For A shows how much do those generally cost? including everything like airplane tickets etc. what do those things include? like can you show me a list of what and the prices. I’m not sure how long the average A show is so for the shortest A show possible 4-5 days??
There’s a big range here I think. It would depend on how far you are from the show, I certainly do not fly to many of the shows I attend. Most shows start on Wednesday and end on Sunday. Tuesday is warm up day. Depends on if you have a trainer/groom. Depends on if the horse needs anything special at a show as far as feed, etc. I would suggest looking at different horse shows and checking out their prize list to see the list of fees and how much classes cost. Also if you have a trainer you should talk to them and see what they would estimate a show at.
It’s very difficult to give a cost without knowing which divisions you would want to show in, which part of the country you are in, etc. Trainers will also charge different fees for coaching, day care and accommodations, so it really does vary.
Even stall fees can easily range from $150 for the week to $300 or more (and even more for FEI stalls at some shows). It’s best to look at the prize list for any particular show you have in mind, which will give you an idea of cost. Your trainer can then tell you what fees you would need to pay them in addition to the show fees and stall/feed/bedding splits. Your own travel costs and shipping fees for your horse would of course vary depending on the distance to the show.
WEF vs Ocala
http://www.horsenation.com/2015/01/24/wef-vs-hits-what-does-a-show-day-in-florida-really-cost
There will be such a variance in answers depending on show duration and location (and your travel distance to/from the show plus the number of horses in the split) but one week of Thermal 2015 with stall, split fees, show fees, 3 divisions, warmups, trainer fees and grooming ran roughly around $2,500. Braiding fees ran about $250-300 (manes every other day, tails nightly). That’s also not including housing, food, airfare (or driving costs), trainer housing splits, or souvenirs.
Local A/AA shows are cheaper all around. I’m in Southern California.
Price is going to vary wildly based on what you’re paying for things like training fees, day care, braiding (if needed), hauling, etc.
Base fees, you’re going to pay anywhere, regardless of whether you haul yourself or have a trainer? Office fee (probably in the $25-35 range), Drugs & Meds fee ($16) and USHJA Zone Fee ($2). Average C rated division (Adult Amateurs) is $130 at a decently competitive area A show. Stalls at same show are $175 for the week. So in the $280 range to go do one division, before you start adding in things like bedding, hay, trainer, coaching, braiding, hauling, etc. Travel costs are going to be whatever gas and a hotel cost you; most people do not fly to shows, unless you’re going down to the winter circuit, or indoors.
I’m not with a huge show barn so no grooms and only 1 tack stall split amongst 3 of us. And my trainer’s fee is reasonable as we do our own care. Just got done doing 2 weeks of Pin Oak (AA) and paid for an RV slot for my LQ trailer. Ended up costing me about $1,200 per week (only did 1 amateur hunter division per week. No pro division before I showed.) But, I am sure this is about the LOWEST amount possible!
Stalls were $200-$225 each per week (depending on where your stall was) and the RV slot was $300 per week (yikes!) What galls me the most is paying $13 or $15 per bag of shavings since the facility does NOT allow you to bring your own shavings/bedding. (I know, minor amount in the grand scheme of things but it’s the principle of it that irks me.)
My guess is that most people at the show were spending $2,500-$3,000 per week, if not more. It would not surprise me if people were spending up to $5,000 per week (including travel/lodging/meals/etc.) if they are with a BNT and have that BNT do a pro division and then they do a division. And if they enter some of the bigger jumper classes or hunter derbies.
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Based on your other post looking for barns in Dallas, I’m assuming you well be doing the thja circuit and paying a trainer. You’re probably looking at 2500 to 3000 per week minimum for in state shows, not including training rides or hotels. For the big out of state shows, I know people who spend 10,000 per week.
Items to pay for
Classes
Stall plus tack stalls
Feed and shavings
Braiding
Trailering
Groom
Set up and take down
Special medications and care
Training rides
Fee for every class your trainer rides in
Schooling fee
Trainer’s hotel and meals
Golf cart rental
Your hotel and meals
Organization memberships
As everyone has already stated, it varies widely depending on where you’re showing, your trainers, etc.
I personally show with a small to medium-size barn at mostly in-state A/AA shows. We generally get a tack stall, two grooming stalls, and a feed stall. We hire one stall cleaner and sometimes a groom when we have enough horses that the trainer needs extra help on pro days. I usually show in 2 divisions, plus a few pro classes for my trainer to prep my horse, and maybe one or two extra classes (medal, small derby, etc). We don’t do full grooming, and we’re all expected to pitch in at day’s end to get horses fed, supplements, meds, etc., and we do our own set up and take down. Those that don’t have to work during the week come up with the horses on Sunday or Monday and help the trainer school and get through pro days. Barn owns two golf carts, so we don’t pay for a rental. Most of us braid ourselves, though I pay one of the girls to do my tails. BO hauls for us, and we usually cram ourselves 4 or 5 to a hotel room.
For all that, I generally get bills for ~$1500 a week in-state, not including my food and travel costs. My most recent out-of-state show was around $2k. We don’t do it AS cheaply as we could (we could give up the stall cleaner, and cut back on our extra stalls), but all in all I think we do a good job of keeping costs reasonable.
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As others have state, it will definitely vary from where you go and what you plan to do.
I am lucky to be close to Culpeper so the average expenses I can bypass. My classes are Friday through Sunday and I ship in and keep my horse either at home or more locally at a friends. That being said I probably end up paying about $210 for the weekend (doesn’t include gas): $50 horse deposit fee (refunded if entries in by due date), $200 for my division, $40 ship-in fee, $20 for USEF and USHJA drug and fees (I am a member of both).
You should look up some prize lists and do the math. There are way too many variables.
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So, for a week at Thermal in limited classes:
$350 plane
$700 housing (sharing)
$500 entry fees (1 eq and 1 jumper division)
$125 braider (for one day only; other days were jumpers)
$1500 hauling the horse 900 miles each way
Groom fees: $50/day
Day fees (stall): $50/day
Trainer fees (housing split): $200
Misc show fees: $150
Car rental: $350
This doesn’t include food or gas…
[QUOTE=Horses.For.Life;8083122]
For A shows how much do those generally cost? including everything like airplane tickets etc. what do those things include? like can you show me a list of what and the prices. I’m not sure how long the average A show is so for the shortest A show possible 4-5 days??[/QUOTE]
Dude seriously?
If you want to make a presentation to your parents asking them to foot the bill for this sort of venture, AT LEAST be willing to put a little more work into it than asking the rest of the internet to provide you a list.
The road map:
#1. Discuss with your trainer what showsyou would shoot for in the coming year. Not your parents discuss, YOU discuss. For example, someone in Westchester might want to hit Lake Placid, Old Salem, Saugerties, Culpeper, whatever. Your trainer will have a loose schedule of shows they are considering going to in x y or z time period. Ask them what it is.
Sample way to broach the subject: “I would like to horseshow with you in the coming season, but I am going to need to pitch the idea to my parents. I want to show them initiative and do all the research for them so all they have to do is look at the gathered information and say yes. Can you help me get a really good idea of what I need to prepare for them so that I can present to them all of the information?”
#2. Also ask (YOU ask, not your parents ask) your trainer what sort of fees s/he charges per show. Perhaps ask to see a representative bill. Ask about items if you don’t know what they are. Get a good explanation of each item so that when your parents look at this while you are begging them to spend this money on this item you have an answer ready for “What is a day fee?” Ask the trainer what you need to expect.
#3. Then do the additional research. If you want to know how much airfare is to get from where you are to WEF every weekend in the winter, look up a calendar for next winter and use those dates to research sample airfares.
If you actually took the initiative to create a little binder about shows you want to attend, with an organized presentation of dates, each horseshow’s prize list from last year as a representative example, what the airfare/hotel will ballpark for each, what the trailering will likely be, what the stabling and administrative costs are for that show, etc etc, and had it all organized and ready to go, your parents may be impressed enough to drop $20-50k on six months of horseshowing for you. It would be smart to run the binder past your trainer to make sure everything is included before making the pitch to your parents. This paragraph is within the skillset of a motivated preteen or teenager.
Imagine what you would be more likely to say yes to: “I want this so bad I did all of this research and put it in an organized binder that you can flip through and have everything at your finger tips, and if you want to know what the Children’s Hunter division at Pin Oak cost last year I have that information right here on line 3” or, “Hey mom and dad, I really want something that is very expensive but I don’t really know what exactly is involved and I haven’t run more than three google searches so could you guys like figure it out kthx.”
If you want something this expensive, put some work into asking for it.
3 Likes
Read the post history… Couldn’t agree with you more. OP is all over the map. Lease, sounds like she’s a green rider on a green horse and asking questions, maybe uninvolved parents, wants to A-show then doesn’t want to A-show…
[QUOTE=ohmissbrittany;8085350]
Read the post history… Couldn’t agree with you more. OP is all over the map. Lease, sounds like she’s a green rider on a green horse and asking questions, maybe uninvolved parents, wants to A-show then doesn’t want to A-show…[/QUOTE]
Well a lot in my life has changed since some of those posts so please quit jumping to conclusions and just don’t say anything if it’s all negative
2 Likes
[QUOTE=meupatdoes;8085080]
Dude seriously?
If you want to make a presentation to your parents asking them to foot the bill for this sort of venture, AT LEAST be willing to put a little more work into it than asking the rest of the internet to provide you a list.
The road map:
#1. Discuss with your trainer what showsyou would shoot for in the coming year. Not your parents discuss, YOU discuss. For example, someone in Westchester might want to hit Lake Placid, Old Salem, Saugerties, Culpeper, whatever. Your trainer will have a loose schedule of shows they are considering going to in x y or z time period. Ask them what it is.
Sample way to broach the subject: “I would like to horseshow with you in the coming season, but I am going to need to pitch the idea to my parents. I want to show them initiative and do all the research for them so all they have to do is look at the gathered information and say yes. Can you help me get a really good idea of what I need to prepare for them so that I can present to them all of the information?”
#2. Also ask (YOU ask, not your parents ask) your trainer what sort of fees s/he charges per show. Perhaps ask to see a representative bill. Ask about items if you don’t know what they are. Get a good explanation of each item so that when your parents look at this while you are begging them to spend this money on this item you have an answer ready for “What is a day fee?” Ask the trainer what you need to expect.
#3. Then do the additional research. If you want to know how much airfare is to get from where you are to WEF every weekend in the winter, look up a calendar for next winter and use those dates to research sample airfares.
If you actually took the initiative to create a little binder about shows you want to attend, with an organized presentation of dates, each horseshow’s prize list from last year as a representative example, what the airfare/hotel will ballpark for each, what the trailering will likely be, what the stabling and administrative costs are for that show, etc etc, and had it all organized and ready to go, your parents may be impressed enough to drop $20-50k on six months of horseshowing for you. It would be smart to run the binder past your trainer to make sure everything is included before making the pitch to your parents. This paragraph is within the skillset of a motivated preteen or teenager.
Imagine what you would be more likely to say yes to: “I want this so bad I did all of this research and put it in an organized binder that you can flip through and have everything at your finger tips, and if you want to know what the Children’s Hunter division at Pin Oak cost last year I have that information right here on line 3” or, “Hey mom and dad, I really want something that is very expensive but I don’t really know what exactly is involved and I haven’t run more than three google searches so could you guys like figure it out kthx.”
If you want something this expensive, put some work into asking for it.[/QUOTE]
I find it amusing you think I don’t work for anything I ask for… Shows how well you know me… And second of all Ive only been to local shows so I was asking because for example there are zone and used fees that I didn’t know about but figured out WITH MY OWN RESEARCH before I saw any responds to this thread
[QUOTE=Horses.For.Life;8085389]
I find it amusing you think I don’t work for anything I ask for… Shows how well you know me… And second of all Ive only been to local shows so I was asking because for example there are zone and used fees that I didn’t know about but figured out WITH MY OWN RESEARCH before I saw any responds to this thread[/QUOTE]
I did not say you don’t work for anything you ask for.
I said if you want to ask for something THIS EXPENSIVE, your parents may be more likely to say yes if you present them with a binder full of thoroughly researched and thoughtfully presented information and really do everything in your power to match the conscientiousness of your ask with the level of what you are asking for.
But you seem personally offended by the suggestion of …making a …binder…?
Which is fine. You don’t need to argue with me about it since I will not be funding your junior career so I am not the one you need to convince. Good luck!
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[QUOTE=Horses.For.Life;8085389]
I find it amusing you think I don’t work for anything I ask for… Shows how well you know me… And second of all Ive only been to local shows so I was asking because for example there are zone and used fees that I didn’t know about but figured out WITH MY OWN RESEARCH before I saw any responds to this thread[/QUOTE]
Maybe not the best attitude if you really want help.
You need to talk to your trainer, as we can not be of much help, since trainer fees (day fee, coaching fee, trailering, hotel splits, feed/tack stall splits, grooms, etc) vary greatly, and make up a large percentage of the cost.
You’ll need to also talk to your trainer(s) about what shows they plan on attending. Then go look up the prize list for this year, or last years show- prices can vary greatly based on the part of the country, the show management and the divisions you are doing.
Then you’ll need to look up the cost of flying/driving to these shows, plus hotel and food. If you fly you’ll need to include car rental fees, as well as checked bag fees. As your parents are paying for this, you’ll need to budget for their travel as well, in addition you’ll need to take into account any work they may miss. (A $1000 horse show may actually ‘cost’ your family $1100, if they need to miss a day of work (assuming they are hourly, and get paid $100/day) or maybe more if your mom stays at home and needs to hire someone to watch your siblings while she is with you))
Someone earlier mentioned you are leasing/riding greener horses. You’ll need to take into account any extra cost to take your lease horse/schoolie to a show- it’s common for trainers to tack on a ‘use of horse’ fee if you’re riding one of theirs.
You are currently showing on the local circuit, correct? What level are you riding at? Is whatever horse you’re sitting on capable of competing at A/AA shows? What I mean by this is- you may be showing at 3’ locally, IME the fences are typically lower than advertised, and the lines are more ‘forgiving’ than at an A or an AA show. If the horse you are sitting on can’t make the stride, you usually won’t place, as there will be 15 other horses who can make the strides. Also, this can be dangerous when there are in-and-outs involved. It may be a wiser investment to spend your time at some C shows may be a better stepping stone than just jumping right to the A/AA level.
ETA: I went back and read through your threads, and I can tell which barn you’re currently at now, and since you’ve been showing there ‘for years’ I know which circuit you’re riding on as well.
I would suggest looking at some smaller rated shows, as the jump to large AA shows like Pin Oak will be a HUGE adjustment for someone coming from the circuit you’re on. What I am curious about is what trainer is coming to you- most of the trainers in the area are very much “you must be on X plan, riding Y days/week and lessoning Z times/week to be able to show”.
I’m not sure if you’ve found a horse yet (you said your budget was $1500/month for an ‘A level’ horse?) but please be aware that most owners of horses who have the ability to be competitive at the A/AA level
1)won’t lease horses month-to-month, you’ll need to do a 6 or 12 month lease (which typically means paying upfront, just so you’re aware)
2)want their horses in a ‘show barn’- which includes a trainer on-site, with professional management. The barn you’re at now is nice (I hear they moved boarders to the old ‘show stalls’ and the main barn is empty- correct?), but it will be hard to find a someone who will leave their horse in the hands of a teenager with no trainer on site.
[QUOTE=roamingnome;8086259]
Maybe not the best attitude if you really want help.
You need to talk to your trainer, as we can not be of much help, since trainer fees (day fee, coaching fee, trailering, hotel splits, feed/tack stall splits, grooms, etc) vary greatly, and make up a large percentage of the cost.
You’ll need to also talk to your trainer(s) about what shows they plan on attending. Then go look up the prize list for this year, or last years show- prices can vary greatly based on the part of the country, the show management and the divisions you are doing.
Then you’ll need to look up the cost of flying/driving to these shows, plus hotel and food. If you fly you’ll need to include car rental fees, as well as checked bag fees. As your parents are paying for this, you’ll need to budget for their travel as well, in addition you’ll need to take into account any work they may miss. (A $1000 horse show may actually ‘cost’ your family $1100, if they need to miss a day of work (assuming they are hourly, and get paid $100/day) or maybe more if your mom stays at home and needs to hire someone to watch your siblings while she is with you))
Someone earlier mentioned you are leasing/riding greener horses. You’ll need to take into account any extra cost to take your lease horse/schoolie to a show- it’s common for trainers to tack on a ‘use of horse’ fee if you’re riding one of theirs.
You are currently showing on the local circuit, correct? What level are you riding at? Is whatever horse you’re sitting on capable of competing at A/AA shows? What I mean by this is- you may be showing at 3’ locally, IME the fences are typically lower than advertised, and the lines are more ‘forgiving’ than at an A or an AA show. If the horse you are sitting on can’t make the stride, you usually won’t place, as there will be 15 other horses who can make the strides. Also, this can be dangerous when there are in-and-outs involved. It may be a wiser investment to spend your time at some C shows may be a better stepping stone than just jumping right to the A/AA level.
ETA: I went back and read through your threads, and I can tell which barn you’re currently at now, and since you’ve been showing there ‘for years’ I know which circuit you’re riding on as well.
I would suggest looking at some smaller rated shows, as the jump to large AA shows like Pin Oak will be a HUGE adjustment for someone coming from the circuit you’re on. What I am curious about is what trainer is coming to you- most of the trainers in the area are very much “you must be on X plan, riding Y days/week and lessoning Z times/week to be able to show”.
I’m not sure if you’ve found a horse yet (you said your budget was $1500/month for an ‘A level’ horse?) but please be aware that most owners of horses who have the ability to be competitive at the A/AA level
1)won’t lease horses month-to-month, you’ll need to do a 6 or 12 month lease (which typically means paying upfront, just so you’re aware)
2)want their horses in a ‘show barn’- which includes a trainer on-site, with professional management. The barn you’re at now is nice (I hear they moved boarders to the old ‘show stalls’ and the main barn is empty- correct?), but it will be hard to find a someone who will leave their horse in the hands of a teenager with no trainer on site.[/QUOTE]
You’ve got it sort of right. I own a greenie (that we know can win at A/AA shoes just needs more experience) I’m looking to lease a horse for 6 or 12 months that I can win with on the A circuit. I’ve been condidering looking at new barns due to revent events and it would be an A/AA show barn in my area so I wouldn’t be worried about the owners letting us lease the horse. Do you mean you know the name of the barn?
