back to classes" to return to show page.
How do I run Report 5
Select the show on the show page. Press "View/Add classes".Select the class on the class page. Press "View A list of all names of horses and riders in this class ". Print the screen. Press "Back to Classes" to return to class page and you can choose another class.
How do I run Report 6
Select the show on the show page. Press "View/Add classes".Select the class on the class page. Press "View The number of entrants to this class ". Print the screen. Press "Back to Classes" to return to class page and you can choose another class.

How can I withdraw a class/ show?
To close entries for a class, choose the show on the show page. Press "list classes". Press "deactivate" next to the class details. The button will change to say "activate" .
To close entries for a whole show, press "deactivate" next to the show details. The button will change to say "activate".
If you cancel a show or class, you can email all entrants by following the instructions in How to email entrants.

How can I change the details of a class or show?
To change the details of a show, move to the show page. Next to the details of the show, press "update ". Edit the details on the screen. Press "next" . Review the amendments. Press "next" and to return to the show page. The details are changed for all new searches. You must email all entrants to advise the detail of the change, so you don’t receive lots of emails from entrants . See How to email entrants for instructions.
To change the detail of a class, move to the show page. Next to the details of the show, press "list classes ". Next to the details of the class, press "update ". Edit the details on the screen. Press "next" . Review the amendments. Press "next" and to return to the class page. The details are changed for all new searches. You must email all entrants to advise the detail of the change, so you don’t receive lots of emails from entrants . See How to email entrants for instructions.

How can I contact all entrants?
To email entrants to a show, you must to one class at a time. This is necessary as emailing a whole show could overload the exceed the email limit of the system.
To email entrants to a class, you must first find the show on the show page. Press "list classes ". Next to the details of the class, press "Email message to Riders". Enter the message in the box or copy & paste into the message box. Press "send" . A copy of the message followed by the list of email addresses to which the message has been sent will be shown. Print the screen to have a record of the message.
This facility will be very useful to email starting times for entrants to a class.

How can showdiary help with disputes?
We are not able to arbitrate, but we can supply you with facts. All transactions and amendments are time stamped. All amendments to details are retained for six months. Please note that entry forms are non editable once confirmed or updated with rider’s new details. Riders will need to resubmit the entry form to change details and you will need to withdraw the original.
We can provide a copy of the details at time of entry if you email complaints@showdiary.co.uk. Please remember that showdiary is free to all users and so it may take time to collect the information. If fuller details or support is required, this may be available upon payment of a fee.
Don’t make riders irate.
by not treating them as humans because they speak to you through a computer. Please follow these simple guidelines:
a) Please acknowledge entry forms quickly by emailing the entrant. Emailing is as simple as clicking the email address on the entry form.
b) Please advise riders of changes using the email to entrants system.
c) Please be courteous in all correspondence, even if they are being a pain in the backside!
d) Please advise entrants by email of the amount and date debited to their credit/debit card promptly. Never email the card details, only the card type and the name on the card.
e) Deal with complaints promptly and amicably.

Why can organiser members not be under 18 ?
Contracts can not be made with people under the age of 18 . Entrants are entering into a contract with you. Please note that all entries are made by members over 18 on behalf of riders under 18. Details of the members are printed on the entry form when the rider is under 18 .

If you have a comment about Showdiary, what should I do?
If you like Showdiary, tell your friends and event organisers. If you have any comments, please send them to comments@showdiary.co.uk . If you have a complaint, please send details to complaints@showdiary.co.uk .
Please note we can not arbitrate in a dispute between rider and event organiser. We will endeavour to deliver your entry, but like the post office, we cannot always guarantee it.