In any market where demand outpaces supply, the result is escalating prices. And these days there are simply many more people who want to ride at the FEI levels than there are horses who can do it.

What this means is that dressage horses with FEI potential are well beyond the grasp of most trainers and riders.

“For a 4-year-old showing promise, you’re looking at $55,000 to $60,000,” said Adam Gershberg, co-owner of Apple Hill Farm, a dressage training barn in Hudson, N.Y. “And that’s the low end of the price range. This is why a lot of trainers can’t buy these horses.”

And the price just gets worse as a horse climbs the levels.

“For a 10-year-old successfully showing at Prix St. Georges, you’re looking at about a $250,000 horse,” said dressage trainer and judge Hilda Gurney, of Moorpark, Calif.

Yes, there are those occasional stories of riders or trainers who find a diamond in a backyard and rise up the ranks on an inexpensive horse. But those are rare cases.

“To make it to FEI, you have to have a super-quality horse,” Gurney said. “And most trainers don’t have $100,000 to throw at a horse. That’s the problem.”

A problem, yes, but not an insurmountable one, according to some trainers. It is possible to get someone else to put up the money for one of these super horses, but only if the trainer has something to offer in return.

“Realistically speaking, you must be able to improve a horse. You must have ahistory of being able to make horses,” said Beth Baumert, who, along with daughter Jennifer, operates Cloverlea Farm in Columbia, Conn.

All across America, young riders dream that a wealthy sponsor will see them ride and be so impressed that he or she will provide that horse that will one day take them to the Olympics. Charlotte Bredahl Baker, who coaches many young riders, hears it from them all the time.

“The truth is, I never had anybody sponsor a horse for me, but through creative partnerships, I have had some wonderful horses,” Baker said.

Think Partnership

Her point is that it’s not a sponsor one should be seeking, but a partner.

A sponsor is someone who buys a horse and places it with a trainer, but who maintains control over the career of the horse. This includes deciding who rides and trains the horse. Most riders and trainers, in all of the equestrian disciplines, don’t own the horses they train and compete. So they never know when a horse will be taken from them.

A partner, on the other hand, is someone with whom the trainer shares ownership, meaning they have some control over the horse. Partnership, by definition, means that you–the rider or trainer–must have something to bring to the table.

“First of all, I think people have to realize that you can’t expect to get something in life without giving something back. Why would anybody sponsor a horse for you, if you’re not willing to give them value back?” Baker said.

That value is the ability to train the horse to advance to the higher levels. And to do that, you have to be able to do more than ride. You have to be able to train, to develop, horses.

Very often those who have the money to purchase a horse with FEI-level potential don’t have the skills to train it to that level. That leaves them with the choice of either paying a trainer cash to do the job, or not paying the trainer and instead granting the trainer partial ownership in the horse. For the trainer, this means being willing to train a horse for free, in exchange for the opportunity to ride a horse of high quality.

The Baumerts have been able to use their training skills to acquire FEI-level prospects by forming small syndicates–a group of several individuals who share in the cost of purchasing good horses. Jennifer’s current FEI mount, the Hanoverian gelding Weltgraf, is owned by a group of six.

The contract among the group members gives the Baumerts complete control over all decisions affecting the horse’s career, including when to sell it. That’s what makes the arrangement different from a straight sponsorship, where the owner can yank a horse out from under a rider at any time.

Gurney, who also provides free training on some horses in exchange for control, said that her contracts also make clear that the horse cannot be sold without her agreement.

Baumert said that she and her daughter have succeeded in their strategy because they possess three key things that have earned them the trust of group members.

The first is their skill and reputation as trainers.

“This is a risky endeavor for the buyers, and you must feel confident of your ability to bring this horse along,” Baumert said.

The second is their overall knowledge of horses and their ability to chose good ones. This is important, Baumert said, because some of the investors know little of horses and are counting on the trainer to pick the right horse.

“When we go to Europe, we might look at 100 horses and not find one we like. The most we’ve ever found if we look at 100 is three good ones,” Baumert said. They’re picky because they never forget that they are spending someone else’s money.

And the third, and perhaps most important ingredient, is that they’re honest.

“If we make a mistake, we’ll pay to send the horse back. We take responsibility,” Baumert said.

Integrity Matters

The importance of honesty cannot be overstated, Baker said. And it’s not only the trainer who must be honest, but also the partners.

“The key is to work with people who are honest and who have high integrity,” said Baker. “It’s also important that they understand the risk involved with horses. I have several wonderful partners who I’ve known for a long time. They understand the risk, and they have a very good sense of fairness. They trust me completely in every way, as I trust them.”

People who’ve created flourishing partnerships say that what this really means is that young riders dreaming of sponsors would do better to focus less on finding a sponsor and more on becoming good trainers with a reputation for honesty. The downside of partnerships is that generally the goal is to sell the horse when it increases in value in order to earn a profit.

“The idea is that at a certain point you’ll sell the horse. It’s a very small group of people who just want to see their horse show and aren’t interested in selling it” at some point, Gershberg said.

“We go into this knowing that we must eventually sell this horse, despite the years of work and our love for the horse, because generally the deal is that we sell the horse when it’s worth the most,” Baumert said.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean that investing in dressage horses is good business. Baumert said that while it’s possible for investors to make a nice profit, there’s no guarantee.

“They must understand that this is risky,” she said. “Never invest more than you can afford to lose.”

Although most investors’ goal is to eventually recover their money, it doesn’t mean that every partnership needs to result in the trainer losing the horse.

Baker tends to design her partnerships in ways that make it possible for her to buy her partner’s share at a reasonable price–usually set at the time of the contract.

The bottom line is that good trainers can use the partnership approach to gain access to young horses with the potential to reach the FEI levels. But what trainers must be willing to give in lieu of money is time and commitment.

“Obviously, we all have to make a living and can’t train a lot of horses for free,” Baker said. “But when that special one comes along, you have to be willing to work with the owner to make it a long-term deal.”

Making A Partnership Work

The first step in using the partnership approach, trainers say, is to develop a good reputation. The second step is to build strong relationships with current clients and owners. Once these people come to trust you and the work you do with horses, they’ll be open to discussing a partnership.

Then you have to design a partnership contract, and there are lots of choices. Some trainers use contracts written by attorneys, others don’t. Charlotte Bredahl Baker believes that if the trust is there, then a simple one-page contract is sufficient.

Beth Baumert uses an attorney, but the partnerships that she and daughter Jennifer create often involve several people. But she warns that the group of owners should remain as “small as possible.”

The one common element in partnership contracts is that the training is free. The Baumerts also cover the costs of board and feed, but once the horse is sold, the farm takes a share to recover these costs.

Hilda Gurney’s contracts generally require the partners to pay for almost everything but the training.

One of the most creative people in the use of partnerships is Baker. She started using partnerships in 1986, when a partner put up the money for her to purchase two horses in Europe. One of these horses was Monsieur, her 1992 Olympic mount. The initial plan was to sell him, but when Baker couldn’t find a buyer for him, she told her partner she’d take over all of Monsieur’s expenses. Eventually, she bought her partner’s share and retired him.

“A couple of years after I got Monsieur, a girlfriend in Denmark told me she had a 4-year-old gelding that she would like to do a partnership on,” added Baker. “I thought he was nice, but I had no idea of his potential. We made a deal that I would pay to have him flown to California and would pay all expenses and train him for free. For me, it seemed like a fair deal, because I only had to come up with the $5,000 to transport him,” Baker said.

A few years later when her friend needed cash for a new condominium, they worked out a payment plan that let Baker buy her out. That horse was Lugano, who in 1996 was undefeated at Intermediaire I and won the California Dressage Society championship and was USDF Horse of the Year.

Baker also forms partnerships in which she does free training and then splits the profit if the horse is sold. “I always put a clause in, so that if I love the horse I can buy it at the base price,” she said.

But it’s not always money that Baker uses to buy out a partner.

“Three years ago, I got a young horse in training and the owner was interested in doing a partnership. At the time, I thought there were too many question marks about the horse, and I was afraid to commit to a partnership. Two years later, I realized he was a super horse, but I was afraid of losing him and asked my client to work something out. I didn’t have the cash to buy half of him, but instead traded for half of another wonderful horse.”

Baker also uses the partnership approach to encourage others to take over her share of a horse.

“Last year I bought a wonderful amateur horse in Europe and had a student who I knew the horse was perfect for. She was reluctant to buy any horse, and I offered her 50 percent with the idea of selling the horse in a year or so. It showed my student I was willing to share in the risk and I believed in the horse. My student quickly realized the horse was perfect for her and bought the other 50 percent.”