[QUOTE=LadyB;8953432]
Exactly. I also can not afford to do it year round, but when is there down time?
Winter is our down time, aka, he gets about 2 months off, brought back into work, but doesn’t get more intense until it’s closer to spring.[/QUOTE]
You’re making me feel way better about my horse getting a much reduced work schedule over the past month and a half from life interferences :lol:
I did 9 HTs with my horse from May-Nov (unrecognized–I could never afford to do that many recognized!). It seems like a lot in retrospect, but 6 were with 45 min of my place, and the other 3 less than 1.5 hrs, and of course all one days. But this was BN/N. I think it really depends on the level you are competing at, the travel time, whether you are competing over more than one day, the footing, and of course the individual horse.
But I will definitely cut back next year–this year was our first full season competing, and my horse and I both benefited from the experience. Plus I really can’t afford to compete that much–even at starter trials!
I rarely if ever look on these forums but I had insomnia last night and did a general search for any mention of the HorsePesterer which brought me to this very old comment and a dozen others. I was actually flattered to read that you thought I “nearly always post the top 3 riders at Events” because that would associate me with knowing what I was doing! I think it was the sheer volume of videos I was doing back in those days that allowed me to post the videos of the top finishers. I do vaguely remember the controversy that your comment is based on but a horse having blood on it’s mouth would not have prevented me from posting a video if I had one and I don’t remember anyone ever asking me not to post that ride so my guess is that I simply didn’t get a video of that rider’s phase. When I was actively following the circus as I like to call the Eventing east coast schedule , I took somewhere around 80,000 videos that included training sessions , personal lessons and of course horse trial participants. I made the decision from the very beginning to never post a fall or a particularly bad ride for the public forum and would instead forward them to the rider and / or coach if I knew them. The riders could of course choose to make those rides available on their own personal social media platforms and whenever they did the number of views or clicks were always the highest counts on my channel. I never monetized my Youtube account so I was never lured to make videos of “Eventing’s Greatest Falls” which would have garnered a million or so clicks in no time vs the 2500 views I would get from a well executed XC ride by our best riders. I hope this answers your question even though it has come YEARS after the fact !!
Five years on, I read the FEI lists of currently sanctioned riders and trainers. Whilst there was a vastly disproportionate numbers of endurance offenders, and then far fewer jumpers, I could not see any contemporary eventers on the lists. Maybe things have improved in the five years since this thread started.
This was a trip to read through again.
I gotta say, I’m surprised that during the lengthy discussion about show fees, it appears no one who does the numbers for recognized and non recognized events chimed in. I do not do the accounting for horse shows of any kind, but I do work for a company that sponsors a few events in my area every year and I assure you the problem is the land and the facilities.
These events are run at facilities that are on protected farm land or state parks that have been running their shows for eternity. “Legacy” farm if you will. The upkeep is constant, but the improvements that are costly are able to be spaced out over a reasonable amount of time. They add a couple of new cross country jumps every year, replace the footing one ring at a time, etc. So the financial investments that need to be made aren’t scary and all at once. A new facility cannot just pop up and offer a comparable event with safe footing and fences. Every single one of the six major show venues I can think of off the top of my head also run rated and schooling dressage shows, and most run hunter/jumper stuff too. So facilities are only sustainable if they make horse shows their business. And its not like these dressage and jumper shows subsidize eventing either, because the exact same conversations happen in those communities. Across the board, every ammature that works their butt off for their one or two horses thinks competing is too expensive. But the venues eek out just enough money that hosting is worth their while. US Equestrian and the FEI may be frustrating, but to break off from them entirely would hurt us more than it would hurt the governing organizations. For whatever “grassroots” organizations we would form, we’d still need to rent facilities ($$$ we wouldn’t have) or find a benefactor, and that’s not likely to happen.
For what its worth, I come from dressage, and event entries seem reasonable to me. They are a little more expensive, but I am getting so much more competition for my money that the increase feels justified. I also think its really cool that BIG BIG pros are at all the competitions with me. In dressage and hunter/jumperland the riders you idolize are sequestered in their own shows or their own area. But pony club kids near me warm up with Olympians and think its normal. I saw a video that Eventing Nation just shared of Blackfoot Mystery own in Texas with his ammy owner cruising around BN. That’s an OTTB that made it to the Olympics and is rideable enough to be piloted by a regular person (albeit a very wealthy person) at the lowest level. If that doesn’t prove that eventing is the most accessible discipline in this sport, I don’t know what will.
The only thing I will criticize USE for is the condonning of abusive behaviors at the tippy top. Blood where it shouldn’t be, horses and riders who are not fit enough to be running around a 5* course, etc. Unfortunately I think the ones who hold the power to make those riders face consequences are the owners and sponsors, not the governing bodies.
That is wonderful news, also I think COVID cut the numbers of events happening, not to downplay, but maybe riders are learning.
I wouldn’t say that shows eventing is accessible, that horse was sold originally for hundreds of thousands of dollars, I can only imagine its price as a Novice schoolmaster. That shows that average ammies are up against 6 figure horses who have been to the Olympics lol
Keep thinking that way if you want, but I meant it as a compliment. The other riding disciplines are so much worse. Notice I said it was more accessible than other disciplines, not that it was as accessible as T-ball.
I completely agree. I’m a lifelong hunter person – and I just can’t possibly play in that ballfield anymore. The last few years I have been slowly transitioning to eventing, and I’m consoled that I could at least get something that I wouldn’t be embarrassed to take to BN in Area 2 in my budget (working with a great trainer). I could possibly have fun too! I don’t need to win – and I probably won’t. I just don’t want to pay more than I paid for the down payment of my house to purchase a horse that won’t look embarrassing in the ring for anything but open shows.
I missed that but I disagree with that also. We have three phases, needing three outfits for horse and rider, more trainers, more time away schooling different things like dressage/xc/jumper rounds. The cost to get started to event is much higher than other equestrian disciplines.
You don’t really need three outfits. No one is going to kick you off the XC course if you ride it in your dressage attire. (As long as you add a vest). And your clothes don’t have to be expensive. No one cares if your breeches are from SmartPak and you’re wearing a Troxel sport helmet.
Agreed. I had one saddle, one bridle, one coat (dressage and jumping) and tossed on a rugby shirt for XC. That’s right: dressage in a Stübben Siegfried because that’s what I had!! 
Mind, that was no higher than Training. But, as far as starting out, I didn’t have a lot of kit and I was just fine. I never felt out of place like some do trying to do hunters without this season’s jacket or boots or whatever. And any horse was acceptable, too. I found no snobbery about breeds, kit, outfits, etc. at all.
Same. I did get a dressage saddle at Prelim but was still rocking the Stubben to jump at Intermediate. It put me in a chair seat and didn’t fit my horse… my grandmother gave me money to buy a different used saddle which I then shipped away with wither tracings. Our first competition in that was an old-school CCI** with roads and tracks and steeplechase. That was almost 20 years ago.
The Stubben is still going strong at 50 years old - only saddle that fit my new OTTB. Lucky for us!
You can certainly spend a lot of money getting into eventing, but it’s not necessary. When I started, I had one trainer, one saddle, one hat, and one bridle. And now, if you do a one day - and isn’t that how everyone starts out? - you don’t even need a jacket. Plus, let’s be real, have you seen the prices of dressage and h/j horses vs eventers? Crazyland.
Of course you don’t have to, you also don’t have to have a 6 figure horse to show hunters as was suggested above.
But if you want to excel, you’re going to need a few more things than a saddle and bridle eventually. Approved vests alone are over $400 here. It’s not just the tack, it’s the time and training also.
The poster was saying Eventing is accessible compared to hunters needing a $$$$ horse to succeed. Well you don’t need that either.
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