show fees, non-refundable, how many times have you lost yours?

[keepersmom]

I’m looking at doing some shows with my new horse and was just adding up what it will cost, just in entry fee’s - not including travel, hotel, food, etc. Yikes! $500+/- and of course they aren’t refundable if (knock on wood) something happens to my horse so I am hesitant to enter anything.

My last horse seemed to have a crystal ball and would develop an abcess the day after my entry went in the mail. :eek: Luckily, we were able to get him sound before the shows, usually with extensive vet bills so we never had to forfeit our entry fees.

I’m just curious, how often does it really happen that people enter a show and end up not being able to ride? Has it happened to you? I would to hear from professional secretaries if it happens commonly.

Is the non-refundable fee something you take into consideration when deciding to show or not?

$500 is A LOT of money to me and it would be a bitter pill to swallow just to lose it, although I understand that shows do have obligations and have to pay for judges, etc, etc.

Does anyone know of any shows that do offer refunds if you have a valid vet excuse? If I were running a show, it seems to me that something like that would give my show an edge over other shows. Or what about just a credit for the things that don’t actually cost anything unless they are used, like stall fee’s for the following years show?

I haven’t shown in a few years so maybe I’m just out of touch and most people don’t even think about it. Just curious how others feel.

[ace]

Around here, sometimes schooling shows, local ag fairs etc are a little more flexible, but generally these days I think its the norm for show fees to be non-refundable.

[Halt_Near_X]

[QUOTE=keepersmom;8609232]
I’m just curious, how often does it really happen that people enter a show and end up not being able to ride? Has it happened to you? I would to hear from professional secretaries if it happens commonly.

Is the non-refundable fee something you take into consideration when deciding to show or not?[/QUOTE]

I had a year where I entered and ended up not being able to ride in something like 7-8 shows. By midsummer, it was a running joke in the barn–every time people saw my vet, they’d tell me to stop signing up for shows. If they were planning something on a weekend, they’d check with me to see if I had signed up for a show on that date–so they’d know if they were going to be stormed out or not.

In less unfortunate years, I’ve still had one or two shows I couldn’t make.

The cancellation fee has not been a consideration for me. I stick to schooling shows for a number of reasons. The managers around here tend to be very understanding and fair if competitors communicate. And even if they do cash the check, it’s only $50-65 lost, not hundreds.

It would be a consideration if I were showing rated shows, but I’m not sure that will ever happen again.

[heidicald]

I just was talking about this. Sadly I lost two show fees last year to the same venue. One was two days before and my father had died. The next was a few months later and of course a three legged land horse abcess popped up two days before show. It cost me about $800. I did get my office fees back but that was it. I do understand the show management’s policies but these were hard to swallow. Especially the one with my father.

[RedmondDressage]

Knock on wood, never… And I’ve only ever scratched for one class. My guy was on the verge of retirement and we achieved our best score of his career in our first ride. I decided that’s how I wanted us to go out so I scratched our Sunday ride

Now let’s hope that trend continues with my youngin!

[yaya]

I consider the show fees gone as soon as I write the check, whether I make it to the show or not. If I couldn’t afford to write the check in the first place, I wouldn’t do it, since with horses, $h!t happens, and every show is different and some will refund more than others. So if I consider it gone already, it’s a pleasant surprise if I get any back!

A previous horse seemed to know whenever I entered him, ripping off a shoe and a good bit of hoofwall just after the closing date every time! I had him 12 years, and made it to just two shows. Don’t want to know how many we entered/scratched!

Year before last, I had to scratch two horses from Regional Championships due to a cough in my barn that showed up the day before we were to leave (one of the entered horses was coughing, I was afraid the other would show up with it as soon as we got to the show). That was a bunch of $$$$ down the drain! I think all I got back from the show was $36 in USEF fees, but a very sweet friend brought the 10 bags of shavings I had ordered home for me, saving me $110. The show kept the rest.

[twinlights]

I lost show fees once. Not for a scratch either. My horse was in the ring, waiting for class to start (material class) another rider was thrown from her horse and injured. The show canceled the class and fees were not refunded.
Doesn’t seem fair from my point of view.
But, it states it in the prize list, so they can do it.
If you scratch, I can understand it more.

[atlatl]

[QUOTE=RedmondDressage;8609282]
Knock on wood, never… And I’ve only ever scratched for one class. My guy was on the verge of retirement and we achieved our best score of his career in our first ride. I decided that’s how I wanted us to go out so I scratched our Sunday ride

Now let’s hope that trend continues with my youngin![/QUOTE]

I’ve done the same; scratch on Sunday if Saturday does super well.

I think I’ve only missed one show, but the show manager had a different set up where they only collected a portion of fees before the show. I think all I lost was the stabling and office fees and not the class fees. I was under the impression that I would still owe them for the classes but after several attempts to get an amount due for the classes, they never charged me. I don’t know if that’s their normal process or if I just got lucky.

[crthunder]

I’ve lost probably $1000 in show fees for my horse finding a way to cause himself some injury that required just enough time off… At least a friend picked up the shavings for me. Now the rule is NO ONE says the word “show” in front of my horse… we refer to them as “field trips with friends” and knock on wood, we have made it to all of them!
Becky

[MysticOakRanch]

Yes, I have lost show fees :no: And once for Regional Championships - that one was painful. Emergency surgery (mine, not the horse), and there went over $500:( And I have scratched due to inhumane weather - I will not ride my horse in the afternoon when it is over 100 degrees. I’ve had heat illness, my horse doesn’t NEED to experience heat stroke.

One show had me scheduled to do a 2nd level ride at 3:30 and it was 110 out. Yes, that is 110 as in, hot enough to cook an egg on the sidewalk! I didn’t show up, and the show secretary called me in a huff, wanting to know where I was. This was before cell phones, so there was no way to reach them (I did try calling the barn) so I was a no-show. Didn’t gain any bonus points for being a no-show, but I also didn’t go to the hospital with another case of heat stroke!

So I do scratch when it is really hot and the show and warm up are outdoors - and I’ve lost a few entries that way.

I hate it, but also understand - the show has to pay the bills whether the riders come or not. Most shows will refund if you scratch BEFORE the closing date.

[goldenrow]

Too. Many.

I’ll bet I’ve lost a couple thousand $$$.

I’ve lost them due to lameness, illness, and bad weather creating unsafe travel conditions. I went years without doing a recognized show because I couldn’t afford the off-chance of not getting the experience desired for the horse. Instead I put my money into more clinics and schooling shows where I knew I had better chance at attending at least part of the event, or I’d get a few bucks back if they could fill the spot.

I understand where shows come from on this stance, but I sure would give them a lot more of my money if the risk wasn’t so high. I’d take more chances if I knew I could at least get a portion of my money back if it blizzards and I can’t get there.

Also, while we’re at it - I wish more shows still had a jump out fee and not require a full weekend stall fee for me to run over for a day. A local show here would get an extraordinary amount of money from me, but they require you to have a stall.

My horse stands tied to the trailer quite nicely while I run to the port-a-potty, thank you.

[Mardi]

Buyer beware: I lost show fees when show management transferred the refund owed to me to my trainer’s account because one his other clients still owed for stall and entry fees.

Background: my young mare had been entered well before the entry deadline,
but a slight lameness came up, so we decided to scratch the show. We were within the time allowed to scratch with a vet’s note and receive a refund of entries, fees, taxes, etc. so my vet wrote the required letter to management saying that the horse was not able to compete. When the check didn’t arrive, my trainer called the show manager -who is well known on the west coast and still in business- and was told my money had been transferred to the show account of another of his clients. This was done without my knowledge and permission.

Rather than risk the politics of going against this show manager, and to calm me down ASAP, my trainer quickly wrote me a check to cover the refund.

[JLR1]

It happens to me on a planned for regular occurance. I quite honestly don’t really enjoy showing, but feel I need to in order to remain “accountable” for my goals and to preserve/justify insurance values on my horse. That said, I will generally scratch a class on Sunday if I met my goals such as a qualifying score etc. on Saturday. If in the odd chance we get enough rain here in AZ to make arena conditions unsuitable I won’t risk it and happily scratch.

[J-Lu]

It only happened to me once (horse kicked her way out of a trailer and required significant stitches on a hind leg). The show office was sympathetic and refunded some, but not all, of the fees. I was quite happy with this. It is not uncommon for show management to substitute someone else on a wait list for an oversubscribed show, and sometimes they have made their money and are willing to refund some.

Otherwise, knock on wood, I haven’t had any problems. Knock on wood.

[Mukluk]

I was about to once as horse was lame night before the show but then was able to sub in Mr. Mukluk’s horse-who for being rusty as hell did OK (maybe this only worked out because the show organizer knew me).

[atr]

Yes, it has happened to me on several occasions. The most recent occurrence was last summer when I spent the day of the show hooked up to an IV with pneumonia.

I have got to the point where, as long as I’m reasonably sure the show won’t be over-subscribed, if I’m having a difficult summer, I’m inclined to pay the late entry fees rather than loose the whole shebang.

[Beentheredonethat]

It’s always a lot of money. The one time I didn’t make it was when I was starting my first full year at GP with my mare, and her colon went through her mesentery and she died after fighting for two weeks. The lost $400 entry fee was nothing compared to the $27 k vet bill and the loss of her and her foal–she was 21 days pregnant.

I didn’t get my money back from the show.

[Pipkin]

I just entered a couple of shows, and the very next day the pony comes in lame! Luckily one venue has carried the fees forward and the other has refunded me! Now I can just focus on getting pony better. I usually pay late entry too. Three weeks is too long to plan ahead with horses

Showing here is much cheaper because you don’t have to travel much - usually about £40 for entries and £15 for diesel.

People who have farms near large venues could make a fortune offering a B+B service for horses and riders!

[Mardi]

These stories make my stomach turn. There has to be a way of collecting fees, and protecting the exhibitor at the same time if unforeseen circumstances happen. It’s the exhibitors who are the engine of horse shows and they need and deserve some consideration.

Idea:
If you book a certain fare for an airline ticket and then cancel, the airline will hold your money - ALL of it - and give you a year to use it. What if shows did the same…hold your money as a credit for the next event. Many people show multiple times under the same show management during the show season, and owners would be more than likely to return again if they had a credit waiting for them.

Similar to the airlines with bargain fares (no refund, use it or lose it), shows could offer bargain show fees (no refund at all) as well as slightly higher show fees that would allow exhibitors to scratch if necessary, and have the show hold their money until next time. Use the credit within a year from the date of the scratched show, or forfeit it to show management. The exhibitor chooses which tier they want to pay: pay lower show fees, and risk losing it if you have to cancel. Pay higher fees, be assured that you won’t lose your money if you need to scratch the show.

This is another variation on the “scratch insurance” concept that’s been discussed before as a way of protecting exhibitors. As a consumer, they have already paid training, farrier, vet, boarding, association membership fees (as well as a penalty fee if they aren’t members and want to show). Everyone has a hand in the exhibitor’s pocket.

At some point the exhibitors should have the option of being protected. Fear of losing your show fees if you have to cancel should never be a reason not to compete, even though many of us feel that way. If we stay away because of management’s scratch policies, it’s not conducive to the health of the sport, and the shows’ growth and success.

Management always says “We don’t give refunds because we need the money to pay our expenses”. I say “Get more sponsors” to help cover your costs,
and protect your customers. They are your first priority; no exhibitors, no horse show.

[IndysMom]

It seems to me that the issue wasn’t would the show refund the fees, but that they applied her refund to someone else’s account via the trainer!! NO!