Horse syndicates

[NewEventer]

Looking for basic information on how these work. Specifically Eventing, Dressage or Show Jump disciplines.

Have you ever been part of one? How long? What did you like, love, hate or what could’ve been improved about your experience?

As a horse share owner, what did you get as “perks” as part of your syndicate?

Any yearly/monthly maintenance fees required?

Are there ever tiers of share ownership? Any extra perks for higher majority owners?

Any additional information or experiences welcome!

Thanks!

[Jealoushe]

There is a lot of talk about syndicates in many episodes of the Major league Eventing podcast. Information coming from riders, so you could get an idea of what some of the options are out there. Sorry I cant remember specific episodes.

[luckycricket123]

I was asked to join an eventing syndicate with a purchase price of 15k and a yearly maintenance fee of 5k. It was a little out of my price range, but tax deductible!

The main perks were international travel to horse shows (that I had to pay for ) but also owning a horse that may compete at the highest levels with a rider who wanted to make a US team with that horse.

I never did join the syndicate so I can’t tell you what I would have changed. I just wasn’t very close with the rider and I couldn’t really see what would be in it for me. Especially since with the new tax laws, I don’t really get to deduct anything from my taxes.

I’m a young adult amateur rider, with plans to someday start a family so the thought of putting 20k into someone else’s horse (rather than my own or a college fund for my future children ) just didn’t seem practical.

I could see myself trying to make something like that work for a rider that I was really close to or really wanted to support their dreams. 15k as a buy-in was a bit much, but 5k maintenance seemed pretty doable.

[FitToBeTied]

I had been asked one time to join a syndicate on a horse as well and turned it down for multiple reasons. First, there is really no real potential on the return on the investment. Second, as I told the rider, I could hand them a check today and the horse could die tomorrow or be injured so that it could no longer compete. So a pretty high risk of total loss.

I did tell that them if I were to consider investing in something like that, it would be as a sponsor for the rider, not the horse. I told them the deal would be they get the money and I get to attend all the events with the VIP passes. There is no return on investing in the rider but the chances of them being unable to compete after recieving the check would be fairly low.

[Displaced_Yankee]

@luckycricket123

It was a little out of my price range, but tax deductible!

I know the tax law changes frequently, but I am dying to know how this was considered tax-deductible. I am a CPA and a horse person…so I would love to know what they said, even if it is no longer applicable now. Horses and taxes are a complex endeavor!

Please PM me if you prefer that!

[luckycricket123]

Basically, all payments would be made as rider donations through a tax deductible organization that riders must apply and be accepted to be a part of. So I couldn’t just set up a tax deductible syndicate for myself unless I earned my USDF silver medal or placed in the top 25% in a CCI competition.