Hope You Like to Write Checks

I recently interviewed a young woman for my paper who won the RMQHA Outreach Program belt buckle this year.

The Outreach Program is sponsored by AQHA and is a way to compete, earn points and qualify for prizes in shows outside the AQHA circuit.

Barrel racing , team penning , judged trail riding, jumping and open shows are eligible if they meet the criteria.

Local clubs who sponsor regular competitions are able to offer this as a way to be involved in AQHA even if you don't have the big bucks needed to show in the bigger circuits.

The young woman I interviewed was high-point in pleasure, trail, western riding and western equitation.

She won a cool belt buckle and a jacket.

I pointed out it was probably time for her to quit taking the ribbons from the folks at her local club and start competing with the big boys.

Yes, yes, I can turn from reporter to horse trainer in a flash.

She sheepishly admitted it was her second year to take the all around buckle.

I asked her if she had any friends left.

Anyway, the conversation we then had is one I'd like to share.

This young woman spends some serious $$ to keep her horse in training. Her trainer wants her to get off her butt and get to the AQHA shows too.

She's not worried about losing, she's worried about the money.

"I'll have day fees (daily money paid to your trainer while at a show), stall fees, hauling fees (trainer hauls for her) and motel bills," she told me, "and then there's the show itself, class fees, judges fees and office fees."

"Just to show at the stock show would cost me $2500."

My initial thought was, why would you jump from an outreach program and go all the way to the stock show?

I mean, you can get beat at a one day, single judge show every bit as easily as at the stock show.

Some shows cost a bunch, some not so much. But I always figured $200 for a day show and I only had to pay myself.

But if she's in a trainers barn then she needs to pay him. Day fees are how he eats. Hauling fees are how he fuels his truck. It's the nature of the beast.

My own experience is different because I never showed as an amateur. When I finally do I won't be hooked to a trainer. I am a master at keeping my expenses down.

I'm hoping to get some input from you guys who show as amateurs. How do you keep your costs down?

What are the best ways to economize?

You all hear about how cheap I am at shows in my stories. I had to show on a shoe-string and so did my clients. We were the Clampetts of the horse show set let me tell you.

I lived in my trailer for one thing. No, I don't have living quarters. I have a 3 horse, rust and chipped gray stock type goose-neck.

I had a bed in the goose-neck part and a step ladder to get there.

My husband installed a battery which ran our lights and fans at night.

Kidlette and I slept in there. I always parked close to the bathrooms.

We would clean out the trailer and set up our saddle racks. This became our tack room and place to hang out when it rained (we covered the slats with tarps). A good padlock on the trailer door kept our stuff safe.

I had a Coleman Grill to cook on and plenty of food and drink in our coolers.

If I had a group with me we would stay in the $20-$30 dollar a night motels. We would split the cost of two rooms and feel like we were stylin'.

We ate out of our coolers and off the dollar menus. At every place we showed at I would save up for one night out at a restaurant.

I also saved money to go play tourist. We went to reptile farms, petting zoos, local carnivals, swimming pools, that kind of thing.

We had a great time too.

So that's how I saved money. Any other ideas?