Wednesday, February 2, 2011
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Monday, January 31, 2011
The High Cost of Horse Trials
(Our first post on The Starting Box .... thanks Carrie for sending us your thoughts! That's what this page is all about! ~ ed)
Posted 1-31-2011
OK, I'm probably just being a crotchety "old-timer", but here it goes:
I was surprised to read the side bar list of events that were cancelled. Well, the economy hasn't actually recovered for the majority of people. Many are still faced with uncertainty concerning jobs and finances. Discretionary spending is where most people budget their horse hobby, so, of course, people are probably being much more careful in evaluating what they want to do vs. what they need to do. And for most of us, taking our horses to competitions is a want more than a need.
Just yesterday a friend and I were discussing the cost of eventing nowadays. We both did the bulk of our upper level events (I, Prelim, he, to Intermediate) during the 90's. Boy, am I glad I did what I did when I did it. I've always been a shoestring competitor, only going to 3 or 4 competitions a year. I purchased a new horse almost 4 years ago with the plan of trail riding, hunting and - whenever I got around to it - some events. I rejoined the USEA. The economy started tanking (thankfully, I have stayed gainfully employed). I thought maybe there will be a resurgence of affordable one day horse trials. Great!
Posted 1-31-2011
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| Carrie and Dean (submitted photo - thanks Carrie) |
I was surprised to read the side bar list of events that were cancelled. Well, the economy hasn't actually recovered for the majority of people. Many are still faced with uncertainty concerning jobs and finances. Discretionary spending is where most people budget their horse hobby, so, of course, people are probably being much more careful in evaluating what they want to do vs. what they need to do. And for most of us, taking our horses to competitions is a want more than a need.
Just yesterday a friend and I were discussing the cost of eventing nowadays. We both did the bulk of our upper level events (I, Prelim, he, to Intermediate) during the 90's. Boy, am I glad I did what I did when I did it. I've always been a shoestring competitor, only going to 3 or 4 competitions a year. I purchased a new horse almost 4 years ago with the plan of trail riding, hunting and - whenever I got around to it - some events. I rejoined the USEA. The economy started tanking (thankfully, I have stayed gainfully employed). I thought maybe there will be a resurgence of affordable one day horse trials. Great!
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