There is no way to put it gently and we all know the cold, hard facts; horses are expensive. With the economy still recovering and vet bills not getting any cheaper, owning a horse can take a toll on the wallet.
In addition to the monthly maintenance of vet bills and shoeing, showing a horse can cost even more with entry fees, stall fees, trainer fees and don’t even get started about all of the tack and millions of miscellaneous things needed. Often, many riders may forget that their parents are the ones paying for their passion of showing horses.
Because our parents are so dedicated, loving and selfless, they deserve endless gratitude from every one of their kids. Their thankless role can be as small as pinning on our number to as significant as paying the costly bills. Without them, very few, if any of us, would be able to pursue our passion in the horse industry.
Here is a list of five things our parents do for us that we are all commonly guilty of forgetting to thank them for.
Paying for expenses
Without our parents, we would not be able to show horses thanks to their financial support. They work countless hours to afford training, shows, vet bills, clothes, saddles and all the other costly elements that correspond with the equestrian lifestyle. Everyone knows the pretty penny of the cost of horses, but we tend to forget, especially when we are not the ones writing the checks. Our parents, as much as it may hurt to pull out the credit card, are willing to spend their hard-earned money for us to do what we love.
Planning for horse shows
Planning the show season can be stressful for our parents. They book hotel rooms, enter us in our classes, send in our stall checks, and close out the bills. Some of us may never have even entered our classes before thanks to our parents always staying ahead of the game. They stay organized and prepared which allows us to focus on practicing for a successful performance.
Help with the finishing touches
While most of our trainers do many final touches before we enter the arena, our parents do a lot during our preparation to walk to the arena. They make sure our hair has enough bobby pins, they remind us to reapply our lipstick, they clean our boots and saddles, they pin our numbers to our pads and jackets, they help tack our horses and the list goes on. Without this help, we would all likely show up to the arena late and messy, which we all know is the formula for a frustrated trainer.
Sacrificing their time
Equestrians can consistently be found either at the barn or at a show because riding is a 24/7 sport. Since it is so time-consuming, younger equestrians miss school while their parents sacrifice sick days at work to drive long distances for five day horse shows. They could be saving these vacation and sick days for when they are actually on vacation or are sick. Instead, they spend these days in a horse barn providing endless time and support for us.
Being our number one fans
Even if we miss our diagonal at the World Show or our horse misbehaves unexpectedly during our class at the Congress, our parents are always our number one fans. They push us to try our hardest, and they especially remind us to listen to our trainers. While they may feel our same frustration after blowing a class, they will always be standing right outside the gate for us because they know we tried our best and learned valuable lessons.
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Just like many kids do, we all argue with our parents from time-to-time, but we especially forget to express our gratitude towards them. Next time your mom fixes your hair and your dad tacks up your horse, thank them. They could be using this money to be relaxing on a beach, but instead, they are covered in dirt assisting us in every way they can. No one stands with more pride in a win picture than our boot wipers, our chauffeurs, our horse show secretaries, our number one supporters: our parents.
GoHorseShow writer, Emily Ambrose of Chardon, Ohio is a freshman at Kent State University. She trains under the guidance of Seth and Amber Clark from Pierpont, Ohio. Emily avidly shows her horses, Play For A Minute, known as Ralphie, who is a 12-year-old all arounder, and Super Yellow Doc, known as Doc, who is a 22-year-old ranch horse. Her love of showing has been strengthened with the support of all of her friends in the Quarter Horse community and will continue her passion through and following the completion of her college career.
