Pro event riders - advice please!

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dill

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I'm considering asking a local 3* rider to compete my intermediate horse at events because I don't have the time or ability! I'll keep her at home and he said that he'd like her to go to his yard the day before an event so that he can ride her and his groom can prepare her for the competition - he'll charge me £20 per day for this. I'm just trying to work out the budget without embarassing myself by looking gobsmacked.... how much should I budget for a daily competition riding fee and how much should I expect to be charged per mile for transport - he said that the mileage charge gets split between the number of horses on his lorry but he didn't say what the mileage charge was!
 
Well, it will certainly be cheaper keeping it at home for some of the time - but realistically if they are to do well together, then the Pro rider is going to need to have it much more often than just the day before a competition.

They recon it costs a minimum of £10K to keep an event horse on the circuit - so the maths is quite simple.

In terms of his costs, I would just ask him for a breakdown.
 
I would think that the cost for him riding her at an event would be about £40. A well-known event rider local to me charges £1 per mile for transport in her 5 horse HGV lorry, which isn't so bad if it's split between 4 or 5 horses.
 
I know people be charged anything for £1 a mile to 75p a KM either per horse or divided between the horses on the truck. Some will driectly split the diesel cost and then charge a standard "travel" fee per horse as soon as they leave the yard. It depends on each individual I think!!
 
sadly there is no hard and fast rule. most of the osts have been correct about the cost of transport but many riders charge that per horse regardless of how many sharing teh lorry ( obviously adds to the profit such as it is) and the riding fee may vary between £40 and £100 depending on the event the exerince of the horse and wether they really want to ride it. you need to agree in advance about prize money, usually if the horse is not a permanant livery they will expect ten percent. and also about the 'extras' you are likely to be charged for ( plaiting, trimming, use of rugs/equipment, help from the riders trainer etc, electrolites on the day, flair nose strips etc etc etc....). I kid you not and if you want you can PM me and if i know the rider i might be able to pre-warn you!!
 
I agree exacts with Lucretia. Hard slog financially but worth it in the end with the pleasure/rewards.

ORRRRR.... for free you could send him to me!!!! Five star home, determined, understanding caring and passionate junior rider, based with professional and trained by four star rider and Team trainer always on hand for guidance
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. Feel free to PM me!!!
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ask for a ball-park figure of what he'll charge. don't be embarrassed, he should be grateful that you're considering him for the ride.
as a comparison, i think Matt Ryan has all his charges per day, per mile etc on his website... very useful.
 
And i was reliably informed a couple of years ago that i should keep an eye out for lifeslemons as he might be promising. so far have not been disapointed with that prediction so maybe you ought do as he says, it would be a lot cheaper!
 
I have had horses up to Advanced with 2 different riders and to be honest you need to budget for around £1,200 to £1,500 a month!
You have a fab time when things are going well and feel part of a team.
But the problem is .... that pros need to make a living and usually have a lot of horses to make ends meet ie around 15-20 so if you can keep your horse fit and well schooled and the rider is happy with this then that is the better option financially for you.
From my own experience it was great as horses come through the ranks but with that comes immense disappiontment when things go wrong ie soundness (just as an example!)as it invariably does 'cos that's the nature of the game!!!
But I have to say I have had some fantastic and memorable times!
Good luck!
 
Have had a chat with him and have agreed to pay him £30/hr for schooling plus travel time, £1/mile transport split between the horses on the box, £45 per day for riding at an event. He'll have my horse for the day before an event on full livery inc all feed and he will school her, his groom will bath her, plait & trim her etc. for £20 per day. He'll also supply all rugs, travel gear, saddlecloths and use his own tack if mines not suitable. I can keep her ticking over and fit at home and he's going to start with her after Blenheim. Does this sound a good deal? He's also taking on a larger yard in the new year and is thinking about filling up a few boxes with Int/Adv horses for owners on a budget for about £100/wk full competition livery so I'm seriously considering that if he gets on well with her. I didn't fully realise what a massive increase in expenses there were in upgrading from Novice to Intermediate and definitely not the second mortgage needed to run Advanced. It was getting to be a real worry to the point where I was going to sell her to someone who could afford to run her. At least if I can get her on a cheaper livery I can afford more entry fees and my transport costs will be shared. Getting quite excited about next season now!
 
That sounds a pretty fair deal. Slightly off the point I wonder how many riders who work on this basis have the necessary operators licence etc for their lorry... Anyway, going back to what he has suggested re the future possible arrangement , I wouldn't be surprised if he has to rethink that figure - he will be lucky to break even with those horses, let alone make any money out of them.
 
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