Competing on behalf of owners - prize money

[Vix1978]

I have some potential horses to compete on behalf of a couple of owners, and I just wanted to pick all your brains out there for those of you who already do/have competed on behlf of an owner.
If you are successful on these horses, what do you do about prize money etc? I appreciate that this is/may be a long shot off, and prize money isn't huge anyway, but I would like to get something organised with the owners before I take on the rides. Do you split prize money 50:50 or does the owner keep it all (or any other variation?) When I used to compete owners horses, my boss at the time used to look after all the logistics of this sort of thing.....

 

[Weezy]

Who is paying entry fees - you or the owners?

 

[niashadow]

When i rode other peoples horses i kept all the money, however i also paid the entries ! No other expenses were mine except transport.

 

[jackpalfreyman]

With horses on my yard prize money is deducted from the livery bill at the end of the month, but we have the horses karen competes on full livery, it depends on the individual owners i have found, some happily give you the money, but want to keep the rossette (fine by me) when tehy have paid the entry, some not! But are you charging to ride the horse on teh day of the show??

 

[seaofdreams]

i kept all of mine, owner didnt mind at all but then i did pay entry fees

 

[ihatework]

I've ridden a few horses on behalf of owners, those horses where I pay absolutely nothing towards the horse at all (just turn up and ride/compete) then the owner pays the entry and gets to keep the prize money/rosettes.

If I were paying the entry fee then I would expect to keep prize money.

 

[Taz975]

Im used to whoever pays the entry fee usually gets the prize money.

 

[eventingdiva]

I pay entry fees but they pay for my BD and BE registration so we generally split them, unless its only a small amount and then they normally let me keep it! x

 

[MissDeMeena]

My owners pay for everything including fuel to get there.. so they always keep the prize/money/rosette!!
Depending on how the horse has got to the event ie if the owners have taken it, i don't have another horse running and have therefore made a special journey to ride said horse, i'll charge to ride the horse at that event.. if i'm there anyway, i wont!!
Sometimes if the owners a very happy with the result, they might choose to give the prize back to you anyway!

 

[lilpete]

I compete a couple of horses, i often just turn up and compete. They pay the entry fees and keep the prize money. Unless its a large amount when they give me half. but this is very rare!

 

[crazyfrog]

hello,
i used to do quite a lot of "catch rides"as in,drive to the event and ride for the owners and the way it used to work was that owners pay for the entries and you get at least 10%the prize giving+plus your petrol expense(this is a good way to gain experience).if you have the horse in livery you then should talk to the owner and agree and what you'll get from the winnings.

 

[dieseldog]

I currently have someone riding my horse and if he transports it to a show it's £30, and if I take him it's £20. I pay the entry fees, and I let him keep the prize money. He did offer it to me and I know other owners with him keep it, but I think it's better if he has it. I'm going to make more money on the horse when I sell it from him riding it, than the prize money he's going to win.

 

[Vix1978]

Thanks all for your help on this. The owners keep the horse on livery with me and pay all the comp fees etc. It looks like it would be fairer if they kept the prize money. At least I'll have a benchmark now when I have a conversation with them about this!

 

[sillygillyhorse]

I had my trainer jump one of mine. I paid the registration fees, the horse was on full livery with her, I transported the horse to shows, paid the entry fees. I did not pay her to ride at shows (she was going anyway) but we agreed that any prize money would be split 50/50.

 

[Rambo]

If I were to place my horse with someone to compete on my behalf, I would expect to pay all livery fees, and entry fees. I would also expect to EITHER pay the rider a fee for competing my horse (in which case I would want a decent proportion of, if not all, the winnings), or split any winnings 50/50 if the rider was not charging me to ride the horse.

You have to put your commercial hat on here I think...you are trying to make a living, and prize money should be seen as a bonus for a good performance. I would make a charge for riding and do a deal to split any winnings...that way you get paid regardless

 

[Vix1978]

V. true Rambo. I'm going to work through the numbers today to ensure that I won't be operating at a loss

 

[goeslikestink]

v true rambo --

 

[susan_w]

Depends really - we've got one owner, who pays all the fees, entries, registration, and Megan always gets to keep the prize money as her jockey fee - but she always has the rosettes. We have another owner who pays all the entries, registration etc, but she keeps the prize money, and Megan gets the rosettes. Occasionally if it's a big win, like Megan won £200 class, the owner gave Megan £100. You need to agree in advance what is what - are they going to pay you a jockey fee, entries etc. I think if they agree to pay you £10 every time you ride their horse, then it is fair that they keep the prize money - if they are not paying you a jockey fee, then I think it is fair for you to keep the prize money.

They may just be interested in the rosettes, and the pleasure of being an owner.

 

[Rambo]

The problems come when the prizes start to go upo in value

People might not be so bothered about £20, £30 or even £100 prizes, but what happens when the rider wins 'the big one' ? I think it makes good sense to set your stall out from the start so that you can avoid awkward situations later on. Would be interesting to know what sort of arrangement Nick Skelton has with the Hales family for instance

Having said all that....i've never been in the situation myself, and accept that many will do deals on an adhoc basis

 

[FMM]

In my experience, if a pro competes on my horse and the horse is stabled on their yard, I pay them £30 per class and £30 per championship. All prize money goes to me and I pay the entry fees. If someone from another yard wants the pro to ride, they are charged £50 per class and £50 per championship. Other pros don't charge to ride but keep the prize money. It depends on your preference. btw - if the prize money is mega, then this is also shared with the pro rider as well as the ride fee.

 

[kick_On]

I compete on my mothers horse and she pays for everything (except my time & diesel), i always ask her if she wants money and her reply is, buy something for horse or put against training.
But if its 'your job' need to trash with owner at begining, IOM if your professional i would set against the livery cost etc... BUT if large win split???

 

[Tempi]

My eventer friend competes on other peoples horses and im pretty sure they get the prize money - he gets paid to ride and school their horses, they pay entry fees and keep prize money. (i think)

 

[DressageChick]

I have a rider at the moment- my YO. I pay all expenses, she doesn't charge me to ride- and I keep all prize money etc.
My DQ has also competed him and she would charge anything from £20-£45 to compete depending on where it was- I would pay expenses and keep money