But is this the goal for the OP? She's asking advice on whether she can afford to support a $5,000 (down from $15,000) horse. Is this a prospect that will get her to winning medal finals? The OP...
While you want to provide a sympathetic ear, during the lesson is not a good time and you should privately tell the girl that she needs to keep control during lessons. If attention is paid to her...
I think it's all in how you measure success. Yes, many thousand young riders dream of becoming the up and coming stars of this sport and it does take mega bucks and connections to get to this level....
I only know of my daughter's experience and she was really lucky to be a working student at a "better barn" and had the opportunity to ride good horses and show in the children's and junior hunters...
It's hard for me to believe that even two part-time jobs will pay for all horse expenses and showing in this day and age. It doesn't sound like the OP has any sort of safety net if her horse gets...
Most even "free" leases require you to pay expenses, so I don't see how OP can afford to do this. If benefactor would be willing to pay for lessons - and OP took her time to help out at lesson barn...
I've been lurking for several months and your thread has coaxed me out of the shadows because I can really empathize with your situation. You sound like a very hard-working, responsible, horse-crazy...
