I know, if you have to ask you can’t afford it but I am turning 50 this year and want to plan to compete just once at WEF.
Does anyone have a resource to figure out what it costs per week that’s already out there? I am thinking 2 weeks of showing and a week or so at front and back to chill/acclimate.
Last time I went, it was $900/ week per stall, rented from someone who has stalls that were not being used ( if you want stalls on grounds at wef) or renting from another barn within hacking distances. If you’re not going with someone who already has stalls/ trainer who is a regular on that scene, better start booking stalls now.
As for show fees, they were about the same as any other A rated show. Classes were no more expensive than a regular A rated at any other venue.
It was a great experience and I’m glad I got to go for two years as a three day event rider and be in that environment and compete.
You’re probably looking at $20k.
I would agree. I showed one week (horse was off the home barn property for 13 days) at WEC Ocala and it was $12k
It really depends on what ‘extras’ you want. It’s the extras that add up. The actual show fees there are pretty average for any AA show. What ends up costing so much is the trainer fees, up charge if you get your feed and shavings delivered, groom fees, hotel or house rental, golf cart, etc.
There are people who show and compete there on a budget. When I was there, I met a lovely mom and her two kids who came for one month every year. They stayed far away from WEF (I believe they were down in Boca, but I’m not 100% sure). The kids and her did all the work, they didn’t have a trainer or grooms. Once a week her kids took a lesson with a trainer to get some pointers. It still cost her a lot each week, but it was do-able and she said because they were from the Midwest it was really the only showing the kids did all year.
It’s worth every penny!!!
I guess I should have added that my costs were kept low because I did all the grooming, feeding, stalls myself. I didn’t train with anyone and stayed in my living quarter horse trailer.
As others have said, it all depends. Are you bringing your own horse or leasing one? Do you need to ship commercially or do you haul your own? Do you plan to use show stalls or will you board offsite and hack to the show? And it depends how your trainer structures their billing. Do you split trainer expenses (hotel, food, etc) with other clients, and if so how many other clients will be there? Or does your trainer have another arrangement? Do you need to braid? In general, everything is just more expensive there. Are you flying in and out of PBI or FLL each week? (Last year I flew to Ft Lauderdale and the Uber cost to get to WEF was insane - I ended up taking the train to Palm Beach for $8 and having a friend pick me up).
WEF publishes their prize list really late. Check out last year’s for an estimate on horse show costs. As others have said, it’s comparable to most AA shows - and will probably be the least expensive part of the trip.
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