At some shows they don’t mess with trainer conflicts and close the ring when they say they will. It’s totally wild how at those shows the trainers manage to make it on time. It’s almost like it isn’t a show management issue but a shows finally getting tired with trainers not being able to schedule themselves issue.
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Most definitely not, but you take it as you want. Also, reading comprehension, I was talking about someone else holding the ring eating their lunch, not my trainer. We show all winter in Wellington, where they don’t wait on anyone, with hunters and jumpers showing. You can’t have poor planning and run an operation at a show with over 15 horses, just doesn’t work. Trust me, I’ve been at smaller barns and ones larger than the one I’m at now. It’s not poor planning when there’s multiple trainers, that can be at different rings.
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Kathy is an amateur though isn’t she? And she owns that horse, it’s not a client horse. I think her rant is more to do with the fact that pros can no longer make up a horse in the pro divisions to sell because they don’t exist. Still not something the average person can afford to do (or buy)- but she’s not complaining that people no longer want to pay her to ride their horses.
ETA: some of the comments on that post are yeah, something else. Quite the disparity of views.
There were I think 3 horses in the high AO hunters at Tryon when I was there in June and maybe 10 in the classic, we were talking about how pointless it seems to spend the money to show in a division that small.
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So I did a price comparison for local A hunters vs jumpers for Hits Chicago.
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1.10 child/adults jumpers: 4 class division x $60 = $240, 1.10 classic = $200, office fee = $175, stall fee + shavings = $470 = total $1,085
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3.3ft A.O. Hunter: 5 class division = $275, 1 classic = $100, office fee = $175, stall fee + shavings = $470 braiding = $200 total = $1220
This doesn’t include day fee, trailering, or stall splits. If you do the child/adult jumpers you’ll show over 4 days. If you show hunters it’s 2 days. So pretty much no one is saving money in either discipline.
The whole system is pricing people out.
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WHEW that thread was something. Sorry that I don’t have the money to buy a 3’6" horse? My horse maxes out at 2’6"/2’9" and he’s perfect for me. Maybe I’ll move up, maybe I won’t. But the snobbery around 2’ and 2’6" divisions are really something.
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I love the credit card convenience fee. Um, participants are doing YOU a favor by paying by CC. It’s much easier for the show to deal with CCs than a ton of checks and heaven-forbid…cash. 
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I was at a horse trial a few years ago and they had posted all the bad checks from that season in the office window and I had a flashback to the 90s lol. I’m sure some big shows had dozens of bad checks back in the day they had to chase down.
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If the 4’ - excuse me, now the 3’9" - classes aren’t filling - it kinda begs the question…do you really need a 6 figure horse to do those divisions? You just need a horse that can get around to get a ribbon. I would love love love to see someone do it with a “cheap” thoroughbred.
I agree with the sentiment that we do not have enough professionals with the skills to develop a horse to 4’.
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I think the reason behind this is that the banks charge businesses to accept credit cards. Generally, the CC fee is what the bank charges. This is also why a lot of places won’t charge a fee if you use debit, since banks don’t charge for debit card use. Banks make SO MUCH MONEY with all of their stupid fees, which get passed on to all of us…
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Yup. In fact I’ll give two options for two different budgets–I’ve done both!
This year we’re doing a combination because the macro climate is terrifying, my work gives me a headache, and we reached a collective point of “fuck it” after it became apparent we were not going to finish our second floor renovations and continue to live out of boxes and fight over sharing a sink. Sometimes you just need to bite the bullet and take time + money for a moment of peace 
The two weeks of local A show option: Marquis Los Cabos. It’s adults only, and it’s quiet but with lively energy. You go because you want to enjoy relaxation with fresh watermelon juice and unlimited prosecco (or margaritas or whatever). Beach is stunning but not swimmable, but the pools are phenom. They have activities like yoga, beach volleyball, trivia, etc. and you can be as involved as you want or not at all. There are also pickleball and tennis courts! The staff are wonderful, and again–they will interact with you as much or as little as you want. We enjoyed the company and the engagement. My pro tip is to go in October because you’re beyond hurricane season but not at “we know what American tourists will pay to be here” season. Also be sure you do the stay 7 days/pay 5 days option–best price.
The two weeks of an out-of-town A show option: Grand Velas Boutique. It is the ducking White Lotus of Cabo with a Michelin starred restaurant on the property and honestly probably some of the best meals and cocktails I have ever had–and like, I travel a lot and eat a lot. I don’t give that praise lightly. Also adults only; very quiet. Even more than Marquis. The spa may make you never want to spa again because it’s so unattainably wonderful. We had our own concierge last year, and she was incredible. Humored my spouse for hours who is trying to become fluent in Spanish. Found an array of passion fruit desserts when I asked if there was anything passion fruit on the restaurants’ menus. Scheduled everything and even took care of an obnoxious back and forth with Delta that cropped up. Honestly having someone else sit on hold for an hour to rebook a flight was probably the best service I’ve ever received.
And again, if you’re looking at some of these prices and going, “oh my gosh, that’s so ridiculous,” I implore you to go look at your horse show bills or scroll up because lemme tell ya, it’s no more ridiculous than that.
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I also suspect that no one wants to jump the big jumps on a horse that has literally been drugged within an inch of their life - and it just wouldn’t do to not medicate, have the horse look alive over the bigger jumps and ruin its reputation of doing everything with its eyes closed.
Money has changed the sport in the last 5-ish years at an accelerating rate, but money and horses have always been bedfellows. IMO it is the pervasiveness of horse doping that is killing the hunters (which I believe stems from showing year round with no time to actually train the horse, but we could all come up with many factors).
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Totally agree. I also think back to the 90s when horse showing wasn’t “an industry”. The longest circuit was like Indio on the west coast which at the max was 6 weeks, 3 weeks on 2 off, 3 on. We didn’t show like people do now to “be competitive”. These mega circuits and the drugs have really killed the whole hunter sport. The horses have no breaks. I agree horses and money have always gone hand in hand, I just think the whole way horse shows have really become an industry has destroyed it all.
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Oh make no mistake… they’re also in the pocket of the show management. So the show managers that want longer shows with greater gains from concessions and such, that’s who is driving the bus. Not the puppets of USEF and USHJA.
It’s a revolving door of nonsense. Trainers that only pick certain shows bc their friends are going, so it’s a big party. Horse show managers that only care about the bottom line and not the welfare of the animals on the property. Barn owners that charge full board regardless of if the client is showing half the month and they have other horses in their stalls. It’s just such a different world now.
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As if Jimmy hasn’t been the recipient of gifts from hunter judges.
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Or given gifts to his friends when judging equitation finals
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Hey I’m not taking sides. The fact he’s calling it out that the hunters are dying is pretty damning. In a model, there’s no excuse for that variance in scores I agree though.
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OK. So trainers need to adapt to the changes. Horse shows aren’t what they used to be, so the business model needs to evolve.
We’re not going back to the days of “horse showing should start at 3-foot-six”, and blaming the majority block of under-3-foot exhibitors who subsidize the whole circus for “dumbing down” the sport is insulting and frankly stupid.
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I think there are many who have no business even jumping 3ft is the problem. A lot of “trainers” who make way more mistakes than A/O riders, as the German riding instructor calls them “horse show Nannies”. The 50 cash cow classes at the show for the show managers to allow these “trainers” to override and truly abuse these horses. As was mentioned in this thread on her post, show managers are not looking out for horse welfare, they’re looking out for their bottom line.
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I don’t disagree, those days are long gone. I was just pointing out that she’s not a trainer herself. The replies to that facebook post are full of anger and contempt on both sides though. I suspect the US horse show scene will look very different in a few years as the huge influx of post-covid money flows away elsewhere.
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