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Not-So-Speedy Dressage

From Endurance to Dressage

Just Broke, Tack Whore, Or Gazillionaire?

12/11/2012

 
This post comes to you thanks to Sarah over at Eventing in Color. The photo below is a screen shot of her original blog post. Please check her blog out; she comes up with all kinds of interesting things to read.
Picture
Click to enlarge, or better yet, hop over to her site and read the whole thing!
Sarah's post was so interesting to me because I had the very same epiphany that she experienced, gee, I am no long a starving student, in my early thirties. And once realized, a whole new world was opened to me.

We're not wealthy people, me and hubby, but during my struggling student years, I would have said that people in my current socio-economic range were darn close to it. The apartment we shared in the early 90s was $370 a month, less than I pay for board! I know now that wealth is relative. The Romney's no doubt spend more on "board" than I make all year.

But back to the epiphany of my early 30s. I don't remember an actual date, of course, but little by little I started to realize that I could actually buy the things in the tack catalogs that I had for so long just earmarked for fun. I remember two particular purchases that stand out, and like Sarah's story, one of them involved blankets.

Endurance riders need a lot of different blankets: one for vet checks, a heavy one for cold nights, a mid-weight blanket for daytime standing around, a fleece cooler, something for rain, and so on. And if you compete on two horses at the same time like I did, you need two of everything. One winter, I decided that I wanted to buy both of my horses a really nice lightweight, waterproof, super warm blanket. 

Back then, the most common type of blanket was a wool-lined rug in that canvas duck fabric. They were heavy, awkward to pack, and relatively cheap. I hated the one I had, so I pulled out my Stateline catalog and placed the order for a new comfy, lightweight, winter blanket. For TWO! I knew I had arrived.

When I purchased my SECOND living quarters horse trailer, I knew that I was no longer just making ends meet. After all, which starving, broke student does that? They don't, which made me really recognize that I no longer needed to identify with that person. What a relief!

By admitting that I was no longer living one debt to the next, I officially joined the Tack Whore Club. Although I hate that moniker and wish there was a less consumeristic title that I could assign to this group of non-millionaires (the Dressage Curmudgeon uses the term Tack Nuns). I love that I can buy most anything that I want. The bummer is that I don't. Instead, I carefully and thoughtfully buy what I need.

In my comment to Sarah, I said, I am probably now officially a tack whore as I never purchase or even accept used tack. It's not because I feel too good to do so, rather I want to use what is exactly right: correctly fitting, designed for the function, long lasting, and maybe even good looking! 

I won't lie; not being a starving student who is always broke is a great thing. Having enough money to pay vet bills, show, and take lessons is awesome. Recognizing that I can do so is liberating. 

My version of Sarah's Spectrum of Equestrian Spending:
Picture
Are you on the Spectrum? - Click to enlarge.
Calm, Forward, Straight link
12/11/2012 11:19:26 am

How about <i>just plain broke dressage student</i>.

Ask me how I got that way - my horse gets the best and I get the rest! ;D

Karen
12/12/2012 07:53:58 am

I do get that! I haven't bought a pair of shoes for myself in a year! I need new clothes in a serious way, but I would rather spend my money on my hoses. To each is own, eh?

Val
12/12/2012 07:22:29 am

I might need a separate scale for NJ. I am far from a starving student, but I also pay more money to board one horse than you pay to board two! And I can tell from your pictures that your facility is much more upscale than mine, which is quite literally in someone's backyard (i.e. All of the horses except for mine get to run into the barn for supper.). Our property taxes are also so high that tack whoring does not seem like much of an option.

I ride in a used saddle and with a $100 bridle. I also mulled over an $80 surcingle for two years, before making the purchase. I guess that I must be closer to starving student that I would like to think!

Karen
12/12/2012 07:55:59 am

And I always think California is expensive! It sounds as though you have us beat in several areas.

Sarah link
12/14/2012 01:19:50 am

=) It sure is amazing to realize that your life situation has changed. Thanks for the re-post!

Karen
12/14/2012 10:13:05 pm

But why does it take so long to see it? I love sharing what others write, especially when it's universally true! :0)


Comments are closed.

    About the Writer and Rider

    ​I 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.
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    About Speedy G

    ​Speedy 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.
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    Izzy 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.
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  • Home
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