Tipping at shows?

[SugarCubes]

Friends and I were a little confused and had differing opinions at the last show in regards to tipping our “groom”, so now I’m wondering what is common practice? At my previous barn, we had a groom at every show who fed, cleaned stalls, bathed, wrapped, lunged, etc. We were all charged a fee for the groom, on top of a day care fee. I would generally tip the groom each show as well.

New barn is more confusing…we don’t have a “groom”, but instead our assistant trainer feeds and cleans stalls. We are all on our own as far as bathing, wrapping, lunging, etc. We are charged a set day care fee which is higher than my previous barn. So…do we tip the assistant trainer?

[Training_Cupid]

If she’s truly an assistant trainer (in practice not just title) I would say no tipping necessary. I would just make sure to say thank you, and offer to pick up her lunch or coffee if it’s not already arranged.

[riverinthewoods]

I think it’s definitely something that will differ from barn to barn. I’m sure the groom or assistant trainer already get a salary. If the assistant trainer is just feeding and doing stalls, then I don’t think a cash tip is necessary but maybe a gesture like buying them lunch or coffee is appropriate. A groom can go the same way but often they are not paid as much, so a tip is appropriate.

I ‘freelance’ groom on occasion. I have some contacts through a local well-known tack shop I used to work for and have groomed a few times at HITS Saugerties for a couple trainers/clients. Usually only two horses but I do pretty much everything but ride the horses. Feed, clean, bathe, groom, cool down, walk to show rings, etc. etc. Early mornings and late nights! I work HARD but have a specific day rate and require housing and meals to be covered. I haven’t been tipped and a lot of the times it’s just been the trainer there riding client horses but when I did work for one child hunter client, her family took me out to dinner all of the nights I was there and went out of their way to make sure I was hydrated, fed, etc. throughout the show days. That was definitely appreciated because although I try to bring snacks and what not, I often don’t even have time to think about that stuff during a busy day.

[MHM]

This is a little bit of a tangent, but I just saw this article the other day, which seemed to bring up some good points.

https://horsenetwork.com/2016/10/10-low-budget-tips-create-happier-grooms/

[HJdaydream]

When I was at a full care barn that had grooms at home and at shows (like you described as your prior situation) it was expected that clients tip the groom approx $10-15 a day (usually 5 day shows, so that rate times 5). I also tipped them occasionally at home ($5 here, $10 there, more if I asked for something extra such as icing/poulticing etc after a hard ride).

Now I am in a smaller program that doesn’t have a dedicated home groom, or at shows. Trainer feeds and cleans stalls, but I also plan to help as much as possible and will be doing my own lunging, wrapping, etc. Other then food/coffee and maybe a small thank you (like baked goods) I probably wouldn’t tip ontop of the set day fee (which includes basic care as described and the coaching portion for the show).

In your case with the assistant trainer, I would likely not tip in a cash value kind of way, but also make sure she knows you appreciate her help in other ways. I also would of course ask other clients what they do, just to make sure.

[SugarCubes]

Thanks, all! I think you’ve helped clear up some confusion on our end

I personally felt that I did not need to tip, but I did bring coffee and donuts one morning and profusely thanked her for her help and hard work. HJdaydream, our situations sound extremely similar as far as past barn versus current barn. I actually kind of like how this new barn does things, it gives me more one on one time with my horse which I appreciate since he lives at home normally. It kind of throws me for a loop when a groom is doing everything that I’m used to doing myself at home!