Last fall I was at a World Championship Hunter Rider show in the Pacific Northwest when a longtime amateur rider approached me and asked if there was anything we could do on a governance level to make the sport more affordable. Ellen and her husband are both physicians and fear that they are being priced out of participating. Ellen and her daughter, Olivia, have been competing at horse shows in the Northwest for as long as I can remember, but she says they can’t justify the massive expense that showing has become.
Her plea was not novel; it is one that has become much more prevalent in recent years. The costs of competing are rising at an alarming, unsustainable rate, and I think the entire horse community needs to think about the not-so-distant effect this will have on the sport as a whole.
How did we get here? What can we do? How are the migration patterns changing? What are the implications in diminishing the number of people who can afford to participate in the hunter/jumper scene? Tackling this problem is complex.
Rising Costs For Everyone
Good riding is just like anything else: It takes a lot of practice to get good at it. Training horses requires repetition, a lot of it. Showing and competing only gets better with experience. These fundamentals do not change. The more we practice in and out of the show ring, the better we do.
For most people, an obvious solution to getting more time in the ring is to lower their costs so that they can show more often. If we use up dollars on far-away shows, we will have to do less. If we practice near where we live, we will certainly reduce travel costs, shipping costs, hotel stays and the like. If going to a horse show means the rest of the family can do something else and still all get home for dinner, we’re really on to something.
The costs of goods and services have skyrocketed in all aspects of the world. In the horse industry, many clients don’t know of all the behind-the-scenes expenses that are associated with getting a horse ready for the show ring. Trainers often supply things like fly spray, shampoo, tack soap and all the things their clients expect. The costs really add up, and trainers can sometimes be frustrated with clients not realizing the costs.
Horse show organizers have the same problem with trainers often not having a realistic idea of the costs associated with putting on a show. As consumers, we all want fancier shows, more parties, nicer awards, live feed, huge scoreboard, etcetera. The list is endless. Particularly the footing can get outrageously expensive. State of the art “ebb and flow” arenas can cost more than half a million dollars, and trainers are wanting to see that level even for the lower-level classes.
This cash dump of amenities largely goes unnoticed while the expectation continues to climb. Yet, the common theme is how expensive it is to go to horse shows. The money has to come from somewhere, and we have to be realists and know that it comes from the exhibitors. This creates the paradox between “I want more amenities, but I want to pay less.”
Mileage And The Market
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The U.S. Equestrian Federation has a list of amenities required for competitions to get their ratings. These show standards vary, depending on the rating of the show. The USEF licenses horse shows all around the country, and the job of assigning show dates is very complex. The federation is tasked with the balancing act of licensing the correct number of shows in an area to serve all levels. They are not responsible for making sure the shows are viable, but like anything, too many shows spread the exhibitors out too thinly where classes and divisions do not fill, and too few competitions result in sold-out shows and decreased access to them.
In the USEF rulebook, there is what is commonly referred to as “The Mileage Rule.” This often-misunderstood system aims to ensure that there are not too many competitions in proximity to one another at the same time to match the demand. It is controversial as to whether the mileage rule is a good thing or a bad thing. If we take it out of the context of horse shows, it may be easier to think about.
According to the most recent census, the Portland, Oregon, metro area has a population of 2.5 million people. Los Angeles has 12.5 million, and the New York City metropolitan area has 23.5 million. Portland has three major professional sports teams, while Los Angeles and New York City have 14 and 11 teams, respectively. The smaller population around Portland cannot support more teams, so they simply do not exist. It would be a huge financial risk to start a franchise without enough fans. This is just simple economics.
The same goes for horse shows. Show organizers must be confident that they can remain viable with the number of horses competing in order to run their shows. With the different levels of competition, varying population densities and many other factors, you can see how difficult a job it is for the USEF to accurately populate the calendar with horse shows.
During the beginning of the year, in the warmer states, such as Florida and California, there are long-standing, major circuits that have been a haven for riders from climates where showing is not feasible in the winter. People from all over the country flock to these major venues.
Spring brings access to many more showing opportunities, and multi-week circuits are beginning to fill the calendar where there were once only one- and two-week shows in regional areas. These extravagant venues are like Disneylands for horse people. This has, understandably, resulted in clients and trainers traveling sometimes great distances to compete, which raises their travel and shipping costs immensely.
Don’t get me wrong, these huge summer circuits are fantastic, but national-rated shows are vital to the sustainability of their regions and the development of young horses and riders, many of which just need more practice. Each year, more national shows are going out of business and falling off the calendar. These shows are dying.
For many areas, these national shows are vital for the growth and stability of the horse industry. If I have to tell a “newbie” horse mom that she has to travel 1,000-plus miles and ship her horse a long distance in order to compete, she may tell her child that it is too complicated and expensive. Similarly, for many families, the idea that a show office bill for a 12-year-old kid to show is typically over $2,000 for a week seems absurd. How many people can afford that when that doesn’t include things like board and training, vet and blacksmith, shipping, braiding, grooming and equipment, not to mention the horse?
Fixing A Dangerous Cycle
If we want our industry to grow, we have to be very careful not to limit access. New people in the industry tend to figure it out as they go. If the buy-in is too steep from the onset, the repercussions will decimate the growth of our sport. If we rely on “horse people” to sustain the entire industry, we are in trouble as the pool will continue to shrink.
“Supporting local shows supports community and, ultimately, sport growth.”
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Many trainers want to go to the biggest shows, but are they doing what is right for all their riders or their businesses? In my eyes, the ultimate goal of a trainer is to better their riders, develop their business, and grow the sport. Remember that showing in your region does not mean it’s less competitive. It is easy to come up with a list of horses and riders that don’t routinely go from coast to coast, yet have won great accolades on the national stage after primarily showing in their regions, apart from winter circuits and national championships.
Too often, trainers will encourage their greenest of riders, who just need a lot of practice, to also travel to these elite events so that they have enough people to make it viable for them to go. This works for a time, but eventually, some of them will start to drop out of the sport as they get priced out. Wouldn’t it be better to try to keep them? If the pool shrinks, the shows will inevitably have to get even more expensive to sustain themselves. It is the textbook definition of a vicious circle.
We need to work hard at growing our horse communities locally. We need to recognize and represent all the different groups in our home states. Those who are at the top end of the sport need to periodically show inside their community to showcase the top of the sport to their region. This will spark interest in the sport in regional areas. A sense of community will help foster growth to all the groups who are an integral part of the horse set. The barn owners and trainers will have more clients. The vets and blacksmiths will be busier. The tack shops and feed stores will have more customers, and the industry as a whole will grow.
Supporting local shows supports community and, ultimately, sport growth. If we create a viable pathway from local shows to regional shows to national shows and then to big circuits, the owners and riders will remain in the show setting that suits them most. If we take away those options, we risk major attrition.
Circling back to the plea from Ellen that cool day in September, I find myself trying to come up with ideas for what the USEF and U.S. Hunter Jumper Association could do to help in her plight. But it is not just on their shoulders. It is the responsibility of the entire industry: owners, riders, trainers, show managers, the USHJA and the USEF. Innovation and change are spawned by groups trying to achieve something for the greater good. This is a call to action for all of us to work together to keep the diversity of horse shows alive and prosperous and to provide something for everyone.
Shelley Campf owns and operates the training stable Oz Incorporated just outside of Portland, Oregon. She has achieved many riding and training accolades, including the 2024 Jack Stedding Leading Trainer award at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show, trainer of the 2024 ASPCA Maclay Region 7 winner, as well as the trainer/ rider for Modern Man, the 2024 USEF grand champion conformation hunter. She trained the 2024 WCHR national champion and reserve champion developing professional riders, Emily Perkins and Mia Campf. With her Team Northwest Equestrian Sports, Shelley organizes six USEF National competitions in Oregon each year and serves on several U.S. Hunter Jumper Association and U.S. Equestrian Federation committees.
In the Forum, people are invited to express their views and offer constructive criticism on any topic relevant to working with and enjoying horses. The opinions expressed by the writers are entirely their own and not necessarily those of The Chronicle of the Horse.
This article originally appeared in the February 2025 issue of The Chronicle of the Horse. You can subscribe and get online access to a digital version and then enjoy a year of The Chronicle of the Horse. If you’re just following COTH online, you’re missing so much great unique content. Each print issue of the Chronicle is full of in-depth competition news, fascinating features, probing looks at issues within the sports of hunter/jumper, eventing and dressage, and stunning photography.
