FRUSTRATED with transport....

khalswitz

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I'm going to start this off by saying, I have no horse transport. Because of this, I'd always considered myself very lucky when I do manage to get a lift somewhere, and chose my current yard partly because it is in hacking distance of venues.

Now I was very much hoping to get out for our first BE event this year, however struggled to find a lift. So I decided to try and hire a box, as I had been given some recommendations. I got quite excited when they told me that the date was free, and I had visions of us finally being able to do things off our own back occasionally!

Then, crisis. Turns out that since I am only 22, I can't hire after all. No point even asking my parents, as there's no way they'll give up a day to drive me (or I might have convinced them of a tow bar by now).

So am feeling a bit deflated. Looks like there may be no eventing for us after all!!!

Oh well, at least we will be SJ/DR pros by the time we ever make it out... :S
 

PaddyMonty

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What area are you based in.
I'm sure there must be people on HHO that have the day free and wouldn't mind doing the driving provided you hired the transport. I would certainly help if free and within reasonable distance to get to you.
 

HannaST

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I'm in the exact same situation. I can't tell you how frustrating it is to be 24 and 6 months this eventing season!! (you have to be 25 to hire)

Luckily I've got a boyfriend who is old enough, who I've bribed into taking me a couple of times. But I know he doesn't enjoy it (not yet anyway haha!!) so it's not ideal, and going for lessons/fun rides etc is out of the question.
So I've had to team up with other horsey people. There is the obvious solution of getting a lift (make sure everyone knows you're interested), but apart from that, I've found some friends who like going out to events anyway and will take me there and groom for me, in return for me grooming for them some other time (or mucking out, riding for them etc). Sometimes there are friends who you can rope into going with you and driving if you offer to pay the fuel + hire costs of the lorry (for example I've got a friend who can only pull one horse with her trailer so that could work quite well). There is also the rather expensive option of hiring a lorry with a driver, I know quite a few places do this.

But ultimately, for me it's a case of gritting my teeth until I'm rich enough to get my own transport - can't wait!!
 

HannaST

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What area are you based in.
I'm sure there must be people on HHO that have the day free and wouldn't mind doing the driving provided you hired the transport. I would certainly help if free and within reasonable distance to get to you.

If there are people in the Yorkshire area like you, I would like to know them :) I've got a friend who helps me out but she works weekends a lot!
 

khalswitz

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What area are you based in.
I'm sure there must be people on HHO that have the day free and wouldn't mind doing the driving provided you hired the transport. I would certainly help if free and within reasonable distance to get to you.

Unfortunately I'm based in North East Scotland which I think is a bit out of your way! But I very much appreciate the offer :D.

I'm in the exact same situation. I can't tell you how frustrating it is to be 24 and 6 months this eventing season!! (you have to be 25 to hire)

Luckily I've got a boyfriend who is old enough, who I've bribed into taking me a couple of times. But I know he doesn't enjoy it (not yet anyway haha!!) so it's not ideal, and going for lessons/fun rides etc is out of the question.
So I've had to team up with other horsey people. There is the obvious solution of getting a lift (make sure everyone knows you're interested), but apart from that, I've found some friends who like going out to events anyway and will take me there and groom for me, in return for me grooming for them some other time (or mucking out, riding for them etc). Sometimes there are friends who you can rope into going with you and driving if you offer to pay the fuel + hire costs of the lorry (for example I've got a friend who can only pull one horse with her trailer so that could work quite well). There is also the rather expensive option of hiring a lorry with a driver, I know quite a few places do this.

But ultimately, for me it's a case of gritting my teeth until I'm rich enough to get my own transport - can't wait!!

Tell me about it! I am very lucky to be able to get out and do what we do at the moment, but eventing unfortunately is not rife where we are, and there are only a few events within a decent distance even for travelling, which makes me feel very guilty asking. Even with our dressage, we do well to get to BD, but the venue we hack to only runs it once a month so we'll never get enough points to qualify for regionals (even if I could make it there!).

I have tried making friends with people who are going out eventing, but it seems like most of them are out at 100/Nov and not very keen to hang around to wait for the 80 (which I want to do the first couple times anyway).

Lack of transport doesn't normally get me down, we are very good at doing what we can and being pleased with that, it was just that I got all excited about hiring transport and then realised I'm too young... it's a bit disappointing.

I will hold out in case I can find a driver/someone else who is going, but I won't enter if I haven't found a lift... There's always another year!!!
 

HannaST

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Aha in your area that must be really hard!! Do they hire out with a driver? Or maybe you could find an older friend/family member/acquaintance who would like to make a bit of extra money for some driving and hanging about? Then you could pay them a bit for the first few 80 events, then maybe it would be easier at 90/100?

It's a tricky one, but try to think of it this way - paying for a hired lorry and a driver 10 times a year is probably still a lot cheaper than buying, owning and running your own lorry. :)

Edit to say to remember to bribe them with cakes, nice lunch, crisps etc! ;)
 

khalswitz

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Aha in your area that must be really hard!! Do they hire out with a driver? Or maybe you could find an older friend/family member/acquaintance who would like to make a bit of extra money for some driving and hanging about? Then you could pay them a bit for the first few 80 events, then maybe it would be easier at 90/100?

It's a tricky one, but try to think of it this way - paying for a hired lorry and a driver 10 times a year is probably still a lot cheaper than buying, owning and running your own lorry. :)

Edit to say to remember to bribe them with cakes, nice lunch, crisps etc! ;)

Bribery I'm very good at :) I can try and see if I can hire a driver too, if not I really doubt anyone in my family will, but I can see if I have any bored older friends ;)

OP - do you have a driving licence?
Do you have a car?

I have a clean B license, but unfortunately my car is a 1.1 2010 Clio which is good for very little except the many, many miles I do working as a rep.

I am saving for a car upgrade to eventually tow with a downplated single trailer, but that won't be til next year at the earliest. Unfortunately no way on earth my dad will let a tow bar any where near his precious car!
 

HannaST

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Unfortunately no way on earth my dad will let a tow bar any where near his precious car!

That's a shame - for my 18th birthday my dad put a tow bar on our old car. I was over the moon!! Weird thing to be happy about for a 18-year-old girl, but hey. ;) I got my BE licence later on that year, but now unfortunately my little Micra puts me back in the problem zone!
 

ROG

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A 1200 max towing capacity does not give many options for towing but there is one option I can think of if towing on solid ground without steep hills

One of the Chival trailers is 625 empty without down plating it can be used for a payload of 575 kg
 

stilltrying

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Are under 25's able to hire cars (rather than lorries?) or is it a flat no under 25 for everything?

Reason i ask, i have trailer but no 4x4 and friend without trailer licence needed horse transporting so she hired me a pickup for the day. Came to £62 all in, and that was 24 hrs hire. I thought that was pretty good.

Means you have to do a trailer test and hire/borrow trailer, but as someone else says for a few outings it works out a lot cheaper than buying your own set up.

Im old, and to insure my even older rangie was £30 a month...2 months insurance and you can hire a 2011 plate pickup.
 

Rollin

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What a shame. In France, our 19 year old stable jockey, who still has an A symbol on his car, i.e. he is a new driver, is able to tow a single horse trailer and can hire and drive a two horse small lorry.

In the days when I did not have transport, several of us from my yard clubbed together to hire a lorry with driver, not so expensive when we split the cost.

Would that work for you - if you could find other competitors?
 

HannaST

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Are under 25's able to hire cars (rather than lorries?) or is it a flat no under 25 for everything?

Reason i ask, i have trailer but no 4x4 and friend without trailer licence needed horse transporting so she hired me a pickup for the day. Came to £62 all in, and that was 24 hrs hire. I thought that was pretty good.

Means you have to do a trailer test and hire/borrow trailer, but as someone else says for a few outings it works out a lot cheaper than buying your own set up.

Im old, and to insure my even older rangie was £30 a month...2 months insurance and you can hire a 2011 plate pickup.

I looked into that, but mostly they had over 25s or even over 30! It also seemed to be very expensive for the stronger 4x4s, and then comes trailer hire as well, so for me it was cheaper to hire a lorry and pay a friend. But it depends on what is on offer where you live I think, my lorry hire isn't that much.
 

Jango

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I managed to hire a 3.5t when I was 24, had to sign up for a £600 excess but it is do able! Also lots of places hire with drivers. I know your mum and dad aren't keen but any other older friends or family member who would help for cash/jobs doing?
 

stilltrying

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I looked into that, but mostly they had over 25s or even over 30! It also seemed to be very expensive for the stronger 4x4s, and then comes trailer hire as well, so for me it was cheaper to hire a lorry and pay a friend. But it depends on what is on offer where you live I think, my lorry hire isn't that much.

Might be worth shopping around. The ones i found on line were £100 a day for a 4x4. However we've found a commercial hire place (they only do vans and pickups) and were the cheapest by far.
 

khalswitz

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Are under 25's able to hire cars (rather than lorries?) or is it a flat no under 25 for everything?

Reason i ask, i have trailer but no 4x4 and friend without trailer licence needed horse transporting so she hired me a pickup for the day. Came to £62 all in, and that was 24 hrs hire. I thought that was pretty good.

Means you have to do a trailer test and hire/borrow trailer, but as someone else says for a few outings it works out a lot cheaper than buying your own set up.

Im old, and to insure my even older rangie was £30 a month...2 months insurance and you can hire a 2011 plate pickup.

That is a fab idea!!! I have hired a car before (place I last hired from was over 21's with minimum 4 years past test - same as for sitting beside a learner driver, which I have done in the past!) so that could be a good option. I'd certainly be able to borrow a trailer. I will look into this!

What a shame. In France, our 19 year old stable jockey, who still has an A symbol on his car, i.e. he is a new driver, is able to tow a single horse trailer and can hire and drive a two horse small lorry.

In the days when I did not have transport, several of us from my yard clubbed together to hire a lorry with driver, not so expensive when we split the cost.

Would that work for you - if you could find other competitors?

I can ask around and see, there may well be people who would fancy this!

I managed to hire a 3.5t when I was 24, had to sign up for a £600 excess but it is do able! Also lots of places hire with drivers. I know your mum and dad aren't keen but any other older friends or family member who would help for cash/jobs doing?

I will ask around my older friends, unfortunately other than my parents the rest of my family lives 150 miles away so I don't know if that would be an option. If not I can look into hire with a driver.

Thanks guys, some fab ideas!!!
 

khalswitz

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A 1200 max towing capacity does not give many options for towing but there is one option I can think of if towing on solid ground without steep hills

One of the Chival trailers is 625 empty without down plating it can be used for a payload of 575 kg

This is really handy to know - due to being in the middle of a lot of hills it probably isn't doable with my wee car but I am wanting to upgrade eventually and I will be looking for a lightweight trailer like that. Thanks!
 

MyDogIsAnIdiot

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Your car should be worth enough to sell and buy a cheaper runaround (old Focus or similar) and have enough (£1.5k) left over to buy a good condition older Discovery to tow with if that would suit you better :). Though you then have the problem of two lots of insurance/Mot/tax unless you can get both cars covered under a business insurance policy.
 

stilltrying

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Your car should be worth enough to sell and buy a cheaper runaround (old Focus or similar) and have enough (£1.5k) left over to buy a good condition older Discovery to tow with if that would suit you better :). Though you then have the problem of two lots of insurance/Mot/tax unless you can get both cars covered under a business insurance policy.

£1.5k for a disco?! would have to be seriously ancient!... If OP is planning on BE, that involves a bit of mileage and i'd be wanting something reliable. Ive just sold my ancient rangie and am going to see how the hiring thing goes . OK would get expensive if you wanted to box out every weekend, but just for certain events it would work out cheaper.

I 'lend' my trailer to friends for a tenner so if OP has another kind soul that would do similar then that might be a better option. : )
 

khalswitz

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When looking for a B licence towing set up in the future this combination might suit ...
http://carleasingmadesimple.com/bus...octavia-diesel-estate_3/60610/technical-data/
http://www.towinghorsetrailers.co.uk/trailer/1000 - down plated to 1500 leaving a trailer payload of around 700 kg

Oooh, thank you!!!

£1.5k for a disco?! would have to be seriously ancient!... If OP is planning on BE, that involves a bit of mileage and i'd be wanting something reliable. Ive just sold my ancient rangie and am going to see how the hiring thing goes . OK would get expensive if you wanted to box out every weekend, but just for certain events it would work out cheaper.

I 'lend' my trailer to friends for a tenner so if OP has another kind soul that would do similar then that might be a better option. : )

Trailer lending I could do. I have a friend whose car won't tow two horses but wit would be happy to lend trailer of required, so could work that.

Your car should be worth enough to sell and buy a cheaper runaround (old Focus or similar) and have enough (£1.5k) left over to buy a good condition older Discovery to tow with if that would suit you better :). Though you then have the problem of two lots of insurance/Mot/tax unless you can get both cars covered under a business insurance policy.

I'll be honest with the miles I do with my job, I need a decent car - I don't really want to buy something ancient!!! I regularly drive 2000+ miles a month with work so my Clio may not be a good tow car but it is fab in all weathers and handles rough tracks and things so reluctant to part with it for two inferior cars!!! Would prefer to save up and upgrade to a decent mileage estate type that could tow a single trailer when required.

In terms of BE there aren't many events near us, probably four or five a year max we would ever really go to, so not point spending heaps on running a second vehicle/a lorry, and my main car mileage has to be good for work...

But loads to think about from this thread so thanks very much everyone!!!!
 

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Missed the B+E bit, I tow with a Nissan XTrail, tows my big lad nicely but not 2. Doesn't cost me much more to run than a normal car and cheaper to repair than a disco. Borrow friends trailer or hire for quite cheap.
 

mandwhy

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Bless you I'd drive for you! It's so frustrating not having transport, maybe being over 25 will help me find someone to share with, although I only want to get out and do little low level things myself.
 

HannaST

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I'm in North Yorkshire, I certainly wouldn't mind helping someone if I was free (I am 30 so can hire)

Ooh hello! :) I might take you on your word! Got my boyfriend roped in for this weekend but perhaps next time if you're serious? :) I'm at Sport Horse Select near Stillington!
 

ROG

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I'm in North Yorkshire, I certainly wouldn't mind helping someone if I was free (I am 30 so can hire)

Missed the B+E bit, I tow with a Nissan XTrail, tows my big lad nicely but not 2. Doesn't cost me much more to run than a normal car and cheaper to repair than a disco. Borrow friends trailer or hire for quite cheap.

Do you have a B+E driving licence? - your age suggests that you passed car test after 1996
 

Batgirl

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Ooh hello! :) I might take you on your word! Got my boyfriend roped in for this weekend but perhaps next time if you're serious? :) I'm at Sport Horse Select near Stillington!

Yes I am serious, if I am free I always like doing horsey things, as long as it doesn't cost me :) Stillington near Rideaway?
 
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