Help: Handling riding expenses $$

[meupatdoes]

[QUOTE=anyanicholson;7457706]
No, it’s something I haven’t considered. I know people who do Eventing but I just can’t see myself in any other discipline than English.[/QUOTE]

Your passion for horse sport is such that you are interested in $5,500 saddles, but in your “desire to learn” you have not even flipped through the SmartPak catalog long enough to wonder, “Hmmmmm, these pictures of horses jumping into water outside, what’s that about?”

Do you even flip open a Practical Horseman when you walk by it in the bookstore?

There is a whole lot more to riding that “show and lease fees,” but you seem willfully blind to it.
Sorry, not very sympathetic. If you really cared about learning to ride rather than just keeping up with the perceived lifestyle of your highschool friends, you would demonstrate completely different priorities.

[Punkie]

OP, I know by your location and the description of your barn (show series, Big Eq., etc.) where you ride. When I lived up north, I road with KF and LT on occasion and went on the road to WEF with them a few years ago. KF is a wonderful person and she really will do whatever she can to work with you. That being said, no matter how you slice it, her program is very expensive and her competitive clients are typically those who can comfortably afford to be in a (wonderful) program like theirs.

You mentioned wanting to go to VT with them; a week (including shipping and your hotel/rental) will be right around the cost of your saddle. And they are one of the more “reasonably” priced bigger name programs around.

Many of the other posters have offered you excellent advice and some good perspective. Being 17 with your riding background, the Big Eq. is almost certainly out of reach. And even $1,300/month is stretching it for a half lease - for a $50,000 horse, the fee for the half lease would be $650 per month PLUS half of boarding (board there was $1,450 when I was riding with them), half of shoeing, half the vet bills…you get the picture. Don’t forget your lessons; IIRC they have a once a week minimum policy. Add to that even a single home show a month during the summer and you’re looking at upwards of $3,000 or $4,000 PER MONTH depending on what the horse needs individually. This might not be a great comparison, but when my horse went lame while at WEF, I paid almost $2,000 for a weekend lease on a nice but not over-the-top horse while I was waiting for my other horse to ship down. It is expensive no matter how you slice it.

Ignoring the fact that this post screams first world problems and that based on the information you gave us, you need to find somewhere that isn’t going to put a strain on your family, you need to look at the raw numbers. Even if you can get your “allowance” up to $850, that’s basically 8-10 lessons a month. That’s 2ish lessons per week. That’s it. The pot is blown.

Even if you work 40 hours a week this summer, the best you’ll likely do is $10/hr (being down the Cape your best bet for good money would be waitressing, but the schedule is not one necessarily conducive to riding and horse showing if you’re working full time). $10/hr, 40 hours per week for, say, 8 weeks is a whopping $3,200 BEFORE taxes. Even if you’re in the lowest tax bracket, you MAY see $2,800. For an entire summer’s worth of FULL-TIME work. That doesn’t cover the cost of ONE week at an away show with them. My weekly bill at WEF (just from the farm and from the horse show; not including ANYTHING else) was easily double that. Things add up quickly. Day care, pro-rides, lessons, coaching, braiding, entries, USEF fees, tips for the grooms…the list goes on and on and on and on.

If you and KF can figure out something that works for you, great. But there are other affordable options in that area that might be more conducive to your budget. And luckily, a CWD holds value pretty well; even if you sell that one for $4,000, you could buy another used one for HALF that and put the rest towards riding (or, better yet, give it back to your parents since it is their money). You would still have a saddle and if your parents were generous enough to let you use that money, you’d also have extra lesson/show/lease funds.

[fordtraktor]

I really think the “sell the saddle” people are maybe giving bad advice. mom scrimped to give the kid that saddle. If she turns around and sells it, mom is not going to think she cared one whit about that saddle. Mom is going to be really, really hurt. Instead, OP needs to treat that saddle like it is made of gold and ALSO figure out another barn solution. Oh, and read some books about horses. Here are a few, OP:

George Morris, Hunter Seat Equitation
Jimmy Wofford’s Systematic Training for Jumping Horses
Winning with Frank Chapot
Billy Steinkraus’ Reflections on Riding and Jumping

Read those four books before you even think about shopping for another piece of equipment. They should prove to you that hours in that saddle of yours are what makes a rider, not tack. Figure out a way to get them. And they don’t need to be on fancy horses.

[Bogie]

@Candle;7458232

I’m built exactly like you, what did you end up getting?

Kieffer Norbert Koof FL - but, I’m not in the show ring, so I don’t mind that it doesn’t look French.

I did own a Stackhouse that looked like a French saddle. Very pretty! It had extra forward, extra long flaps. That one worked well for me, too. I bought it on eBay for $700.

[Bogie]

[QUOTE=fordtraktor;7458431]
I really think the “sell the saddle” people are maybe giving bad advice. mom scrimped to give the kid that saddle. If she turns around and sells it, mom is not going to think she cared one whit about that saddle. Mom is going to be really, really hurt. Instead, OP needs to treat that saddle like it is made of gold and ALSO figure out another barn solution. Oh, and read some books about horses. Here are a few, OP:

George Morris, Hunter Seat Equitation
Jimmy Wofford’s Systematic Training for Jumping Horses
Winning with Frank Chapot
Billy Steinkraus’ Reflections on Riding and Jumping

Read those four books before you even think about shopping for another piece of equipment. They should prove to you that hours in that saddle of yours are what makes a rider, not tack. Figure out a way to get them. And they don’t need to be on fancy horses.[/QUOTE]

I think many of us hoped she could cancel the sale before she had the saddle, but you’re right, if she decides to sell it, her Mom may well be offended.

A good saddle can definitely help you ride better, but the cost does not always correlate to what is a good saddle for the specific rider and the specific horse. Even though the marketing literature says otherwise.

One more book to add to the list: Denny Emerson’s How Good Riders Get Good. Also, if you are on Facebook, like his page, Tamarack Hill Farm – lots of educational posts every day. And they are free. Denny’s advice is good horsemanship advice, even if you never try eventing.

I suggest you sit down with your parents and your trainer and discuss your goals, then figure out what is realistic for your budget, your age and where you are with your riding. It’s easy to get carried away when you are at a barn where everyone has $$$$ horses and all the toys. BUT, there are plenty of other ways to enjoy riding and competing, maybe just not at the A or AA shows. Keep in mind that it’s a big step up to go from competing at 2’ or 2’6" to 3’ or 3’6".

Putting on my parent hat for a moment. DH and I have supported both of our kids’ sport, which happens to be rowing. That clocks in at $12-$15K/year per child during their high school years, depending on where they go for nationals and club nationals. It’s not always easy to find the money to keep those oars rowing, but we’ve decided that there are many benefits to the sport, not the least of which it is highly recruitable for top universities.

Obviously, I don’t know anything about your parents and their financial situation, but try to keep the “big picture” in mind. If you are planning to go to college next year and your parents are going to help you pay for tuition, have fun now but also have some sympathy for how much they have to do to keep you in text books and saddles. If your father has a budget for riding and your mother had to scrimp to get the saddle, they are probably trying to budget for the next few years. As a parent you want to help your children achieve their dreams; just try to keep them realistic.

[alter0001]

I’m having a very difficult time feeling sorry for you. You are 17, have what, one year left in the juniors and moved to this barn to “expand your junior equitation career”? Yet you haven’t been able to jump over 2’?? Are you aware of the amount of time, money, and practice it takes to doing the real, 3’6 equitation?? And you made your poor mother buy you a $5500 saddle because nothing else fit you? I’m calling BS. Take it from someone whose done the 3’6 and shown at that level-- you don’t need a $5500 saddle, a $700 helmet and $1000 boots to do it. The total amount of money spent on those items alone is enough to lease a decent 3’6 horse for a month or two.

[texan]

[QUOTE=alter0001;7458513]
I’m having a very difficult time feeling sorry for you. You are 17, have what, one year left in the juniors and moved to this barn to “expand your junior equitation career”? Yet you haven’t been able to jump over 2’?? Are you aware of the amount of time, money, and practice it takes to doing the real, 3’6 equitation?? And you made your poor mother buy you a $5500 saddle because nothing else fit you? I’m calling BS. Take it from someone whose done the 3’6 and shown at that level-- you don’t need a $5500 saddle, a $700 helmet and $1000 boots to do it. The total amount of money spent on those items alone is enough to lease a decent 3’6 horse for a month or two.[/QUOTE]

No body makes anyone do anything they don’t want to do. The mother bought the saddle, period. She could have just as well said NO. SHE chose not to!
To the OP, going the high end barn route, is expensive. I understand wanting to improve your riding, with better coaches and better horses. Unfortunately, going this route doesn’t seem like a viable option.
Working student program, might be all right, but many don’t give you that option to show on better horses.
As your parents are willing to pay some of the riding, I would look for a program that fits your needs better. Say a half lease on a nice horse, and maybe you can work part time to cover the shows.
What you spend on “things” does affect how much you can put into training, its hard to understand that at your age. I know you want to be like everyone else, but the hard reality is, you are going to have to figure out, how to get where you want to go with less money. Sometimes that means less “things”.
Good luck with whatever you choose, but try looking around to other barns in your area, you might be surprised what they can offer.
I know at our barn, we have awesome lease options, so I am sure there are other barns out there that have the same.

[Couture_TB]

Sell the $5,500 saddle. Move back to your old barn. Buy a nice used saddle for under $1,000. Then go look at some of those “unfashionable” smaller TBs that are advertised that are jumping around 2’9 courses. Take lessons on your horse, practice, practice, practice, practice. And unless you have unlimited funds get over the name brand thing.

My parents were POOR. We free leased an old cow barn and put up pastures. My father built jumps out of what he could. A $500 horse was EXPENSIVE for us. So I rode what we had. Then started to turn the free and cheap horses into decent horses and we would sell them. When I was 15 I had reached the point I surpassed the ability my father could help me with. So I did home schooling, finished high school at 16, and left for my first working student position so that I could afford to train with a top trainer ( Eventing by the way. That English sport) I worked from 5am to 10pm 6 days a week. I took my $200 horse with me, I got to ride horses that competed at Rolex (Google it) and when I came home started buying and selling horses every few months. Then left again to another position. Worked at different jobs at stables. Waited tables. And before I was 21 had done a couple mini prixs for jumpers, upper level eventing, and competed both in the US and Canada. All in a $700 saddle, no name breeches, and an ancient hunt coat. It can be done. But the world isn’t just going to hand you what you want, and your parents shouldn’t have to go broke doing it either. Looking back I wish my parents wouldn’t have spent even what they did. But I appreciated it. I still do even now that I am married and still thank my father for everything he did for me.

[jn4jenny]

[QUOTE=fordtraktor;7458431]
I really think the “sell the saddle” people are maybe giving bad advice. mom scrimped to give the kid that saddle. If she turns around and sells it, mom is not going to think she cared one whit about that saddle. Mom is going to be really, really hurt.[/QUOTE]

Not if mom is better than her daughter at the very basic life skill called COMMUNICATION. A skill that daughter has apparently failed to exercise with Mme Trainer, at least up until this point.

Here’s how the conversation goes to make sure no feelings are hurt: “Mom, I’ve realized that I’ve made a terrible mistake that affects both of us. I know you really scrimped and saved to buy me that CWD saddle, and I’m so honored that you love me enough to have gone there. But I’ve been talking to horsepeople outside my barn, and knowing what I know now, I think we got taken for a financial ride. The people at this barn, who are good-hearted people but used to operating at a very high financial level, caused me to believe that I needed a much, much more expensive saddle than I really needed. And you, being an awesome mom, were willing to provide it. But I am now understanding that as incredibly lovely as that saddle is, I would be wasting your hard-earned money to keep it. The more responsible way to spend your money would be to sell this saddle for as close to the retail price as I can, buy a much cheaper saddle that will still do the job and be durable and high-quality, and devote the rest of the funds to riding lessons and finding a suitable mount. I don’t want you to feel like I don’t value the CWD because my friends would have me understand that it’s a Ferrari or Rolls Royce of the horse world. But again, we don’t really need it, and I’m sorry that I found that out too late. What are your thoughts on all this?”

If I had said that to MY mother at age 17, she would have commended me for my honesty and helped me make a plan to sell the saddle. (Well, in reality, I was one of those kids who felt guilty if my parents bought me anything horse-related. I knew they were already scrimping and saving for my riding lessons. When my mother offered to buy me a $325 Courbette saddle that I’d been coveting for months, for my birthday, I begged her to reconsider and let me save up for it myself. She had to sneak her credit card to the tack store employee, and it was bought and in our car before I had a chance to object again. Yeah, I was THAT kid.)

[jen-s]

[QUOTE=jn4jenny;7458592]
“Mom, I’ve realized that I’ve made a terrible mistake that affects both of us. I know you really scrimped and saved to buy me that CWD saddle, and I’m so honored that you love me enough to have gone there. But I’ve been talking to horsepeople outside my barn, and knowing what I know now, I think we got taken for a financial ride. The people at this barn, who are good-hearted people but used to operating at a very high financial level, caused me to believe that I needed a much, much more expensive saddle than I really needed. And you, being an awesome mom, were willing to provide it. But I am now understanding that as incredibly lovely as that saddle is, I would be wasting your hard-earned money to keep it. The more responsible way to spend your money would be to sell this saddle for as close to the retail price as I can, buy a much cheaper saddle that will still do the job and be durable and high-quality, and devote the rest of the funds to riding lessons and finding a suitable mount. I don’t want you to feel like I don’t value the CWD because my friends would have me understand that it’s a Ferrari or Rolls Royce of the horse world. But again, we don’t really need it, and I’m sorry that I found that out too late. What are your thoughts on all this?”[/QUOTE]

This. 1000x. And a commitment to do a crapton of household chores until you leave for college as a thank you.

[arlosmine]

My respect for the OP has dwindled as she continues to demonstrate more attachment to symbols of wealth and affluence than actual horsemanship. I simply don’t understand how even a young horseperson is so unaware of eventing, and doesn’t know it’s an “English” sport. there has been zero refference to a connection to THE HORSES, or anything that hints at being motivated by anything other than her COMPETITIVE goals.

I started out as a hunter kid (once a week lessons on school horses) with zero horse and zero money. When i was 12 , I convinced my mom to let me BUY MY OWN HORSE when I was sixteen, had a job, a driver’s license and would pay half the board. I started saving money, worked after school/during summers and literally pulled tack out of the trash cans at the lesson barn where I rode. When I turned sixteen I had a trunk full of grooming supplies, buckets, pads, a saddle (not from the trash can!) and a bridle.
I bought myself a horse and kept her at a barn in someone’s backyard which I found by driving around a neighborhood and going to the doors of houses with barns on the property. I found hay in the newspaper and got it delivered. I pushed every bale up the ladder into the loft of the barn (now I really wish I hadn’t done that). I borrowed my friend’s station wagon to get grain from the feed store. I read every book I could about riding and horse care. “a Horse of Your Own” was my Bible.

I migrated to dressage and eventing, and became a trainer almost thirty years ago. Now I’m back at a hunter barn helping the (very good) hunter trainer with her hunter kids and doing my dressage program.

By the way, My mom offered to buy me a new car for my birthday if I would drop the horse idea…

This thread has turned into something that speaks to, in my opinion, the worst aspect of this discipline. (before I get flamed, let me say that I think that all of the different disciplines have their “worst case scenarios”: usually involving human ego at the expense of the desire to connect with the horse/pursue horsemanship skills)

OP , I hope you can shake off your focus of “things” and your competitive desires and take a look at the HORSES underneath the tack. None of your posts seem to point to a love of the horse as a motivating interest.

[PaintPony]

I also call BS that a $5,500 saddle was your ONLY option. Give me a break! :no:

[js]

I suspect that money is not the issue but rather how it is being spent. If Mom was obviously capable of spending $5500 on a saddle and now another $300++ on CWD boots, this isn’t about money, just how Mom is being asked to spend it. I’m guessing the parents don’t see the horse thing as serious enough to invest in a horse but are willing to spend on lessons, showing and leasing but didn’t realize the new barn would involve investing even more in top brand saddles etc.

[ccoronios]

Wow. Just W.O.W.

OP, based on what you’ve written here, your grip on reality is pretty precarious. And your equine-related knowledge is woeful. I know that sounds mean, and I’m sorry if it hurts your feelings.

Some good advice and suggestions here - not the least of which are the reading list and the suggestion to spend as much time as possible at the barn, soaking up EVERY BIT of knowledge and experience possible. Which includes listening and asking questions that begin with “Why…?” and “How does that work/affect…?”

Sit down and make yourself a list:
What I would like to accomplish in the next five years (sublist for general and specific)

For each item on the above lists, write the answers to these questions:
What will it require (sublists for money & time & things)
Where will the money come from?
How will I fit the time required into my schedule?
Who do I need to depend on - for what?

Then call upon your most mature self and prioritize, based on the reality exposed in your answers.

Good luck.

Carol

[Lucassb]

[QUOTE=anyanicholson;7457204]
So, this past October I moved to one of the top show barns in my area for Equitation, Hunters and Jumpers where they also hold horse shows.

(Background on why I left my previous barn: my trainer wouldn’t let her girls jump any bigger than 2ft (even if you were on lease) unless you bought your own horse. So, after being there for about 6 years and after leasing all the horses she had to offer, my parents and I made the tough decision to leave and bring me back to the barn I started out taking lessons at when I was very young, knowing that I could continue to grow as a rider there.)

The big difference for me at this barn is not only the up in lesson fees ($50-$75 depending on trainer and paying an extra $25 to owners for the use of their horse if you’re not on lease) but especially since I went from paying $650 a month for lease (including 4 lessons a month) to considering lease at this new barn which would be $1000.00 + not including training; due in part that the board is more, and the horses are anywhere from $30,000.00 to $100,000.00 so it’s something to expect.

Another thing to add in is that more than 3/4 of the riders at this barn owns their own saddles and at my other barn every horse had their own saddle, so my mom just dropped a bittersweet $5500 on a saddle which she can barely afford since my dad won’t consider buying me a saddle.

(My mom is one willing to negotiate–convinced her to get me a saddle since I had nothing decent to ride in–while my dad on the other hand who pays for all my riding expenses is one where when he puts his foot down and says no, there’s no negotiating. Don’t get me wrong; he’s strict about $ but a very generous man when he wants to be.)

Since I moved to this barn to expand my junior career in equitation, I’ve come to seeing how expensive it is, and my parents have already turned down the lease.

I was wondering if there is anybody else out there in my situation :sadsmile:who could give me some tips, suggestions etc. in order for me to be able to find oppertunities to keep doing what I love at the level that I want to be able to move up to.

Has anybody ever been a “working-student”? And how does that usually work…

The owner/top trainer at this barn is very good with coming up with prices for lease and working with price ranges so I’m told but I know it’ll still be expensive.

What I’m hoping is that my dad will agree upon paying the same as he has each year ($650) my mom agreed to pitch in $200 and when I start working part time for the summer that I can come up with the rest for half-lease, lessons and horse shows. But even that I think my dad will turn down because he doesn’t want me or anybody else to pay more than he’s already paid.

Any comments, suggestions, tips, ideas are welcome![/QUOTE]

A lot of posters have been very harsh so far, telling you to sell the saddle, and move to a cheaper barn. While I agree there was really no need for a $5500 saddle, you have it now and there is no point in taking a big loss by selling it, essentially throwing away hundreds or even a thousand dollars or more. And I wouldn’t move barns, either - because good instruction is really the only way to get where it seems you want to go.

You aren’t going to like my advice, OP, but based on what you have written here, I would forget about leasing or showing for the near future.

At 17 and jumping 2’, it is really too late to think about launching a “junior career” in the big eq anyway. However, the beautiful thing about riding is that there is an entire universe to be had after one ages out, and you can ride and show well into old age. There is really no rush.

If you have a budget of $850 per month (which many people would LOVE to have,) my advice is to Just.Take.Lessons.

At $50 per lesson, your $850 gets you a lot of productive riding time each month - with an instructor’s eye on you making sure that you are learning and practicing the right things every ride. That is absolutely the fastest way to improve, and frankly, the best bang for your buck at this point.

In your shoes, I would be looking to gain the skills needed to make up my own horse later on. If you really apply yourself and learn as much as you can from these top instructors (and GF is one of the best programs) then you can put yourself in a position down the road a bit where you will be able to buy a nice, relatively inexpensive prospect, like a CANTER TB, and make your own fancy hunter or eq horse.

I understand it is difficult to not have your own horse, or to accept that showing is not in the cards financially when it seems like everyone else around you is off enjoying those things. My parents paid for one lesson a week for me when I was growing up and not a penny more - because they did not want to encourage me to invest myself in such an expensive sport. (Obviously they were not successful, LOL.) I was fortunate in that I found a way to earn enough money to buy a (cheap) horse and to board at a (cheap) barn when I was your age, but the job was grooming polo ponies; there were matches every weekend so I could never show even if I had the money. I don’t regret it now, as I learned a TON, but I was green with envy of the girls at the barn who could lesson and show whenever they liked.

[ParadoxFarm]

[QUOTE=Couture TB;7458548]
Sell the $5,500 saddle. Move back to your old barn. Buy a nice used saddle for under $1,000. Then go look at some of those “unfashionable” smaller TBs that are advertised that are jumping around 2’9 courses. Take lessons on your horse, practice, practice, practice, practice. And unless you have unlimited funds get over the name brand thing.

My parents were POOR. We free leased an old cow barn and put up pastures. My father built jumps out of what he could. A $500 horse was EXPENSIVE for us. So I rode what we had. Then started to turn the free and cheap horses into decent horses and we would sell them. When I was 15 I had reached the point I surpassed the ability my father could help me with. So I did home schooling, finished high school at 16, and left for my first working student position so that I could afford to train with a top trainer ( Eventing by the way. That English sport) I worked from 5am to 10pm 6 days a week. I took my $200 horse with me, I got to ride horses that competed at Rolex (Google it) and when I came home started buying and selling horses every few months. Then left again to another position. Worked at different jobs at stables. Waited tables. And before I was 21 had done a couple mini prixs for jumpers, upper level eventing, and competed both in the US and Canada. All in a $700 saddle, no name breeches, and an ancient hunt coat. It can be done. But the world isn’t just going to hand you what you want, and your parents shouldn’t have to go broke doing it either. Looking back I wish my parents wouldn’t have spent even what they did. But I appreciated it. I still do even now that I am married and still thank my father for everything he did for me.[/QUOTE]

THIS is a rider I respect. The fancy saddle, helmet, boots, etc. would not have made her a better rider. In fact, spending any more money would have detracted from her goals, as she wouldn’t have been able to afford that extra lesson. We can’t all be top of the line.

If I see a rider that is dressed to the nines and sitting in a 5000+ saddle (wait, while riding, I can’t tell, so I should say standing next to a 5000+ sale), but doing 2’ courses only moderately well, I would think: POSER. I would probably not take this rider seriously.

If I see the above-described rider on a less fancy horse in functional but not up-to-the-minute attire laying down a good ride because she worked HARD and learned the basics, I would think: HORSEMAN.

Remember, not all horse folks think more is better.

I see SO many other opportunities for someone like you with generous parents like yours. You know the saying, don’t lose the forest for the trees. Meaning, don’t get so lost in the little details you don’t see the bigger picture. Good luck.

[js]

Since your JR career is about over why not focus on getting into a college that has a great riding program to further your riding and showing?

[nycequestrian]

[QUOTE=js;7458798]
Since your JR career is about over why not focus on getting into a college that has a great riding program to further your riding and showing?[/QUOTE]

This is a really good piece of advice. There are lots of really great colleges that will give you top instruction as a part of their program. Just take a look at the colleges that have been in the top 10 at IHSA Nationals in the past couple of years. Take a look at the schools that regularly place well at ANRC. Do keep in mind that some of the schools have a higher level of involvement than others - i.e. some have equine majors and some simply have a riding team. Thats just something to keep in mind. You’re welcome to PM me if you’d like to talk more about college riding. I’m currently in college now and on my school’s equestrian team.

[tua37516]

I didn’t get the opportunities that my peers did because of money but I can tell you that if you REALLY are determined and REALLY want to be a rider, if there’s a will there’s a way. “I can’t” = “I won’t.”

My only junior horse cost $463 dollars at the New Holland auction. He was a coming 4yo TB who we bought out of the kill pen because he had two front bowed tendons. I was 11 and that was it. My parents couldn’t afford another better or made horse. In fact, my mother started and ran a house cleaning business to pay board/lessons- On the weekends and all summer, I had to help clean the other girls’ houses, bedrooms and TOILETS that I lessoned with to afford to ride. When I was 16, I also got a part time job as a hostess at Chilis to buy myself boots or any other equipment I needed. You can bet your life I didn’t go to the movies or have new American Eagle clothes or whatever brand my friends had- my mom and I bought things at Kohl’s and TJ Maxx because we were paying for a horse. I did a bunch of local showing and some rated- including A’s and HITS. Here is my cheapo horse I made up myself through living at the barn and HAVING to do it all myself:
http://i1171.photobucket.com/albums/r541/kate4678/LCHS.jpg
http://i1171.photobucket.com/albums/r541/kate4678/Bo2.jpg
I rode every horse that I could get my hands on. I learned not to get attached to MY saddle. I asked a million questions and still do today. I went to college, catch rode, and now I am 27 and for the first time just this month bought a new saddle that fits me… and I got a great deal on a floor model that was supposed to be 3k but I spend under $1,000. I am now using my skills to start hunter prospects myself and resell… took a long time to get here though, and once they start actually learning something they get resold.

I hope hearing this puts things into perspective. It was not my luck in life to get rich parents but I can bet you anything I am a heck of a better rider on a 4 year old or tough horse than many of those girls who had them! Figure out what your parents can help you with and WORK YOUR BUTT OFF!

[BostonHJ]

The advice I think I agree with most right now is that $850/month is a lot of lessons.

One other thing to consider is that there is a large gap between the barn you were at and the barn you’re at now. Neither sounds right for you. You’d be better off with a barn that doesn’t do many AA shows - maybe just does Fieldstone for the day and the other local options. A half lease will be much more affordable at a barn like that and you won’t feel like you have to keep up with everyone else quite so much.