And if you like to do the jumpers, buying a jumper and keeping it in Europe and flying over for shows is now more economical than showing stateside plus the shows follow FEI rules which make them much more regulated than our shows. Crazy!
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OK I was thinking a non-horse trip (specifically, I just came back from Canyon Ranch which was dumb expensive, but apparently no more expensive than a horse show!) - but this is intriguing - do you have a link to share?
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When I last had a horse about 8 years ago, I kept it in Virginia and flew down from Boston to ride - it was cheaper than keeping a horse here and I probably spent less time commuting to the barn for a long weekend flying down than going back and forth every day up here!
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Why haven’t I thought of this yet 
I own a couple over there, and the shows are virtually free compared to here 
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Holy smokes some of these fees are ludicrous. For our closest Gold show the stalls are $225-275 per week. I think the most I’ve spent for a show is $1600 all in. And that’s CAD. However, no hotels are needed. We also don’t have several grooms and we do the set up/tear down ourselves.
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Not you specifically but for many people - because there will be 160 horses in your class and no micro divisions to make you more competitive, which is what US showing has become all about.
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I know a US trainer who keeps the shows around that cost + hauling I guess but no elaborate set up, no golf carts, sponsorships or grooms- she hauls, feeds twice a day and meets her riders at the ring to coach them, they do everything else themselves. She’s been picking up a lot of juniors this year from the crazy expensive barns. The kids are having a better time and learning a lot and the parents can afford to let them show for another year.
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Yes, which is a whole different conversation. There can only be one winner, which is what I was always taught. Ride better, be better, and reap the results. Doesn’t matter if there is 166 or 6, if you don’t ride well, you’re not going to win. Point blank.
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Totally accurate. The same mentality is in Britain. If the kids can’t ride well enough even in the “working hunter” they get nothing. I’ve not seen kids ride as well as I saw there since the early 90s 
. Their hands and their seat are textbook. And their ponies have no drugs or even perfect prep. Oh and their shows are literally 1/20th of the cost here 
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This is how I’ve done H/J shows with a trainer as an adult. On top of that I haul my own, and I do jumpers so there isn’t an “expectation” of doing a pro division early in the week. That means my horse doesn’t usually have to arrive until Wednesday or Thursday which cuts down on my personal hotel costs. So total cost is usually around $2000.
I’ve also done plenty of shows DIY with other adult ammies helping each other out or short weekend shows Friday - Sunday since my division often runs Sat/Sun.
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When you mention sponsorships, is that clients paying for sponsorships of a class or division at the show?
Looking at bills from the last year, my cost per a week ranged from $2800 to $3600 per a week.
Some notes:
-Brought or cooked my own food
-No braiding
-I commuted daily if show grounds was within a 1.5 hour drive each way
-No airfare, rental, or hotel costs
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These numbers are astounding. Back when I was showing the AA shows both as a young woman and later in life about 10 years ago, it was doable for a poorly paid journalist (back then) or less poorly paid (but by no means rich) novelist to compete without much of a financial strain. Both back whens the shows were populated with people like myself – not the uber rich, though there were always a few here and there (Marie Reynolds ie). Who’s showing now on the AA circuit? Is it only the uber rich or are people taking out loans and/or breaking into savings or going into debt?
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After just finishing my second UDJC show… I can say it’s a much more refreshing experience on the wallet end lol.
Genuinely I’m going to start promoting these shows as much as I can locally. Talking to David was so insightful, and his passion is infectious. Much needed. To me—and maybe this is an unpopular opinion—a lot of the weekly A/AA shows seem… pointless unless you’re a pro or a junior. Like it’s all kind of meaningless while still being absurdly expensive
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I do everything myself (hauling, grooming, etc) and I’m at about $2500/week for an “away” show. Close enough we can make two trips - one with the travel trailer and one with the horse.
It’s a TON of work. I clean my horses stall several times a day and handwalking is time consuming (but necessary, of course).
Between show weeks (we usually go for two in a row) I found a rehab facility that is pennies compared to keeping my horse at the show AND she gets turn out and salt water spa…
Overall, it’s an arm and a leg. And not getting any better.
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The minimum that a competitor needs to pay to get their horse into the show ring is in the order of magnitude of a few to several hundred dollars (not thousands): office fees, drug fees, entry fees, nomination fees, etc.
The amount that people are paying over and above that minimum are costs that are dependent on the circumstances and vary widely: grooming stalls, tack stalls, grooming fees, lodging, food, transportation, shipping, braiding, etc. None of these costs are mandatory from USEF’s standpoint. A lot of trainers require these expenses if you want to show with them. So these costs aren’t exactly voluntary, but they are also not mandated by show management or USEF.
The fact is that it costs a lot of money to keep a horse safe, healthy and comfortable away from home for an entire week. It is a huge undertaking. Week-long shows are extremely expensive and always have been relative to inflation.
There used to be more one-day and two-day shows to choose from. There were so many Unrated, B and C shows that people could show every weekend all season if they wanted to, without having to take time off from work or spend much money. Horses could be shipped in for the day; no need for a stable away from home with all the accoutrements. A young jumper could be brought along through 1.20, before needing to transition to bigger shows.
Unfortunately, these shows mostly died out due to lack of participants. People gravitated towards the week-long shows instead. Trainers have made their business model revolve around going to week-long shows.
These days, weekend-only shows with a robust lineup of classes/heights are few and far between. Hits Festival of the horse is one example, offering jumpers up to 1.20. The few weekend-only shows that still exist (that have class offerings a least somewhat on par with a week-long show) will need participants in order to keep going.
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I mean. Yes and no. Bolding is mine. Lodging, transport, and shipping for horse are mandatory by USEF for many people in the sense that a small percentage of the horse population lives within “commuting” distance of a rated show (thank you mileage rule). It is not feasible to ship home or drive home when you are at the edge of the 250 mile range, so you stable the horse and get a hotel. Braiding is standard practice for rated shows and I don’t think people want to spend the money to get to the show to have even the slightest chance of not placing to their potential because their horse wasn’t braided or was braided poorly. The merits of owners braiding their own horses was discussed in the Not Braiding for Hunters thread recently. IMO, as someone who DIYs it all, no chance of this rider braiding their own horse. There is too much else that needs done at the show and I have to sleep and eat and shower at some point.
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Ah, but my figures were to have a horse on the show grounds, before entering any classes, or braiding, or trainer’s fees, or… And apparently (this is a HITS show, after all), there exists a $1500 “barn fee” for horses to stable together. Don’t actually know about that one, but I believe it. Ridiculous.
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The small rated shows have died out because USEF (and USHJA) has too many board members who are invested in the week-long shows. Trainers like them because they can bring their whole barn and double-charge the clients, and the horse show owners like them because once they get a date, they’ve got a captive audience. Something’s rotten, and it isn’t in Denmark.
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