Equi-llany

New web site section! One on One with our sale horses

They may reside several hundred miles away but our listings are no strangers to us. While most sites connect Sellers to databases and request generic details, we speak individually with each to determine the best Buyer and how to go about finding them. A handful of our listings have been sold or leased through our network more than once, and many of our clients are repeat Sellers with us. Our personal relationship with professionals and their animals provides Buyers with details that really matter.

Last week I was able to escape from the city and catch our Green Conformation Hunter "As You Wish" compete (and compete well, I might add) at the Showplace Spring Spectacular in Wayne, IL. This awesome experience, seeing one of our horses go out and perform exactly as I expected him to, inspired me to create "One on One" - a place where I can share these experiences with our Buyers.

Click here to view our first One on One entry, "As You Wish" at Showplace Spring. Includes lots of great pictures!

 

Kentucky counts down to 2010

Thank the stars for Kentucky: No state could better represent equestrian sport in the United States than this midwest hero. As the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games comes to U.S. soil for the first time in 2010 I am thrilled (and relieved!) that the big, open, horse-loving spaces of Kentucky will play host.

Of course, I've been thrilled since this tribute to the KY Horse Park was announced; a venue I've loved dearly since 1995 . . . in a city I frequent no less than twice a year . . . where I just happen to have a free place to stay. A place that  with a bit of inspiration, a tank of gas, and six hours of spare time I can easily find myself in.

I have oodles of Kentucky stories, an anthology that grows with each visit, and my trip in May was no disappointment. Sneaking a few days of vacation between 3 weeks of DVD production and 2 weeks of horse shows at the Horse Park my beau, Evan, and I snuck off to the Red River Gorge- a climbing mecca located an hour southeast of Lexington, and one of the most breathtakingly beautiful areas I have ever seen.

Probably of little interest to you is the flash flood we somehow avoided, my sunrise battle with a noisy band of crows, or the 75 ft. rock face I managed to climb! (Granted, not me in photo- I prefered beau keep both hands on rope and off camera, but this is the route) Cool, but decidedly non-horsey. Yet it seems no matter where we went, and likely to Evan's chagrin, I found myself engaged in conversations about the upcoming World Equestrian Games.

At TWO different campsites, both well over an hour away from the Horse Park and thoroughly hidden amidst the deep crevices and high peaks of the Gorge, WEG was brought up by the camp hosts as they learned our next destination was the horse show. In both cases the conversation instantly livened. The first camp host, a man not thrilled by our late Sunday arrival after he'd just ushered out a weekend's worth of vacationers, flipped his attitude inside-out as he told us he had signed up to volunteer at the Games. He went on with enthusiasm, mentioning he has no equestrian background what-so-ever but understood the Games were BIG.

The second site, a private campground that caters to climbers, was a similar story. One of barely a dozen groups hanging around after the weekend rush our host clearly preferred the company of her garden to that of the, admittedly, stinky campers. I had noticed a small, rundown building that appeared to be (or once had been) stalls. Desperate for small talk as I intruded upon this kind lady's day to pay for our primitive campsite with a credit card (my own hypocrisy makes me cringe) I asked if she hosted overnight boarding. She once did, before she got sick of the yahoos that tore up the driveway drunk and bareback at 2 a.m. (thanks for ruining that, guys). As the conversation picks up she learns I ride competitively and tells me the most amusing story about a phone call from WEG officials in search of additional horse boarding for the Games in the greater Lexington area (much greater, apparently). Mind you, if the picture here isn't evidence of what an absurd idea that would be let me tell you about the 14 mile drive on a barely two-lane road that spends much more time mimicking a pretzel than actually getting you anywhere. This lady, an inspiration to anyone hoping to carry their athleticism into those years beyond the hill, was a former rider and no stranger to the size of rig these beasts arrive in, nor to the size of dollar signs those four spindly legs are responsible for, and politely convinced them to search elsewhere. We had a fine chuckle at this, and another 10 minutes of glowing conversation regarding the upcoming Games.

Lexington itself must be given high praise for capturing the spirit of the Games. As I wrapped up my vacation and wandered back into horsey-world I drove into downtown Lex and passed right under a digital countdown to the games: Exactly 500 days to go. I had no idea it was so close!

The scenic route to the Horse Park- taking Newtown to Iron Works Pike, is more impressive than ever. The entrance to Fasig-Tipton has been completely redone and is absolutely stunning. All of the farms are clean and green, the babies lulling lazily in the fields. The road has been widened in areas and I hope some of our foreign competitors will happen upon this beautiful back road entrance.

I think very few areas in our country can represent the equestrian industry in the United States as well as Lexington. The outlying area consists almost entirely of horse farms, the restaurants are decorated in equestrian fashion, thoroughbred racing magazines sit tauntingly on the counter at gas stations and 2 of 5 newspaper stands are dedicated to equine sport. It is the home of our National Federation and Memorial to some of the greatest horses that ever walked this earth. When I visit the Horse Park I feel as though I've stepped into my own horse's dream life.

With Churchill in Louisville and Keeneland in Lexington we have entire communities centered around the equine way of life; where horses appear on the front page of newspapers and billboards promote quality feed and supplements.  Aside from the particularly equine aesthetic of the area we have an economy that recognizes the financial benefits of equestrian competition. There are very few areas  that would acknowledge this factor and rally in the manner the citizens of Kentucky have. I'm quite sure that even if Chicago had an appropriate venue for an event of this magnitude promotion would be limited to page 6 of the sports section; after baseball, basketball, hockey, off-season football, and probably beach volleyball or something.  The structures going in at the Horse Park are MEGA. The grandstands for the outdoor Stadium field are practically monolithic- quite a contrast to the Old Barn across the path, host of those great parties at Bluegrass Festival. I didn't make it down to the new Indoor but from the look of it I believe it dwarfs some major sports venues here in Chicago. Clearly these plans include a very promising future for High Performance Equestrian events in Kentucky.

Kentucky, Lexington, Alltech and everyone behind 2010's WEG have taken their task very seriously and will do the US proud as we welcome many of these riders to our soil for the first time. Be sure to visit the web site and start planning that 2010 trip! http://www.alltechfeigames.com/

Realistic support for the Big Eq

Not saying that anyone will actually take my suggestion seriously, but I just linked this blog on HSS, referencing previously written thoughts on awards for young equitation horses that the budget stricken  riders usually end up on at Finals . . . so I thought I better get over here and expound slightly upon that as the original post (below, Feb. 27th) did not give the details I thought it did.

Here it goes, in brief . . . because the market's finally picked up a bit and I've  got work to do :)

Renewed inspiration: While this idea originally brewed in 2005, my interest was renewed by a recent announcement from USEF regarding a new non-profit organization, "Big Eq Dreams" that will secure 3'6" Medal horses, by donation, and offer them to young riders whose goals are burdened by truly legitimate financial concerns. (COTH thread with text of USEF announcement)

 I'm not going to bother shooting holes in it here, they were blown out on COTH. I wholey applaud the motivation and intent, and hate to squash the miniscule ray of hope it provides, but I really can't get over the obvious flaws.

Alternative concept: In keeping with the constructs are already in place, reward a different set of traits.

There are a variety of ways a young rider can acheive their equestrian goals, but a successful trip at Medal Finals seems to be the one everyone is focused on. This is certainly respectable, a ribbon out of 300 is an enormous accomplishment, all stars must be aligned and the gods must smile in your favor.

No doubt you will need the best horse, the best instruction and the best preparation to get that ribbon. No doubt this will cost a lot of money.

But year after year young riders show up with what they have, and lay it on the table. On that table you see some, but not all of the components necessary to take a ribbon. On it you see the sacrifices made to get to that point . . . one rider opts for the less fashionable tack and attire, another clearly hasn't invested enough in training, another rides a horse of questionable athletecism, soundness, or sanity. All sacrifices made that reflect the incontroversible: You can't spend as much here if you want to make it there.

Inevitably we see those that have, in my opinion, made the soundest sacrifice of all. They swapped push-button for no button, 8 years for 4 years, First Year Green for Baby Green. These riders looked ahead and saw the most important component of the ribbon winner is the horse they rode in on. Financially strapped they find a good quality youngster and prepare themselves for one, two or three years of blood, sweat and tears, in hopes of one day making it around at Harrisburg or Syracuse. They're pretty sure there's still no chance at a ribbon, but the goal has become to just jump around clean on the horse you brought along. That suddenly means so much more than a $0.75 piece of satin.

This entire idea began with a trip a saw at '05 Medal Finals - a stunning grey steps into the ring, his charcoal points immediately give away his age, and his sticky step betrays his confidence. A guts and glory rider, stylish to a point but clearly more concerned with effectiveness, gives the ride of her life, cracking into a smile at several points as the horse puts a foot-and-a-half between himself and the fences. All distances safe and consistent, all rails up, all jumps jumped, she pulls up, drops the reins, and gives him the fuss he deserves. Both horse and rider are beaming.

Clearly this horse has the potential to be a star, clearly this rider is enormously talented- and isn't that the point of these Finals? To say to the world, "HEY. This person is GOOD. We might have a future star here." 

From there it seemed easy to develop a system that not only gives riders that can't afford a horse of Finals caliber a reason to aim for Finals anyway, but also encourages and rewards that which we all bemoan as lost in today's equestrian sport- the effective rider. The non-poser.

Recognition of riders successfully competing on green mounts would accomplish both of these goals. It requires no additional trips, and no equine welfare. Whether it is a title presented during awards to the "Best Young Equitation Horse", or a more structured set of additional ribbons for those competing on "First Year Equitation Horses", the whole philosophy is already in place and simply needs to be acknowledged, and rewarded.

I would venture to say a horse that competes well at Finals benefits even more than his rider; they'll carry that on their resume to the tune of several $$$, as well as assisting in many more young equitation careers. Riders working to make up a Big Eq horse, and their owners, would have serious interest in the success of a horse in this field. Imagine sale ads that read, "Awarded Best Young Equitation Horse, USEF Medal Finals 2010", instead of "Jumped around with his eyes closed first time at Harrisburg" (yeah, sure).

Young riders could bank their careers on the success and sale of such an animal- literally, by turning around and putting that money towards a horse that can give them a legitimate chance at a ribbon.

Etc, etc. That's the superbly brief rundown. The blog post from 2005 about the grey horse at Harrisburg is out there in cyberspace somewhere, will see if I can dig it up. Otherwise, I am very interested in taking this concept into reality and am probably in the position to do so. Would like to hear thoughts from the industry (ahem, comment please) and see what support for it there truly is.

The timing just might be perfect.

So, over on COTH, there are a few discussions regarding the usual: The prohibitively expensive cost of securing and campaigning a show horse. That discussion of course spun off in a whirlwind of opinions, which is both the downfall and the attractiveness of that board.

The roots of "prohibitively expensive" lie in so many aspects of our sport it is hard to see a clear road for adjustment. But, before the discussion even begins, everyone has to understand and agree on a few things:

1. Horses are expensive. Period. That will never change. If I wanted one, I couldn't even afford a $2500 OTTB in bare feet and needing 6 months of pasture rehab. I can afford two cats and some fish, but that's about the extent of the animal hobby for now.

2. If you want to play, you have to pay. If you want to put your horse into the athletic regimen a top hunter or jumper requires, you are going to have to pay for the upkeep that such an athlete needs. Kiss those off-the-rack-steel-in-front-only shoes goodbye. Say sayonara to vet visits 2x a year for routine vaccinations. Realize you have to pay-up for products that last through the rigors of a real training program. Add together all those extra costs like clipping, monthly supplements, years of instruction from a qualified trainer. Realize how many increased costs there are for a show horse before you even get to the horse show. Realize that if you want a competitive horse you are either going to have to buy it young and put that money and those miles into it yourself, or you are going to pay for the miles and money someone else has already put into it.

3. It's a horse show. That means one horse is going to have to be better than another horse. That may also mean there are A LOT of horses better than your horse. If you are not happy with where your horse is falling in the ribbons then you are in the wrong competition. There seems to be a lot of time spent discussing this basic premise of sport and I'm not sure why.

But the beautiful thing about equestrian sport is you never grow too old, you never depend on someone renewing your 'contract', and you never have to resort to cheesy summer leagues. You can be 60+ years old and lay claim to the biggest title in the nation (whatever we deem that to be). At any age you can throw yourself at the feet of our Olympic stars and see how well you measure up. What other sport  allows that?

I spent my junior career on the back of a 15K TB that moved and jumped great, but was scared of his breath in winter, and had the stamina of a marathon runner on crack. I also spent my junior career at a barn where, despite throwing 15K at a horse, and 2K twice a month at a show, we were way down the food chain in the wealth department. Nothing brings it home more then when you are all on the same horse shopping trip, and a completely separate row of horses has been lined up for you to try. Here I am, trying to keep some psychotic 17h Westphalen (had no idea what that was at the time) from killing me, while my friends are loping around 3'6" courses on chestnuts with four chromed feet.  I have put a lot of thought, my entire life, into these discussions.

First problem, our grass roots levels and shows are inconsistent across the country. The B & C Circuits in California, especially SoCal, would beat the pants off of certain small A shows I'm familiar with in the Midwest. The sport does have levels that allow for people of all budgets to compete at some degree or another, unfortunately that competition varies so widely we all have different experiences and opinions as to how it is working.

Second problem . . . and here comes the dreary music . . . the dumbing down of shows. Part of the reason B circuits are suffering is because all the 2'6" riders are at the A shows. I can totally see why: It is far easier, and more profitable, if a barn has all the clients, trainers and horses at one show; as opposed to sending half here and half there. That would mean every barn needs a competent "B" circuit trainer, one you trust on the road with your clients. This is not an easy thing to find, and the shows have made the determination for us by offering classes for everyone.

It's an infrastructure flaw and whoo-doggie, it's gonna need some major review and smart discussion to adjust it. Is now the time? You tell me, with only 800 horses at Thermal clearly someone is staying home with hopes of showing at more affordable venues this year, a notch or three down from HITS. Horses are selling again, but very few at the original listing price. The whole country is learning to adjust the way the live and the way they think. Maybe the timing is perfect?

I have 2.5 ideas. The first two are easy, sound, and provide opportunity but not restructuring. There are bits and pieces on the COTH threads. That last idea has some ideas for restructuring, but not sure it's ready to go live. I plan to come back and talk more at length about my first two thoughts, but for now this blog has far exceeded the time limits I set upon it, and I must go work!

Almost forgot, COTH thread of interest #1 and COTH thread of interest #2, which is actually about a new non-profit to supply eq horses

Thermal brings it home,

and not in a good way.

I am still floored by the numbers at Thermal. Having had a strong February in interest, trials and sales here at The Exchange I was cautiously optimistic as I drove into the grounds of the still new HITS Desert Horse Park. That lasted all of 30 seconds, which is approximately how long it took to zip to the front of the grounds and find a killer parking spot near the middle of all the action.

I'm not kidding, I literally checked my program to make sure I hadn't mistakenly shown up during Off Week. I hadn't. Here it was, Week 4 of HITS Thermal, and I found myself staring at two completely empty jumper rings.

As I made the usually treacherous journey across the road that separates the permanents from the jumper rings I encountered one lone rider and her horse. A few steps later a mini-bike finally appeared from around a corner. I braced myself and looked around, trying to find the safest route; expecting to simultaneously sidestep a corgi, a golf cart, and a bratty pony dragging around a helpless child, but lo & behold the mini-bike swung wide, making use of the 30 feet of empty space that surrounded me on all sides.

The bittersweet upside was distribution went quite quickly. What usually takes two+ hours- a personal visit to every barn in attendance- was completed in less than one. Along the way I counted the equivalent of 10 empty aisles of stalls in the permanent barns. Tents that used to run three deep ran only 1 or 2 back, the ones furthest back still far from full. Especially sad to see the completely updated doors & panels of the tent stalls standing vacant.

The magic number was 800: 800 horses in attendance. And even the photographer- who has a good feel for how many horses campaign in front of him- felt that was a generous estimate. Folks, each week of this Circuit generally hosts anywhere from 2500-3500 horses. I have been in attendance every year for 4 years, including the final year at Indio, and the entire feel of the show is drastically different. Everyone is very much aware: Pregreen Hunters saw 20 go, down from 45+ last year. These are numbers you see at decent, but not spectacular, 'A' rated shows the rest of the year. They are not the numbers of the biggest Winter Circuit west of the Mississippi. They are not the numbers of the Crown Jewel of the biggest horse show management company in the country. They are the numbers of a seriously stressed economy that the horse world can no longer hide from.

Too bad HITS picked this year to extend their circuit another two weeks. I will be very curious to see how future shows read these experiences, and if they plan to implement any revisions to their plans.

I hold greater hope for Florida (though reports say numbers are down there also, but possibly not quite as drastic). Having experienced California, and especially the real estate industry there, I could imagine a lot of families have come to realize how inflated the value of their hard assets were. It is a scary time for anyone whose wealth is tied up in property purchased in the last 5-8 years, especially in California where prices- in some areas- far surpass those of single-family residences in our nation's largest cities. Add to that an industry heavily reliant on tourism and low on jobs, in a state that's been plagued by a deficit for years. No, it would not surprise me to see things a little better on the east coast, but not by much.

Equestrians of the 21st Century

Facebook is freaky, I'll give you that. But it's hard to fault a platform where I am both friends of Linda Allen and receiving constant updates about the upcoming 2010 WEG Games (I have actually had conversations with Linda Allen, so I am not a completely anonymous online fan :).

 

As one who was extremely slow to embrace "social networking" I am astounded when browsing through my friend list, begun just 3 weeks ago. Not only do most of my clients have pages, so do most of my idols.

 

Technology now offers targeted networking abilities that far surpass anything available. As email inboxes accumulate piles of spam and silly forwards, with no reliable method of filtering, the online platforms that allow users to control their content - and the people they associate with - are becoming ever more popular.

 

I was searching for a way to keep our Buyers informed quickly, efficiently, and without intrusion. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when I realized the rest of the world already figured this out, but I was.

 

Enter RSS feeds that automatically update each person's chosen feed reader . . . were you aware already have a feed reader? Your own browser is outfitted with one, look for the industry standard icon featured here. There's one floating at the top of my page now, next to the Internet Explorer tabs. When you are on a page with an available RSS feed, it glows orange. In Firefox, it is located at the end of the box that contains the page's URL. If you click on the orange icon it will take you directly to the RSS feed and ask you if you would like to subscribe to it. How cool is that? Try it for yourself by registering for our brand new RSS feed: www.ExchangeHunterJumper.com

 

And, if you're really on top of technology like my production assistant Ellie, you've already taken advantage of the free tools available to organize your daily online content. Ellie has essentially created her own control panel of pertinent media with her "iGoogle" page, featured in miniature here. On it her calendar, weather, upcoming events and preferred feeds are neatly organized and displayed, plus she has customized it to make it her "very own". On the image I've pointed out the small space in which she receives our ExchangeHunterJumper feed updates, front & center of course. ;)

 

I entered the social networking realm by testing the waters at Facebook, but additional research has enlightened me to so much more. RSS feeds, Twitter, iGoogle- all ways we can update Buyers in simple, efficient ways. And, apparently, all very well established technologies that the real world has been on to since 2005. I'm looking forward to further exploration of these viral marketing concepts, and how to best use them for intelligent promotion of our horses. What experiences, if any, have you had as equestrians making use of all this new technology?

 

And I of course started a Facebook group :) Click here to join Equestrians of the 21st Century.

Winter Circuit Updates

We have a lot of results to keep track of on the various Circuits, here are just a couple of our most recent highlights:

Congratulations to Sin City - Mid Circuit Champion for HITS Thermal in the ridiculously populated Low Hunter division. Sin City showed only Weeks 1 & 2 and brought home 6 blues and other assorted Top 4 ribbons. Each of his classes over fences had a minimum of 38 horses, and he won the A Section out of 63 horses Week 2. "Vegas" and owner Kelly Straeter also brought home Tricolors in the Modified Adults and good ribbons in the AAs.

Over in Ocala, Rock Zarr is having a great start to the 2009 season with Jennifer Alfano. Arriving in Florida in early February she stepped back into the show ring Week II and was 2nd out 35 in the competitive PreGreen hack! She was also 4th out of 42 Over Fences in the Pregreens, and 4th and 7th in the Low Hunters out of 70 & 62 entries, respectively. An exceptional performance for her first 2009 outing, really looking forward to seeing how this girl progresses through the Circuit. Hope to bring back pictures when I'm there in March.

For more results we keep an updated list on the home page of ExchangeHJ.com

market upturn?

Boy am I thrilled to say we've had a lot of action around here this week! Pico Bello has found a new home in New York and they are thrilled with them. I have another listing out on trial and have buyers lined up to look at horses in both Gulf Port and Ocala this weekend.

Could it be the holidays were just their normal, slow selves? That the slowness of December and January was a normal off season, when trainers stay home and take some well-deserved time off, and parents demand family take precedence over horse, for once?

It's a nice thought, but can't explain things entirely. Though, it is nice to realize the 'off-season' was a larger factor than I thought it was.

I'll head off to Thermal Thursday for a first-hand impression of the numbers and the activity out there. Some say entries are down, others say maybe not. I'm eager to see for myself! Hope to bring lots of pictures back as well!

Dragged kicking and screaming from our bubble . . .

Has this happened to you?

It's Monday morning, and not so early. You roll out of bed, looking forward to breakfast and coffee in a stationary position, preferably even sitting down, on something that doesn't move. You wander lazily from morning task to morning task, pushing aside the pile of show pads and standing wraps discarded in an exhausted heap on the washer. Three pairs of Tailored Sportsmans and a custom Grand Prix coat lie in a separate pile, in desperate need of a dry clean before shoving off again in 3 days. A pile of newspapers sits next to a week's worth of mail. For a moment you ponder browsing through them, and with a sigh scoop them into a large blue bin. At least you recycle.

Eventually, inevitably, you will re-enter the public sphere. You might turn on the television and stumble across the news, or run into a non-horsey friend at the coffee shop. You learn something big has happened in the world. Something real, something important, something that as a citizen of the planet you should probably know about. You realize that for the past week you have been "checked out" of life as most people know it, because for the past week you have been at a horse show.

We exist in a bubble because our horses require we exist there, in their bubble. Their needs- so often unpredictable- trump our lives and outside commitments. Their bubble recognizes no holidays, no business hours, and no sick days, and therefore neither does ours. We willingly reside within this bubble, because within it is everything we need.

But there is all kinds of talk of bubbles these days, usually followed by words such as "burst" or "implosion". Be it Real Estate, Wall Street or Equestrian, the underlying theme seems to be that everyone has been existing in a bubble of their own devise, and apparently that doesn't work.

The economic downturn is real, its effect is ubiquitous, and the equine industry can no longer hide from it. This is now a global bubble.

I am in an extremely unique position to evaluate the equine sales market on a national level, for every budget and type you will find in the hunter-jumper show ring today. For going on four years I have watched the various market fluctuations based on time of season, geographic location, and current trends, and each day I work with people that offer insight into a particular niche or region in which they have decades of experience. 

From my experience marketing in the practically identical high-end Real Estate industry I am aware that people often use such analysis to improve their market's situation.

Over the next few weeks I hope to use this blog to explore market trends, nationally and regionally, and discuss some real solutions. I invite anyone to comment with their experience and ideas, and help provide a direction for discussion. Please forward this location so we can pull from as many minds as possible.

The All New ExchangeHunterJumper.com!

The Exchange launched their new web site January 15th and so far the response has been fantastic! The layout is simpler, the navigation is streamlined, and the horses look better than ever.

The new web site follows the release of the latest Exchange Video Catalog- Vol 3, Issue 4, featuring the stallion "Reno" on the DVD color. Hunter-Jumper trainers nationwide should have received their free DVDs over Christmas. If you are a professional Hunter-Jumper trainer and did not receive your free DVD please let us know.

As the market drags along we are committed to exploring new and creative ways to expose our sale horses: ExchangeHunterJumper.com now has a supporting page on the ginormous networking site "Facebook". The decision was made upon discovering several Facebook pages dedicated to legitimate equestrians, including pages for the United States Equestrian Federation & the US Hunter Jumper Association. We will, however, moderate page comments as necessary to ensure they are up to our professional standards. We intend to use it as a tool for increased exposure and mature discussion of industry specific topics, and not as a refuge for bored teenagers. Please help spread the word, become a Facebook Fan here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/ExchangeHunterJumpercom/117797000181 

Additionally we have increased Horse Show exposure with our new sponsorship of Patrick Rodes management company "Southbound Shows" which holds events across Texas, OK, and the Southeast. We are also in pursuit of sponsorships that will increase exposure in California & Colorado.

So check out the all new http://www.ExchangeHunterJumper.com and tell us what you think of the new site- we love input from both Buyers & Sellers.