So…what you are saying is my GoFundMe donation will also get me a spot in the owner’s tent at Fair Hill International? What? It won’t? …Yeah…that’s why it’s different.
She can have a GoFundMe if she wants, and I can choose to not donate.
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Think of it more like patronizing the arts than giving money to a business? You’re helping somebody do something awesome that’s never going to pay for itself but you might think is worth doing anyway.
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Every 501©3 on the planet.
Honestly I think most people being negative would do the same thing at the UL. The fact that most of us are not relavent does not give us an excuse to act like we wouldn’t try at all costs to keep an UL horse.
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I find it hard to believe that the majority of owners of UL event horses have any financial gain from doing so. Sure, there is prize money here and there and perks such as VIP tents and the like … but let’s be honest, I’d bet that less than 1% of horses make more money competing than the costs of attending said competitions and the care to keep them competitive at that level.
The (long-term) owners tend to be wealthy people with a significant amount of disposable income and an appreciation for the sport, much like patrons of the arts as somebody already said. The ones that think they’re going to be making money through event horse ownership aren’t likely to stay in the game long.
I’m not a huge fan of GFM’s in general, but I find it entirely plausible that friends/fans/supporters of Sara’s may well have encouraged her to set one up so that they would have an easy way to contribute to help her out. I don’t comprehend the degree of wadded panties it has apparently caused. You don’t think it a good cause? Don’t donate.
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That’s pretty much what happened. I was sorry to see it posted here, but who knows, maybe she got some donations from it!
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Donations to a 501©3 are tax deductible. Giving someone $500 on GFM to buy a horse is not.
I’d have to call my accountant, but someone getting $50,000 from GFM would need to find a way to pay taxes on that $50k, no? Another question that goes unanswered here.
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Not if it’s a gift. So no.
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GFM also gets a percentage
GFM’s payment processor does issue 1099ks (as they must by law) so the income is reportable. Up to you if it’s nontaxable but you’ll have to offset it on the return and it will still be there.
never mind GTM’s 10% cut.
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i thought most accountants were advising reporting and an offsetting deduction with an explanation to avoid questions later from the IRS when they tried to match the income. But that would still mean there was no tax due on the funds. Has that changed?
This!
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Not even Michael Jung is immune to the types of problems experienced by Sara and others. I clipped this from the COTH article in the sidebar:
“The eventing history books could have told a completely different story; in 2011, Jung nearly lost the ride on his top horse when his former owner decided to sell. Fortunately, the German Olympic Equestrian Association stepped in and purchased the majority share, allowing the exciting partnership to continue to grow. Is 47 percent of a horse a fair price to pay for world domination? We reckon so.”
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I do think that Michael Jung’s top horse (one likely to produce medals for the country’s team) is a lot more likely to be purchased by the Olympic federation, than a four star first timer who is a middle of the pack finisher. That’s just reality. Were the horse and rider in question German, I doubt the same purchase would have been made.
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Interesting that you can’t just say, yeah you’re right. It’s a problem that a lot of people have on many levels.
You have to turn it into something it’s not and create discord.
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Sara’s issue is absolutely VERY common. It is NOT a sign of a business going under AT ALL. It is a sign that she wants to keep a horse that she has developed for years…totally normal and understandable. Unless a rider is independently wealthy, they CANNOT afford to keep a horse at these levels on their own. Many riders have family money…far more than you think. But most who do not have independent wealth struggle to keep these horses. Especially at the beginning of their careers. I have no issue with Sara scrambling to try and keep this proven horse that she developed. Her alternative (if she cannot raise a syndicate or other ownership situation) to sell the horse is a very tough one. This issue is why there has been a rise in syndication…it is a good option for both riders and owners that want to support but not have all the burden. It isn’t for everyone and it certainly is NOT a way to make a profit. That said…,raising a syndicate isn’t easy nor is keeping one going…I know several that have fallen apart. The GFM was not set up for enough to be a long term solution. So clearly she is working on things and the GFM was just set up as an easy way for friends to help her in the short term if they wanted. Friends have been doing that for friends long before GFM and social media. I wish her luck. This is the hard aspect of this sport.
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I read it as “we should have a national federation who buys horses for riders so this doesn’t happen.” I don’t agree that riders at all levels have this issue. Michael’s issue was solved easily. Other competitors have other major owners who will step in when one falls down or who have four or five who will have a syndicate in short order. They are not dependent in the same way as a one-horse young rider.
she already raised the money to buy the horse, which is a lot more than most can do. She did that herself. Now, though, she wants cash to pay back the loans. She was able to save her own situation, the same thing as Michael Jung calling the Olympic federation and getting a check.
I see this as the same thing as doing a GFM to pay off student loans, except student loans are at least in theory something that leads to a career (though usually not.) somehow she was able to raise $50k and “save” the horse on her own, that part is already done. Now comes time to pay the debt and that’s what this is for.
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Is taking emergency loans the same as raising money? Why not fundraise? Why not syndicate? Why not offer something?
I’m not against GoFundMe, or this rider in particular, I am more interested that this is the new trend, that riders don’t have money, don’t have owners, don’t have sponsors so instead of going out and building new relationships, they turn to the public and ask for hand outs.
What happens if the horse is injured? What happens if she is injured? Do the riders plan on asking again to purchase another horse?
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My point is that your first inclination was to be negative and disagree to draw attention to yourself.
If you read the COTH articles, threads, and bits and pieces of news from various equestrian publications, you will see that pros of all levels have the same problems that Sara has.
Why not do it all??? Fundraising takes time. (And a GFM is a form of fundraising). Putting together a syndicate takes time…especially your first one. I’m absolutely sure the GFM is NOT the only thing she is doing. It was just something that could be done very quickly. The emergency loans were obviously just a quick band aide so she could explore other options…and give her options (especially when dealing with a partner…she has bought out the partner with the loans. Very common in lots of business ventures when partners no longer see eye to eye). And yes, she was lucky she could raise those which honestly is the sign of someone who has some business sense.
She may still have sell the horse but at least she is controlling the terms and no longer dealing with a difficult partner.
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For the naysayers, I think a big part of the issue is the call to ‘Save Polaris’ when really, there’s nothing from which Polaris needs to be saved.
The horse isn’t in jeopardy, his well-being isn’t threatened in any way, yet the rider is using the emotional language of crisis and rescue to generate funds for what in reality is a business proposition.
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