What am I Paying for?
As a veteran of the FL circuits I say you probably shouldn’t go if “cutting costs” is something important to you. The best advice I give anyone planning to do WEF or Ocala is to be ready to pay bills that have no basis in reality and that you do not understand. Also, be prepared never to ask questions and, if you do, be prepared to receive answers that don’t make any sense.
For example, my horse is on total full service at a top barn in the northeast. For a charge equal to my monthly mortgage payment I get feed, hay, stall cleaning, turnout, grooming, tack ups, unlimited training rides and unlimited lessons. If I send my horse to Florida I am expected to pay this charge PLUS a “daycare” fee of $135 a day. While I understand that horses actively showing require additional daily care (poultice, meds, therapy blankets, unbraiding, frequent baths, legwashing, wrapping, etc) that normally doesn’t go on at home my horse only shows 9 days out of a 31 day month. What extra care is being performed on the other days that comprise a day care charge on non show days? Trainers and professionals please enlighten me because to my mind this is just another charge I pay to play but, do not understand.
Years earlier I did a circuit with a trainer who never informed us of the “hidden” costs of doing Florida in addition to training, lessons, coaching, day care etc. I am a CPA. No matter how I tried to work the math I could not make sense out of the “splits” I was billed by the horse show office. Even going back to the office and obtaining their charges for hay and shavings my tabulations indicated that my horse used 40 bags of shavings per day, and consumed enough food to feed 4 horses. It was so obvious that some customers were overcharged while others were undercharged. This logic also applied to the shared tack stalls . There was no way 20 horses split the costs of three tack stalls because my charge alone gave at least 3 of them free rides. Another joke was the “laundry charge”. We observed our trainer in our hotel spend 3 hours using coin operated machines to do the week’s pads and wraps. Just for fun when we got home and tried to make sense of the “laundry charge” it appeared the machines charged $25 per load and the trainer earned $300 an hour watching it spin.
So if you want to play, you have to pay. Pay a lot, pay often, and forget about it. At least if you are showing on the A circuit with a good to great trainer. If you can haul yourself and do your own work winter circuits can be done for less cost but, if you are with a serious show barn, no way. You just have to accept it for what it is - a very expensive hobby. Aside from discovery of gross overcharges, relax, have fun and enjoy the experience. It is what it is - a luxury.
