PrintThe girl was delighted to hear that the tentative Vermont Hunter Jumper Association (VHJA) show schedule for 2010 was announced yesterday. She quickly absconded with the computer to begin secretly contemplating her coming show season.
Mom, on the other hand, started to twitch, itch and sweat. It isn’t that the thought of the summer show season isn’t pleasing to me. It’s exciting and refreshing to think of spring and summer horse shows, especially with three more months of winter staring me down like the readout on the treadmill telling me I’ve only completed 10 percent of my workout.
The question that raises its ugly head that takes the joy out of the conversation for mom is…how the heck are we going to pay for this? I know I am not alone. And, I can’t let the angst go too public, or else the husband will (rational and sane man that he is) announce the obvious. Come on, you’ve heard it too: “We’ll only do what we can.” “We can’t afford this.” “Stop making yourself crazy.” OK, honey, the bus to crazy town left a long, long time ago, and I was so on it, I may have been driving the bus, picking up other horse show moms along the way.
Now I can barter and trade like a Middle East goat herder, swapping braiding for shipping, pimping out the husband to drive trucks and trailers for other horse moms and dads that haven’t mastered turning around yet. But whatever we do to cut corners, there’s still that moment of terror when you step into the secretary’s booth and wait for her to give you the dreaded total from the weekend’s enjoyment.
In all other aspects of my life, I make fairly rational financial decisions. Not so when it comes to riding. As I type this, I’m wondering…how low can my grocery bill really go? Surely there’s some padding there that can be diverted to the horse show fund?
Do you have any tips for me? Legal actions I can take to get that horse show fund ready for the season? Please do share!
Elizabeth Howell grew up riding on the hunter/jumper circuit in Massachusetts. Now she is a horse show mom. She holds a day job at The Emily Post Institute and slings horse manure on the weekends. Her web site is www.sheridesIpay.com.
