Online Horse Shows?

Online Horse Shows?

I am so excited to begin showing Ethan. My plan is for this summer to take him to several local shows, and see how he does. But the ultimate reason is to get that shiny piece of satin. Why am I so obsessed with getting a ribbon?!?!? Have you ever thought about an online horse show? It might be an option to think about.

Going to a horse show is no easy undertaking, in my opinion. First you have all of the preparation. Then you have to buy or rent a trailer, or pay someone to haul your horse to the show grounds. You also need to factor in the gas, wear and tear on your vehicle, oh and if you don’t have a truck, you need a truck too. And then there are the entry fees, along with the office charges, and….and….and…..

The cost of showing a horse can be really expensive regardless of the size of show you go to. I really wanted to take Ethan to a show at the Colorado Horse Park this summer, and that was my original goal, until I started to add up the cost. To compete at a 3 day dressage show it would cost me $800.00.

$800 dollars for 9 classes! I’m sorry, but that is way too much money for me. $800.00 would feed my horses for 2 months, would buy me a new pair of boots, Samshield helmet, and a Ogilvy saddle pad. Which I would be buying primarily to use for shows. But I have found you don’t have to invest thousands of dollars to get that shimmering piece of satin.

And I am so excited to share this with you… Online Horse Shows!

I remember shortly after my sticker shock of the cost of going to a horse show wondering if there was such a thing as online horse shows. So I did a Google search, and I was so excited when I found there was such a thing! In fact, I found 3 different websites that offer online horse shows.

Horse Shows Online

This is the one I am going to try first, this month actually. But Horse Shows Online offers classes with both photo classes, and a video class. They are located in the United Kingdom, but if you are in the United States, or anywhere else for that matter, you can still compete (I love the internet!)

They offer different photo classes every month, and have started adding some video classes as well. The photo classes are pretty simple, you upload your photos to either Facebook or Flikr, add the link of where the photo is, and pay your entry fee of $3 pounds ($3.74 US dollars) and your entered!

If you do live outside of the United Kingdom, it does cost a little bit more to have your rosettes shipped to you, but it is well worth the cost in my opinion! For the month of March 2017, there were 16 photo classes, and they have a bonus class too, which once you have entered a “class” you can enter in the bonus class for free!

Creating a photo is much easier than creating a video, so this is why I am going to enter a few classes her first, and then build on that.

 

Interdressage

Once I feel like I am doing well with Horse Shows Online, I am going to try my hand at Interdressage. They have a TON of classes every month. Everything from in hand, walk trot, horsemanship tests and full dressage tests. Their classes are all video classes, so I will need to step up my filming game, and enlist the help of my husband to be my camera man.

And with Interdressage, they offer rosette ribbons, AND prize money! What?!?!?! You can enter a class, and if you do a great job, you could potentially win back your entry fee, how fabulous is that?

They have a lot of information on their website with ideas of how to film better, setting up your arena, and they do have a newsletter with information on the classes, and other helpful information to encourage you (me) to enter into a class or two.

This is a really great website, with a ton of information, and you can even look at videos that others have submitted to give you an idea of what makes a good video, as well as watch other riders, and see how they rode their test.

Dressage Anywhere

This website is great, and also has many different classes to choose from. They just recently celebrated their 7^th birthday! Their tests are from British Dressage, and FEI, so a little more challenging, but also great tests to really challenge you and your horse.

They have articles, and entering classes appears to be straightforward. However, I can’t attest to that yet, because I haven’t entered a class yet, but I do intend too!

They also have lots of articles, and you can sign up for free on their website.

Each of these 3 online horse shows have Facebook pages and they regularly post, so you can stay updated with all of the “shows” that are going on.

For me this is a no brainer. I can enter a lot more classes for a lot less money, without leaving the comfort of my property. I don’t have to haul my horses anywhere, and I can compete on my schedule, and when it is best for me and my horses.

I really do want to take Ethan to a real live horse show, but thanks to the internet, and sites like these, we have the opportunity to show our horses, and get some feedback from judges on how well we executed a test. And my husband will be happy, because the cost will be a lot less than going to a horse show.

What are your thoughts? Would you ever participate in an online horse show? Did you even know there was such an event? Leave your thoughts below, I would love to hear what you think!