I’ll just repeat what everyone else has said. It is all so EXPENSIVE!
ut want to start with - it is HARD to make much running a show. USEF and USDF paperwork requirements keep getting more and more complex, so you don’t see volunteers managing shows anymore - they are all paid show managers who specialize in running shows and can handle all the paperwork. So - start with office fees - which PAY the show manager. 20 years ago, a volunteer from a GMO would happily run a show - it was not a big deal. So now we have paid show managers.
Then - the show has to pay a TD and an EMT for the show. Plus the judge. Plus travel, hotel, meals for those three professionals. Hotel and travel costs have gone up - the actual pay to the Judge, EMT, and TD have remained pretty stable. But the travel costs are often MORE then the other costs anyway.
Then there is facility rental/use costs. This is why most shows now charge a Haul In fee - it has nothing to do with competitors misusing the facility, and everything to do with just PAYING for the facility. Stabling is a big profit center, so for those who don’t stable, a haul-in fee is just a way to get a bit of money from us to pay for the facility use.
So having said all that… Showing is freaking expensive! 10 and 20 years ago, class fees were about $40 to $45 around here. Now they are $55 to $65. Only the BIG shows charged office or haul-in fees. Usually $25 each. Now those same fees are about $30 to $35 each, and more of the smaller shows are starting to charge fees. Stabling is now $150 to $200 for a stall for the weekend - and double that if you want a tack room.
The USEF fees have increased too - we pay an extra $3 in California, and it is a total of $24 for drug and related fees! On top of haul in or stabling, office fee, and entry fees.
I use to be able to do 2 classes at a small one-day show for about $106. Now it is about $159 - IF I can find a small show. More likely, it is going to be a bigger show, and cost me $219 - and that is without a stall. I’m paying more primarily because everyone is paid - the show manager, , show secretary, the head scorer, the arena groomer, etc.
Then membership costs have increased. AND if you have to get a hotel yourself, all of that is more expensive now. I don’t think show fees have really outpaced inflation in general, but I think all the other costs of dressage have gotten out of hand, and there are fewer and fewer small volunteer staffed shows with lower costs for people to participate in, and the bigger shows ARE more expensive…
Having said all that - I seriously think the BIGGEST increase in cost is in the quality of horse needed to really be competitive, AND the cost of training. 20 years ago, I could be competitive on my backyard horse, taking a lesson every week or two. I didn’t need a fancy imported Warmblood, and a full time trainer to keep my horse tuned up. Now - if I want to be competitive, especially in some of the big dressage areas (I am in California), I need fancy, which means expensive. I need a trainer - and that is more then a house payment! So many of the grass roots, working class, non-1% riders are re-evaluating their priorities. Some are finding ways to buy the fancy horse and keep it in training, but many are moving to schooling shows, or Western Dressage, or just writing off the show ring entirely. The increased importance of big gaits has meant fewer grass roots people feel they can be competitive. That is MY take on it, imho.