In my UMC area, it usually starts with riding lessons. My DD took a few but didn’t take a real interest in it. The path forward is explained from there, from what I can tell. One girl in our neighborhood really took to it and does tons of events, travels all around the country. I think the parents bought her her own horse (boards at the stables).

My cousins grew up in a rural area with horses and are very middle class- they did equestrian for awhile, and it was a very common thing in their area. Eventually they lost interest (as teens) and their parents were grateful for the cost savings LOL. Their parents still have horses. Most of the events they did were within driving distance.

No clue about the ultra wealthy equestrian types.

What a waste of money

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all!

How quickly would a family new to equestrian decide to buy their daughter a horse? Again, I don’t mean billionaires where it’s not even a big deal. More-so the more normal UMC and upper UMC families involved in the sport.

And up until you buy your daughter her horse, you’re just pay to lease a horse from your local stable? So several local girls are leasing and sharing the same horse?

You can do a full lease or partial lease depending on the barn and situation. Start with lessons. A number of barns have opportunities for lesson kids to show, but at a lower level. Not that I’m recommending per se but Morningside is structured that way. They do shows at their barn and are comparably affordable. IEA teams is another comparably affordable way to show.

Generally you see kids ride at least a couple years before leasing or purchasing.

We are 8 years in and show monthly. Locally but bigger than the barn hosted/beginner type shows. We only do a partial lease - former racehorse. I don’t plan on purchasing because it becomes challenging when the kid leaves for college. I’m also not sure I could afford the horse and all the shows plus have savings for a catastrophic vet bill.

We truly enjoy it, but finances do create a ceiling. That can be frustrating when your instagram is showing peers with their new $60k horse. The leased ex-racehorse can’t always compete with that despite the talent of a rider. It can be a bit pay to play, but as a parent it’s important to help them understand the limits. And that it’s for fun.

There are usually two paths into riding. (“Riding.” Not “equestrian.”)

The first is when your kid lingers over the ponies at the petting zoo, stalks local backyard barns on her bike, draws horses in the margins of her math tests, memorizes the Black Stallion and Marguerite Henry books, and eventually wears her non-horsey parents to a bleeding nub, so they finally sign her up for a week of riding camp in the hopes that all the dirt, sweat, and hard work will make her see sense. Instead, she drags her stiff, sore muscles into the car the first day, but cries even harder when her concerned mom suggests not going back. From there, she progresses to lesson kid, unpaid barn rat, working student, and crash test dummy. With increased parental funding, options include Pony Club, competing, leasing and/or ownership.

The second path is when a horsey parent has access to a saintly pony and can put their kid up as soon as they can walk. This is similar to how everyone in Minnesota can skate — it’s just something you do, because you’re going to be at the rink (or barn) anyway.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all!

How quickly would a family new to equestrian decide to buy their daughter a horse? Again, I don’t mean billionaires where it’s not even a big deal. More-so the more normal UMC and upper UMC families involved in the sport.

And up until you buy your daughter her horse, you’re just pay to lease a horse from your local stable? So several local girls are leasing and sharing the same horse?

Dear God, no. You call around your local barns for a lesson spot, buy your kid a helmet, boots and riding pants, and off she goes on the barn's own lesson horses. For years maybe. Or all her childhood. You don't need to lease or own your horse to ride. It's only if she's seriously into it that you can ask the barn manager for help in choosing a leased horse. If you have this in mind from the start, you can pick a barn that boards clients' horses and offers plenty of hack time.

This. You don’t get a horse the same way you get a dog or a cat, as a pet because your child loves them. Think of it more like getting a boat — you get one when you reach the point where you say to yourself “You know, the thing that would make this pursuit even more fun would be to do it while setting fire to $100 bills every afternoon.”

Kidding-not-kidding

Start with basic beginner up-down once a week lessons. You can roll along at that level for years at some barns. Others will tell you that if you want to compete and/or jump at a certain level, you have to ride more often, which often correlates to leasing. (Where yes, multiple riders can share the same horse by riding on separate days.)

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all!

How quickly would a family new to equestrian decide to buy their daughter a horse? Again, I don’t mean billionaires where it’s not even a big deal. More-so the more normal UMC and upper UMC families involved in the sport.

And up until you buy your daughter her horse, you’re just pay to lease a horse from your local stable? So several local girls are leasing and sharing the same horse?

Why are you thinking of buying a horse?! Firstly, for all you know your DD will get thrown once and refuse to ever get back on the horse. Secondly, why do you keep saying the FAMILY is new to this? Is the FAMILY all going to get horseback riding lessons? You're looking WAY into the future. Walk before you run.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all!

How quickly would a family new to equestrian decide to buy their daughter a horse? Again, I don’t mean billionaires where it’s not even a big deal. More-so the more normal UMC and upper UMC families involved in the sport.

And up until you buy your daughter her horse, you’re just pay to lease a horse from your local stable? So several local girls are leasing and sharing the same horse?

Dear God, no. You call around your local barns for a lesson spot, buy your kid a helmet, boots and riding pants, and off she goes on the barn's own lesson horses. For years maybe. Or all her childhood. You don't need to lease or own your horse to ride. It's only if she's seriously into it that you can ask the barn manager for help in choosing a leased horse. If you have this in mind from the start, you can pick a barn that boards clients' horses and offers plenty of hack time.

You seem to imply there's some sort of initiation by wealthy friends. No, there isn't.

Some barns are pretty affordable, actually - naturally they're further out, so you need to drive in traffic if your lesson is on a weekday afternoon.

The best barns have waiting lists. That's the only problem from your point of view, since money is no object.

PPs about costs are spot on. Both my kids started riding in kindergarten. Now it’s almost a second mortgage to keep up. But this is an easy choice for us because we (kids and parents) love it wholeheartedly.

Also - if you love it and aren’t rich, you can work yourself up in the horse world.
It’s not pretty, it’s hard as all get out, but you can do it with dedication. It’s one of the few sports where that can happen. Eventually you need backers with cash, but you can get to that point by hard work and talent.

I would spend as much time leasing as you can, having been in the equestrian world and dealing with the heartbreak of blown tendons, colic, undiagnosable back issues (ask me how much a full body MRI is for a horse), etc.

Just lease - until you know your kid is truly in it forever / long term. Horses are rarely appreciating assets and when they are, it takes years and a very large amount of risk to produce young ones.

Thanks all!

How quickly would a family new to equestrian decide to buy their daughter a horse? Again, I don’t mean billionaires where it’s not even a big deal. More-so the more normal UMC and upper UMC families involved in the sport.

And up until you buy your daughter her horse, you’re just pay to lease a horse from your local stable? So several local girls are leasing and sharing the same horse?

We mostly did only local shows and some in SoVA. The yearly cost was closer to $30-35k.

-Boarding $1100/month (or if you allowed your horse to be used by the facility for lessons with their other clients, $600/month)
-Turnout fee $100/month
-Ferrier ~$160 every 6-8 weeks
-Vet ~$300-500 if it was an on-site issue visit; ~$1000/year for all vaccinations/normal checkup stuff.
-Dentist ~$300-500/yr especially if sedation is needed
-Staff fee of $75 per hour per person each time a stable worker had to assist the ferrier, vet, dentist, groomer, etc.
-Tack is easily the second most expensive part, especially saddles even if purchased used or from consignment $3000-7000 a year
-Cleaning fee - the stable we boarded at required each stall to be cleaned daily. You could do it yourself or pay $75 per hour per person to have it done for you.
-$200-400/month on feed/supplements/treats. The stable we board at provides grain with our boarding.
-$50 normal grooming/trim; $250 for braiding before a show
-Transport - $70 per transport for the trailer (round trip), $1.50/mile if it was a stable-owned vehicle pulling the trailer
-Load fee if a stable worker had to help load the horse, usually $25 each time
-Lesson fee of $60/lesson or $90/lesson if you want a private
-Ring fee (some have this if you lease your horse instead of owning it; some bundle this in with the lesson fee)
-Show fees $300-1000 depending on the show
-Hotel/food costs while at shows

And there's more I'm forgetting but I have to run for a call at 3. Best way to participate in equestrian is through leasing a horse and simply taking lessons.

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?