Finding an Owner

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LWills

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Hi everyone!
New one to this site. I've read many things on here before but never had the need to post anything myself as it always seems to be on here already! However, now, I've found something I need to know more about but there isn't yet (correct me if I'm wrong) a thread on here about it. And that's horse ownership. I don't mean buying a horse for yourself or anything. I mean people that buy you a horse/horses and fund them. I know many people will say you have to be really experienced for that but not necessarily. Yes, years of experience help but i know of quite a few other eveners ho have only been going BE for a couple of years and already have owners who fund a horse totally for them. And I want to know how to go about finding these people! Any help is appreciates :)
 
I don't think they buy the horse for you, they own the horse and you just get the ride...

What level are you riding at? How old are you?
 
It depends. Google competition livery. There are people who will pay to keep their horse on your yard for you to compete for them. They won't do it if you are just starting out!

If, as you say, you know several people who have owners who have bought them horses although they are fairly new to the game then I'd suggest you talk to them about how they got their owners.
 
Rosie offers training/competition livery at her yard and the people who have sent their horses to her have contacted her either because they've seen her at events and like what they see or because they've been recommended by other owners. You must be able to offer an excellent service - not necessarily excellent facilities but you need to listen carefully to what your customers expect and then try to exceed their expectations. It isn't easy and you won't make a fortune.
Good luck :)
 
Broke_But_Happy said:
Not unless you have a very good, established BE record at a decent level (I would think minimum 1* and above), and are running your own yard...
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Nope... Al has her best result as 8th place at PC area eventing (don't talk about BE!) with virtually no proper experience beyond BE100 level. But she has a 'paying guest' in that she is paid to ride and compete him. His upkeep is paid for (in a weekly set amount) and his entry fees and diesel money are separate costs. She covers lessons though.

How did she get this set up? Word of mouth... Someone was looking for a rider, and she's been grafting it and got recommended by someone who's occasionally taught her and who broke her late mare in. She's very active in the PC and hunting scene, rides out racehorses, and competes frequently on horses who she has brought on herself. I think that's what gets her noticed.
 
Lolo said:
Nope... Al has her best result as 8th place at PC area eventing (don't talk about BE!) with virtually no proper experience beyond BE100 level. But she has a 'paying guest' in that she is paid to ride and compete him. His upkeep is paid for (in a weekly set amount) and his entry fees and diesel money are separate costs. She covers lessons though.

How did she get this set up? Word of mouth... Someone was looking for a rider, and she's been grafting it and got recommended by someone who's occasionally taught her and who broke her late mare in. She's very active in the PC and hunting scene, rides out racehorses, and competes frequently on horses who she has brought on herself. I think that's what gets her noticed.
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I agree, and Al is a lovely, quiet, capable rider. However if I was an owner, looking at paying £150+ livery per week, plus competition entries, I'd be looking for someone with a good record :)
 
I think a lot depends on location and what you can offer as well. For £150/ week you'd be lucky to get much more than Al round us, for a record at 1* and above you're easily into the £200s, if not more. So another point OP is marketing yourself correctly... No point going for the top end of the horses when you're offering a lower end rider- you have to work your way up.
 
I have so horse who has potential and although I hunt am not competitive. He has a rider who in 2 years has retaken him from recently out of racing to BE 100. I ride and keep him fit by hunting over the winter and she schools and competes him. I pay all the bills and entries. So how does this work, I have known her since she was 7 (now 26) and she has taken unpromising horses and ponies through PC to novice level BE. We have a brilliant relationship and it works but the central element is trust, how and why this would work if we had not had a long standing relationship I don't know, why would I trust you not to break my horse?
 
Lolo said:
I think a lot depends on location and what you can offer as well. For £150/ week you'd be lucky to get much more than Al round us, for a record at 1* and above you're easily into the £200s, if not more. So another point OP is marketing yourself correctly... No point going for the top end of the horses when you're offering a lower end rider- you have to work your way up.
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Not really sure I agree with this.
There are plenty of event riders with solid records who need rides.
You can certainly get someone with form for the £150/160 pw bracket. Offer them a very decent horse and you would likely get an even better deal. It's a tough world out there for event riders trying to get paid rides
 
A rider local to me, well established at I/** was offering competition livery at £120/w about 4-5years ago. I thought that was pretty cheap as it included all upkeep and riding 6+ times weekly then the owner covers additional bits and entries.
I'm not sure what she charges now, but I imagine she's still undervalued for all her hard work! As are most good but not exceptional riders!
 
Rosie charges £130 with the owner paying the extras. Not that she's riding at 2* at the moment but she has done and will again when she gets the horse power and she has a pretty consistent record up to Novice.
 
ihatework said:
Not really sure I agree with this.
There are plenty of event riders with solid records who need rides.
You can certainly get someone with form for the £150/160 pw bracket. Offer them a very decent horse and you would likely get an even better deal. It's a tough world out there for event riders trying to get paid rides
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Spot on, there are definitely some great 4* riders out there in this bracket. But yes does depend on location. I think for a good amateur or semi-pro you'll be looking at 120+. It gets logistically difficult to make any money (or even cover costs!) at less.

As an owner I expect a few basic things:
1. I expect an excellent standard of care on a tidy, safe yard.
2. Only the professional rider should be schooling my horse regularly (not necessarily exclusively) and only someone whom the pro deems capable should be riding him at all.
3. Good communication regarding anything to do with my horse; whether it's entries, tack, vet etc. With a flexible approach which takes my opinion into consideration.
4. Results! Whether I like a pro because of how they ride (therefore, I think they will get results) or they have a proven track record. Let's be honest, who wants to be paying 140+ a week and see no improvement or feel you could a better job yourself!
5. I expect to be able to visit at almost anytime and see the above 4 points in action.

That all being said, I think most people are more inclined to be swayed by results and track records. I think any rider starting out needs to offer good value (maybe even a bargain) and be prepared to ride some less than talented horses.

Good luck OP! :)
 
ihatework said:
Not really sure I agree with this.
There are plenty of event riders with solid records who need rides.
You can certainly get someone with form for the £150/160 pw bracket. Offer them a very decent horse and you would likely get an even better deal. It's a tough world out there for event riders trying to get paid rides
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I would say IHW is about right for her pricing for my part of the world... obviously it increases where land/rent is more expensive!
 
Rereading my post, I'd like to add I used the £150 from BBH's post rather than what is charged here!

But another part of costing is what facilities you have- if you rent a yard rather than own one or use a family-owned yard or similar your costs will be considerably higher to make ends meet. If you look to start doing competition liveries, you really need to cost everything up properly first and decide what the minimum you can charge is... There is no point doing it for a loss!
 
LWills said:
Hi everyone!
New one to this site. I've read many things on here before but never had the need to post anything myself as it always seems to be on here already! However, now, I've found something I need to know more about but there isn't yet (correct me if I'm wrong) a thread on here about it. And that's horse ownership. I don't mean buying a horse for yourself or anything. I mean people that buy you a horse/horses and fund them. I know many people will say you have to be really experienced for that but not necessarily. Yes, years of experience help but i know of quite a few other eveners ho have only been going BE for a couple of years and already have owners who fund a horse totally for them. And I want to know how to go about finding these people! Any help is appreciates :)
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Have you asked those other riders how they got that done?

What do you have to offer an owner? What have you done about finding a horse to ride?

Be a bit careful about making assumptions - I know quite a few people who ride horses owned by other people but sometimes those people are actually family or friends or their trainers, so it's not a random stranger buying them a horse. Also, the horse was not usually purchased FOR them, it was a horse already hanging about when they needed a ride and they are expected to work off/pay at least some of the expenses.
 
interesting reading.

I have a few youngsters and one in particular i think has a wonderful future ahead of him - but me, compete.... those days are long gone. In the future i hope to be able to find a rider for him, my idea would be he stays on my own yard, i would do all the day to day care, pay all the bills, entries etc but the rider would have the opportunity to compete on my (hopefully) wonderful superstar! Fingers crossed and all that! :)
 
That would work - Rosie's competed a couple on that basis and it's worked very well. Pity she's the wrong end of the country :). Good luck with finding the right rider when the time comes.
 
luckilotti said:
interesting reading.

I have a few youngsters and one in particular i think has a wonderful future ahead of him - but me, compete.... those days are long gone. In the future i hope to be able to find a rider for him, my idea would be he stays on my own yard, i would do all the day to day care, pay all the bills, entries etc but the rider would have the opportunity to compete on my (hopefully) wonderful superstar! Fingers crossed and all that! :)
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Ditto!!
 
Perhaps I should have said, if you want a non-amateur you'll probably need to pay for their time when riding whether it's training/schooling or competing.
 
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