Congress, AMHR Nationals or AMHA Nationals

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Karen S

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Good Afternoon,

We have been talking on another pony board about the cost to travel to shows. With the cost of gas and diesel going up even faster (seems like every other hour, every day) what is the most you will pay for fuel to travel to one of the National shows before you say you can't afford to go? $5.00, $6.00, $9.00?

I know alot of people have forgone shows to save for Congress, AMHR Nationals or even AMHA Nationals but where do YOU draw the line?

Karen
 
Karen what ticks me off the most is gas is a by product of diesel, and diesel is A DOLLAR more. We are choosing our shows carefully but as you know the closest rated show for us is 7-8 hours away. I hope I can afford to go to nationals with the fuel prices I know they are killing me in my business. Linda
 
Fortunately, we are 5 hours from Nationals and 25 MILES from Worlds. This year it might not make much of a difference but if it goes up much more we will have to forgo the smaller shows once our horses are qualified. I know I wanted to do the two AMHR Oklahoma shows coming up, but I can't afford the diesel on top of the entry fees right now...
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Lucy
 
Hi

So far we are still going to the shows we have on our list.. Right now it is actually cheaper to have a horse with a trainer than going by yourself and having to foot the whole bill , as you have several people to share the expense with..

I just finished my billing and for a person to send a horse to a show , 550 mile round trip and pay mileage, hotel , food , etc. ( NOT counting entry fees )) it was between $250 & $300 .. for the show.. now most of those are us staying in a hotel for at least 3 nights..

I know it might not be the route for those that like to do it themselves but maybe if you have a friend that lives close people could start kinda horse show pooling ..
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for lack of a better term..
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I know that we have looked at going to shows closer and we are only going out of our area once this year , where in the past we have made some long trips.. It does seem that entries are down at several shows..

Well here is hoping that things take a change for the better !!!! I would really hate to see people stop going to the shows.. And really I don't think it will come to that , as most always find a way to enjoy a hobby..
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Well, i am still going to congress this year and next year, year following that and so on. Our truck is gas which is $4.09 in town today. Our farthest show this year is Congress, and that is 4 hours away. Our other shows are all 2-3 hours away, you will not hear me complain. It gets about 15 miles to the gallon, i will NOT do that math. Three shows in june, three in July (including congress), one in august and then Sept going to nationals with Sheryl.

I do think next year the trainers will have NO problem filling up their clients stalls. Its going to be much cheaper to have your horses with a trainer, then to show them yourself. Am i going to do that? No. The demand for trainers is going to be very high next year, this year as well but i think next year that will be the case.
 
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Basically it doesn't matter what the price of fuel is this fall, I'm going to Nationals. Period. I've been planning on it and I'm going!! It would be nice to be able to haul a horse or two for other people to help share the costs a bit, and I may see if I can sell a horse or two that I could deliver free to Nationals (at least I'd have the money from the sale to help out on the expenses.) And maybe we'll be eating beans all winter, lol! But darn it I'm GOING!!!
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Congress, Nationals, Worlds -- all the same to us here in the NW. The price of fuel is killing us - to any of those shows it is 3 days on the road or roughly 2400+ miles EACH way -- so imagine what it costs to go anywhere
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. (Diesel went of $5/gal last weekend and I suspect it will be closer to $5.5 by the end of summer!
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The local shows are taking a hit here as well, most of the owners/trainers have to haul between 3 and 8 hours to get to any of the shows, so yes, the cost of fuel is definately impacting what we do and where we go. It is really sad to hear about the huge profits the oil companies are making while the "little guys" struggle just to be able to afford to go back and forth to work - not to mention having enough $$$ left over to run off to a show now and then.
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I am going to Nationals this year come heck or high water, as the saying goes. I haven't been since 2005 and I have worked my butt off to finish my degree the last 2 years so I deserve to go! I've also just started my masters in special ed. Anyway, I'm taking several horses, having stall curtains made up, going to be with friends, Ernie Lambdin, Deana Gafken, Dana Saxton (Ruffian) and Leeana. We're all plan on having a great time and raiding the Water'N Hole as often as possible.
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(Erica, that means you may want to bring an extra case or two of Capt. Morgan)
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Wanted to add that I am just going to enough shows to get everyone qualified to help with the expense of getting to Nationals which is approximately a 12 hour drive.
 
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We will be going to Nationals and World, but have cut back on the number of shows this season. I know some of the semi-local shows are down this year, just have to do what we can and hope we get qualified.

I think there will have to be a breaking point sooner or later for this country. Either the bubble will burst and fuel will come back down some, or we will see more serious alternatives on the market.

Jan
 
Congress, Nationals, Worlds -- all the same to us here in the NW. The price of fuel is killing us - to any of those shows it is 3 days on the road or roughly 2400+ miles EACH way -- so imagine what it costs to go anywhere
2400 miles EACH way???
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OMG! I guess I can't complain about going from MO to TX!

In some ways I do think being with a trainer can reduce your costs, but I never could afford to have the 3, 4 or 5 horses that I show each year all out with trainers at the same time. That would never work. Sure, for transportation costs it would make sense but I can't afford the $450 (or somewhere in that range) per month per horse!!!

So, back to the original question...I think $5 is about our limit. I know that's not far from where it is now, but we're pretty much at our limit now
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[SIZE=14pt]well we have already made up the mind that we are NOT going to Nationals this year will try to go to one extra local show( closeest one 8 hours away ) with the price of fuels and heating feuls and hay this year we have to cut back plus i have had a stroke and left blind in one eye so well have to consentae on getting some horses out of here any one now any Good sales carol[/SIZE]
 
We would be going to Congress but cant because of a family wedding
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We are going to all the local shows and we are very lucky to live where we have so many shows within 2 hrs. I have only been to one nationals and wanted to go this year but not sure.

I know at the area 2 meeting a lot said they would only do 2 local shows to qualify and that was it. So I think local shows might be hit hard this year.

I do think we should all try to carpool etc to cut all our costs. I also think Trainers earn every penny they make but I dont think its cheaper then showing your own. I know most of the trainers I know charge a monthly fee in addition to the fees for taking the horse to shows, plus day of show fees. So once you add it all up I think its still less to show your own.

I really wanted to go to congress and nationals and try to win some futurity money!

I am on the hunt for a trainer to maybe take my new shetland Wauk A Way Feature Attraction and Jet to congress for me
 
We've gone to two shows so far this year, one in Edinburg, IN and one in Louisville, KY. We are planning on going to Gordyville which is about 2 hours from here (maybe a bit more) and just decided this week to take one to Congress (we've never been) and it's fairly close.

We are planning on AMHR Nationals, but I am very concerned about costs. We may have to cut back in some other areas....maybe only get a sofa instead of all the furniture we had the last couple of years, and maybe not get the golf cart for as many days.

I think the small shows are hurting, I've noticed some posts on LB that the late fees are not applied and I even saw one where you could pay for the show after you get there.

We are trying to get who we think we might be taking to Tulsa qualified and then leaving them home to help save money.

Certainly not as much fun when I worry on how this will all work out.
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Not me. Even if I WAS thinking of going, fuel prices would pretty much seal the fate.

I've already passed on at least two shows this year for just that reason.

My reasons for staying home from shows are now two-fold: someone to watch the little ones AND how much it will cost to drive/stay/eat there in addition to entry fees.

I feel sad about that, as I know it's hard for the shows to make money or break even, but priorities are priorities...I love horse shows, too!

It would be nice if fuel prices would stabilize, if not drop a little.

Liz
 
"Catch" will be attending AMHR Nationals this year, but we won't be going. We had to make some cut backs and our going to AMHR Natonals was one of them.

We will be attending the AMHA World Show, however, and showing the most horses we ever have in any one year. Catch (leopard), Bamster (chestnut appy), Striker (fewspot appy), Legend (leopard), Miss O (black), Dreamer (chestnut appy), Busi (chestnut appy), and little Benny (bay). It's going to be exciting and we can't wait!

Dawn
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Unfortunately my neighbor and I both have had to bow out.... I have already reached my limit. Even splitting the fuel, etc... as we do.

I am so disappointed that we are not going this year- really wanted to make our annual trip to Nationals. Gas hit over $4.00 here now and climbing every day. Luckily our shows are pretty local- the furthest being about an hour away at most- the others about a half hour away.

We are just going to sit this one out, and hope to regroup and get it together for next year if possible.

I know one thing, somethin's gotta give. I dont think we can all keep taking this.
 
I dont do nationals, but I did really want to go to congress. Just dont think it will be in the books. Gas here is almost $4 a gallon, but my truck doesnt work so I have to borrow one, that would be deisel, and is $4.60ish here. Thats to much for a poor college kid, who as it is spends almost $500 a month in gas to get to school.
 
It has been hard all over the country, and like most we don't have any shows that are close to us. Our first show of the year was Oregon Gold, which is 1900 miles round trip, Area 8 was 1400 miles round trip, and area 7 was 1100 round trip...We are going to Ohio World and Congress which will be around 5,000 miles, fuel is ridiculous, but I have seen it dropping over here. It was 5.05 when I went to area 7 the same place is now 4.85 yesterday. I have tried to take at least 1-3 other peoples horses with me to share the fuel to each show, this really does help out. I simply divide the fuel by the number of horses on the trailer and each person has a share of fuel. The 2 ladies that have sent horses can't afford to go by themselves and it has helped me out more than they know. I do have 2 horses booked to Congress and they will share a fuel.

I really want to go to Nationals, but only have one horse to take myself. I am trying to book extra horses on the trailer so that I can go. I just can't justify going without the extra horses.
 
I really want to go to Nationals, but only have one horse to take myself. I am trying to book extra horses on the trailer so that I can go. I just can't justify going without the extra horses.
AMEN Jennifer! Trailer pooling is the way to go!
 
I don't know what our limit is for traveling to Nationals yet. Too bad the gas prices are so high. I did hear it may go down a little because less people will be traveling during the summer, so to sell fuel, gas stations may need to lower their prices. I heard though that in the middle east there are some places that sell gas for 33 cents a gallon and one place was possibly 12 cents a gallon! . Wish it would be that here.
 

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