@Djones --goodness! I certainly didn’t want to offend --but, yes, to me @2DogsFarm was thought provoking --provoking thoughts in me of the many conversations I had with my three horse showing kiddos and granddaughter on the way to or from or at horse shows –
We are from a small rural community. How people manage what they manage is often a topic of conversation: how DID the Amish family afford 1.3 million for the !2 acres +house they bought at a public auction (I was there because the land boarders mine and I wanted to see who bought it). How DID the family with the massive horse trailer + LQ manage to acquire that toy?
When young, the kiddos would talk about “making a living,” showing horses --gradually, with endless discussions of how horse people afford things (buy not buying other things, not taking vacations, working hard) the kiddos realized that making a living with horses was difficult if not impossible --rare exceptions being the vet, farrier, and horse dentist.
Eventually one kiddo was talented enough and had a (lucky buy) horse talented enough (and parents with enough free time to accompany her) --to make it into the uppermost levels of 3-Day. Rubbing elbows and talking to the mega stars in that discipline, the kiddo learned that talent isn’t enough --one needs $$$$ and a lot of it.
There was a final discussion of taking a year off school to “go pro” --but when the kiddo crunched the numbers (old enough to do that herself) she realized that she couldn’t make it work – she sold her horse to pay for law school. She still rides although not at the upper levels --not enough time and $$.
Her decision came about because we THOUGHT ABOUT and TALKED ABOUT how people afford a horse hobby. And it wasn’t just “our friends” we talked about --it was some of the biggest names in 3-Day --how DID Ian Stark afford to fly his horse from Scotland to the US on a regular basis?
Anyway —once again --ok with me if you think it’s weird to wonder about why people do what they do and with what they have —I think it is interesting conversation. --Oh, dear, maybe I’m weird! LOL.
