Local Shows - Prize Money?

[Tia]

Can anyone tell me what the usual prize money is for winning a jumping class in the UK now - just at local shows I mean?

My daughter won her jumping class today and not only was she given a rather flamboyant 1st place rosette, but she was handed an envelope which contained $50 cash for the first place winner.

Now I know it was a fair number of years since I competed jumping at local shows as a child, but I used to only win £10 if I came first.

So has the prize money increased over the years? And do they still give out trophies and shields? Or have they all gone now due to cash being the prize that children would rather have? None of the shows my daughter competes at here give out trophies, just cash.

 

[Ravenwood]

I never used to win £10!! - it was always just above the entrance fee - so £5 at the most!!!

At the very small local show I am going to tomorrow the prizes are 1st £5, 2nd £3 and 3rd £2. Entry fee is £2.50 plus £2 per rider for St Johns Ambulance.

However, the Riding club charge £10 per dressage test and no prize money

 

[Tia]

Ah £10 was at the big local shows, yes I think £5 was the usual at the small shows.

So do they still give out trophies and suchlike? I don't know about you, but when I was 12, I loved winning the cups and trophies, not sure whether an envelope of cash would have been a very good compromise, as back then you still were given trophies aswell as a minimal cash prize.

 

[merlinsquest]

One big show near us has the open jumping prize money at £100

I have never even tried to win that as there is such hot competition..... my friend has won it three or four times though!!!

I have never even won a cup

Everytime I get placed in anything, the prize goes to one place above where I am placed, and if i win then there is no prize

 

[dsophiea]

my locals dont normally even do prize money, but they are quite generous for the rossette size but thats about it really, and the entry fees are really expensive now. x

 

[Tia]

Aw that's really unfortunate - they should give prize money to 6th place I think ... if they are giving prize money I mean.

For the £100 jackpot, how much is it to enter the class?

This wasn't an open showjumping class by the way, just a hunter/jumper. We had to leave before the showjumping but now I'm thinking maybe we should have stayed!!

 

[Ravenwood]

Some shows give cups - especially those that have been running a long time.

I agree with you - I much prefer a cup to prize money. I have a cabinet upstairs with lots of trophies from when I used to compete (a long time ago!!)

Some parents used to buy their children trophies to replace the cups they had to give back next year

 

[Tia]

What are the usual entry fees now then?

 

[Tia]

I have a feeling that over here, the trophies may not be given back to these local shows. I don't know but it just seems a shame that they don't seem to still hold the same cache any more? Or maybe this isn't the case at all and I am just making a wild guess - maybe they never did give cups etc over here.

 

[merlinsquest]

I have never paid more than £14 for a class..... and i think that was pairs

its more like £9 for a normal SJ class,..... but have never been where the £100 prize money is..... its called Longreach (surrey i think) but i am too tired to google it

 

[minesadouble]

We have just held a local show today at our place - no prize money as is the norm for local round here. We gave fab rosettes to 6th and sashes to winners. Despite good entries we have done little more than broken even. Not just paying for good rosettes but by the time we paid for 1st aid cover and insurance we were struggling to profit!
Usually local shows give pretty average rosettes and a small (often horrible) trophy to keep. If we decide ti hold one every year we would have annually returned trophies rather than prize money as prize money is gone in an instant whereas at least with a trophy you have a lasting momento.

 

[The Original Kao]

i thought in the uk prize money wasn't a good thing as you're taxed for it or something?
so usually prizes are handed out rather than money?
i'm not that clued up, just remember reading it a while back

 

[TarrSteps]

Yes, cups and shields used to be more common in Canada, and yes, part of the reason they aren't so much now is that people didn't give them back/look after them. They're still quite common in breeding competitions, particularly as year ends, and at big year end shows like The Royal, although often now the trophy is engraved but stays with the show.

Some of it has to do with sponsorships. Many of the old cups were bought by an individual for the show, often named after a person or a particular horse. Now sponsors are much more likely to be a company or multiple individuals and not necessarily the same ones every year. In such cases it's much easier to give prizes in money or in kind, particularly if the sponsor is a tack shop or similar. In fact the most sought after prize in North American tends to be a show cooler, perhaps followed by an embroidered saddle pad or something else useful that has the show and the class on it.

I think also, with the rising costs of showing many people appreciate something to put back into the pot. I know lots of kids who pay for part of their own showing and winning a cash prize means they can put it towards entry fees, gas etc.

The rule in Canada for EC shows (and often followed for schooling shows) is that winning a class has to pay the entry for the division, which is usually 3 o/f classes and a flat. So if your division costs $50 a win in any over fences class in that division should net you at least $50, with the remaining prizes apportioned, often on a percentage and worked out to what ever place is warranted by the entries. (I think it's one placing for every 6 or 8 entries. So a class of 30 would have to pay to 5th.)

That's quite good money for a single hunter class but it's not extremely unusual. Was it a Trillium show or some sort of Fall Fair or Saddle Club show? Sometimes they'll get quite good local sponsorship and pay out surprisingly well.

 

[hadfos]

you only get ya money back and rosette here but not at huge comp level...according to friend that does BE crap

 

[Tia]

Thanks for that. Part of the reason for putting this post up was to find out if it made any money running shows. I keep thinking perhaps we should, but I don't know if I can be bothered.

All the rosettes we have from shows here are very impressive; even the small shows have OTT rosettes.

 

[Tia]

You may well be right - I have no idea to be honest, although these are childrens classes so not sure who would pay the tax?

 

[Tia]

Lol! No nothing so grand. It was just a little schooling show. To enter the division was $40 but we didn't enter the whole division, just 2 classes in it. Each class in the hunter/jumper was giving $50 as first prize and they gave prize money to 4th place ... perhaps they have wealthy sponsors?? I was surprised though.

I think some of the Fall Fairs give out similar amounts of money around our way, but we rarely take any horses to compete at them.

Thank you for all that info.

Hope you are enjoying living in England

.

 

[Tia]

So would be better to win a trophy then I'd imagine

.

I'm just wondering if we do run some shows next year whether it would be of interest to riders or not - possibly not a good idea going by TS's comments.

 

[hadfos]

[ QUOTE ]
So would be better to win a trophy then I'd imagine

.

I'm just wondering if we do run some shows next year whether it would be of interest to riders or not - possibly not a good idea going by TS's comments.

[/ QUOTE ]
depends....i went to a small show today

,lol...big enough for me and my lad,lol..what we were shocked by is this particular show dosnt make pounds by any stretch...me and neddy had bad round(1st time we ever did it

so not that bad,lol)..ring we were in had finished..friend went and asked if they minded me paying to take lad round for experience..was paying(answer...NOPE???)
took my boy home and friend stayed..those jumps stayed up for an hour after we left???

do they wanna earn money...i wanted nothing from it just wanted to take boy round again

 

[hairycob]

Maybe they wanted to have something to eat or go & do their own horses before they came back & took the jumps down. Maybe some one else was coming to take the jumps down.

 

[Haniki]

Shows around here (Devon) don't tend to give out prize money unless the classes are sponsored. I help organise a show that does give prize money and I really don't like having to ring around asking for sponsorship. (Then having to collect the money in.) My riding club doesn't give prize money anymore because no-one liked asking for sponsors.

 

[rara007]

We don't tend to get prize money. Carriage driving never really has prize money, although they did have prize money at one of the big shows and we won our entry fee back comin 3rd. TBH cups and trophies always seem much nicer as the amount of money you win doesn't usually go far in the way of petrol/keeping horse/buying tack way, but trophies you get to keep.

 

[natalia]

Errr, BSJA here are a bit evil and stop you giving out prize money over £10 if unaff. Not sure if this just applies to shows running under BSJA rules though but unaff.

 

[Rambo]

The BSJA tend to stifle prizemoney at local shows as there is a rule (BSJA members) that states that members cannot compete at unaffiliated shows where the first prize is more than £10 in money or in kind. This rather stifles local shows offering more than that as they will eliminate half their entrees if they offer more.

It's a bit tough really as the limit of £10 has remained unchanged for more than 20 years...

 

[jb4]

I show county level and the money isnt good compared to entry fees, Just a rossette ! And most times no cups,shields or anything ! They are going to have to do something about it ,People are going to find it difficult next year with the cost of everything going up,Iv done the rounds this year But next year will be different,It cost so much,Just for someone else to tell you they like your pony ! Iv been champion one week and stood bottom the next ! Like all of us.I suppose its different if your a stud and selling ponies ,But as we all know they keep the best anyway !

 

[Tia]

QR-

Ahh thanks for that info; that makes sense as to why local shows don't offer decent prize money.

I don't mind rosettes - the ones over here are quite impressive

.