I shoulda learned
To spot the distance
I shoulda learned
To ride shoulder fore
Yeah
That ain’t ridin’
That’s the way you do it
Get your bridles for nothin’
And your bits for free
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I am a bit late to this conversation, but as a BO, I’m wondering how I can reach out to the knowledgeable horse owners who want quality care but don’t want to be “trainer babies”. We are not a show barn and I’ve never specifically advertised to H/J folks.
We offer 24/7 free choice hay and full care stall board with an indoor arena for $550/mo. My SO and I do 90% of the labor ourselves and buy in bulk to keep costs low. Honestly, our biggest expense is the property tax on the farm itself.
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Local shows used to be great for riders who were going to do 3’ or lower. A good friend/judge, who had his turn at the low-low hunter ring at a “big” show, was there all day for one class & said it was challenging to come up with a rank. Regarding making money for shows, The Gold Cup & The Invitational are not run in the red & they don’t cater to beginners.
Adult Amateur Hunters in Ocala. Why?
Why not? My mom will be 70 this year and is showing at WEC next month in the 2’6, she HOPES to be able to show the 3’ adults this year. She works hard year round and looks forward to the month they spend in Ocala, as this will be her second year going. Should she not be allowed to go because YOU don’t deem her division worthy of running? She used to do the 3’6 stuff “back in the day”, but at her age shes not exactly getting back into those big divisions. Betty Oare is even older and showing in the Adult Amateurs these days, and yes, she shows in Florida too, as she has every right too.
No need to rain on anyone’s parade, Most of us want to see MORE accessibility in the horse world, and that means divisions for all at the top levels, as well as supporting local shows and programs. People like my mom do both. I just want to see everyone enjoying horses at whatever level they can, and if someone is doing crossrails at WEC, that in no way makes MY work and accomplishments any less while I freeze up here 
.
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Wow! My comment was a response to: An Adult Amateur Hunter rider in Ocala, who referred to that experience as the “Check book Olympics”. Why? I was interested in whether they were there to compete or to have a pleasant vacation with their horse. Either reason doesn’t seem like an opportunity to complain, since you are either having a great vacation or you are adding value to your competitive horse. Both circumstances support the horse show.
Your comment was intentionally vague and purposefully misleading- I’m not sure if you intended to be disparaging but it definitely came across that way. Tone is very difficult to determine with the written word.
Your previous posts have also made it obvious you have a tendency to be snarky, so you get no benefit of the doubt from those who recognize your username.
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Again, just WOW!
I’m not sure how I’m supposed to read either of your most recent posts. You asked why, I gave a why that wasn’t “Checkbook Olympics”, and commented that your post sounded like you were looking down on people who were showing in the Adult Amateurs in Ocala. If that wasn’t the intent, please feel free to correct me. I’m not sure how “Adult Amateur Hunters in Ocala. Why?” is supposed to be construed as anything other than a judgement I don’t see why it matters if people are there to compete or to vacation.
Most people in my mom’s barn who are going are showing below 3’. If I had the money, my green horse would be going down there to show in the 2’6 because it’s fun. He will eventually be my 3’6 horse, but we aren’t there yet, I like to take him to shows for fun, not to point chase, so if we were to head south, it would be for the experience of it all. My horse is very fancy, so the only thing holding him back is MY bank account lol.
I just don’t see how people using the show as a “showcation” is much different than the people who go for the whole season. Yes, the money spent is vastly different, and I’m sure the lifestyle differences are notable, but, they are showing there. I don’t consider that a bad or good thing. It’s just how they choose to spend their money.
Anyway, I’m not looking for a fight, but I felt the need to explain why I said what I said,. I know a lot of people who access horses at many different levels, so long as they are kind to their horses and treat the people who help them kindly, I am all for it.
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Thanks for your reply. My answer was supposed to be posted under the “Olympic Check Book” comment. Despite my “snark”, we have lent horses to more than one A/A rider who was in a pinch and needed a horse at the last minute and we have done the same for the equitation division when the rider had an urgent horse issue. Excuse my directness which developed from long term experience with professionals who have been with very precise and succinct, and who are not prone to latitude in their profession.
Still no excuse to be judgmental. So are you snickering behind the backs of the AAs and Eq riders you loaned horses to?
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Really? Now I am thankful that our stable is private.
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Well aren’t you a peach!
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In the USEF world, for sure.
A friend sent me a link to this thread….it hit me so hard, I’m reviving an old thread AND making my first post since 2016. So how’s that? Since I sold my super mare and had my son, I took a break and then started riding again in 2020. I found a great hunter barn and started taking lessons from them. While the cost of full care / training wasn’t all that much more than what I was paying when I sold her in 2015, the cost of showing is now WAY more and the “show” barns want you to show/move up or move out. There are no “small local” shows to speak of, so the comment about shows now being a week, or most of one, at far away facilities in the sticks really hit home. Where did my 1 - 2 day fun B shows go where I could get the weekend done for around $500? And just go with the assistant trainer and groom myself? Why are my choices now bare bones boarding with no support even if I wanted to pay for it, or this “trainer baby” thing?
I learned SO SO MUCH from this group, and my success before I had my son was hard won and I was so proud. Because I DO have a job that pays me well, I can’t show all that much because I travel for work. But shows seem to essentially be a requirement now? And the only shows are 3-5 days and require a hotel? I can’t do it.
Sorry for the zombie thread. I’m horseless again and shouldn’t really purchase, because I can only ride 1-2x / week because of said job, so would need full care / training. But the barns that offer that require SUPER FULL care / training and make you be a trainer baby. What happened to the middle?
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This may be very geographic. There are lots of “local show” type barns and a thriving local show circuit in my part of NJ. In fact if I wanted to be at a really AA circuit type barn I’d have to drive farther in. In Atlanta there were also many local show type barns and local show circuits.
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I know this is darn old but this! I have 2 children one in college and another in high school. Until 4.5 years ago my family dual income made under 100k. So there was no savings no nothing, I managed to have a horse but lived in a low cost of living area and I did side things to help cover it, but I MAYBE did 1 or 2 events a year.
Fast forward to now, my husband and i make what to 5 year ago me would be sh!t load. however, I now live in a higher cost of living area, I’ve left eventing, and my choices for board, are full board, with required lessons and pro rides, OR a less than stellar boarding barn with no indoor. So now I’m paying $1600 s month in board, plus everything else and now I can afford to show drumroll please, one time a year. I’m in the top 9% of earners and I can afford to show once a year, and that ain’t in Florida.
My horse is by far the most expensive thing I’ve ever owned, he won’t get a piece of the hack, he probably won’t even place over fences unless I have a stellar ride, but he’s safe and fun so that’s ok, but he cost darn near 50k and the only reason he was that “affordable” was the fact he didn’t have one of his changes. And i understand I could do the jumpers and they don’t tend to be as pricey for the lower end, however I’m just not that person anymore I don’t want quirky and I have to pay, I got it.
If he is injured or god forbid dies I’ve decided that’s it, I’m done. I’m not the type who will enjoy just trail riding, I enjoy competing, so that part of my life will be over. If the pandemic taught me anything though there’s a lot more people out there with a crap ton more $ than I thought. So I think horses will remain, just not for the normal joe.
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While I’ll start with a disclaimer that I know things can be different in other parts of the country, the quotes above could’ve been written by me, and I’m in a completely different discipline, showing Paints and QHs. If I want to show, it’s either do 4-5 days in state, a few times a year, or ship my horse 500 to 1,000 miles away and be gone for 10 days. I don’t own an RV, so either way that’s a lot of hotel rooms.
Our state association says the former 2-day, weekend shows weren’t profitable. They need to lure competitors from neighboring states in order to make money, and the way our shows work, the longer shows are a bigger draw because more classes + more judges = more potential points people can earn. Yet as a competitor, those very same reasons end up making the longer shows very expensive.
I love my horse and I love showing. But I’m not sure how much longer I can justify spending so much money doing this.
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sorry I had one more thing, WEF and WEC and HITS Ocala, are not hurting for entries. So really what this shows us is they don’t need me. They really don’t care. As far as they’re concerned it’s not a problem that needs to be solved.
So we can gnash at the teeth, but unless their pricing model starts actually making people leave, it won’t change.
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Atlanta is doing something right. Not that boarding there is cheap, but if you’re in GA or even SC or AL, the local circuits are worth it.
Wills Park has expanded and has more fabulous rings, and the barns are next on the list. They do run some As, but most are C shows and some Bs that run Friday-Sunday. Several C circuits are sold out almost immediately, to the point where trainers are sitting with a laptop in the ring teaching lessons while they wait for entries to open.
With Poplar running things again, Chatt Hills, and GIHP, there’s a local show or two almost every weekend. And the C show year end rankings are COMPETITIVE. Clearly something is working, at least for the under 3’6” crowd. Getting a good local circuit off the ground takes a lot of work, but people want these types of shows. Even in a place where Ocala, Aiken, and Tryon are easily accessible.
That doesn’t change the costs of horse ownership skyrocketing, though. We make more money now than I thought I’d know what to do with, but it barely covers expenses. $300k is the new $100k, I’m told.
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