I’d like to add that you can go out with a list of criteria for a horse, and then you could click with a horse that is completely different. I started out looking for a 16h bay warmblood approximately 10 years old. I fell in love with a 15.2h 3 year old palomino QH/Arab. He has been the absolute perfect horse for me.
Keep your mind and your heart open.
In your first ever post, you say you’ve been riding hunter/jumpers for ten years, you have $60,000 to spend, and your trainer is insisting you buy a “cow pony” or appaloosa. You should understand 100% why this looks like trolling.
Right. And I agree, for an adult with a job that’s paying the bills 100% and unlikely to have any major changes to that (life happens, but college and early 20s is often a time of huge change).
For a teenager, heading to college with some clue that they may not be able to afford to show at the least and realistically may not be able to support a horse at all, my advice is NOT to buy. Owning a horse in college is not for the faint of heart (and certainly a time commitment one may not want to make, even if the parents keep the horse in full training and foot all the bills), and selling that “dream” horse so soon after getting it is emotionally tough.
(HUGE disclaimer here: I owned and even purchased a second horse in college. Don’t hamstring yourself the way I did!)
Leasing is still my advice. Pick the best program you can afford, ride as much as you can, have a BLAST, and then go forward with skills and plans to buy something after you get a “real” job and settle in.
If all of this is valid, I am also in the camp that it is time for a new trainer and a new program aligned with your goals and budget.
Things to keep in mind –
Your junior career will have to follow whatever your horse can do. The kinds of horses that are limiting are those that are green (but trainers sometimes push riders to buy them), and those that are not physically suited for what you want. It sounds as if you already know this.
Every part of the effort you make and the money you spend must be aligned with your goals, in order to accomplish those goals. Sounds like there is a lot of adjusting to do before you are on that track, because several of your details are in no way aligned. Before even getting to the horse.
Owning a horse sounds good because of the control the rider has over the horse, compared with a lesson horse or a lease horse. BUT if the horse is lame or ill, no ride. And a lot of money and time to address the horse’s needs.
I don’t know what is going on with your situation, but if this is a genuine inquiry, add these considerations to the other good advice above.
I thought the humble cow pony trainer NOT seeking a 5-figure sales commission was a refreshing twist.
Not quite sure why every trainer at the “show barn” hasn’t quite happily snatched up the OP to go warmblood shopping, not to mention the French saddle, and even throw in a ~FREE~ pad with the barn logo on it.
here’s the way i would handle it. you need to have a conversation with your trainer, parents and yourself. Breed does ‘t matter, talent does. Discuss with trainer and parents your riding goals. I’m a bit confused with the 2 trainers, no mention really of 2nd trainers involvement just the one trainer who keeps suggesting cow ponies even though the bulk of her business seems to be H/J area. I used to get lots of calls and emails from Jr. riders wanting help buying and importing a horse(s) from Ireland. It didnt’ take me much time to start asking to speak to their parent as I would not make any horse shopping arrangements with my Irish contacts without speaking to parent.
And I feel the same way in the OPs case. They cannot legally enter into any contract to buy a horse, pay commission etc. So all that needs to be worked out between trainer(s) and parent(s). I think once all the parties involved discuss what the Op is looking for, budget etc. the horse shopping may be easier. The trainer may think the budget is X, OP may say it’s Y and parents may say nope our budget is Z.
I am wondering if the trainer who is looking at ‘cow ponies,’ isn’t perhaps trying for more realistic pricing, perhaps she has a better idea of what the parents can or are willing to afford.
It could be the trainer advising the “cow pony” is more realistic with OP’s goals (and OP’s parent’s budget) than OP is.
Something doesn’t quite add up. I found it strange that the horses were being referred to as “cow ponies”. That’s a rather derogatory term in my area, though it doesn’t have to be.
I did 3’3 jumpers on two different appendixes. Nothing wrong with a good ‘cow pony’ provided the parts are right.
My guess is that the trainer is suggesting horses more in line with the parent’s budget and expectations. Trainers don’t usually shoot low with client money…
This sounds completely fictional to me. I don’t understand why someone would make up a story like this or embellish the truth so much. For attention I guess? But it’s just too nutty to actually be true.
Whoever has you riding 3’3 and doing dressage etc etc would be the one horse shopping. You can go to another country to shop but you can’t pick up the phone and call the trainer who supposedly has you out doing all the things?
It actually feels like a younger kid doing some wish fulfillment. Which is all well and good. But it’s a waste of people’s time trying to give practical advice on a situation that’s not real.
my exact comment above – @vxf111 - I feel bad for the minor because this stuff is kinda sad.
I interact with a fair amount of 16 year old juniors and have at my last 3 barns and lessoned regularly with about 10 of them.
This whole thing does not read as a 16 year old, but a much younger - think pre-high school. - non-driving, non-logical child who doesn’t understand that the story just doesn’t line up at all from a financial, logistical, or business perspective.
I’m 33 - at 16 I held jobs, applied for scholarships for university, drove myself to the SATs, drove myself to dressage clinics and lessons, told my parents where I wanted to ride, where I wanted to work part time, where I wanted to go to college states away and did all the breakdowns of the cost if I wasn’t paying for it myself… in 2006 without the incredible internet based tools there are today
Yes, going to the show barn 3 times a week would make that barn the home barn. And if parents are driving 3 hour round trip, they are saints. I was assuming the show barn was a once a month treat or clinic or something.
I’m also curious if the WB vs QH thing was a general statement or if it was about this WB versus that QH with lots of variables about soundness, rideability and pricetag. Any given WB is not always the best choice if it has soundness issues or an athletic buck and spin.
I agree, a 16 year old who has been riding in programs for ten years is going to be pretty savvy about the relative value of different trainers and the cost of horses. By that age, most young women have a pretty good “status radar” for anything that really concerns them. They may make snobbish or partially informed decisions. But they tend to have a keen sense of social hierarchy in their world.
I could see a 16 year old saying: “where I live, there’s only one big h/j barn. I’m considered an advanced rider there and have leased a number of lesson horses. But they only show locally up to two foot nine. I want to get a horse that’s doing 3 foot 3 so I can move up to the Big Eq A shows. My parents will fund this. But my trainer is pointing me towards lower level horses. There’s a fantastic show barn where I’ve done some lessons but it’s an hour and a half drive. I feel like they could help me do Big Eq but it’s a bit far to travel every day. How can I make this happen?” Then maybe add: “it’s so unfair I’m being held back at this lesson barn because this is my passion to ride big eq and I would do anything to fulfil my dream and and and” 
THIISSSS
thank you for the words I didn’t have in me first day back to hectic work after the holidays while nursing a slight cold from my niece and nephew
going to be pretty savvy about the relative value of different trainers and the cost of horses. By that age, most young women have a pretty good “status radar” for anything that really concerns them. They may make snobbish or partially informed decisions. But they tend to have a keen sense of social hierarchy in their world.
^ DING DING DING
and your example post is what I would expect of a 16 year old - someone who is writing college app essays and submitting papers for Lit class
I understand the skepticism. Regarding the driving I just have a lot of after school activities like languages and instruments and lots of extra classes which dont allow me to drive as much as I want to. My barn doesn’t do super early AM rides (I wish! I would be there at 4 am haha).
thanks for the advice!
Full training at show barn after you buy $60k WB through that trainer and program - you already ride 3x a week there - that’s sufficient to compete in A shows easily in the 3’3 / 3’6 - your horse would only jump 1x or 2x per week anyways - trainer can flat school your horse on the days you don’t ride.
Problem solved. ditch the cow pony barn - beneath you at this point. Is this what you’re looking to hear? Why haven’t you just done this already?
My friend as a 22 year ibanker only rode on weekends and competed at HITS in 1.20 - 1.30 jumpers and pinned regularly
OP - I’m going to take everything you say at face value in the event that you’re representing everything with complete accuracy, but please reflect to consider if what you’re depicting here is the whole picture.
Per your details, you are a minor, and your budget is 60k. You want a warmblood, that can jump 3’6, and you’ve done B shows (though the last time you showed was at 2’9). Showing is a priority to you.
First: Identify the non-negotiables. These are your dealbreakers. Things like “We will not spend over $xx,xxx” are a hard line.
Second: Identify the things you can compromise on. You’ve mentioned several things (you want to show, you want to jump higher, you’ve shown 2’9, you’re jumping 3’3) that don’t necessarily contradict each other, but we live in the real world and sometimes we need to give up X to get Y, or give up Y and take a smaller x to get Z.
You could compromise on breed, age, height of fences, age/condition, etc.
Third: communicate! State your goals clearly to your trainer. (“I have shown X, I am schooling Y, I would like to progress to Z.”) Then ask what you need to do to get to that goal (“What steps do I need to take?”) Tell her what you have identified (“I recognize I will need to buy a horse since no school or lease horse is available that can do these things.”) and then ask questions. She’s pushing the stock horses. Ask her why. Ask her the pros/cons for that type of horse when held up to your goals. Same with thoroughbreds. Same with warmbloods. All of them have pros/cons, it’s just finding what you can get and live with.
Alternatively - I do think it is silly that you have connections at a show barn that seems to already be set up to do exactly what your stated goal is, but you aren’t utilizing that resource in your horse shopping. Not all trainer programs fit every goal. If your primary trainer isn’t in alignment with your goal (she runs “mac” but you want to do “samsung” software) rather than trying to code work-arounds, it makes more sense to just work with the people who are already doing exactly what you wish to be doing.
(That said, this is a good opportunity for you to learn to research, plan, and communicate.)
I would talk to your other trainer. For something not green, your budget is ok but not super. You can find a good enough jumper, but adding eq or three ring capability, and that money doesn’t go super far these days for a quality warmblood. Especially considering commissions and vetting and travel. In any event, I think the person to help you is the trainer where you are already doing that kind of riding. And likely that ought to be the place this future horse should live. So with your other activities, maybe the horse will need a training ride or two. For me when I was your age, to get the “nicer” hunter (which was still a 5 yo for me but I had green horse experience and that was more in line with our budget at the time), I had to give up some of my other activities. My parents said horses needed to be my job if they were going to fund it at that level.
Perhaps the student your trainer sees is a busy kid who does fine in IEA and rides a few times a week and doesn’t really need the “move up” horse for a year or two. Maybe your other trainer will view things differently.
It can be hard to take a horse with you in college for a variety of reasons, so doing a full lease might be the better way to get you a nice experienced horse to learn on for the time being to be worth the expense.
because it … doesn’t exist.
it may be this relationship
or it may be the budget
no show barn is going to turn down a client with a 60k budget who already rides there 3x a week - that’s not how adults who run a business function.
Thank you for the advice!
I am going to communicate with my lesson trainer more clearly my priorities with showing because I never really sat down to talk with her properly about my goals.
I dont know why some of you guys think that I am being untruthful. Im not trolling, this is a pretty usual problem. my goals ≠ what my trainer thinks my goals are. I feel like it makes sense. I am looking for a certain horse and trainer is looking for a horse that doesn’t rlly match with my priorities. We have never really communicated super clearly about the exact goals I have in mind.
I will be more open to more types of breeds. I think trainer wants me to look around more b/c she says that QH’s can be just as talented as WB’s, which is chat has made me realize.
thank you
you have access 3x a week to the show barn and $$ for a WB
why are you even still showing up to cow pony barn if they are not aligned with your goals
that is like saying I want to speak Spanish and live in Spain, but you take 7 years of Japanese…
this is why people think you are A) not 16 as most 16 year olds understand the above logic B) trolling because this is wildly illogical
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