Is $700 a month a bit much for an 11 year olds sport?

Divorcethewife wrote:

This is way too much, imagine all the good things you could do with an $8400 extra a year. You could travel to literally anywhere in the world, for 2 weeks, in a nice hotel, nice restaurants etc.

Presumably op wants his daughter in a sport and not being a sedentary potato. So that savings would be the 8400 less the cost of a more reasonable sport like soccer or whatever. OP, do your research on what the sport will cost before you let your daughter get involved in it.

RGARC2 wrote:

If your daughter enjoys it then you might want to stay with it. Several private universities have equestrian as a sport to meet Title IX. If she is good by the time college comes around then your $700/mo could yield a decent scholarship at an otherwise expensive school.

I agree with this. If your daughter really loves it and may have a future in it, then keep paying. It may end up saving you money in the future. If she starts complaining and you are basically at the point where you are forcing her to go then drop it.

It would all depend on your actual debt in addition to these fees. If you have any debt (i.e. credit cards, student loans, car payments) then you really need to draw the line. If she has some talent for this activity then make some sacrifices, but if it’s just for fun then it’s time to find a new activity. And you just tell her it’s too expensive.

I think the main problem is that your daughter get the wrong idea of what is possible. I can't imagine that she has any idea how fu#$ing expensive her hobby is. How can she, she is 11.

If you don't put in the breaks now, she will be ruined forever.

It's probably better to find a cheaper activity with "poorer" people, so she can learn what normal people do for fun.

If i grew up with a sport (like I did with running, and she will do with this) and loving that sport a lot, and then having lay it off because there is no way in the world I could afford it after moving out, I would be absolutely heartbroken. When she'll move out in 10 years or so, she won't have 700 dollars to spare outside of rent and she'll have to give it up I'm afraid. I'd get her to find a sport she enjoys a lot and is more doable long-term. Just my $0.02

My son and I used to race motorcycles. I have seen families destroyed chasing expensive pipe dreams. Ask your wife to eliminate an equivalent amount from the family budget to pay for her sport. If it keeps her focused and out of trouble through her teenage years, it may be worth the expense. Eleven year olds are not babies. Ask the child to research future opportunities in the sport and if she herself considers it to be a worthwhile investment.

Congrats on doing well. Equestrian is not a sport. It's a rich person, far richer than you, hobby. So they can claim they're in a "sport". Hand the girl a ball or buy her a damn horse and let her ride as much as her heart desires. Yes 700 a month is ridiculous but in the end if you can afford it then it's just paper.

700 a month is too much for a mortgage, let alone a play activity for a preteen. Sometimes rich people really do shock me at the ways they find to waste their money.

I spend $5000-6000 a year for alpine skiing .

You didn’t even mention whether or how much your daughter likes it.

And only one response so far asked if your daughter likes it.

If you have the means, that’s the first thing to consider.

It’s just money. Trading numbers for services.

If she values it, then it’s fine.

OP,

I assume your daughter is taking jumping lessons? Or dressage? Hunter/Jumper? I wont echo what everyone else has already stated. Your finances are your finances and you know what you can afford and what you can't.

Wanted to offer another perspective. My wife and I own 2 horses currently (in addition to just getting out of a full hobby farm of dairy cows, sheep, goats, pigs, you name it) on 12 acres. Now on just 5. We have roughly the same HHI as you. I'm a suburban kid, wife grew up middle class rural.

Horses don't HAVE to be expensive. My wife and I often have discussions about the "optics" of the horse world. She hates the show community with a passion because of the attitude surrounding it and the people involved in it (exactly what you've experienced). I often tell her that to the outsider it all seems crazy expensive. But she likes to remind me, and after living it, it really doesn't have to be. Your daughter doesn't have to go to jumping/dressage/hunter/jumper shows in order to enjoy horses. Sports like Endurance are gaining massive popularity and don't have any of the pomp and circumstance of the show ring.

Also, I assume you're not on rural property and don't own your own horse by they way you spoke. But you could lease/own a horse cheaper than the $700 most likely, depending on what part of the country you're in (depends on boarding/feed, etc). Maybe that would be an option. The horse world is just like anything else, there are expensive ways to do it, and there are cheap ways to do it. Something like pasture board would be very cheap.

My wife just said to mention that horses help girls build a lot of confidence and keep them away from boys. Certainly not something that other sports don't offer I realize.

Definitely made me chuckle when you mentioned you didn't think she'd enjoy the horses. Dunno what it is about horses and women but the two are like peanut butter and jelly these days. My wife and I discuss why we think that is all the time.

Either way, good luck. Personally I don't think there's anything wrong with showing your daughter that you enjoyed exposing her to something, but if she wants to enjoy it further and in greater depth, she'll have to wait to make her own way in life in order to do so. That's a powerful motivator and lesson. Doesn't make you a bad guy.

Isn't all youth sports a bit of a racket? I swear somewhere in the last 20 years they've figured out how to monetize every damn thing. In the 80s when I started running competitively I had an Olympic coach for the high high price of nothing, my fee was showing up. Now everything is monetized be it running or riding horses, it's just the way of the world. Parents have this false belief that their kid is going to be the next Jim Ryan as long as they keep paying the coach of their choice $500-$1000 month, all in the hope that their kid will go D1 or go to the Olympics -sorry to break it to you but that's not going to happen Just look at the number and accept that your kid isn't the next Usain Bolt. Spend a bit on your kids activity but don't blow the farm on something that isn't going to happen.

random horse owner wrote:

My wife just said to mention that horses help girls build a lot of confidence and keep them away from boys.

All sports will help girls build confidence. Few will keep the boys away like equestrian. If your daughter is already a lesbian, that's no big deal, but if you think she might like a boyfriend one day, its going to be tough unless she is very outgoing and makes the first move with any potential partner.

$700 a month is crazy. My fiancé and I make 445k a year (NYC area) and we would never pay for that. It’s a rich person sport and attracts the type of people you don’t want to be around as you’ve already noticed. Our future kids will be sticking to soccer and running.

Haven’t read all the posts but club soccer, volleyball, lacrosse, travel ball, etc. are all more expensive. You don’t even want to know what hockey or cheerleading cost.

Tbh, pay it man. Let your kid enjoy life. Better than being at home gossiping on social media.

Agreed with previous poster. Equestrian sports do not have to be THAT expensive. My daughter did dressage and some jumps, for 2-3 years and then she moved on to other sports. We spent about 2K per year including clothings and a summer camp. 700 a month is just ridiculous and sets a bad precedent. Tell her that if she really likes the sport you have to figure out together a way to make it affordable.

Show her a bunch of videos of Bekele and that will inspire her to run instead of riding a dumb animal

random horse owner wrote:

Horses don't HAVE to be expensive.

Either way, good luck. Personally I don't think there's anything wrong with showing your daughter that you enjoyed exposing her to something, but if she wants to enjoy it further and in greater depth, she'll have to wait to make her own way in life in order to do so. That's a powerful motivator and lesson. Doesn't make you a bad guy.

I agree with this poster. I'll add some additional thoughts below.

We've got 6 or 7 horses (I can never keep track of those damned things) and the wife and two youngest kids (12 yo daughter/10 yo son) ride them for ranch work, lessons, and shows.

It is possible to get a full on horse experience for your daughter for around travel club soccer prices. Have her barter lessons/arena time for mucking stalls, lunging, exercising and skip the competitions, etc. It is possible for her to earn her rides.

The thing about shows/competitions is that, unless your daughter has a great horse she can only do so well. Great horses is where the real money starts. Better to get her started on an ok ride.

Our 12 yo daughter rides a 25 year old ex racing Arabian/thoroughbred and she loves him to death - even though he doesn't score that well in shows, he's still super fast and loves to jump. He's not great with cattle but you can tell he was an athlete in his prior life. I don't think we paid more than $2,500 for him.

She takes care of him and all our horses. Horsing has turned her into a wonderful person with a great work ethic so I would easily trade that for missed vacations as another posted mentioned.

sell the horse for glue