You get into it (w no prior history/experience) bc your child is obsessed w animals and horses and asks. Repeatedly. Until you finally give in.

Anonymous wrote:Your kid reads Black Beauty and then asks if they can go horse back riding, so you find a nearby stable and sign them up for lessons.

Yep. That, and other horse crazy girls in the social mix.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just find the closest stable to your house and sign your kid up for lessons. If they like it, you continue.

Can you break down the cost progression for a normal family with one daughter? I assume those initial lessons are not terribly expensive, but once they hook you, the costs can get pretty eye watering in a hurry?

Can't you look at a website? Surely the information will be there.

Anonymous wrote:Riding tends to be more UC than UMC, and tends to be something a family has done for generations. It’s regional as well — folks who live in Middleburg ride. It’s more common in TX and Kentucky than in MI or Maine.

If your kid wants to do it, sign her up for a summer camp to expose her to horses. And be aware that it is not a danger-free sport.

Many families in our extended social circle are more upper UMC with daughters into it. It seems like once an executive-lawyer-surgeon-entrepreneur reaches a certain level up the ladder, their daughters have to do it. It's a signal you've made it. All of your golfing partners at the country club have daughters who do it, you don't want your daughter left out or suggest you don't have the money for it.

Anonymous wrote:Just find the closest stable to your house and sign your kid up for lessons. If they like it, you continue.

Can you break down the cost progression for a normal family with one daughter? I assume those initial lessons are not terribly expensive, but once they hook you, the costs can get pretty eye watering in a hurry?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Riding tends to be more UC than UMC, and tends to be something a family has done for generations. It’s regional as well — folks who live in Middleburg ride. It’s more common in TX and Kentucky than in MI or Maine.

If your kid wants to do it, sign her up for a summer camp to expose her to horses. And be aware that it is not a danger-free sport.

I grew up middle class and both my brother and I were the absolute first in our families to take riding lessons for two years. We never bought anything other than our parents paying for lessons at a nearby stable. No boots, pants, helmet (!), etc.

We did this too. Rode through the local 4H.

Anonymous wrote:Riding tends to be more UC than UMC, and tends to be something a family has done for generations. It’s regional as well — folks who live in Middleburg ride. It’s more common in TX and Kentucky than in MI or Maine.

If your kid wants to do it, sign her up for a summer camp to expose her to horses. And be aware that it is not a danger-free sport.

I grew up middle class and both my brother and I were the absolute first in our families to take riding lessons for two years. We never bought anything other than our parents paying for lessons at a nearby stable. No boots, pants, helmet (!), etc.

Anonymous wrote:Riding tends to be more UC than UMC, and tends to be something a family has done for generations. It’s regional as well — folks who live in Middleburg ride. It’s more common in TX and Kentucky than in MI or Maine.

If your kid wants to do it, sign her up for a summer camp to expose her to horses. And be aware that it is not a danger-free sport.

Tons of UMC and UC families in Maryland and Virginia whose daughters are into it.

Are you asking because you want to enroll your child, or are you just curious, OP? If it’s the latter often children start with doing a summer camp. Or they express interest and parents look for lessons near their home. Sometimes they may have recommendations from friends or neighbors. It’s not uncommon to find kids who have a parent who did the sport. Sort of the same with a lot of less mainstream sports and activities.

If you are seeking advice on how to approach finding riding lessons that’s a different question.

Just find the closest stable to your house and sign your kid up for lessons. If they like it, you continue.

My MIL bought riding lessons as a Christmas gift for my daughters. Without asking us. At a facility 45 minutes from our house, and the only road to the location was Rt15, a 2-lane road that got terribly clogged both ways during rush hour.

Oldest DD hated it. She finished the lesson package and that was that. Youngest DD loved riding. We found a stable closer to our house and she switched to lessons there. We leased a horse in the beginning and eventually bought one.

Equestrian is very expensive. Stable lease, boarding fee, exercise fees, food fees, caretaking fees, transport fees, vet fee, ferrier fees, show fees, show dress fees, and at least at our stable, it was common practice for the parents of the girls going to a non-local show to cover the hotel of the coach, her meals while at the show, and also pay for her gas.

Riding tends to be more UC than UMC, and tends to be something a family has done for generations. It’s regional as well — folks who live in Middleburg ride. It’s more common in TX and Kentucky than in MI or Maine.

If your kid wants to do it, sign her up for a summer camp to expose her to horses. And be aware that it is not a danger-free sport.

Your kid reads Black Beauty and then asks if they can go horse back riding, so you find a nearby stable and sign them up for lessons.

My 6 year old wanted to do it, there was a nearby summer camp, so that seemed an easy way to see if she liked it. She did it for a few years and moved onto other things.

If you're white collar professional parents without prior horsing experience, great HHI, and you have an only child young daughter, how does entry into equestrian typically happen? Is it UMC and affluent parents in your social circle who encourage you; as in it's a whole "thing" in wealthier areas and social circles? It seems to draw many families without prior experience in the sport, so I'm curious how normal successful parents find their way into it.