Maybe it is a sign of the economic times, or maybe there are more riders than before wanting to compete more regularly or at a higher level – but whatever the reason at NuuMed we regularly receive requests for products and/or cash sponsorship from people involved in all types of equestrian activities. Within the last couple of weeks I have replied to people who are competing in showjumping, dressage, eventing, TREC and endurance – and those applying ranged in age from 14 up to late 20’s.
It is not surprising that lack of finance proves a major roadblock to many riders aspirations as anybody with one or more horses knows that it means non stop spending on the essentials – and any competition activity has to be added in on top – and , as we read in the H & H or from speaking to people, even our top riders have to sell top horses to enable them to keep the flow of younger ones coming through.
There is no doubt that a lot of riders want to – and love to – compete, but it is becoming a greater financial challenge for many.