It’s not just about buying the horse, but in coming up with the funds to pursue FEI level competition. For many people, they can’t do it without sponsors, generous owners, or a barn full of clients to train, or some other source of income.
I’ve met Sara and think she’s a nice person. I heard first hand how she found Polaris, so I don’t know where people got the idea someone else brought him up the levels.
I’ve seen just as many (if not more) riders screw owners as owners screw riders. It is all about communication, having clear agreements and clear expectations. Many relationships do well and are long term. Others are not. Hopefully Sara can raise the funds. It sounds like she should have syndicated this horse a while ago. Hopefully it works out.
Does anyone know how exactly these GoFundMe campaigns function if/when the money is actually raised? Hypothetically, if I put in $50 of the $50,000 goal, do I now own 0.1% of the horse with the right to a 0.1% vote on future decisions, or are these riders asking purely for charity?
I’ve been thinking of playing the violin on the corner here with the case open for donations.
I don’t know if I would be a terrible violinist or not. I’ve never tried! 
These days I’m trying to work out a business plan with local business managers to have a “spare change” fund for panhandlers so they can get bus fare home, or at least a cup of coffee from the neighborhood Starbucks.
GoFundMe for an UL horse?
It’s all relative.
One of the ways I think we fail our young professionals is that there’s no clear way in the sport to learn business savvy, or any of the basics of standard professionalism. Some get encouraged to go to business school etc, but I would love it if USEF put together some online courses to help teach this material, or at least enough of a start so that young riders with professional stars in their eyes can learn enough to know how much there is to learn beyond a half-halt.
What you’re talking about is a form of syndication, and she could have done that, but is not. She’s looking for money to pay off the loans she already used to buy him: “The most important thing is that Larry is now safe in my barn but my only chance of keeping him there is to raise as much as possible to pay back the short term emergency loans.”
Well then let’s set you up with a GoFundMe for a Stradivarius.
:lol:
Sorry but this is somebody appealing for funds to save a failing business. ULRs are in the BUSINESS of training and riding horses. If they cannot do that effectively they fail, and so they should.
https://twitter.com/HoyEventing/status/1014239139544395780/photo/1
Do “we” fail these young professionals? Is it an obligation of the industry to help? Should some of this be part of things like ICP - which is a challenge for young pros to participate in due to both time and money required. I am not arguing - just questioning.
I think that’s a great idea! And lack of this type of mentoring is a weakness in many fields outside of the equestrian world.
I agree and would add that they also need Marketing and PR mentoring and coaching as well. I’m a professional marketer and I just cringe at the inability of some of these riders to curate their social media pages and carefully craft public statements. They also need well designed collateral and websites to support them when they’re seeking investors.
Those of of us in the professional business world have an expectation of communication standards when engaging other professionals. It’s a real disconnect and frustrating sometimes dealing with professional riders, BOs, BMs, etc. who just don’t communicate well.
Honestly…you don’t learn crap in business school. BUT working a job with a good business person is really where you learn sound business practice. Most is super simple common sense. But if you only ever worked in a barn with someone with crappy business practice…you don’t learn anything (or you learn the wrong things). Most young riders are naive…they don’t realize that rider they idolize has a large trust fund that bought their farm or that they have other significant financial support. And all they want to focus on is their riding…often missing learning horsemanship and sound business practices.
Well, what panhandler would benefit from Starbucks if they are truly hungry? We work a lot with our local homeless shelter but they can mass purchase food at wholesale prices.
i can feel Sara’s pain. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea…and I will use the money we allocate to charity elsewhere…but I can’t blame her for having a First World Problem. I love my horses too and spend way too much on them to plead I am a saint! Best of luck to her.
The Sinead blog describes some of these issues as well including crippling debt in the name of aiming for the top and then being left holding the bag when it all goes away.
Poor choices, bad spending, no savings… but please buy me a $50k Horse (or the money to pay back the high interest loans on him)…after people have already spent $50k for the Horse to compete…
why would anyone facilitate this further. She can’t afford it clearly.
Depends on how you define failing.
It took Winston Churchill three times to get into Sandhurst…
Is it really incumbent on the community to teach the those with ULR aspirations what they need to know? Or should they seek out this knowledge? They know enough to seek out coaching and lessons. How can they not know that they need to sit down and develop a business plan? This is not too different from the 3 women and their drug testing. They are adults. These people need to work out what they need to succeed and develop a plan B or C.
If you are suggesting that this rider is a young, irresponsible waster ? You are probably correct.
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