Reply to DD Expensive Taste-Horseback Riding, Figure Skating & Ski

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If is willing to muck stalls and help around the stable she might be able to reduce costs, but generally no.[/quote]

Not really. I mean sure, you can groom and braid and whatever but that won't get you a lot of riding time and certainly not showing. Unless your kid is super talented, she's not going to get a lot of catch rides. And if she were super talented you would already know.

Having "been there" on the child side, I would tell her your budget for horses, let her manage it, and be completely transparent about it. She should know exactly how much she can spend on horses and that not one more cent will be arriving. Go over it every month. Make sure she knows this is something she can happily pursue as an adult and that if she wants to, she should plan her career accordingly.

The other good thing about this situation is that horse showing is really fun but also pretty stupid, especially the junior stuff. The equitation finals are won every year by kids from the same 3-4 very expensive barns, on the same horses, and the riders who are really going someplace are only doing it as a lark because they're already in the grand prix ring and doing their summers in Europe. The good things about the sport all come from horsemanship, which is full of wonderful lessons and is MUCH less expensive.

The main job of your kid at a horse show should be to keep everything clean and organized and to have her horse be as healthy and happy as possible. She can do that with riding, or as a groom. If she can do that, she'll have real skills to carry forward. If she really loves it, she'll keep doing that even if she's disappointed that she can't be showing more or jumping higher or have her own horse. If she doesn't, she can let it drop away. [/quote]

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