well in the United States it is estimated to have 23.8 million millionaire households, so I suspect there are people who can and will continue to take their horses to those shows
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I’m in the same area as you–those BEST shows at PG which also runs some of the biggest A shows, and McDonogh, Swan Lake which run local As and schooling series, are all close enough for me to ship in. And as an amateur without a trust fund showing in sub-3’ divisions, my money goes a whole lot farther, even doing my own shipping and grooming, doing the schooling shows at the same facilities, over the same fences on the same footing. I can be in and out for under $150.
Special shows, like doing sidesaddle at Upperville, are worth the splurge for me, but I can’t justify the costs regularly. I don’t think there are that many who really can, for years on end.
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It’s why I switched to dressage!
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I thought the saddlebred people were in the same boat we are on horse prices though? Seven figures for a really good one?
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I am trying to find a response. So clients are expected to subsidize their trainer’s advertising?! Has that always been a thing?!
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Only if you want the Top 3 in Louisville. I can buy a nice, young and inexperienced but safe gaited horse for 10K-25K and be in the ribbons at most shows if the rider doesn’t screw up.
An experienced horse can be found around 25k-50k. Kid safe horses are still pricier especially if they can w/t/c with an under 10 year old.
But yes, if I want to compete with the big names or get top 3, I would need 6 figures and if I wanted a Saturday nigh stake horse, I would be in the 7 figures.
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Wow!!! It always make me feel better, and worse, to hear how expensive all the disciplines can be.
Oh yes! If you’re “privileged enough” to ride with these top professionals you’re expected to pay for nearly every cost of doing business they have 
. Likely you’re also paying for their sales horses stalls, feed and bedding in your splits, and any other personal horses they own (derby horses, Grand Prix horses, etc). People get so numb to it all and imho most clients with top professionals never feel like they can ask or question anything because they’ll be asked to leave if they do. Sadly, I think this is why the drugs and so many other things continue because clients are just too nervous to ask because they don’t want to be kicked out or blacklisted by that top group of professionals. People joke about the cease and desist letters for commentary online about certain individuals, can you imagine if that individual’s client questioned him on something?
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If the clients pay for absolutely everything - horses, grooms, transportation, stables, entries, sponsorship, trainer accommodation and food - then how come professionals are all so “broke”?
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But I am thinking, a million doesn’t go too far these days. Even compared to ten years ago. You need several million, I think, to do this at a competitive level.
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North of 10MM net worth for sure. To truly afford it at the top levels with 2-3 A/O horses, I feel to afford it and also have a life separately from it (travel, any other hobbies, etc), you have to have 50 mil in cash. What they categorize as a “millionaire” is net worth too, including real estate, retirement, etc. The more accurate figure to look at is what percentage of Americans are making over 1MM a year. Less than .5 percent earn that in the US. And making less than a million a year I don’t know how you’d pay the bills comfortably tbh.
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Don’t they include your primary residence when calculating millionaire status too?
eta @Hunterammy2020 beat me to it.
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Exactly. You need to look at disposable income. One can be “house rich” and “cash poor”.
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This is what I do! I ride with an eventer and I am her only jumper rider, so there isn’t any show set up and grooms and splits and blah blah - nothing. I meet her at the show, whether I’m staying there or not, pay whatever coaching and travel fee she sets, and while that doesn’t do anything for the ridiculous show fees, it means that I’m not paying for stuff I don’t care about and that adds nothing to my ability to compete or enjoy myself. I take care of my two horses, haul them myself, and in general keep my costs as low as possible.
In the past (and probably in the future as my new-ish horse and I get more of a partnership developed), I’ve met a H/J trainer at shows and did exactly the same- they get my stalls tacked on to the end of their section, but I do all my own horse care and just meet the trainer at the ring. And, when it was just me and a single horse I often showed without a trainer- I had a friend to set jumps, hold my horse as needed, and keep me company, but I was at a point with my guy where I could be 100% DIY and still be competitive.
Everyone has different wants and needs, so I guess I am lucky in that I am able to be DIY to such a large extent. I cannot imagine paying thousands of dollars for all of that extra stuff! Even when I was a junior and in a big show barn, our grooms were there to take care of the horses and help our trainers, not hand me my horse ringside. We also had a very nice show stall set up but I don’t recall it adding a lot of extra dollars to our show fees. It’s bonkers to me how this system developed and became the norm.
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The tippy top stock may go 7 figures, but most don’t. There’s a really nice gelding that a friend bred whose sold for mid to low 6 figures a couple times. The last time it took a while to get him sold.
I would not be embarrassed taking my road pony to Louisville. I paid $7k for him a couple years ago. There’s a lot of nice horses out there for 5 figures. Most of the horses in my barn were less than $10K and are solid citizens. One gal just bought a nice 3 gaited/park horse for $20K who’s competitive in the Southeast. He may not win in Kentucky, but he’s not being shown in Kentucky.
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Around 2.13 million households in the US (or 1.62% of the total) reached this benchmark as of June 3, 2025
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Like I said the better measure is not net worth, it’s income. There’s less than .5% in the whole country making 1MM or more. And I’m betting not more than .25% of those people ride horses.
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Yes! Exactly!
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Yes. We are a millionaire household and there is no way we can afford that kind of showing. Most of it is tied up in real estate or investments for retirement.
I know people/couples who earn half to a million a year and not sure they could afford it either. They live in vhcol areas. The ones who ride are certainly not supporting multiple hunters and the kind of show schedule people here discuss. They may have one or two horses and show but they all have a goal they work towards like dressage medals or jumping around a GP but they aren’t showing every weekend just because.
I do have friends in Europe who work normal jobs that compete at a very high level though. The system here discourages talent.
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Can you share the details on this place? It sounds lovely!
