Cost of showing -- adult amatuer

[horses34]

I am just going to put it out there – we would be considered upper middle class but are barn poor. I am an adult and I am itching to get into the show ring and start doing more but I won’t lie, the finances stop me a lot. I could have access to a nice horse for a lease but if I do some of those leases I wouldn’t have money for a trainer or to actually go to the show. Is anyone else in this spot? Have you found ways to do it that I am just not thinking of?

I am also a mother to 3 kids, two that are still rather young, am married and have a full-time job – so I don’t have a ton of hours to work in a barn but I do have a few. Also to put it out there I am hitting any age where I am starting to feel like I needed to chase my horse dreams more and I didn’t cause of cost/family and the fear of becoming a trainer who couldn’t make ends meet to be honest. I don’t want to end up on my death bed full of regret when it comes to my love of horses and my drive to be more involved with them than I am now.

[HJdaydream]

Not going to lie- it is hard. ESPECIALLY in the h/j world. I showed dressage and eventing growing up, and h/j shows are wayyyy more expensive.

I am married (no kids) and we both have good jobs. Board alone is about the same as our mortgage. Add in training (I can only afford 1/2 training) and A shows on top of that… it gets pretty penny pinching. I absolutely know that I am not “poor”, but it can feel that way in the horse world!

I don’t really have any advice, other then learn to do as much stuff yourself as you can- such as braiding and body clipping. See if you can scale down the training/lesson commitment to half or partial to help save money for shows etc. Best of luck, and know that you are not alone!

[gottagrey]

Find a place where there is a good local circuit(s) and start off with the goal of being the star AA of some of the local circuits. Honestly, some of the local associations that I’ve been involved in had banquets and year end awards that put our zone banquet/awards and state horse association to shame. Aside from that, most of these shows are 1 or 2 days over the weekend and relatively close to home so much more cost effective.

[fourfillies]

I agree with @gottagrey. The benefit of the local circuits are substantial for us A/As. Usually one day, little travel, no overnight hotels, typically no braids. Same pressures of “big shows”. Often very nice year end awards.

[ohnoO]

I absolutely agree with the above posters.
I guess what you need is a barn that has decent (local showable) school horses that you can lease for the show only.
You might want to reveal your location to see if anyone here has some suggestions. Those barns are getting few and far between these days, but they do exist.
In theory, you would pay for the horse lease, trainer fee and entry fees for one day. Probably no braiding, but trailering and maybe/maybe not a stall.
I think it could be doable, financially.

[rulex]

I have given up on the rated circuits, but the local/schooling circuits can still be doable. I’ve also branched out in to dressage and would also like to try eventing, if I find the right horse, as those shows can be much more affordable than the h/j shows.

[PKP]

My guess is that when your children see the joy that riding brings to you, they will want to share it with you. It will be wonderful, for sure, and will add to the expense. The advice given above is excellent - local show circuits are the way to do it. You’ll spend a couple hundred for a day of showing instead of a thousand per day for 2-3 days of a rated show. And unless you can afford a six figure horse or a trainer to get your upper-five figure horse performing like a six figure horse, as well as at least 12 rated shows a year, you might find yourself discouraged by the divide between the haves and the have nots. (Or so my friends tell me

[mpsbarnmanager]

I am with you OP. I am 31, with a kindergartner and preschooler. I also have the “now or never” feeling. I have a talented 4 yr old that I got as an unstarted 2 yr old bc it was the only way I could buy a nice wb. I have a boarding barn, so I am around horses a lot (yay) but that doesn’t make the kind of money you need to show like I want to show. Luckily I also have a skincare business that does quite well. I agree totally with the advice of finding a local circuit for now and being able to win consistently there first. Then branch into state level, then to your A’s. I don’t know about you, but I am a nicer mom and person in general when I am able to ride. When my baby was unstarted I didn’t get to ride, really. I started him and would find myself walking around the barn grinning like an idiot thinking about riding him. Having support from your husband will go a long way. There are compromises to be sure! I know you are loaded down already, but the best advice I can give you is to find something to generate compounding, residual income. Some kind of side business maybe? Every little bit helps! Are you willing to drive an older car for the sake of not having a payment? Things like that can go into your show fund. Hope this helps! PM me if you want to chat.

[rockonxox]

Find a barn that has shows sometimes held at the barn. I really don’t show other than what is at the barn I ride at because of money. I’d love to go travel, but at the barn I do not pay for:

• Haul in fee
• Trailer fee
• Stable fee
• Bedding fee

That can save HUNDREDS depending on what type of show it is. Another way to help cut costs is to share a horse at a show. I’ve done that before too.

I would love to show in a rated show at some point just to do it, but the cost just isn’t feasible to do it on the regular. Plus, I am not highly competitive or in it for the glory… I want to have fun and see how well I’m doing. Maybe if I start raking in the local wins (hah) I’ll want to bump up, but until then I don’t want to throw thousands at shows if I have no chance in breaking the top 10.

On another note, you do not need a super fancy pants horse to show on a local circuit. I would suggest finding a barn in your price range where you can really learn and take the lessons. Maybe do a partial lease on a school horse (or a boarder owned horse – sometimes they can be a tad fancier but on site which can help with fees) for a bit and do the show thing for a year. Soak in the knowledge. Then branch out and get a fancier horse to do fancier things. There are people out there who go trainer free to shows and that is totally doable. Having that extra help ringside is a must for me, but not everyone needs or wants it.

A lot of the “A” competitors that are adults that I know either have high paying jobs, came from money, or do something on the side (braiding, selling stuff on Etsy, working a second job, etc) to save for horse funds. To afford a lease on my guy I have cut cable, cut back on eating out, cut out going out – I’m either at home, the barn, or at my friends houses, cut out buying new stuff for myself, etc. Harder with a family, but showing is money and to get the money you either cut some corners, do without, or find a way to a bigger paycheck!

[findeight]

Great suggestions above. But you mention something about having a few extra hours to work in a barn? Not a great idea if you will not be riding a horse you own or full lease, most locals at least loosely follow USE(F) rules as do most of the better local associations that give annual awards, you could be considered a Pro if you gain anything of value in return for labor and also ride, train, lesson or show a horse not owned by you that the trainer makes money off of. Even if it’s not rated, doesn’t look good and show coukd ask you not to show in classes restricted to non Pro Adults.

Another thing about committing to work off charges in the barn is it’s likely you won’t have enough hours in to credit towards expenses to be worth it as well as find you can’t keep your promise to work if you have a sick child at home or similar conflict. It’s not worth it.

Iit is a great idea to spend extra time hanging around watching and helping out if you have the time and no conflicts, just don’t formalize it with expectation of return, do it free in return for for the knowledge.

[ohmylivia]

Local circuits rock! And depending on where you’re taking lessons, often you can take one of the lesson horses for a day of showing for a fairly low fee. I’ve also done a half lease, where I helped pay some expenses and in return I got more saddle time and first dibs on taking the horse to nearby shows. For me this was possible because I found a trainer who was proactive in finding opportunities within my budget, so my biggest advice would be to find some connections that will work with you- a good trainer recognizes drive and will want to nurture that.

I’m in a similar boat to rockonxox- to afford my horse and competitions, I have two roommates, no cable, have sold most of my non-barn clothes (hah!), eat mostly ramen and drink tap water, and have no social life. I’m working to one day have the bigger paycheck to pull from, but until then it’s a lot of cutting corners.

[kenyarider]

Win the lottery (I know someone who actually did), marry a rich person, or just do it!!!

[Backstage]

Another vote in favour of investigating the local circuits. We have a great “B” circuit where I live - 8-10 shows per year from May-August, with the opportunity to qualify for end of year champs where you compete against other zones . These are two day shows, but each division runs over a single day so you need only compete on one day. Stalls can be rented per day, keeping costs reasonable. Show fees are typically about $200 -250, plus $50 for a stall for the day. You can also win back money if you place in your classes.

There is also a “C” level circuit that runs concurrently. Many of the barns who attend the C circuit shows have active school programs and have horses that can attend and compete at these shows at a reasonable cost.

If you can afford a lease but no showing, I would recommend considering a half-lease. Good, reasonably priced half-leases do exist. You will just need to be clear regarding what you are looking for showing wise as you do not want to discover at the start of show season that the horse owner doesn’t want to share the showing opportunities.

I do not know where you live, but our show season is short - from May to September, generally. I am a big proponent of budgeting and will “annualize” the costs of horse showing over the entire year to minimize the pain. In the depth of winter, I will tuck a fixed amount of money aside so that I have funds for showing come spring. This is particularly important given our short, dense show season.

An alternative approach would be to dial back your showing expectations. Would 2-3 shows/year be feasible? Many riders show a few times a year only and use shows as an opportunity to test new skills before heading back home to fine-tune things for another few months.

Finally, really do your research regarding the local barns and associated costs of leasing/showing. You would be surprised by the cost variation. And often the cost is not always strongly correlated to the quality of instruction or the quality of horse available. There are some very good reasonably priced programs available. But you will need to learn to distinguish them from the reasonable priced poor quality programs! I would spend some time at your local shows watching the trainers and the various horses/riders under their care. I would spend lots of time int he warm up ring and ringside, and worry less about the result ribbon-wise.

[Dewey]

Just want to say, OP. that it is never too late. I rode a lot as a young person, competed, etc. I gave up riding for grad school, career, and family. I took over twenty years off from riding and didn’t start back until my younger child wanted lessons. And here I am at age 61, with kids grown and gone, showing my own horse again.

[BostonHJ]

It’s tough as a working/parenting amateur sort of regardless and especially if money exists in finite quantities. Where are you located? I’ve found really good local circuits in a few places I’ve lived and ones that are not at all for me in my current location.

[GoodTimes]

I’m in my late 20’s, SO and I have good full-time permanent jobs. I figure I’ve only got a few years left of actual showing before kids an the exorbitant day care costs put an end to that. This year I showed my horse and catch rode my moms horse at the shows on the B circuit, we finished 1-2 in the AA’s so I’ve decided that next year I’ll just take my horse to a couple A shows instead. I’m lucky in that board isn’t outrageous in this area, I can make do with 2-3 lessons per month just to have someone on the ground when I jump. I get lots of videos of my riding to work on things myself.

Like another poster suggested learn how to braid and clip. I braid my own which saves a lot of money. I also braid enough every summer for a few other people to the effect of $1000-$2000. I also clip which earns me another $1000 or so every year. There’s a bigger learning curve with braiding, but a bigger initial investment with clipping.

My suggestion would be to find a barn that has some school horses to get you back into it, and the option to part board or lease something that you could show if that’s still what you want. There are a few people at our barn that “share” horses in order to show. There’s less of a time commitment (often better for the moms out there) and less of a financial commitment. Shipping and stalls at shows are only half as much, braiding can be split as well depending on the days everyone is showing.
Free leases are also out there if you can show you’re trustworthy, or if you find a barn that others respect. In the past my mom has “free leased” her horse to people close by. They pay the expenses, they get a nicer horse then they could afford otherwise, and she could stop in and check on him or ride him once in awhile.

[dynamite0319]

I’m in my later 30’s married and we both have well-paid jobs. I do quite a lot of DIY to afford my horse habit. We live in an area of Texas where we were able to get a 10 acre property for an extremely low price so I keep my horses at home. I occasionally take lessons and go to a few shows every year. I strongly dislike the local circuit near me, but do sometimes show at local/regional shows in a different area of Texas that are like rated shows, but cheaper. So far none of my horses get training rides and have only been in training for a small number of months in the totality of years I’ve owned the horses. While this makes some things take longer bc I’m far from a pro, I really enjoy the progress I get out of my horses. As far as finding a horse I’ve felt like I had two options; buy a fancy baby warmblood or a nice thoroughbred. I started with a nice thoroughbred and when he was 5 I bought a fancy baby warmblood. I now have 2 TBs and a young warmblood. You can absolutely find an older TB (I’m thinking older than 5 or 6) that was maybe on the track and retired sound for a great price that is ready to start training over fences almost immediately. To do this on a budget you have to determine what are your priorities (eg nice quiet older vs super fancy young horse) and go from there.
One other way to save some $ is to buy tack, equipment and attire used. There are so many great FB pages out there to buy and sell used horse stuff. I’ve saved hundreds if not thousands of dollars by buying used stuff!

[horses34]

Hi all! First, thank you for the great responses! I am still going through them but there is a lot of great ideas and honestly, it is nice to see I am not alone. It can feel sometimes like you are the only one trying to piece it together.

To answer a few things:

1. I am totally ok with local shows, I don’t need to go to rated shows just have a desire to show.
2. I am in Colorado. South of Denver in Parker – which is a pretty big horse area. I have not done a ton of research on boarding costs but from what I do know board in this area is $650-$1000+/month.
3. The trainer I usually ride with has great school horses I could do a lease on but a half lease is still $350/month and then lessons are $45 for 30 minute private or a 60 minute group.
4. Good call on making sure I don’t lose any status by working at the barn in exchange for anything. I do go to the barn quite often even when I am not riding to get the smell and learn from those around me.
5. I really the suggestion of learning to braid and clip – I am going to look more into that!

Ok, off to read more.

[anon99446150]

I’m a horseless adult ammy in NYC so I totally feel your pain. Would there be a way for you to day lease a horse to show? I do this now with my barn and it’s been working pretty nicely. Since the price of keeping a horse in NYC (or anywhere close) is ridiculously high, I’m actually envious that you have board in the 650/1000 range, owning or leasing is pretty much out of the picture for me.

Day leasing works great because I’m only showing on the local circuit so it’s still an expensive experience but its something I can save up for and do when I can as opposed to worry about if I’ll be able to pay for things like board, vet, etc.

[horses34]

@anon99446150

I’m a horseless adult ammy in NYC so I totally feel your pain. Would there be a way for you to day lease a horse to show? I do this now with my barn and it’s been working pretty nicely. Since the price of keeping a horse in NYC (or anywhere close) is ridiculously high, I’m actually envious that you have board in the 650/1000 range, owning or leasing is pretty much out of the picture for me.

Day leasing works great because I’m only showing on the local circuit so it’s still an expensive experience but its something I can save up for and do when I can as opposed to worry about if I’ll be able to pay for things like board, vet, etc.

This isn’t something I am familiar with, I need to ask around about it. Great suggestion though, that would really help me out