Costs of an equestrian life

[Gwyneth]

Self-isolation ramblings here, so bear with me!

Being unable to go to the barn and ride right now has allowed my mind to ponder over different topics, and the most recent one I’ve been thinking about is the price of dressage horses and how people who are unable or don’t want to spend large amounts of money on a horse progress up the levels. I know there have been other discussions on this, but I think my question is slightly different.

For me personally, I can’t imagine spending a ton of money on a horse (a creature who could, at any day, injure him/herself beyond repair or downright die). I wouldn’t want to spend more than 10-15k, which is still pushing it for me. I don’t want it to come across that I think people are crazy for spending that amount (or more) on a horse, or that I don’t think horses are worth that. I know the costs of keeping and training a horse (and an FEI dressage horse), and I know that they are absolutely worth every cent of their large price.

But, for someone who doesn’t want to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a horse (for either financial reasons or just because they don’t want to), what are their options if they want to do well in dressage (or other disciplines)? I guess they could buy a nice weanling or yearling, but not everyone has the facilities or resources available to them to raise a young horse. So, they would then be left with buying a cheaper, but correct (albeit probably not fancy) “off breed” horse. But even with that, they will most likely not place/ score as well as the horses who are bred for dressage.

I recently retired my mare (an appendix), who I showed with up to 3rd level and was beginning to school PSG. She was very correct in all her work, and we were able to improve and progress, but we always scored below the more traditional dressage horses. That’s life, I guess.

Is this just an instance of that saying that equestrian shows are where “the rich compete against the richer”? (Although I don’t entirely believe that saying, because those riders still need talent and to be able to dedicate hours of hard work). For those of us who don’t wish to get caught up in that type of “rat race” though (if it can be called that), are we simply left with the less fancy horses? I suppose one could always try and find a lease horse, or a younger person could take up a working student position.

But do you ever get, I don’t know, slightly discouraged about the dressage/ equestrian industry, and the costs associated with it, and how it is, just in its nature, slightly exclusionary? I consider myself very privileged to be one of the few to be able to own my horse and afford lessons and shows, and I am grateful. But when I try to look at my horsey world through the eyes of a stranger, it all seems slightly absurd.

I don’t really know where I’m going with this, it’s mostly just my train of thought after being left to my own devices at home for so many days now. Feel free to chime in with similar or divergent ideas/ questions.

[Scribbler]

It is merely being realistic to recognize that horses are expensive and that competition horses are very expensive.

The various inputs into creating a successful horse include raw cash, talent, time, and good training and instruction help. Obviously cash helps but so do talent and skill and time.

Everything in life is “exclusionary” based on your income. I have a solid middle class income but obviously I will never have a private jet, or indeed in my urban area even a house. That’s life.

[MysticOakRanch]

This sport has changed a LOT over the past 30 years - it use to be a fairly affordable sport - you could be competitive on a “regular” horse, taking lessons weekly or twice monthly, as long as you were a decent rider. It was much more a grass roots discipline. And yes, I do think about it a LOT…

I don’t have the $$$ to buy a fancy horse - even a young one. A friend told me that I could look for a German Riding Pony with a breeder she knew, the young ones were very affordable. I asked her what “very affordable” meant, and she said “oh, $15 to $20,000”. For someone like me, that is a bit of a mind blowing amount. Someone I know just bought a trained horse for their daughter - “got a great deal” at $80k. And so on…

But then, it is a first world problem. I HAVE a pony, he’s at a nice stable. I realize I can’t do this much longer, that is just reality, but at least I could dabble in the sport - while so many can’t even afford to buy a used car, or own a home. So I try to NOT feel like I’m doing so badly, on my little cross breed pony.

The numbers in our sport are dropping dramatically - membership is way down on our GMO, in USDF, some of our shows have shrunk too. Meanwhile, the quality is generally up - those that are still involved tend to have the $$$ for training and a nice horse. The rest of us are migrating - away from horses, or into other disciplines - such as Western Dressage. And our SCHOOLING shows are going gangbusters. I think that is where many of the grass roots riders have gone - more fun, less $, less pressure to sell their beloved horse and get a Warmblood…

[Rerider54]

I am retired and wondering if the monthly fees are going to get to me at some point. I bought a rather green horse four years ago, she is now solid Second Level and if… at some point we might get to show Third…

An acquaintance was trying to convince her husband that they could ‘afford’ a horse. I told her to start putting monthly board away till she had enough to purchase the horse she wanted. She now has 10K and was going to start looking, now on hold. She says she will keep saving and keep raising her dream horse value.

I told my kids that I am planning on spending all my money on horses. They said, go for it… I earned it. I like my horse a lot but not sure how far we can get. I have had a few people even want to buy my horse. But I keep saying that she is mine as long as we keep progressing.

Yep… it is crazy expensive, so much more then 30 or 40 years ago. But way back then I once scribed for Karl Mikolka and he said that I should buy the best horse I could afford because ‘a bad horse eats as much as a good horse.’

[outerbanks77]

These threads always seem to conflate working up through the levels with being competitive through the levels. If you want to be competitive on a regional or national basis through the levels, 99% of the time, yes, you need to spend a lot. If you want to work hard and ride up through the levels without worrying about comparing yourself to others, it can be done on a much less fancy horse, and might even be more enjoyable.

Dressage and competition are two different things.

[mvp]

I feel you, OP.

There is a sentence in your first paragraph that I couldn’t understand. Something about not wanting to pay for horse progress up the levels. You mean folks don’t want to pay for a horse who has attained that level of training? Or they don’t want to put the money required into the process of making up that horse?

Those are two different things. I have decided that I’m happy with the latter. I ride and will show so that I can enjoy the process of becoming an ever-better rider and horsewoman. I want to have that kind of animating goal for the rest of my riding life. I figure I have 20 more years on a horse and I don’t think I’ll be improving toward the end of that.

But I will have some very well-made horses and I will have learned how to choose them and make them up. That will be enough. Also, at this point, I’m planning to build a farm and bring the horses back home so that I can (again) enjoy the daily care of my horses and the kind of relationship I get with them when I show up like that.

I grew up working hard and doing the grunt work that went with riding and showing. I used to want to show more than anything else. Like you, OP, the joy of participating in a “sport” that amounts to a spending contest leaves me cold. Maybe this is age. Maybe this is my tax bracket. I don’t know, and I don’t care. But if the shows aren’t selling a product I want, I’m not buying.

That said, I can and will spend plenty of money on training. And I do want to go to shows to get scores I’d need for a medal or some other goal like a regional championship. But if this all boils down to the quality of horse I could afford to buy at the beginning, and nothing about how I trained it, conditioned it or rode and showed it matters, then I’ll bail on those limited horse shows, too.

OP, there are so, so many ways to enjoy horsing and horsing with goals and with other like-minded people without having to participate in a screw job. Go find those! I am and it’s great.

[KyrieNZ]

I’m in New Zealand so things are a little different. I am lucky in that I own land and my horses are at home with me. Costs have increased dramatically in New Zealand over the years, and wages haven’t kept up (IMO).

I am ‘lucky’ in that I don’t have a husband or kids to consider, so what I earn I get full say on what I spend it on. I have a schoolmaster that isn’t dressage purpose bred and while I absolutely adore him, his lack of big warmblood movement lets us down in the final marks. I don’t have huge amounts of money available so bought a young ish warmblood. Thankfully I’m para and don’t have any goals of riding at the Olympics so haven’t bought a GP potential - I can’t ride that huge movement anyways.

[Miss_Motivation]

Good musings. I like riding, I like the people and the atmosphere and of course the horses. I like feeling I’ve done something well. Showing can be fun, and the social aspects of both the show and all it took to get there entertain me. And the idea of dressage as a sequential improvement of my skills, with (semi) objective numerical scoring, appeals to me. Oh, and ride times are the best thing in the world!

But it is absolutely no secret that it is very expensive to do any horse sport at a very high level. People sometimes seem surprised by this but it is obvious. You have to pay to play. Rare stuff is expensive.

So I’ve done different things to enjoy the elements of dressage on a level I can afford. I don’t have the money or frankly the desire to chase some hardcore dressage dream now that I have the time to do it. I’m just a recreational rider who likes a little incentive. And I am far too old to think I can ride and compete like someone thirty years younger than me!

I tiptoed back into showing, after a very long time off to build my career and nurture it, with a non-traditional dressage horse. I wouldn’t begin to dream of spending the money it takes for a good quality warmblood for a returning amateur. It would be a travesty for me to spend that based on my need for security for myself and my family. I just bought something simpler that can still participate in the kind of horse sports I like.

Then I found a trainer that really suits me and my horse. She is a couple hours away, but I have the time to travel to her now, and she maintains my horse in partial training between my visits. Her barn atmosphere is great, she’s talented and dedicated, and her group are fun. No, she’s not a traditional dressage trainer, but she’s capable and competent and willing to learn new sports with me.

In the last couple years, my little fun horse and I have had the best horse fun of my life. We’ve traveled around the US for events, shown with friends, had encouraging success in our sandbox, and enjoyed the heck out of the experience .My expenditure for two years of serious competition, including the horse and all other related costs, doesn’t begin to approach what I would have spent purchasing an elderly schoolmaster warmblood with maintenance issues- if I could have found one.

What have we done? Western dressage and now working equitation. Both fulfill my desire to have a systematic approach to improving my riding skills, and both have a clear route to follow as we progress. Both have been amongst the best experiences I’ve had in almost 50 years of competitions, with great venues, good judging, and most important, supportive and fun people at the shows. We root for each other and improving our scores, not for the final placings.

While many more serious showing aficionados will scoff at the events I’ve pursued, I am delighted to have found affordable niches that let me indulge my horse passion without endangering my family finances or health and sanity…

There are a lot of reasons that traditional equestrian sports are contracting while some variants are growing like mad. One reason is that some of these other sports let us pursue success at a level that is responsible.

For all those who have had their heart broken by people, horses, or circumstances while chasing a high-end dream, reconsider why you do this in the first place- for the horse- and be open-minded to other ways to enjoy these beautiful animals The horses don’t care what we do with them- maybe we need to not care so much either.

[anon55755751]

@Gwyneth

But do you ever get, I don’t know, slightly discouraged about the dressage/ equestrian industry, and the costs associated with it, and how it is, just in its nature, slightly exclusionary? I consider myself very privileged to be one of the few to be able to own my horse and afford lessons and shows, and I am grateful. But when I try to look at my horsey world through the eyes of a stranger, it all seems slightly absurd.

Yes to feeling discouraged. And I don’t even care about showing, so don’t really care to what extent that is a money game, even at the non-elite levels. But the knock-on effects are real, in terms of trainer business models and access.

Where I am in my life salary and stability-wise, I think I would have been able to have the kind of “horse life” I expected when I was a teen riding in the 90’s…if it were still the 90’s. Even without showing, the market and business model have changed. There is better riding, training, and instruction around than there used to be, but more expensive and elite - barns I can’t afford to board at are filled with clients willing to pay way more than I am or can. At some point, scheduling lessons outside of business hours started to become harder - meaning that trainers have enough clients who do not work regular 9-5’s to not need the business of those of us who do.

The issue isn’t the “fairness” of people having more money - it’s that there is a hole in the market between entry level and expensive barns that the mid-level life-long DIYers used to depend on to make progress. I think there’s also some cultural trend towards disbelief that DIY is even possible - I see a lot more normalization of hunter style “programs” in dressage then there used to be. It makes total sense as a business model, it’s just not what I’m looking for as a customer. I want to be able to train my own horses. That’s what I enjoy.

I’d love to get my medals as a punctuation mark kind of validation. I’d like more to be able to start, bring up to the mid levels, and sell young horses with some repeatable competence. Realistically, it probably isn’t, so it may be the case that my next horse is my last horse. I have property now, so maybe within 3 years I can start pushing hard on my goals, then start winding down in 15 years or so and just keep retirees. Who knows what the world will look like 12 months from now though.

For now, I’ll just continue enjoying my current horse, who is not supposed to be a dressage horse, and probably does have some insurmountable limitations as one. But he’s a joy to work with, so we’ll press on one step at a time until I figure out what to do with him.

[Rosewatt]

Yes, I’ve thought about it a lot.Specifically, dressage is continuously migrating more towards the direction of an “elitist” sport and I think it is a real shame. I’ve always admired the training aspect of dressage and I think part of the beauty of it is being able to exhibit what good solid training can do with any horse and not “look at my fancy mover”, which is essentially what it has become. In this way, riders who pay their way often get much farther than riders who work hard and have exceptional talent. As elitism increases, I think we are losing an integral part of the sport in the long run.

First, I think one big reason that this sport is so expensive is because owning a horse is expensive. If owning a horse itself is expensive, that immediately makes it so that people with money are going to be the larger influence of the community. To begin with, if the target market are these individuals, then the market has the reason to be “inflated”. However, I think there is a bigger problem brewing in the competitive field that not only reinforces this market, but also can potentially drive the sport in a way that is counter intuitive to its fundamental concepts.

Of course, horses are expensive to own and care for, but does that mean that the opportunity to compete should be as well? This sport is becoming more biased towards expensive and fancy warmbloods bred for dressage and I have seen these fancy movers win over a well trained horse multiple times.A friend of mine who was not only very talented, but also an extremely hard worker had been personally invited to work with an Olympic rider. Now, the Olympic rider really thought that my friend was a great rider, especially being that he had gotten as far as he did with an OTTB. My friend went to work under the Olympic rider for about 2 years and was quite successful. But, when e came back he decided to drop riding completely. Why? Well, it was because he personally saw riders buy their way into the sport and it made his hard work appear futile in the end. These riders just bought a nice expensive competition horse with proven wins and won. Ultimately, he saw no reason to pursue a career as a rider when talent and hard work were being overshadowed by how much $$$ one had to spend.

As we move in this direction, I believe we are also losing important fundamentals in the sport. More frequently, we are seeing riders leaving traditional, “classical” methods behind for “quicker fixes” or modernized methods These modern methods are based on classical fundamentals but often skip past other parts of it or execute the training too quickly. In competition, we have often seen leniency towards training holes, such as a horse going behind the bit and it is either penalized slightly or ignored altogether depending on the judge. As long as the horse is going fine otherwise, they often still do well in competition. I find there is an increasing emphasis on executing form in a quicker time period in modern dressage, rather than taking time to cement the fundamentals. But why has dressage made a turn to these modernized methods over proven classical methods? I think it is because of the increasing emphasis on horses bred for the sport, horses that both execute and appear to perform these movements more easily. Hence, the average modern sport horse $$$ can be trained to higher levels with much less skill than the average horse competed years ago. This allows for shortcuts within training. The top riders and riders influencing the equestrian community are involved in either the breeding industry or in consumption. This drives the economy for the need of buying expensive horses in order to increase the chances of doing well in competition, then the following people who are able to do so are those with money and often a drive to “win”. As the sport becomes more “exclusive”, it is actually discouraging the development of horses that don’t fit the average “dressage image”.

Personally, I can see the appeal of buying a well-bred horse for factors such as less health risk and longevity to an extent, but I do find that buying a horse for excessive prices for the sake of competition rather ridiculous. To that matter, what do we actually gain from competitions unless we are hoping to go pro? People spend excessive amounts on competition horses, tack etc, but do they even make half of that back? For most people, I’d think not. But then again, it’s almost futile to try and get somewhere in high level competition without a expensive warmblood. I think the real problem here is the direction in which competition has gone. Competition should be about the rider’s abilities and not be all about the horse’s movement. People should not be able to buy their way in and there should be some kind of change that tests a riders ability further, but there is no motive for that because the inflated horse market is still a means of money.

I used to compete and it was fun, but the last few years I’ve seen much more value investing in clinics and lessons to further my riding knowledge. I also see no value in splurging on a excessively expensive horse that could get injured at any moment. There is something to be said about riders who can successfully ride and train the horse they have that may not be the ideal dressage horse. I think that that is far more impressive than a rider buying an expensive dressage bred warmblood that makes movements easier for them. However, I’m not saying that all riders who buy expensive horses aren’t talented at all because that certainly isn’t true.

[Willesdon]

Just to strike a cheerful note, a video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-tuyLpWBwQ

[atlatl]

@Miss Motivation

For all those who have had their heart broken by people, horses, or circumstances while chasing a high-end dream, reconsider why you do this in the first place- for the horse- and be open-minded to other ways to enjoy these beautiful animals The horses don’t care what we do with them- maybe we need to not care so much either.

So nice to see you posting! As usual, we are in agreement!

Stay healthy and I still owe you lunch!

[lenapesadie]

I knew when I was 15 that I would never be able to afford a fancy imported Warmblood. So I bred myself a horse. I was lucky and he came out beautifully put together. Good work ethic, lots of suspension and a fantastic uphill canter. I went for years without a good riding horse in order to raise him. He’s not going to the Olympics but I get a lot of joy from our relationship.

Horses are terribly expensive and fancy ones are even more so. It’s the same with cars. Fancy, expensive cars win car shows.

Horses are a gamble in many ways. For example, my fancy dream come true horse that wants to be a hunter.

[Foxglove]

Different perspective but on the topic --at one point about 10-15 years ago, DD was riding upper level 3-Day. As sometimes happens, we had dinner at a local pub with a few other riders --nice group. One rider had brought his professional groom along.

As the conversation moved to previous experiences in one’s youth, the groom began to speak --he was riveting! He’d been the only child of a well-to-do horse family (I actually had crossed paths with his mother in the fox hunting world when I was a teenager). He spoke of riding with his parents to the hounds, and how as a child he’d been placed in the back seat of the car to nap and covered with “all the mink coats” when the parties after the hunt went long. As a teenager he’d shown hunters then jumpers in Madison Square Garden and recalled seeing Snowman’s last ride. As a young adult, he’d decided to go big time —both parents had died, he had a considerable fortune. He said he spent it all on showing jumpers --he said it almost came to an end when his accountant called him into the office and pointed out that he was well on his way to spending all his money.

At that point the groom decided to go out with a bang --and he did —he spent all his money. I guess he was about 40 when he told us this story --and working as a professional groom -no family, no kids, no horse of his own, just travelling with this barn or that. I probably said something like, Wow, do you ever regret your decision? He said no, that to this day the memories of being the man with the semi full of show horses pulling into the show grounds, surrounded by adoring horse show people made him happy --he’d done it all, won it all, and really had no regrets. After the fortune was gone, he’d tried giving lessons, managing barns, training, but that wasn’t what he wanted to do --so now he groomed for big name riders.

You have to decide what makes you happy --competition? training for upper levels? or is just being around horses —yet, as I’m sure you are aware, there is a life after and outside horses --I understand the groom’s decision, but it wouldn’t be one I’d make.

[piedmontfields]

I like the point about working well through the levels vs. competing successfully through the levels. If you want ribbons and ribbons of a certain color, you need way more than good training and good luck (health)—you need a very, very nice horse of the type that tends to be rewarded in competitions.

OP, do know that for some people, dropping 100k on a horse is like dropping 10k for others. In the US, we have a lot of inequality and some extremely wealthy people who happen to be into horses.

[Tarlo_Farm]

Foxglove, that’s an amazing story!

[Gwyneth]

@outerbanks77

These threads always seem to conflate working up through the levels with being competitive through the levels. If you want to be competitive on a regional or national basis through the levels, 99% of the time, yes, you need to spend a lot. If you want to work hard and ride up through the levels without worrying about comparing yourself to others, it can be done on a much less fancy horse, and might even be more enjoyable.

Dressage and competition are two different things.

Very true, and I’ve always tried to stick to the mentality that I am improving in comparison to my previous scores, rather than how my horse and I look when compared to an imported warmblood. However, I would by lying if I said I haven’t been disappointed or a bit upset after I had a great ride/ test with my horse, where everything felt lovely, soft and enjoyable, only to come out with a score that was still toward the bottom of the placings. This is especially true when I occasionally see a horse who doesn’t look happy, but who has expressive movement, place higher than me or other riders who clearly had a more harmonious and happier ride. I always find myself leaving shows wondering what exactly it is the judges are rewarding.

[Lucassb]

I find these discussions and all the different points of view absolutely fascinating. Thanks, OP, for raising the topic.

I often say that it was my horse-deprived childhood that drives many of my adult decisions. After begging for literally years, my family reluctantly paid for weekly lessons at the local riding academy (out of pure luck it was an excellent place that taught horsemanship in addition to riding skills.) As I got older and became a better skilled barn rat, I was the groom/working student/barn manager for a variety of different places and again, through pure luck, ended up mostly with very good, rather old school horsemen who were generous about sharing their knowledge with me.

I was never the kid (or young adult) with the fancy horse, but I was so, so, so happy and in love with the ones I had - the ex polo pony I bought with my grooming wages as a teenager, or the OTTB I purchased as a young adult just starting out in my career. They were certainly not fancy but their quirks helped me learn to ride

At that time, all my experience was in Hunter land where style and presentation were paramount; as one of my trainers once noted, “quality matters, as it should. But you still have to ride.” I was never going to have the money to buy the winner, but I could absolutely focus on really learning to ride and present a horse at that level, and I enjoyed that process a lot. Eventually in my early 40s, with a decently established professional career, I bought a nice quality super green young horse and was able to put him in more of a show program. So fun! I still wasn’t anybody’s idea of a big client, but with good care and years of training we got to where we could be competitive at the nicer A shows a few times a year.

That horse had a bad shoeing incident when he was in his mid teens and had to be retired from jumping… which is how I ended up doing dressage. He’s definitely a heart horse and super educated, and although he is not by any means dressage-bred, I had quite a good time taking lessons on him and learning lots of new exercises. I showed him through third where we finally topped out - his daisy cutter trot and nice lope-y canter that were such prized assets in the hunter ring were dinged by the dressage judges who wanted more collection, more impulsion, more, well… dressage. I was one score short of my bronze. He was pushing 20 and it was time for him to enjoy an easier life.

Meanwhile I had caught the bug and wanted to do more, so he got to semi-retire and I once again bought a nice quality young horse, bred for dressage.

I did not spend a fortune on the nice young horse, but I spent enough to buy the quality that might - eventually - be reasonably competitive at the higher levels, assuming of course that along the way I learned enough to ride those kinds of tests. On my budget that meant I bought a super green horse about 60 days under saddle.

We are several years into that journey thus far and I am really enjoying myself. It will take me a ridiculous amount of time to get to those upper levels, if I ever do - we spent a couple YEARS at training level as I figured out how to sit a little better, use a half halt more effectively and so on - and along the way we got some very nice scores. Did that make it more fun? Heck, yes.

That horse is now 8 and his year we laugh and say he’s discovered the gears that his parents and grandparents gave him. I can sit about 6 strides of that trot… next week or next month maybe it will be 8 steps. I drive a computer for a living and spend most of my waking hours sitting in a desk chair… I am the typical AA rider with less than stellar abs, lol. Still super fun.

We actually haven’t been showing the last year and a half; I’ve had a pretty intense period at work, and right now we are working on the third level tests and not ready for prime time anyway. When we are ready, I expect this horse will get much better scores than my beloved oldster did, in part because he is much better able to show the collection and impulsion that my hunter lacked. I don’t think that is offensive; the younger horse was purpose bred and it is easier for him to meet the standard. (He would be a complete failure as a hunter, where the older horse was an absolute rockstar.) In each case I tried to buy the most capable horse that I could afford, and put my best effort into training. Is that, “buying ribbons,” as people might say? I guess I don’t see it that way, but perhaps others may disagree.

[Gwyneth]

I’d like to say how nice it is to discover that there are other dressage riders who have similar thoughts about riding and showing as I do. I always wondered if I was alone in that regard.

Thank you, everyone, for being so open about sharing your opinions.

[Wanderosa]

IME, it’s not impossible to luck into a tremendous horse for next to nothing if you are a skilled and sympathetic rider/all around horse(wo)man and cultivate good relationships within the industry. The owner of my lease horse got him for $1. He was worth low 6-fugures at the time. Another boarder at our barn has a friend who keeps trying to give her a $250k show hunter. I can think of several others with similar stories.

So, it’s not so much the cost of the horse but the rest of the expenses associated with campaigning the horse at that level that I personally see as the issue. You could’ve gifted me Totilas fresh off his win at Olympia and I still couldn’t have afforded to do anything but go to a couple Virginia Dressage Association shows and ridden tempi changes up and down the driveway to entertain the rest of the barn on boring days. I was preparing to take my horse to ride Intro/Training level at what would be my first ever dressage (schooling) show last summer. And then it hit me how freaking ridiculous the amount of $$$$ involved was going to be. Just to haul to a schooling show and have the trainer babysit me because, let’s face it, I’m a 44yo AA and I shouldn’t be wandering around unsupervised.:lol: And I need to save the money for my daughter to ride in ridiculously expensive shows.

ETA: I sound so sour today. COVID-19 stress. I’ll add that learning to how to ride and get along with my lease horse, by far the most sensitive and complex horse I’ve ever ridden, is one of my happiest accomplishments! Our first few rides his ears went back when he saw me. Now I’m greeted by an excited nicker and he seems to genuinely enjoy our work together; be it in the ring or a long nature walk through the woods. He’s taught me so much about biomechanics that is invaluable in my work as a yoga teacher. Seeing the look of sheer joy on the face of my daughter’s not-so-fancy but steady leased pony when she stepped off the trailer and realized she was finally back in her element at a hunter show after 6 long years? Or watching my daughter learn how to ride what she had to the point that she was consistently sweeping the eq division? I wouldn’t trade that for one of Cat Fuqua’s ponies that cost more than our house. As much as my daughter would probably like me to!