in the UK its is VERY normal to drive in for the show and not stay overnight. i only stay overnight if its a 2/3 day show.
we have gone up to 3.5 hours each way in a day, but the horses and lorry live at my parents and my house is only 5mins away so not a great deal of commute to/from the yard!
we are lucky to have one of the top competition centres only 15mins away, and another 4/5 nice venues under 1.5hours. and if you go up to 2 hours we probably have 8/10 venues!
I trailered in once to a recognized show an hour and a half from my farm. Never again! It is MUCH easier to just get the stalls and stay for the weekend!!!
I would think of the horses being rested and relaxed in their new environment.
So one or 1-1/2 hours would be ideal. Or I’d fork out the money and stay, but with day rates, the fees get hiked anyway.
I remember I took my mare and foal to an inspection on the day. The baby was
tired and did not perform as well as the ones who had zoomed out of their stalls fresh and spunky.
05:30 - get up
06:15 - leave home
07:00 - hook up trailer at friend’s place
07:45 - arrive at barn and groom, braid & pack
08:45 - load horse & leave barn
09:00 - arrive at show grounds
09:45 - start warm-up
10:27 - ride
11:00 - horse back in trailer
11:15 - unload horse at home barn
12:30 - finish unpacking and yacking with barn friends
1:00 - drop off trailer at friend’s
2:00 - arrive home
2:05 - pass out on couch
3:15 - wake up and realize I’m still in stinky show clothes
3:30 - shower
4:00 - try and do something productive; end up crashing in front of TV
6:00 - think about watching test video… need wine
6:15 - throw something in microwave, uncork wine
7:00 - watch test video.
7:10 - drink lots more wine
8:00 - drunkenly text trainer and swear I’m never showing again
8:20 - find miracle supplement online that will turn horsey into FEI superstar
8:30 - look at show schedule and plan next outing
My trainer just texted me HER schedule for this weekend 
8:00 - arrive at barn and tell savannah “it’s okay, he will behave and nobody will get hurt. We will try to enjoy ourselves” and possibly quickly ride a horse or or two
9:30 - leave for horse show in hopes Phox didn’t destroy himself, savannah, the trailer, the towing vehicle, other horses or humans and/or is running lose like a wild mustang
9:40 - wishful thinking to arrive at show grounds to find savannah ready to show and Phox standing next to her neat and tidy, ready to go in the warm-up
10:00 - savannah will be ready to get on her hopefully well-behaved, not spooky horse
10:02 - pray that there are not too many horses in the warm-up and that the surrounding areas are secure and quiet so Phox won’t be finding excuses to behave like a toddler in the audience of an opera
10:05 - 10:27 warm up horse and calm down rider
10:27 - pray pray pray
10:34 - hopefully lots of applause from audience for well performed test, and not for the rider being so athletic that she managed not to dismount during an unscheduled freestyle performance
11:00 - leave show grounds
11:15 - arrive at barn and continue regular work schedule while thinking about Phox’s and Savannah’s performance today
8:00 - receive message from savannah that she will NEVER show again because it is too stressful with Phox even though he performed well and they got a good score, but he is just not 100% trustworthy and it is scary when not in home arena
8:30 - receive message correcting to “we are showing the next two weekends at El Sueno and Mission” because the fun and reward of a good score outweighs the fear, and defeat is for the weak
I think it’s all very interesting. A lot of the choice is obviously based on budget. And what choices are available to fit your budget, depends on location.
It plays into the many threads in the other forum categories about “where to move?” because for many people who want to show, there just aren’t options in many parts of the Country, unless you’re willing and able to spend more. Then there are places like CA where there are many shows within easy drive, but property costs and living expenses are generally higher.
In my own case, showing out of the Phoenix/Scottsdale area, the hotel rooms and weekend stalls and tack stalls are just part of the planning, and it really adds up. There’s just no way to accumulate the scores I’m trying to get and the shows I’m trying to experience, in AZ, by trailering in for one day and then heading home.
We have to go to Tucson several times a year. There are also shows in Flagstaff. And many “serious” dressage people will go to CA once or twice (or more), every season.
So it’s really the hotel and other peripheral costs that make it so expensive for me and I can see, reading through the thread that others are able to accumulate scores in the same categories as me, but without staying overnight, or driving 3 hours each way, to get to several shows.
Lots of variety in all of our experiences and our different goals.
I routinely haul in up to an hour and a half for schooling shows. My horses are at home, and it generally involves waking up about 5:30, rolling out about 6:00, arriving to a show at 7:30ish, and a first ride around 8:30.
My horse handles this quite well, but I wouldn’t haul that far for a rated show, just to keep her fresh. I’m ridiculously fortunate, however, to live six miles away from Michigan’s big dressage show series, and almost always haul in there. Actually, the last show I had one ride about 8:00 and one about 5:30, and I actually rode in the morning, hauled home, kicked her out for the day with a sleezy on, and then hauled back for my afternoon ride 
I’d haul back and forth up to about an hour, for a weekend show. I’d haul two hours for a one-day show, but if it was a weekend show, I would stay over at least one night rather than hauling back home each day.
For our first few shows, I’ll probably get a stall just to give my horse the experience and time to get used to the show grounds, even if it’s 15 minutes from home.
I drive in the night before to set up and school and then I actually drive back home. 2 of my show grounds are 45 minutes - 1 hour away so it’s not bad and it actually saves time in the AM since I don’t have to drive to the barn, load, and head to the show to then unload especially since I often have 8am ride times.
I would not drive if I would have to wake up earlier than 4 am to do so. And my horse needs a good long warm up too. I also wouldn’t want my horse to be traveling day of show for more than an hour. So unless close, I would likely prior to show day.
For a two or three day show I will travel up to five hours to get there the day before to school lightly that evening. I like to give the horse at least an hour to recover/snack/drink in the stall before warm up school.
For a one day or schooling show I will travel up to two hours if I don’t have to get up earlier than 4:30 am, and if I don’t have students to coach. Hauling two hours, riding two tests and coaching four more…followed by packing driving home late: YUCK.
If the hotel costs are killing you, consider making your trailer into a luxury camping condo with cot or inflatable mattress, indoor/outdoor rug, cooler, battery operated lights…In the horse part. My trailer has screens on all windows and a fan, so I don’t have to worry about mosquitoes. Learn from the eventers…it can really work well. So can sharing rooms with folks. I’ve roomed with three or four several years ago and it came to $50/person for the whole week end.
I also bring food and don’t splurge on prepared junk food at shows, I’m very happy with apples and good sharp cheddar cheese, yogurt and fruit, home made pasta salad, string cheese, humas or peanut butter and crackers…I bring it all from home.
I show a fair amount and try to keep each show within about 2 hours of the barn. My house is about 45 minutes from the barn and by the time you add on the braiding, loading, waking up, etc. it’s almost always a really early start.
That said, I will go to one show on Saturday and then another show at a completely separate venue on Sunday, hauling in both times. My horse is a dream on the trailer and my truck is comfy so I don’t mind the drive. Plus, after 6 or so haul in shows so far this season, plus a dozen or so trips to trainers, etc., my horse and I have a bit of a routine to keep it all smooth and stress free. And it helps if he likes it … and he really seems to love travelling to new places.
I don’t show much in part due to the cost. I live on an island, so in order to show I have to pay the cost of the ferry on top of the rest of the fees, and unless the show is very close you have to get a hotel etc because of the ferry schedule…
Sorry about the chain posts … I have an excel sheet that calculates the time I need to get up based on my ride times, distance to the show, etc. (I got sick of doing the math in my head). My timing usually looks something like this …
Wake up and eat something/get ready in barn clothes - 55 mins
Drive to the barn including stopping for drinks and food - 55 mins
Hook up trailer, set up braiding stuff, and get horse - 15 mins
Bath and braid - 1 hour
Let horse eat and relax - 30 mins
Load tack into trailer - included while horse eats
Load horse into trailer and do safety check - 10 mins
Drive to show - anywhere from 20 minutes to 2.5 hours
Arrive at show and feed horse if its was a long drive (>1.5 hour) - 30 mins
Check-in, relax, get a bite to eat, and put on show clothes - included while horse eats
Unload horse, stretch and groom - 15 minutes
Tack up horse - 15 minutes
Mount up and go to warm up - 40 minutes
On deck - 10 minutes prior to class
The worst I ever had was a show where my first class was 8 something in the morning. I had to get up a 3 something. The show was only 20 minutes from the barn. To top it off, I had the flu and had to scratch for the second day of the show.
Sorry about the chain posts … I have an excel sheet that calculates the time I need to get up based on my ride times, distance to the show, etc. (I got sick of doing the math in my head). My timing usually looks something like this …
Wake up and eat something/get ready in barn clothes - 55 mins
Drive to the barn including stopping for drinks and food - 55 mins
Hook up trailer, set up braiding stuff, and get horse - 15 mins
Bath and braid - 1 hour
Let horse eat and relax - 30 mins
Load tack into trailer - included while horse eats
Load horse into trailer and do safety check - 10 mins
Drive to show - anywhere from 20 minutes to 2.5 hours
Arrive at show and feed horse if its was a long drive (>1.5 hour) - 30 mins
Check-in, relax, get a bite to eat, and put on show clothes - included while horse eats
Unload horse, stretch and groom - 15 minutes
Tack up horse - 15 minutes
Mount up and go to warm up - 40 minutes
On deck - 10 minutes prior to class
The worst I ever had was a show where my first class was 8 something in the morning. I had to get up a 3 something. The show was only 20 minutes from the barn. To top it off, I had the flu and had to scratch for the second day of the show.
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