Hi,
Hmm, I am wondering what options the family has to buying a horse for Western (e.g. rodeo competition for my daughter)? We live in northern San Diego (by the 56). Looking for something for her to ride for a few years and get good enough for rodeo competitions within about 6-12 months (she has been training for a while on different horses and has done some jumping/English competitions). Her interest about a year ago has changed. The goal is to reduce the currently perceived cost of $15k for a horse, $450/month boarding, plus training (but her being a positive/competitive experience). Creative ideas are welcome. Since mostly acting as a parent/not rider, I do not have an indepth backround in horses. Leasing might be good way to go, but not seeing much yet in horses available that would have some western experience. Leasing seems to have the disadvantage of potentially loosing any experience gained during the lease (I know obvious but a concern).
I don’t know where you are how that works, but here, there are some horse trainers that have been involved in those events all their lives, from high school junior rodeos and are still decades later competing in regular barrel races, poles, etc.
They take on students, teach them on their suitable horses and when the student is ready to start competing seriously, help them find the right horses.
They know the horses that are for sale, have seen them competing for years, with different riders and know if it is a push type horse or one it may take more of a careful ride, how sound they are, if they need maintenance and which type, etc.
I think if you can go to some barrel races locally, or junior rodeos, you may find such trainers and get your kid started with one of those.
Better than trying to find a horse on your own, when you don’t really know what to look for or where.
Seems that she is now ready for a specialty trainer for those kinds of events, more than the general beginner type instructor she had.
Here we have a very strong high school rodeo team and it is very competitive.
They have about four different associations they go to compete with and get points and a common state and then national championship they qualify for.
Many of those kids, boys and girls, compete in barrel racing, roping of different kinds, etc.
Have you looked for those, they ought to be able to direct you to suitable trainers and horses.
Many times those horses don’t really come on the market, but are sold from one kid that is moving up to more horse to one just starting.
Assuming you mean San Diego, CA and not San Diego, TX –
Here’s a link to the website for the California Junior Rodeo Association https://cjra1.org/
Doesn’t say where they’re headquartered, but the president and treasurer both have 909 area codes, if that helps.
Google San Diego CA junior rodeo for some other links. Hopefully some of these will get you started in how to find a trainer and a good barn in your area where you daughter can take lessons. I’m already picturing a palomino.
Fantastic descriptions of the training and rodeos/competitions. I love the Palomino suggestion. All of the additional information will also help. I am looking up the organizations. Correct, we are in San Diego, CA.
Sorry, I did not give more details on the first post.
Our daughter is 13 and just about to enter high school. She has been doing poles, and barrels for a few months and starting sorting and roping just recently within a month or so. She has a 3 different trainers currently with 3-4 lessons per week. English/jumping was prior and just a couple of competitions. We leased an Arabian for about a year, 2 years ago and she has been riding in total for about 8 years. The bottom line is she is comfortable on a variety of horses and has good control. Two trainers have suggested she buy a horse . So, we are at the point where it sounds like we should we should that if we cannot find a lease situation, or maybe buying but going in with someone. I am curious about other ideas, but right now it sounds like the natural course is to go this direction or potentially stop the activity if the cost is deemed too much. I hate to ask, but is $15k needed for a reasonably good horse. So cost is my concern and why I am looking for options. She spends a fair amount of time with the horses (probably 12 hours a week). I would hate to dampen her spirit by stopping this activity.
Depending on what level she wants to compete, if just starting and not necessarily wanting to win, just participate, you can buy a cheaper horse that is very solid, just not very fast.
Those horses are also less, lets say, explosive, where you have to cowgirl up.
If she is a very agressive rider nothing backs her off, then she may be happier with more horse, faster and those are harder to find that are suitable and also tend to cost more.
She probably will have to try several horses before finding one that fits her.
Some of the better horses for those age kids are older and at times need special shoes, etc.
I think finding the best trainers and let them help with the horse search would make more sense, at least it does here.
Maybe talk to the parents of those competing now, see what they tell you, who they recommend?
The kids here in those competitions, they train out of our arena, are a very good group of kids.
They are really into the horses, very responsible about taking care of things and out of other trouble.
The kids learn to become an adult with a focus on being responsible.
Being around horses takes much time and practice to do it right.
They do that with a group of other similarly minded kids.
That is something few kids get today thru most other they can do.
That makes any you have to pay for all of that worth every penny, is what parents here say.
I hate to ask, but is $15k needed for a reasonably good horse. So cost is my concern and why I am looking for options. She spends a fair amount of time with the horses (probably 12 hours a week). I would hate to dampen her spirit by stopping this activity.
We went though this with our four kids, my suggestion is find a horse that versatile… we used Morgans so when ours wanted to do something new it was just buy more tack where our friends were selling the horse and buying a new horse for their kids who had bought a specific horse for a specific event This was ages ago but we found many head in the $5,000 range that could and did just about everything. But my daughter just bought a nice weaning paying the same as what we paid for one of best horses that we bought in 1990.
I would be kind of cautious of the trainers recommendations … not elemental but really do your homework on the horses they suggest as normally they have a vested interest.
The cost of entry into ownership is just the beginning as you are aware… the $450/mo board is a figure I have seen for nearly 30 years, at least that is the same we paid in 1991. The 1991 $450 dollar cost would need to be about $825 in today’s dollar to be equal … I just really do not understand how barns can still be in business.
Since it sounds like she has good experience and confidence, and more importantly, good trainer support and follow-through, I’m going to throw out the idea that she look into Mustangs. Extreme Mustang Makeover is coming to LA in August, and there may well be California trainers aiming to compete in Ocala in May, Lexington in June, and Fort Worth in September, and they might be willing and able to haul their horse (or another trainer’s horse, as a group they are very cooperative and work hard to make sure the horses make it to good homes) back to CA for you. I think the key to getting a good horse out of the Makeover type competitions is to start following the groups and trainers on FB or wherever they are updating, make sure the horse seems to have the attitude you are looking for, and the trainer is doing a good job of putting down building blocks and basics, and communicate with the trainer early and often (particularly if you are likely to need remote bidding or transport). If there are local trainers you may even be able to go and meet the horse in person well before the competition and get a better feel of what the horse is like and can do. If you’re really keen on taking a horse home, make sure you have some options and fallbacks in case your fave goes over your budget. Prices at the auction are all over the map and hard to predict. I got my guy for $3k and there were an awful lot of really nice horses around that, there were several pretty nice-but-need-more-time horses under a thousand, and the high was $46k.
There’s also the option of getting in touch with a trainer that has competed reasonably successfully in EMM (or otherwise shown they do a good job with Mustangs) in the past, and having them help you pick out a horse from holding and train it. If I’m ever seriously in the market again, I might go that route.
If she’s SUPER keen, super committed (and has very committed family and trainer backup), and has the time (or more importantly you and/or trainer has the time) to work with a horse daily or even twice a day for at least a few minutes, she might even be a candidate for doing a Youth Makeover. Probably not the best option, though, from what you’ve shared. Most of those kids keep the horses at home, have people in the family/always around to help them out, and have other horses to ride while they are waiting for Baby to grow up (if they don’t reassign Baby after the competition).
As a first owned horse for a 13 year old? Really think a BTDT type she can learn on without needing help every step of the way as well as ride with her friends an in a group training/ lesson type situation is the way to go. She’ll learn faster and have a ton more fun.
Very wise observation upthread that local trainers are very aware of every horse in their area, known most of them for years. That is a tremendous source for you to depend on. Leases are not as common on the Western side for assorted reasons and when you get into Rodeo, team penning and games there is not as much attention on younger, Greener horses as you find on the Hunt Seat side far less dependence on the trainer and more independence for the riders too,
Your horse budget is decent, with any luck at all you can slide in lower. Guessing the 450 board is for a pipe pen/corral, no need for indoor arena out there and the availability of high quality alfalfa year round makes feeding much less complicated, couple of 10-12 pound flakes keeps most stock type recreational horses in pretty good shape. That is what I missed most when I moved back east. Last time I visited So Cal some of those basic board places were still running 5-600 a month.
But do get some help finding the horse. Good place to find the help is ask around or go to a competition or clinic ( that’s a big group session with a visiting trainer) and watch how each trainer teaches. The social media pages of the organizations mentioned above should be very helpful as well, go ahead and join these clubs, they aren’t expensive and you will feel like you belong. The more people you know before you buy the better shot you have at finding the most suitable horse for you daughters needs and goals.
Dont be afraid to ask on here if you hit a snag or aren’t sure about anything. But basically if it doesn’t seem right, it’s probably not.
If you are looking for a horse that can be competitive at the high school rodeo level, can run barrels, run poles, can cut, and can rope … $15,000 is not going to be enough. At least in my area (I am in North Dakota). Sure, you might be lucky and a find a diamond in the rough, but again, it just depends if your daughter wants to just have fun, or if she wants to actually place/win. You may also come across an older horse with a lesser price tag, but most older horses also need special vet treatments to keep competing.
Most barrel horses that are consistent in the 3D/4D can easily cost $10,000. And if you want one that is consistently 1D/2D (and actually does perform at that level), then expect to pay $15,000 on up. ($15,000 would be on the cheap side for a true 1D/2D horse)
And that’s just for a horse that only knows how to run barrels (and already knows how to do so) and not any other events. If they are well-rounded and can do a variety of events, then the price tag usually goes up.
Training as you go is an option, but don’t expect to be ready to rodeo in 6 months. For a barrel horse, it can take up to 2 years to have a good solid mount that knows what they are doing. And really, training a horse for an event that is new to the rider, usually isn’t as successful as buying a horse that has already been there and done that, and knows what they are doing. Plus, rodeos are loud and there is a lot going on. Some horses really take a long time to season and get accustomed to all that’s going on around them and still be able to perform.
As you know, the horse purchase price is just the upfront cost. There will be boarding costs. And vet costs. Farrier. Etc. If your daughter wants to compete a lot, rodeo’ing is expensive between entry fees and gas. (And especially with the high gas prices in California.) Sure, you have the chance to win money potentially, but again, then you need to be well-mounted with a good horse to be one of the ones at the top.
So no, I don’t want to dampen your spirits or enthusiasm, but horses are indeed expensive. And it is good to be realistic. If you want to start getting an idea for prices (at least for the barrel side), you can check out the horse ads on Barrel Horse World.
Also, ask your current trainers what the horse’s are worth that your daughter is currently riding, if you were to try to buy something similar. That will give you a good look too on what it’s going to cost to get your daughter a mount she is looking for.
It kind of depends on what level she expects to compete at within the next few years too. I spoke to more regional type competitions she would be starting at. There’s a pretty active penning and BR scene in So Cal. My BIL was active and I still have some friends who dabble in it. It’s pretty competitive and you need a nice horse to do well . Most are add back jackpots so you can make your expenses back sometimes. But your budget should let you get a good starter level horse for this…
If she’s successful and wants to compete on a larger or even national basis after she masters the more local level, it’s likely she’ll have outgrown this first horse and will need something higher powered. Or she’ll be happy where she is and you can stay within your financial comfort level. No argument that it’s going to take her more then 6 months to get to be competitive on higher levels.
The most important thing is you don’t get sucked into the hard business side of horse trainers and competitions and take all the fun out of it for your daughter and ruin your enjoyment of her achievements by comparing both your daughter and your budget to that others. Don’t go there. Stay grounded in your child’s enjoyment and self improvement. Horse World is full of talented youngsters who burned out and feel guilty they weren’t good enough and made their parents spend too much.
Reading between the lines of your posts, think you are pretty new to this and it’s easy to feel you HAVE to spend this or go to that competition. Never forget trainers job is making money and they benefit from higher commissions on more expensive horses and more lessons. That’s not condemning them at all, that’s fine, but be aware. And don’t be afraid to say no or change trainers if you feel pressured.
