Out of interest, will diesel price put you off competing, camps etc ?

smiggy

smiggy

Well-Known Member
Joined
27 February 2008
Messages
779
Visit site
Just wondering how much the horse world will be affected by this
We all know how thirsty horse transport is.
I’m usually quite blasé about travelling long distances to compete, I feel it’s my hobby and can dedicate that amount of money to do so. But now I’m definitely thinking twice about booking anything further afield .
Also feels wrong in a way if we are going to be short on diesel , though no one has actually outright said that yet !
 
We decided against going up to Arena UK for 2 RC champs. Mini NN qualified for both sj and dressage a month apart. 8 hours driving made it ridiculous for a few minutes competing each weekend. Didn't fancy sleeping in lorry in March so hotel costs on top for the sj.
Luckily no longer eventing as we have few BE events less than 2 hours away nowadays.

Will be driving up to an hour each way but my 7.2t is new and much less thirsty than my old 7.5t.

The pros will have to seriously increase their owner charges with their huge HGVs!
 
I’m more worried that I won’t be able to get fuel to get to and from the stables. It’s a 15 mile round trip twice a day and my VW Polo only has a small tank. I’m filling up at tank half full each time so I have leeway in case local garages run out.
 
i don’t travel very far very often as i’m lucky to have a lot of options locally, and my box is very good on fuel - however, i was debating going back to a car and trailer but will not be doing that for the foreseeable! i think id be crazy to trade in my little a1 for a thirsty diesel🤣
 
I’m thinking twice about entering events that are far away but I’m still hoping to enter shows I really want to. Eventing is becoming a bit less likely as it will easily be £100 diesel on top of ~£130 entry fee and that just feels a bit too much for one show unfortunately.
 
Sussexbythesea said:
I’m more worried that I won’t be able to get fuel to get to and from the stables. It’s a 15 mile round trip twice a day and my VW Polo only has a small tank. I’m filling up at tank half full each time so I have leeway in case local garages run out.
Click to expand...
I am the same. Probably a bit further than you. Its a worry. Wish they were in walking distance.
 
Our riding club event entries are down and so are the Area ones. I think people are being very particular about what they enter.

I need the car for day to day horse stuff too (10 min drive) so fuel availability is always a concern.
 
I am more concerned about getting extra fuel whilst away from home, run a 7t which is relatively economical but our champs (TREC) are a good 8 hour run away this year so unless the situation changes I won’t be attending.
 
I only have a young horse at the moment and competing this year isn't my main aim, more getting out a little to arena hires and xc etc, so thankfully there are local options. However I am currently without transport, I was aiming to buy a 4.5 to 7 tonne lorry but they are so much thirstier, I might be better off going back to a 3.5. Just one horse so it would do the job. So it does affect this aspect for me, obvs very much a first world problem.
 
Fuel price plus diving into my savings in March are putting me off competing for now. I will do the two competitions at my RS (5km away) in April and June, but nothing else until September when I will reassess finances.
It's a shame really as Little Madan and I have just had some great results this past weekend.
 
I chose a smaller closer show at the weekend rather than the NPS area show I was planning to go to. Looking at the entry numbers it looks like others made similar choices.

Part of my decision was fuel, but also cost of entries. Our day at a local show cost us £40 and was good experience for our young pony. A day at NPS would have cost over £150 (entries, membership and fuel). Both shows were at venues and both held on surfaces. So as a first trip out of the season we went cheap and cheerful.

I do want to campaign some bigger shows this year, but there are more pressing things that need my finances right now.
 
dottylottie said:
i don’t travel very far very often as i’m lucky to have a lot of options locally, and my box is very good on fuel - however, i was debating going back to a car and trailer but will not be doing that for the foreseeable! i think id be crazy to trade in my little a1 for a thirsty diesel🤣
Click to expand...
My thirsty diesel car is doing well over 55 mpg, over 60 mpg on good long runs. This does drop when towing though. It is a Mazda cx60 and after the shogun it is a nice surprise on the fuel economy.
 
I don't compete but defo think twice about going out to pole clinic etc! also was looking at possibly moving and couldn't justify the extra travel to get to the office today as week, so decided the stay put
 
Yes.

We live 1 1/4 hours from our nearest decent venue, and 1 1/2 to 2 hours from most others. I have definitely cut down on lessons/clinics/ competitions etc.

Luckliy we have a FANTASTIC xc venue only 40 mins away, and that has just opened for summer, so I'll be going there still.

A camp makes more sense in many ways, because you pay the fuel once and get 4 to 5 lessons at a time, although there is stabling to pay on top.
 
Red-1 said:
I'm as concerned about there being shortages as the price. I have a camp at Somerford coming up and will make sure I'm full before we set off.
Click to expand...
This. I have a camp in May and will be keeping topped up until then. Luckily, I work from home most of the time and can catch the train to work if I need to so if I really have to, I can leave the car parked up until then and cycle to the horse. The only issue with that is it's up a huge hill and then back down the other side 😩.
 
Judging by the volume and speed of traffic at the moment, the price hasn't put people off travelling at all. The worry is more about availability, although all the fuel companies say there are plenty of reserves, it is a matter of picking your time to go and fill up, and I haven't let the tank get below half full.

It is a consideration of course, but it wouldn't put me off going to something I really want to.
 
Yes but not because of the increased cost of towing. More the direct knock-on that it's costing me £30/week more in diesel at the moment to commute to work/yard so I'm £120 a month down, so having to cut down on things like lessons/clinics/comps as I have less disposable income.
 
We’ve just come back from camp in Stow on the Wold, from Durham- main factor for going to camp was to drop off a carriage that I sold (to pay for camp!) in Northampton on the way, so it made it worth the while but I recon that it has cost £160 in fuel for the towing vehicle, and that is a concern- I won’t be doing a sponsored drive locally to is (well, 2 and a bit hours drive!) as I can’t justify the fuel for an afternoon drive out, but I will go to the same venue for a competition in a month or two and drive down Friday, back on Sunday.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top