Help: Handling riding expenses $$

[PaintedHunter]

[QUOTE=Trixie;7459793]
I agree completely with Foursocks.

I was fairly competitive as a teenager - did some eq - but only ever had a two year lease on a pony. People lent me horses the rest of the time, mostly because I was a barn rat. I took as many lessons as my parents could pay for, and eventually wound up finding a friend, actually, through COTH that lent me horses when I couldn’t afford to ride when I was in school.

I rode at a show barn throughout my childhood. I was NEVER the one with the fanciest stuff. And I was NEVER going to have a major “career” as a junior. Most people don’t. The best thing about riding? You can do it for a LONG time competitively. Look up Betty Oare if you don’t know who she is (and if you don’t know who she is, I’m questioning your knowledge of showing anyway) - she’s competing in her 70s.

FWIW, I’m now a self-sustaining adult who makes more than many households in this country, and I don’t forget it for a second. I’ve never had a $5K saddle. I’ve only even bought one saddle that wasn’t used, and it was a demo. I’ve only ever bought one horse - and she was under a thousand dollars. I was given another horse who has been the most awesome horse ever for me. If you ask him to be a hunter, he does - or a jumper, he does - heck, if you ask him to do that weird English riding where you jump into lakes and stuff - he’s done that too.

All of that because I like, trained him. With a lot of help along the way. He was free to his previous owner in utero, who started him, and let me start riding him and eventually gave him to me.

Also? I’m pretty sure that the majority of my riding clothes in those pictures were either used or on sale. I’ve done several AA shows in $36 boots I bought on ebay. Can you tell? Also, he’s done 3’6" and up to 4’+ at home or my trainer’s barn.

Advice? Go to school, get a job, see how far your money gets you, and thank your parents. Go be a barn rat and learn about riding. If you want to be competitive at higher than 2’, you should probably stop thinking about it as a “junior career” and try to figure out how you’re going to outRIDE people, not outBUY people.[/QUOTE]

B-R-A-V-O.

[Belmont]

Also, I just looked at your thread history.

You are talking about CWD Jumping boots, new saddles, First Lady helmets, Ogilvy Pads… Sounds like your parents are doing a ton for you. Thank them!

[RockyStar]

You are obviously young and do not understand the value of money…Please DO get a part time job and learn how to pay for things on your own…then you may understand the sacrifice your parents are making for you. I’m a new mom myself and finally realize that my parents gave up everything so that my sisters and I could ride… and yes my parents bought my sisters and I horses too, but you can bet I was working after school, on weekends, holidays, etc to help foot the bill. I don’t want to ramble about your first world problems, and I am not trying to be rude…I just see things from the other side I guess…as a mom WITHOUT a fat wallet trying to give my kid the best opportunities in life. Best of luck to you

[jn4jenny]

[QUOTE=Lucassb;7458725]
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.[/QUOTE]

I agree with a lot of what you said, Lucassb, but I respectfully disagree with this point. If it were most other saddles, I’d agree…but she’s bought a CWD. That is, by far, the hottest French saddle brand on the used market. And she ordered a VERY popular set of options: a 17" long flap SE02 with pro panels in a dark-chocolate-colored leather. She can probably get out from under that at a very minimal loss. Some buyer out there would pay $5000 or more for it, just to avoid the waiting period on a brand-new CWD.

Of course, this all assumes that the OP is willing to put in some hustle in the form of great pictures and advertising the saddle all over the Interwebz. And so far, evidence suggests that OP lacks such hustle. Which is why I’m pushing her toward trading it in with CWD. They may be able to arrange for her to lose very little money but not have to do any legwork.

[Star_s_Ascent]

From looking at her other posts it sounds like she JUST ordered the saddle. If that is the case she can cancel it. I know with my Antares I had like 7 days to cancel it free of charge. After that it was a $500 fee. Which would still be better than being out $5500. Cancel the saddle, loose out on whatever fee they are charging and use the money for something better. And I’m still baffled that it’s not obvious that eventing is an english sport especially when she says she has friends that event.

[jn4jenny]

[QUOTE=Star’s Ascent;7459912]
From looking at her other posts it sounds like she JUST ordered the saddle. If that is the case she can cancel it.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. That was my first suggestion several days ago. But in case CWD gives her trouble about that–or she continues her previous COTH trend of ignoring the most direct or clear advice given to her–I’m trying to give her good alternatives, too.

[Mara]

[QUOTE=Belmont;7459810]
Also, I just looked at your thread history.

You are talking about CWD Jumping boots, new saddles, First Lady helmets, Ogilvy Pads…[/QUOTE]

And not a word about how she can become a better horseman. :no:

[DoubleTwistedWire]

If my Google-fu is working, it looks like your barn offers both a schooling show series with a 2’6 medal, and the chance for IEA competitions. Why don’t you focus on that this year?

The suggestion to cancel the saddle and buy a cheap prospect is just silly. Canceling the saddle not so much, but if you’ve only got one (maybe two?) years before you head off to college, buying a horse to “bring along” isn’t much of a plan. You’re just going to have an even harder time budgeting expenses for the horse on top of those for college. You’d be far better off concentrating on the local medal series and IEA, which are real achievable goals you can realistically meet this year, and roll those into a college with an IHSA program, which has riders of all levels competing. There are quite a few good programs out there with excellent coaches who are also at academically wonderful institutions. Then you graduate with both good riding skills and a degree you can use to get a career where you can go on to pay for things like fancy helmets and $5K saddles.

Riding is a life-long pursuit. The world won’t end if you never ride in a BigEq class, but there certainly are people out there like the aforementioned Betty Oare or Denny Emerson or Harry DeLayer competing well into their lives.

[txhjgirl]

I’m sure someone has said this, but this thread has gotten so long that I just figured I’d at least say it if no one else has…

I have a close friend that worked for CWD. Your rep isn’t necessarily a crook because they were doing their job and earning their commission, but they definitely worked you over. The dimensions that you need 3L, 17 seat, half deep, pro panel… is extremely common. I don’t know how long you really searched for a used saddle, but I certainly hope it was for many months before you had your parents spend all of that money…

[pds]

Za

[danceronice]

Nothing much to add, other than I get loving to compete versus loving to be around things/do things. It took me a long time to sort out that with horses, as long as I have them, if I never do more than tool around at a walk, I’m good. (Whereas I love to compete in dance and wouldn’t do it without the competitive aspect, and I love to skate just to skate and would do it no matter what.) It’s okay to be competitive, as long as you’re realistic–I have zero shot with skating (because I am ancient) or horses (because I have money but not THAT much money), and in dance I need to keep in mind what my limits are. I am not going to be winning Blackpool. Started late, do not have that level of skill.

And I’m kind of glad my parents never kept me in the loop on what horses cost in actual numbers. They wrote the checks, they bought stuff. If we (me or my brother) wanted something, the answer was either yes or no. There was no negotiating and the bigger the price tag the better the odds the answer was going to be “no”. I sort of got that we didn’t do big shows and I had no idea about name brands for things, but really I kind of was hung up on…I have a horse! Eeeee! That was enough.

[Hunter_JumperMom]

This whole thread is puzzling to me. My daughter was very fortunate to ride with a BNT and learn, but we were the poor folk at the barn. To that she worked as a junior. Before school. After school, weekends, etc! Christmas Day covering for grooms, late calls to check on horses, night check help all as a junior. Sometimes if she had a long study period between classes she would go and school a horse and shoot back for class. In return she was able to ride many horses and learn. Im not hearing from the OP that she works at all at the barn. Also, if I was ever told as a Mom that I needed to buy my DD a 5500 saddle when I don’t own or even lease a horse, I would be out the door very fast.

[Jaideux]

OP has another thread with a similar title and “revised” at the end- you may want to check it out and cease fire over here. She has heeded advice, come up with a good plan, and seems to have had some time to reflect on her blessings in life after being slapped with a disappointing reality.

Pretty excellent for a teen. At 28 I’m probably a little more realistic overall, but I still have my bitter disappointments that take me a few days to get over it. Kudos to her.

[anyanicholson]

[QUOTE=Jaideux;7464066]
OP has another thread with a similar title and “revised” at the end- you may want to check it out and cease fire over here. She has heeded advice, come up with a good plan, and seems to have had some time to reflect on her blessings in life after being slapped with a disappointing reality.

Pretty excellent for a teen. At 28 I’m probably a little more realistic overall, but I still have my bitter disappointments that take me a few days to get over it. Kudos to her.[/QUOTE]

Thank you!
Now everything’s figured out and I am leasing after all due to my great trainer making the $$ work.

[SuckerForHorses]

[QUOTE=hAlterHorse;7458396]
Solution: Move to a cheaper barn. There has to be something in between a “TOP” show barn and the barn where you can’t jump over 2’.

So? It doesn’t matter what everyone else does or has.

:eek::eek::eek::eek:
Do you realize how INCREDIBLY spoiled and entitled this sounds? Parents shouldn’t “negotiate” $5500 purchases for non-essential items with teenagers because they have nothing “decent” to ride in. I guarantee you can find something “decent” to ride in for less than 5GRAND. I hope your mom sees this and sells that shiny new saddle right out from under your spoiled a$$.

Jumping 2’ or 2’6 is not a “junior career.” Unless you are the next Lillie Keenan or Victoria Colvin, this isn’t a junior career, sorry.

Yeah, the 99% of the world who can’t afford $100,000 horses. We suck it up and WORK for it. Some of us had parents who didn’t pay a CENT towards lessons, at all! I hate to break it to you, even though you don’t think so, your parents are contributing a LOT of money so you can pursue your hobby, and it sounds like you are being a spoiled, ungrateful brat about it. Be thankful for the opportunities that you DO have. Get a job, contribute to the expenses (and I’ll be once you start earning $8/hr, that $650 a month and that $5500 is gonna seem like a whole lot more money all of a sudden). Or, realize you are going to adjust your expectations to match your available reality - move to a cheaper barn and show unrated or B/C/A instead of AA.

Also, ATTITUDE. Opportunities come to those who are willing to work hard, put in the effort, and not complain that they don’t have the fanciest and best of everything. I was a working student for years. When I got the opportunity to ride and show nice, fancy horses of my trainer clients (paid for by either my trainer or the clients too!) that I could never, EVER dream of affording, it was because I worked my A$$ off, every day, rode anything that was available, cleaned, did every menial task I could find, and helped with whatever I could, without complaining. I scrimped and saved and bought used/consignment/cheapest I could find. Was I embarrassed to not have the coolest, newest trendiest stuff? Yeah, absolutely. Was I jealous of the girls with the fancy horses, and the GPAs, and the CWDs? Of course. But that’s just how life works.

Yes. You have to actually, like, WORK, though…you don’t get to just “negotiate” people into giving you what you want. Usually, you show up, and you WORK, doing chores like mucking stalls, cleaning tack, mixing supplements, doing horse laundry, turn outs, grooming, etc. You get “paid” an hourly rate that would then get subtracted from your lesson costs. I got $10/hour as a working student. If the training is $1000 not including the lease fee, and you got $10/hour as a working student, you’d have to work 100 hours a month to pay off the training.

Sounds like you will need to find a REALLY well paying part time job.

Leave the big fancy top show barn. Find somewhere more reasonable where your parents generous monetary contributions will go farther. Show locally or at B/C shows. Sell the $5500 saddle and look for something used. There are many comfortable, functional saddles that can be found under $1500. Even around 600-800! You don’t need to pay 3-5k just because you want to say you have a fancy french saddle. You’re just paying for the name, and fancy leather that will wear out faster. The difference in quality is a between a 5k fancy french brand saddle and something you can pick up used for 1K or less (and you’ve already gotten lots of good advice on this) when you are jumping less than 3’ - or really even when/if you move up to 3’6 - is basically nil when you don’t have a single horse you are trying to fit it to.

Give yourself a big old harsh reality check, ATTITUDE check, and go THANK YOUR PARENTS. And then apologize to them for behaving like a spoiled (they “wouldn’t negotiate?!?!!” to buy you a $5500 saddle and lease you a 30k horse?!?!) brat! And then thank them again, for supporting your very expensive hobby.[/QUOTE]

^^^BRAVO!!! :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

OP, I haven’t even read all the posts and only got to hAlterHorse’s before being able to keep my fingers from the keyboard any longer.

Get a job and pay for your own damn lease, saddle, lessons, and whatever else you think you need to buy. I got a job at 16 and THAT is when I started paying for my horses, 100%. If I wanted to take lessons, I paid for them. If I wanted to haul my horses to a show, that meant I got a job that paid enough to buy a truck and trailer. When the vet was needed, I cut the check from my own bank account.

You sound like a spoiled self-absorbed brat.

ETA: Just found your “revised” thread. I’m glad you’re looking at things a little more realistically.

[BITSA]

[QUOTE=nycequestrian;7457345]
There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to have top instruction. However, at some point financial limits become a factor for all of us and we have to work within that. As others have said, consider selling your saddle and purchasing (since I’m assuming you have some type of french saddle) another used french saddle - they run about half the price. This way you can used the money from the sale to help finance your lease for the next month or so. There are plenty of saddles out there that will look similar to the top french saddles. I have a saddle that was about 1/5th of the price but looks very similar to a Butet. Also, talk with your trainer and explain to her that you don’t have the budget for five figure leases. See if you can work out a half lease situation or a working student situation. You never know until you ask.[/QUOTE]

this

[WillowB]

I’m not sure what part time job you think you are going to get that will pay ‘the rest of your expenses.’ Part-time, summer jobs, are usually minimum wage. By the time taxes are taken out… you are left with NOTHING. It could probably pay for one of your horse’s shoes.

I’m with everyone when they say… sell that new saddle. YOU DON’T NEED IT. It’s a gimmick- you’ve been had by the saddle dealers. Plus, give that $5500 saddle a few years and it’ll need replacing. They aren’t meant to last… they are meant to be consumed and replaced often or else saddle makers would be out of business.

[PonyRider]

Ok, so first off you should stop riding at such an expensive barn when you can return that saddle and either buy a really nice horse or use that for lessons. How nasty of you to beg your mom to spend money you knew she didn’t have. I grew up with a single Dad who paid for one lesson a month if I was lucky and thankfully had an uncle with horses that I got to ride as much as I could. I would never have begged my Dad to spend so much on a saddle when I didn’t even have a horse. I didn’t get a horse until my grandpa got me a miniature when I was 13 and still didn’t get a riding horse until I was 18 and had a job and saved my money and threw myself into the very expensive world of horses. You really need to realize that it is not easy to drop so much money on horses and either get a job and start helping pay or get out of it. There is no need for a $5500 saddle for any rider, I bought a used saddle that has been serving me very well and would never drop that kind of money for one. As said before you can buy a nice horse with that money and go back to your old barn and be able to jump as high as your butt can hang on over.

[HJEq]

[QUOTE=PonyRider;7536153]
Ok, so first off you should stop riding at such an expensive barn when you can return that saddle and either buy a really nice horse or use that for lessons. How nasty of you to beg your mom to spend money you knew she didn’t have. I grew up with a single Dad who paid for one lesson a month if I was lucky and thankfully had an uncle with horses that I got to ride as much as I could. I would never have begged my Dad to spend so much on a saddle when I didn’t even have a horse. I didn’t get a horse until my grandpa got me a miniature when I was 13 and still didn’t get a riding horse until I was 18 and had a job and saved my money and threw myself into the very expensive world of horses. You really need to realize that it is not easy to drop so much money on horses and either get a job and start helping pay or get out of it. There is no need for a $5500 saddle for any rider, I bought a used saddle that has been serving me very well and would never drop that kind of money for one. As said before you can buy a nice horse with that money and go back to your old barn and be able to jump as high as your butt can hang on over.[/QUOTE]

This thread is old, and the poster has already made several posts and other threads apologizing and explaining how she has discussed it with her trainer and found a situation that works well for everybody, including her parents.

Lay off of her and quit being so nasty. This thread is basically 6 pages of grown adults bashing a kid, essentially cyber bullying.

[SendenHorse]

its really confusing with two threads!

here is the REVISED thread, I had to search since it wasn’t obvious (to me)

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?430778-Riding-Expenses-Revised