Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
Way back in 2012 I made a New Year's resolution to keep better track of how much I was spending on my horses. It wasn't that I was being cavalier with my money, but I had discovered that dressage was far more expensive than competing in the endurance world. In order to show and take lessons, I needed to revise my personal budget to allow for the increase in equine expenses. To keep myself truly accountable, I launched the Horses Are Expensive series of posts. Each month I tracked my equine expenses to the penny, and then I publicly shared it. While it was tedious and time consuming to accurately track each expenditure, it was so worth it. I learned a lot about need versus want during that year, and as a consequence, I was able to develop better financial discipline.
I felt the effects in the rest of my life as well. I found that I was more patient while waiting for the non-material things that I wanted, like getting a good canter departure, earning an award, or qualifying for a championship. That resolve probably helped me last year as I waited for Izzy's leg to heal. I am finding that today, in 2016, I might have learned the lesson too well. Sometimes I show too much restraint. That's why I allowed myself to buy a new car. I've been trying to teach myself that it's okay to indulge a little here and there. After all, I don't want to be a miser, unhappily sitting on a pile of gold. With that, I've decided to revise the Horses Are Expensive series and am hard at work on Season 2. Like before, I'll share every expense related to the maintenance and upkeep of my two horses, including the bills I accumulate for showing and training. Look for Episode 1 at the beginning of February.
jenj
1/24/2016 11:51:56 am
I will studiously be ignoring these posts as I just figured out how much it costs to go to ONE USDF show and really don't want to know how much the rest of it costs. Ignorance is bliss! :D 1/24/2016 05:43:44 pm
LOL - that's okay. Some people REALLY don't want to know! :0) 1/24/2016 05:46:33 pm
I use Quicken which makes it SUPER easy to keep track. Even so, it's painful to see how much of our incomes go toward a hobby. If tracking money is easy enough for you to do, it is quite eye opening how much we spend. Of course, since I ONLY use my truck for the horses, I count its upkeep in the total cost of things. Like this month, I had to get new brake pads and rotors. I spent more than a third of my horse money for that expense alone! Comments are closed.
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About the Writer and RiderI am a lifelong rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010. Welcome to my dressage journey. About Speedy GSpeedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
About IzzyIzzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
National Rider AwardsState Rider Awards
State Horse Awards
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
TBD 2023 Completed … Pending 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Score 3: Archives
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