Double post- sorry!
[QUOTE=Sunflower;7944875]
Boat drinks! :yes::yes:
Escaping winter to somewhere hot sounds very nice, and the insanely high costs of a horse show in a warm climate in early January probably sound more palatable because of that…
in the meantime…Boat Drinks! I gotta go where its warm! :p[/QUOTE]
I think I got cabin fever. Somebody sound the alarm.
[QUOTE=Gorgonzola;7944903]
Right, but I don’t have the flexibility to stay in Wellington- I need to fly back and forth (about $500/week)- so there’s $1k right there. I’d also need to get a hotel and rental car both weekends, close to $1k again.
I don’t have a truck or trailer- shipping would be $1200.
Then, since I’m at work M-F, I need someone to ride my horse, and take care of him. $$$$.
Then you add in stalls, show fees, food, X,Y,Z trainer charges.
For adults who can’t be at the showgrounds/local, who are unable to trailer themselves, or who don’t have such a flexible trainer, it’s really not that affordable.
If I could do it how you do, I would. But I can’t. You are the exception, not the rule (unfortunately).[/QUOTE]
100% agree, but that is my form of “cutting” costs…all of the above. So when asked how I make it work my response is…
Flexible Job to stay in Welly (damn you work for flying me elsewhere though)
Truck and Trailer
Trainer who rocks
Stay with friend
Cook for friend in return for staying with friend
No pro divisions
No pro rides
So my system doesn’t work for everyone, or the majority, but if you ask me how I make it work that’s the only way I can.
[QUOTE=ybiaw;7944905]
SMOOCHES!!!
In 2011, during Snowmageddon, I was on vacation down here. The AIR TEMP back home was -40. It was 80 here. A 120 DEGREE DIFFERENCE. That was it for me, three months later I moved here. Hahahaha.[/QUOTE]
I know the exact day that was, I remember it very clearly. We had a snow day for work, which never ever ever happens. My car wouldn’t start anyways. The pipe from my well pump INSIDE MY HOUSE froze (luckily didn’t break) and I had to set up a heater in that corner to thaw it. Once that thawed I had to take water out to my chickens because their water was a frozen block. I slipped outside bringing the water out, spilled it all over myself, and it froze by the time I walked back to the house to try again.
My hubs and I vowed we were not living another winter here…that worked out well…somehow the summer takes away the pain and then winter happens again…
Mostly what I am reading is that the DIY - money-saving tips only apply for those who have the time…and if you have the time, where do you get the money? :lol: (Rhetorical question! I really am not asking where anyone’s $ comes from!)
I can do braiding myself, but I can’t work off everything else like I did as a junior when I didn’t have to have a “real job” to pay for the rest of life’s expenses.
It may be interesting to hear from a trainer’s perspective how they manage their billing, for instance, to enable their clients to make it work.
I recall a while ago there was a discussion on ammy divisions being during the week at some horse shows, and realizing that there is no way for an average adult - meaning 9-5 job where presence in an office is a general requirement and two weeks of annual vacation - could reasonably pull off qualifying for indoors if those classes are during the week (and often, even if they’re on weekends, since travel, etc.). Flexibility can buy a fair amount, particularly if you have the money behind it to pay for your costs.
Those 80 degree temps sound great right now, after I just spent the last hour or two breaking ice while wearing snow pants. This is Virginia, people, where we like to pretend we’re southern and I think the wind chill is currently 6 degrees. You are all welcome to join in my boat party here. We’ll be sitting in the kayak in the yard and pretending the snow is a beach, but the cocktails will be good. Anyone?
crickets
If I look at the snow just right, I can imagine it looks like sand … maybe if I had a few of Trixie’s cocktails? Single digit temps and high wind are making me daydream about going South … then reality hits.
I sent a horse to Ocala one year. It was a sale horse in an affordable pro program. The way I made it work was because the money I spent on the circuit came back to me when it sold and I was not going down there week in and week out. I took a short “vacation” week to go down to visit him and enjoy the warm weather. Additionally, it did one division a week and often won some money to offset some of the expense.
I, like many of the posters here, cannot make that happen again on a horse that I will show myself. There are two ways it could happen 1) my long lost relative dies and I inherit a trust fund (ha!) or 2) I happen to move close enough to a circuit that I do not have to incur stall, hotel, plane and massive shipping costs to get there.
As it is, I cut costs by braiding, clipping, grooming, trailering, etc. myself. I am fortunate to be close to quality rated shows that do not require me to stay overnight. The only costs of a day show I pay are the entry fees and my trainer. For away shows, I would add stall, splits, day care if I can’t be there, hotel, etc. I can do one, maybe two of these shows a year, but I can’t justify showing in Florida (or another winter circuit), because I will need to add weekly plane trips, additional day care and training rides, time off work, and all the additional hidden double costs of being away from home longer than a week.
Reasonable measures such as doing my own braiding, grooming, and clipping, and more extreme measures such as eating nothing but ramen for entire year, sleeping in my truck, and shipping my own horse 1,000 miles one way, isn’t going to make the experience worth it to me. Maybe if I was 20, didn’t have any grown up responsibilities, and could find the time/ability to pick up braiding, clipping, grooming work to help reduce the cost of being there?
[QUOTE=Gorgonzola;7944903]
Right, but I don’t have the flexibility to stay in Wellington- I need to fly back and forth (about $500/week)- so there’s $1k right there. I’d also need to get a hotel and rental car both weekends, close to $1k again.
I don’t have a truck or trailer- shipping would be $1200.
Then, since I’m at work M-F, I need someone to ride my horse, and take care of him. $$$$.
Then you add in stalls, show fees, food, X,Y,Z trainer charges.
For adults who can’t be at the showgrounds/local, who are unable to trailer themselves, or who don’t have such a flexible trainer, it’s really not that affordable.
If I could do it how you do, I would. But I can’t. You are the exception, not the rule (unfortunately).[/QUOTE]
Sure, Nickelodian is the exception, but she is also giving insight into the various ways to make it work as a working amateur. If WEF is a priority to a working amateur rider, then that rider will inevitably have to consider what lifestyle changes would be necessary to make WEF a possibility. Your current job may not provide you with the flexibility to stay in Wellington, but if its really a priority, you can look for other jobs or careers that would allow for that flexibility. This may involve a multi-year plan to achieve that goal, and it may not ultimately work out, but its an important component.
I couldn’t afford it based on my current income/lifestyle, and it isn’t something that appeals to me enough to change my lifestyle. But if it did? I could develop a 5 year plan to make it happen. I could downsize my house/mortgage payments to free up more disposable income, I could network or take on additional schooling to try and find a more ‘portable’ job, I could decide that having kids is not on the table, I could start saving for a truck/trailer. Obviously everyone is differently situated, but we all do make choices about how we spend our money, and even what we are willing to do in order to maximize our income potential.
[QUOTE=Backstage;7945086]
Sure, Nickelodian is the exception, but she is also giving insight into the various ways to make it work as a working amateur. If WEF is a priority to a working amateur rider, then that rider will inevitably have to consider what lifestyle changes would be necessary to make WEF a possibility. Your current job may not provide you with the flexibility to stay in Wellington, but if its really a priority, you can look for other jobs or careers that would allow for that flexibility. This may involve a multi-year plan to achieve that goal, and it may not ultimately work out, but its an important component.
I couldn’t afford it based on my current income/lifestyle, and it isn’t something that appeals to me enough to change my lifestyle. But if it did? I could develop a 5 year plan to make it happen. I could downsize my house/mortgage payments to free up more disposable income, I could network or take on additional schooling to try and find a more ‘portable’ job, I could decide that having kids is not on the table, I could start saving for a truck/trailer. Obviously everyone is differently situated, but we all do make choices about how we spend our money, and even what we are willing to do in order to maximize our income potential.[/QUOTE]
I wasn’t saying there is anything wrong with her plan- I’d do it if I could! But my career will never allow me to not be in an office 50+ hours a week.
I was just pointing out that while Nick can do X,Y,Z (which again is GREAT, and I wish I could do that!) those ‘cost saving tips’ aren’t feasible for everyone. I was giving my perspective on how much it would cost a working Ammy to go south that doesn’t have the ability to work remotely/have flexible trainers/have friends who let them stay with them for a month at a time.
Ledges - the frozen tundra of winter circuits
I have Ledges that is about 1.45hrs away from me, which requires a hotel stay. My adult jumper classes are held Friday afternoon/evening and Sat afternoon/evening. I have to take Friday as a vaca day, and will haul over Thurs. night after work, usually arriving by 9pm to Ledges. Since Ledges is heated and the home barn is not, I usually stay Sat. night so I can ride one more time for schooling on Sunday, watch some of the show, and be home at a reasonable time on Sunday night.
I have friends that will set jumps for me to school and warm-up if a trainer is not willing/able to do it for me. I am not part of a regular training program, although I will haul in a few trainers for lessons several times a year to get myself yelled at as bad habits creep in over time.
I do everything for my horse myself. One Ledges show costs about $1k for the weekend. My horse is still green, so I certainly am not planning on winning any money since we are slow. When I showed with my other horse, since retired, we would win maybe $500 back. It was nice to help offset the show costs, but I certainly don’t factor that in to my budget. I am not a competitive rider. Given my circumstances of riding on my own and going it all alone, I don’t expect to come out on top, but I have fun and am proud that I at least have the skills to not require any hand holding to attend an A show. Most people probably think we suck because we aren’t winning lots of pretty ribbons, but I give a safe, solid ride (certainly conservative) to my horse and I got there myself.
Class fees: $350
Nomination fee: $175
Show fees: ~$80
Stabling: $225
Gas: $100
Hotel/meals: $350
Stall cleanout fee: $30 (because I bring my own shavings)
Bedding (I bring my own): $24
Hay/Feed: I take what my horse would get anyways at the barn with me
I save a few bucks on bedding because I bring my own. Although I get a stall clean out fee, I usually take most of the shavings back with me. I put them in the trailer, but don’t bring them back in to his stall at home.
Total 1 weekend of A rated winter show - $987, which is no different from any other show I would do. The key factor is time, and with 5 vacation days to use (I 9 other vacation days used for family stuff and our one annual vacation), even if I tripled those costs per show for WEF, I could go down there 5 times assuming the plane and everything remained on schedule and didn’t cost me more vacation time with delays? Not to mention the unfeasibility of 5 Fridays off in a row.
So, for someone like me up in the north, WEF is not going to happen as a typical working amateur adult. Proximity to the show facility is key to my logistics.
I need to wait until I retire when I have plenty of time to do it myself!
[QUOTE=Gorgonzola;7945180]
I wasn’t saying there is anything wrong with her plan- I’d do it if I could! But my career will never allow me to not be in an office 50+ hours a week.
I was just pointing out that while Nick can do X,Y,Z (which again is GREAT, and I wish I could do that!) those ‘cost saving tips’ aren’t feasible for everyone. I was giving my perspective on how much it would cost a working Ammy to go south that doesn’t have the ability to work remotely/have flexible trainers/have friends who let them stay with them for a month at a time.;)[/QUOTE]
I appreciate that you weren’t saying that Nick was doing anything wrong, but I guess I ultimately take issue with your statement that “If I could do it how you do, I would. But I can’t. You are the exception, not the rule (unfortunately).” I see that feeling expressed often here, and in real life…and I don’t think its really that accurate. I somewhat suspect that Nickelodian didn’t stumble into the life circumstances that allows her to do WEF at a reasonable price point. She had to work for it, and make sacrifices. So, it isn’t that you or I can’t do it, its that our priorities are different and we have made different life decisions.
But yes, you are correct that Nickelodian’s advice doesn’t apply to everyone. But very little advice can apply to everyone!
I agree with other posters that you’re not going to find enough in savings to make the winter circuits affordable to the average American. No matter how much you save, you need significant economic resources to make it work.
I’ve gone a few times to Ocala and Gulfport and here are a few things I did…
I shared my horse with a good friend. Four weeks in Ocala - first week off, second week I showed, third week off, last week my friend’s daughter showed.
Went with a friend - we shared a hotel room and a rental car.
Just go for the weekends - fly in Friday, fly home Sunday night.
A friend accumulated enough Marriott points to stay for three weeks in Ocala for free.
This year, I’m renting a horse and just going for a week. Yep, I know it sounds crazy, but I asked my trainer to find me a hunter I can lease for a week.
[QUOTE=Backstage;7945220]
I appreciate that you weren’t saying that Nick was doing anything wrong, but I guess I ultimately take issue with your statement that “If I could do it how you do, I would. But I can’t. You are the exception, not the rule (unfortunately).” I see that feeling expressed often here, and in real life…and I don’t think its really that accurate. I somewhat suspect that Nickelodian didn’t stumble into the life circumstances that allows her to do WEF at a reasonable price point. She had to work for it, and make sacrifices. So, it isn’t that you or I can’t do it, its that our priorities are different and we have made different life decisions.
But yes, you are correct that Nickelodian’s advice doesn’t apply to everyone. But very little advice can apply to everyone![/QUOTE]
I am so hotly debated!
I think everyone here has good points, a lot of which boil down to the same formula as for all A shows (in terms of hitting you on fees, bedding and feed expenses and any splits you may owe with your barn/training situation), and the answer is to do as much yourself as you can if you want to cut costs. What makes this tricky for a winter circuit that is not precisely in your backyard is that this is not your one week show down the road but many weeks likely in a fairly distant location from your normal life. So, in order to reduce costs you need to be able to make the winter circuit more or less your new home base (as Nick does). If your job or other life factors can’t afford you that, then expenses can skyrocket real quick because you not only have to travel more but you cannot be available to do your own work (much less make a side buck grooming or braiding for someone else) some percentage of the time.
If doing WEF was really on your bucket list, you could even move to Florida for a year or two to make it less of a travel. The weekend on a borrowed/leased horse is a pretty interesting option too.
Then you’d have to ask if this show is so much better than any other show to make it worth it.
I have a feeling I’m about to show all my ignorance… but this does come from a point of reference as I used to live and ride in Ocala and knew a lot of eventers. Could you haul down with your own truck/trailer, maybe a camper. Rent a stall away from show grounds and ship in for just your classes? If you’re only showing in one division you don’t really need to be there all day every day. Obviously you’re doing all your care yourself this way. But I’ve known lots of young professional eventers that did this in Ocala for the winter — renting stalls (10 years ago at $300/month for dry stall), living in their trailer’s meager living quarters with camper hook-up, etc… is it just not “done” in H/J world? Do they not allow you to show out of your trailer for just your division? I can already see the eyes rolling from here… ha! It seems like such a logical solution since it sounds like most of the fees are the logistical. I honestly wouldn’t care if I was looked down on for showing that way – I’d just do my best in the ring. But maybe it’s not allowed?
Most of the replies here seem to be answering the question of WHY people can’t afford to participate in the winter circuits, but that wasn’t the question that was presented.
The question was directed towards those who ARE able to show on the winter circuits, but don’t have totally completely unlimited funds, and how THEY are able to make it work. I really don’t understand why so many are so offended by the question, just because their circumstances don’t allow participation at all under any circumstances. That’s just not the group to whom the question was directed, and I really don’t get the impression that that group was left out for personal reasons.
It’s pretty clear from some of the responses here that there really ARE people out there who show the winter circuits while being careful about expenses. And there are surely many more out there who do so, but who don’t participate in this board (I know, it’s hard to believe that there are horse people out there who don’t care or even know about the COTH board. But trust me, they are out there).
No one is asking how to do WEF for the entire circuit on a 30K/year salary. The question is, if you do the winter circuits, but you have to do it while keeping a close eye on how much you are spending, what are the areas in which you find you are able to do things differently than those with unlimited budgets in order to save some money and stay within your own personal budget that you have set for yourself, knowing your own personal financial situation, so that you will be able to do it (holy run-on sentence Batman)? This is not offensive folks.
My impression of the responses is simply that people are saying there aren’t any quick budget tips like do-your-own-braiding.
It seems that the people who make it work are playing the long game: there are much bigger choices at play, whether it be where they live or what kind of jobs they take, that enables participation.
[QUOTE=awaywego;7945527]
My impression of the responses is simply that people are saying there aren’t any quick budget tips like do-your-own-braiding.
It seems that the people who make it work are playing the long game: there are much bigger choices at play, whether it be where they live or what kind of jobs they take, that enables participation.[/QUOTE]
Exactly. The question is directed towards those who are ALREADY in a life situation (with regards to work, family,location, whatever) that they ARE IN FACT participating in a winter circuit. Those who are NOT able to participate because of those factors are not able to answer the question as asked, because they can’t even GET to the winter circuits in the first place. The question is directed towards those who DO IN FACT participate. So those who don’t participate really can’t provide any insight at all with regards to this question. The point of cause of that group’s problem lies upstream of the point at which this particular question applies. It’s a completely different conversation.
Based on some of the responses from those who actually DO participate without unlimited funds, do-your-own-braiding is, in fact, one of the ways in which they are able to remain within the budgets that they have set for themselves. Just because they might have a budget that is big enough to allow them to participate IF they braid themselves, do their own self-care, forego pro rides, etc, and someone else can’t afford it at all even with those restrictions, doesn’t make their experience meaningless with regards to the original question.
[QUOTE=ynl063w;7945489]
Most of the replies here seem to be answering the question of WHY people can’t afford to participate in the winter circuits, but that wasn’t the question that was presented.
The question was directed towards those who ARE able to show on the winter circuits, but don’t have totally completely unlimited funds, and how THEY are able to make it work. I really don’t understand why so many are so offended by the question, just because their circumstances don’t allow participation at all under any circumstances. That’s just not the group to whom the question was directed, and I really don’t get the impression that that group was left out for personal reasons.
It’s pretty clear from some of the responses here that there really ARE people out there who show the winter circuits while being careful about expenses. And there are surely many more out there who do so, but who don’t participate in this board (I know, it’s hard to believe that there are horse people out there who don’t care or even know about the COTH board. But trust me, they are out there).
No one is asking how to do WEF for the entire circuit on a 30K/year salary. The question is, if you do the winter circuits, but you have to do it while keeping a close eye on how much you are spending, what are the areas in which you find you are able to do things differently than those with unlimited budgets in order to save some money and stay within your own personal budget that you have set for yourself, knowing your own personal financial situation, so that you will be able to do it (holy run-on sentence Batman)? This is not offensive folks.[/QUOTE]
^^This.
The question was asking for “tips” on how to trim costs, aimed at people who can possibly (and want to) show at WEF and other winter circuits.
I am surprised to read such negative posts in response to the OP’s question.
Of course winter circuits are above most people’s budgets.
However, there are people that desire to show at WEF that may be on the cusp financially that perhaps have a special horse this year or a junior rider who’s dream they are trying to fulfill this one time, and they may be able to afford their trip IF they have advice from people who have experience at WEF and other winter circuits. 
