Hello there,
Does anyone have any experience with showing at RAWF (The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair) in Toronto, Ontario? It is a national horse show / agricultural show that occurs annually in November. Division fees are available online, and that’s great, but I know that the horse show world is full of hidden fees.
I’m looking to budget and plan out my summer/fall horse shows with the possibility of attending / competing at the Royal in the Cup class(es) (given we qualify, haha). So I’m mainly looking for stall fees, drug/admin/service fees, etc. that aren’t always advertised. I have friends and acquaintances in my area that have attended, but not all are willing to share, or know, how much the horse show costed them as a whole (mom and dad had foot the bill).
Would anyone be willing to share their experience, or rather something close to a show bill, that would help prepare me for the blow to my wallet? :lol: Any insight is greatly appreciated.
You can contact the fair directly and get a copy of the prize book which will have the costs of classes and stalls on it. If you get ahold of the registration form all the items will be on that because you will need to tick them off and add them up and write a cheque.if the 2020 book is not out then you can get the 2019 book. I would expect it to be online as a pdf.
Remember of course that the cost of going to big show also includes trailering the horse, your coaches day fees, paying grooms, etc. all of which will vary depending on the fee structure of your barn.
If you are in a lesson program you should ask your coach.
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I am already located in Ontario, so not crossing any borders to attend!
I am aware of my coaching fees, trailering, day care, etc., just looking for more fees pertaining to the show itself. @Scribbler, I surprisingly didn’t think of reaching out to the fair itself face palm, I suppose that would likely be my best bet.
I took my guy to the Cup classes back in 2016 and I think my show office bill was in the area of $1,000 including my share of the barn splits on sit stall and grooming stall, etc.
Thanks for sharing @DarkBayUnicorn! Do you happen to remember if the stall was a flat rate (the 150$ as stated on the entry form), or was it charged per day (as in $150 per day)?
FEES: $25 per single standing stall
$125 per box stall FOR BREEDING LINE HORSES/PONIES ONLY*
$150 per box stall
$150 1st tack room
$175 each additional tack room
*Please note departure times
c) TIME OF ARRIVAL: Barn will be available for set up starting at 10:00 a.m., Sunday, October 28th. No horses allowed into the Horse Palace until 8:00 a.m. on Monday, October 29th. All Exhibitors requiring stalls must check with the Barn Superintendent. In the event stalls are not available at certain times, some exhibitors may be requested to delay the time of arrival until stalls occupied by horses scheduled to be judged, have been vacated.
BREEDING AND LINE EXHIBITORS must refer to their individual sections regarding move in and move out dates for their stalls.
d) TACK ROOMS: All tack room curtains must be made out of fire retardant material. Ceiling covers for the stalls are not allowed. Absolutely no plastic will be permitted. No cooking will be allowed in tack rooms. Exhibitors must have available a ten (10) pound ABC type fire extinguisher. This will be strictly enforced. Failure to comply will result in immediate dismissal on the authority of the City of Toronto Fire Marshall. Exhibitors must limit the amount of decorating space along the perimeter of the tack rooms to one (1) meter so that traffic is not impeded. Non-compliance of the above rules will result in RAWF staff removing ceiling covers and/or decorations/equipment that protrude into public walkways. In addition, The Royal will fine the exhibitor at fault $100 which will be added to their invoice and their entry submission for next year will be subject to review.
e) CATTLE WALK: Competitors should note that Manitoba Drive will be closed from Thursday, Oct. 31, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm; Friday, Nov. 1, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm; Saturday, Nov. 2, 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm and Sunday, Nov. 3, 8:00 – 9:00 pm to allow the cattle to walk from the Cattle Barn to their evening tie outs. Competitors should avoid arriving during those times to move into the Horse Palace.
f) ENVIRONMENTAL/AMBULANCE FEE: An Environmental and Ambulance/ Paramedic fee of $25.00 will be applied to each horse entered.
PASSES: Accepted Entries will be sent an Entry Acknowledgement Card which permits a one-time entry into the buildings. Entry Acknowledgement Cards will be exchanged for allotted wristbands per entry at the Horse Show Entry Office. There will be no wristbands issued without presentation of entry acknowledgment cards. Additional wristbands may be ordered on the entry form or purchased at the Horse Show Entry office at the Fair. Passes for November 1st – 5th are $87.50, passes November 5th – 10th are $100, November 1st – 10th are $150. Please mark on the form provided and entry blank how many you require of each wristband. Exhibitors showing in the Breeding Horse section are considered Horse Show exhibitors. Exhibitors should note that no wristband access will be allowed into the Coliseum during performances that are sold out. This will apply in particular to Saturday nights. Exhibitors that have an entry competing in one of the classes during a sold out performance will be issued a separate performance
Can’t help you on prices, but I attended last year with my pony’s breeder to watch some of her “kids” go, and I had a blast! I loved the atmosphere in the Horse Palace. Hope you can swing it, we have nothing like it in the States and I’m jealous!
Its all available in the prize lists. Don’t forget you need to attend the qualifiers at RCRA. Unlike the other CSH classes you can’t just show at The Royal in the Cup Classes, you need to qualify.
Royal Fees Paid to the show:
Stall: $125
Tack Stall: $150
Entry Fees: $85x2 = $170
Admin Fee: $25
Environment Fee: $25
Other Fees:
Hotel: $300/Night (Exhibiter rate available at the Fairmont Royal York)
Braiding: $90-100
Clipping: $150
Other variable fees:
Gas, Trailering, Coaching, Night Show Tickets, Energy Drinks, Coffee, Wine, Groom, Food For Groom, Special gift for groom for lunging your horse at 2am
I normally calculate when showing on the line and not having to qualify it costs me around $1,000CDN to jog 1 line. But I am my own coach, shipper, clipper and have a lovely free groom team that work for night tickets. Its not cheap, but its a lot of fun.
Thank you all for your feedback! I managed to find the entry forms for both the qualifiers and for the Royal. For those wondering:
I live in Northern Ontario, so round trip to the RCRA is something around 700km, and round trip to Ricoh Coliseum is ~850km. Since I’m paying my trainer to trailer, that will eat up a good chunk of my budget. That, and hotel stays, of course.
With braiding, coaching, trailering, fees, all said and done, each qualifier will cost me ~$1,400 CAD +/- 10%.
With that being said, the cost of attending the Royal (given I am to trailer in the Friday and leave the Sunday), will cost me something in between $2,000 CAD and $2,500 CAD, depending on parking fees, hotels, and obviously tickets to the night shows, dinners, other luxuries, etc.
Basically, qualifying and attending the Cup classes will put me out nearly $5,000 CAD, if not a little more depending on circumstances! I would be workable, but now the question is, do you guys think it’s worth it?
She could. Some people do. But on a $5,000 experience, that will save her $200-300, assuming she can braid to the necessary standard, and that she feels comfortable being further from a young horse while it is stabled downtown in a large city, at one of the most non-horse friendly show stabling options. Personally, I’d want to be close. That said, Airbnb may allow someone to pay less than your typical Toronto hotel, and still be quite nearby - especially if shared.
I think it depends on why this has appeal to you in the first place. Personally, I enjoy visiting the Royal and have spent some time around young horses there.
I wouldn’t have any desire to take a young horse there. Why?
Well, first, I find it to be a stressful environment - its loud, its crowded, there are clueless parents pushing their strollers up close to young horses, children running everywhere…the horses seem to cope with it fairly well, but I would spend the entire time worried! That isn’t a very enjoyable way for me to spend my time and money.
Second, if I ever have an eligible youngster, it will be a personal horse that I have bought/bred for showing, and I would prefer to focus my efforts and money on developing the horse in other ways. That $5,000 could do 9-10 trillium shows in my area - and that is where I would prefer to spend the money with a young horse.
If you are a breeder and want to promote your youngstock - I could see the appeal of competing in the Cup classes from a marketing perspective. That said, you still need to figure out if its worth it, and if your goal is to sell that particular horse, or to network for selling other horses. Also, if showing at the Royal is a longtime dream, I can see the appeal if you don’t foresee ever doing under any other circumstances (i.e. qualifying in the 3’ Adults, etc). It would certainly be cheaper to use the Cup opportunity, than to qualify in any of the hunter or jumper divisions! If you look at it that way, the Cup classes are a bargain!
I think you have some great replies here and it really boils down to why do you want to do it. If it is for the chance to show there and you can afford it why not. If it is really pushing the limits for you financially maybe this isn’t the year.
I am currently trying to decide whether we will switch from Trillium to A this year and whether the financial commitment is worth it. We would be attempting to qualify for the Royal. For me, it has been a dream to have a horse at the Royal since I was a little girl sitting in the stands. I currently have the right horse that may make this achievable. I will not be the pilot but it will be a great journey if we make the switch.
Unfortunately, I am not a breeder, nor do I plan on selling the eligible horse, which is why my friends / family / trainer are questioning why I’d like to attend! Truth be told, it’s been a long time dream to go to the Royal in some way shape or form, and I suppose this would be the easiest and cheapest way in, given we qualify.
That being said, it would be MORE of a dream to legitimately qualify in one of the hunter or jumper divisions. My filly is well bred, may make a nice either or, but I know in the jumper being while being an adult amateur, we’d have to do something like the 1.40s, if I’m correct? I’m not sure if that’s realistic or even realistic to qualify in the hunter ring seeing as I didn’t buy her to be a hunter, or for her hunter-like qualities.
I guess it would be more the experience! However, $5k could be put into a lot of other things (training, clinics, equipment if required, local shows) so I’m having an internal debate. Thank you all for your replies!
I guess it depends on whether or not you have the budget to be able to show the horse enough on the circuit to be able to qualify for the Royal in the first place. If you don’t have the budget to do the entire “A” circuit, or for the quality of the horse and training needed to win enough to even think of making it to the Royal, then this may be your most reasonable chance of competing at the Royal.
Realistically, even on a shoe string budget, in order to be able qualify for the Royal you’re likely going to spend at least 5 times as much yearly on the shows to get you there. You simply can’t do only a couple of shows and get there - there are just too many others out there showing and winning weekend after weekend all season long that will get those spots. In order to get there in the jumpers as an adult amateur, you would be having to to the 1.40m, as that is the only jumper adult amateur division that is at the Royal.
If you want the experience of going to the Royal, then I would go for it. It is certainly the only way I would ever be able to go - I simply don’t have the budget to play at a level that would ever get me there any other way. I think this is a reality for a lot of us middle class adult ammies :).
I’m planning on trying to qualify my coming 3yo for the 2020 Cup classes, so maybe we’ll see you there. Since I’m a little further south and sounds like I can do a bit more myself it will be a bit cheaper.
I opted not to do the Cup classes with my gelding, he’s now 10 and I’m still regretting it. His full brother (who is a dead ringer) ribboned the following year, so there’s a good chance I’d have a ribbon from RAWF framed on my wall right now.
Current baby was purchased as a weanling with the hopes of doing the Cup classes. Still haven’t decided if we’re going to keep her, or sell her at some point in the next few years. If we keep her, we’ll likely breed her at some point.
I don’t have kids, and if we never have kids there’s the possibility that I could scrape together the time and money to qualify in the hunter ring. But if we decide to have kids that dream will get squashed. So if I want to show at the Royal (team effort with my mom), this is our best shot.
While it is certainly a stressful environment, especially for a baby, I think the Cup classes are far calmer than the CSHA and TB classes. The ring is bigger, it’s quieter, and goes early before most of the crowds show up. I wouldn’t spend the money to go for the regular breeding classes, the entry numbers are so low that I don’t give much merit to the results. But aside from the fact that the Cup classes are judged (and there can be disagreements), for the most part the horses that consistently place at the top in the qualifiers and at the Royal are very nice.
I love attending and showing at the Royal every year. Its our year end wrap up after showing all spring, summer and fall. Its also a tradition for us as my husband has been showing there for his whole life - 46 years, so it would be weird not to go!
If you can do it, I would say go for it! Yes its expensive and chaotic, but I find it a great experience for young horses. They certainly get an eye opener there. I always tend to bring a young pony (yearling or 2 year old) just to let them see everything, I find it a great training opportunity as they see all sorts of different horses, people, crowds, trains, traffic etc, etc… I’m always careful with the crowds as of course they have little to 0 horse experience, but the Cup Classes are nice and early and in the big ring. That’s a nice bonus!
I show in the Welsh, Sport Pony and Driving classes, so we are pretty much in the small breed ring, but do show in the evenings in the big ring. @kwpn_01 - I still have a copy of my bill that has the break down for stalls etc and I can PM it to you if you would like. At least it would give you an idea of cost.
We are lucky and live fairly close and stay in our horse LQ trailer so it does cut down costs for us for sure. I braid myself and do all of my work with my ponies (I usually bring down 2 ponies and we do a large set up with 2 tack stalls). We always have a ton of fun and look forward to it all year long
