I’m 35 and have this huge ambition to show A rated jumpers. At least it feels huge and the more I reach out, unobtainable. I’ve grown up around horses my entire life, and spent most of my time on green ones as a body for my trainer mother. I had a lot of fear when I was younger so I never pursued showing. Now I’m 35, a mother, and weirdly more fearless than ever and my passion to jump has never been stronger. But have I missed my mark? What will it take? Having trouble with barns taking me and maybe understanding how passionate I am to make it up to the “top”. Im willing to train several times a week, lease a horse, have great foundational skills, but can I be taken seriously this late in the game? Could use some guidance in realistic direction.
Why wouldn’t you do this? And what do you mean by “make it up to the ‘top?’”
The only limit is having the horse to do it and the finances to pay the entries.
You know, good question. It’s been a lifelong dream to qualify for Devon and HITS. You’re very right about the money and the horse… it’s probably more so that than age once I put everything down on a spreadsheet.
If you have the cash to lease a horse that can do the job, and to pay the lesson and training fees at a barn that sends people to A shows, and if you can ride 4 times a week and go the gym the other 3 for specific training, I don’t see why you couldn’t make a lot of progress.
But what level are you thinking about jumping? Under 3 feet is quite doable. Getting up to 4 feet derbies is a whole other level of cost talent and horse
What level riding were you exposed to before? I know you said trainer mother. Was your mother competing at this level, did she have clients at this level, have you been around these shows?
starting from zero, my guess is $70,000 to $100,000 for the first year if leasing, if buying add another $100k plus to be taken serious by a respected trainer
Not too old. It’ll be money, time, location, horse and trainer access that’ll decide what you can do.
Do you want to do WEF? Or just local stuff? Is there even local rated stuff? Are you in a horse hub for H/J? It’s one thing to start off with big goals in Wellington, totally different in New Mexico.
What is your budget (you don’t need to answer this here, but think about it)? What is your current skill level? How involved were you previously, how good is your BS-meter (horse, discipline, and business related)?
Have you sat on a horse recently? Jumped around? It’s one thing to watch the GPs, it’s another to gallop down to even 3’6” sometimes. Or 2’6”! The time and money commitment you’ll need to get started will vary, but your best bet is to find the best program in your area (you might get good suggestions here) and just start off small and see what happens!
Edited for spelling. And rambling. I need coffee.
Most horses can do the lowest level (3’ and lower) jumper classes even at an A show, and you don’t have to ride with a BNT to do it, either. A safe, kind horse that is reasonably athletic, and regular, quality instruction can get you there and be somewhat competitive. If you decide at that point that you enjoy it and want to do more, you can always adjust your goals then.
Um, 35 is not old.
Are you struggling to get a response from trainers? That’s very common in the horse world unfortunately. Even more so if you don’t currently have a horse.
Since you said HITS was a goal of yours- for example, HITS has 0.80cm jumpers at their A rated shows (or maybe even smaller.) Any horse can jump this, literally. Small ponies and gaited horses can jump this. You don’t need $$$ for this.
BUT you only hinted at your riding ability, so we are presuming here. If your goal when you said “HITS” is “main ring Sunday AO jumper classic with a competitive round” then yes, that is $$$.
Not too old at all, but resources figure in:
*Access to a horse that can do the job
*Access to a good trainer willing to help you get there (& not seeing you as a walking checkbook)
*Budget that can handle A-rated fees
I was 39 when I bought my first horse.
And while I was in a program (regional, B & A shows) my job prevented me showing frequently.
But horse had the talent & with half dozen shows done, we ended up Reserve AA our first year.
Trainer soured on me (my choice), next one was more friend than Pro & I set my own schedule, decided when, where & what divisions. Still took home good ribbons because: Horse had talent.
Later showed independently & did well, but my interest waned.
In defense of the trainers of the world - there are lots of people who show up at a lesson/show barn with minimal skills proclaiming they want to do big stuff.
And no, I am not saying the OP does not have skills. I am saying that the trainer’s have every reason to be skeptical until the OP shows they do have skills.
Which is where it gets hard, because no one wants their lesson string jumping big stuff.
Yes! I agree.
But there are a whole bunch of threads here on the forum about lesson barns closing down and there are less spots available for lessons and all that.
A person going in with - I am great and I want to do the big stuff - is likely going to be ignored more than a person going in asking about basics and learning to ride, that is the simple point I was trying to make.
(And again, I am not saying that is what the OP did.)
This x 1,000. OP may be ambitious and ready to lease or buy something now but weird messages that say she wants to “make it to the top”. Yikes!! Trainer is going to ignore that over “I have a horse with barn x but I’m wanting to show in the 1.0 and potentially buy/ lease something else” or “I showed in x as a kid, looking to get back into riding and do y”
A friend jumped her first grand prix at age 54.
It’s a big investment of resources, not only financially, but also in terms of money, lifestyle, etc.
35 is not old.
I’m in my 60s. If I had the desire, the time, and the money, there is no reason why I couldn’t be showing on the A/AA circuit. My age isn’t really relevant beyond the degree to which it contributes to my lack of desire and money.
Don’t use your age as an excuse.
Definitely not too old!! It’ll come down to money and grit, to be perfectly honest. You can jump the .80 to 1m at any A show with a kind, decent horse and as long as you’re accurate and efficient, you’ve a good chance of a nice ribbon and you don’t need to spend 100K+++ on a horse to do this job. You’ll still spend real money and your monthly expenses will be nothing to scoff at, but you don’t need to buy a proven 1.45 horse to do this job! Now, if your goal is to move up to the High A/Os eventually, you’re talking a LOT of money and a LOT of dedication and grit. And a lot more than a lease on one horse. Anything is possible, you just have to have the right combination of resources! Over and above anything else, make sure you’re having FUN!!
I have no idea of your background, so absolutely take this with a grain of salt and I think this is also locale dependent to a certain degree as well.
But going to an A show and doing the jumpers is absolutely a completely attainable goal, even if you just started riding today at 35. If you go to a smaller, more regional A show at the .85m level you’ll see everything from half-broke green OTTBs with teenage pilots careening around to retired GP horses slowly loping around with a pro as prep for a medal round. You’ll see really talented riders and incredibly nice horses, and you’ll see riders and horses that are overfaced by the courses and environment. Anyone can pay to go to an A show - it is not a guarantee of quality or ability.
I think defining this goal a bit more will help with the advice you’re getting. Do you want to go do any level of jumpers at any A show? Do you want to go to some bigger venues near you - specific destination shows that are fun to go to? (For me that might be Vermont or Lake Placid, but I’m not sure where you are geographically). Do you want to get to a specific height/division like the high adults (3’6’’/1.10m) or the A/Os? All of that would have somewhat different answers.
You could probably go do the .85ms at a small A show fairly easily on a solid lease horse, but going to Lake Placid to the A/Os is going to be a very different experience.
Whew- feel very judged here for my use of words. But all good, you all have no idea who I am. I did actually take the approach of humility with trainers and letting them gauge my skill set without being pushy. However seeming more like having the ambition is not a good thing. You would think the trainer would be more interested in someone who had the fire so they know they would stick with it.
So appreciate your insight here. Im based in Nashville, but grew up in Warrenton, VA so I’ve been digging into the community here to see what surfaces here in the south. Finding a lot of amazing humans, but am getting a lot of help from this thread as far as encouragement goes. I don’t have a ton of money, so have to be resourceful about it all. Also know there is a political atmosphere that follows the horse industry, so also very curious about navigating that.
