The Dressage Show - And Four to Go!

Going to the show just adds to the adventure. You can pay someone to trailer your horse or you can trailer your horse yourself. It costs at least $100 each way but likely more to have someone trailer your horse depending on the distance to a show. If you're going to lots of shows, it's probably worth the investment to get a trailer. We bought a light European one, a Fautras (Fautras Horse Trailers). (Note - Even thought they are pricey, I would highly recommend the Fautras over other European trailers because they have two large doors in the front and a lifetime warranty on the floor. It also has a loading mechanism that allows for one person to load a horse. We really like ours - the Provan Premium - and selected it over others after our research.). The European trailers are more expensive but they can be pulled by a smaller vehicle. And since they have surge brakes, you don't need a truck with electric braking capabilities. But there are many types of trailers that are less expensive however you generally need a truck to tow them.

If you do trailer your own horse, you may want to look into travel insurance. One company that I'm aware of that specializes in horse travel is US Rider (note: they are available in both the USA and Canada). It's kind of like the AAA for horse travel to help out when you're stranded on the side of the road. They go so far as helping to secure emergency stabling. It is well worth the cost.

When you get to the show, you need a place to store everything you packed. The solution? A tack stall. Yes, that's right - paying for a second stall just to hold all the stuff the horse and rider needs because you don't want to be going back and forth to the truck and trailer (make certain you order this extra stall on your show application form - think about splitting it with another rider to cut costs). And now that everything is unloaded and the horse is in its newly prepared stall, now you can sit back and take a breath - ahhh, NO!! Now you need to take care of the horse since it just had such a long journey, go check in to the show office, sign in, get your bridle number (if you don't have a bridle number on the horse when it is outside its stall, you can/will get fined/penalized or disqualified), and then start to prepare for the show.

No rest for the weary DDD (Dumb Dressage Dad).