To think, people say horse riding is really expensive/posh, when actually a lot of other hobbies are just as or more expensive

[LardLizard]

Like dancing for example, I know people that spend far more on that

You still haven't told me what war hammer is!

Thanks WitTank, that confirms my experience that horse-riding is indeed a hobby that is far beyond the means of people like us. QED.

LardLizard, presumably the older girls only get there by having had lessons paid for them first. And I also assume that this option would not be open to all the girls at the riding school, or they wouldn't make much of a living.

Many places don't offer rides for work any more - insurance etc. It's not as accessible as it once was.

Polo is another world of money. It makes eventing look cheap. There are lots of cheaper horse sports out there, but realistically, doing anything more serious than riding occasionally at an RS is an expensive game. Horses also tend to break, or don't do the job you want them to, so you often end up with multiple ponies, gas guzzling transport and huge outgoings...

No I don't speak from experience at all. Not remotely... Er...

Of course riding is more expensive than most dcs classes!

Even golf and skiing are cheaper!

Cory
Yes that's a fair point
They are older girls that have gone through the earlier years of lessons

Snort.

Horse's are expensive. Our 4 low cost ones are around £700 a month. Love having them and can afford it but thank God we aren't competing any more

Lessons half hour
15 pounds

Also don't have to do it every week, can do it once a month or whatever

Not many places can offer half hour lessons for £15 these days - even in large groups. I'd question the standards, H&S and insurance of anywhere that did...

Exactly LardLizard. So this would only be of any actual help to families who were wealthy enough to afford lessons at first and only fell on hard times later.

The rest of us just have to keep telling our daughters that horse-riding must be lovely but unfortunately isn't an option.

If you live in the country and have enough land to graze a horse/access to cheap fodder, and can bring on an inexpensive novice pony yourself and/or be taught to ride by a family member and that's quite a lot of ifs then it's potentially not insanely expensive.

But it's hardly tiddlywinks. Or trainspotting.

I just find some people are snarky about it

For example mil was talking about going to some pub and dd says oh that's best where I go riding

Mil replies in a really snotty put on posh accent
Oh is it

Riding schools have to pay HUGE insurance premiums. That is why lessons are so expensive. Believe me, running a riding school isn't an easy money maker!

Cory, i think those kids could gonknxe a month
Instead of weekly dance lessons
Also a lot of the dance lessons mentioned here for like 3/4 pounds tend to be the aftersxhool club type ones

The sort I know that alit ifbchikdren go tonare a lot more expensive than that
Plus heybhave siffwrnr costumes and exam costs etc

I'm not snarky about it. I am very happy that other people should be able to afford riding lessons even if we didn't. I just find it odd that some posters seem so genuinely puzzled by the fact that people with less money cannot afford the same things that they do.

Inverse snobbery is nasty.

But that doesn't make horse riding not-posh or not-expensive.

Your MIL's behaviour would be nasty even if she were behaving that way about a hobby that you did agree was "a posh hobby". It would still just be nasty.

Warhammer is tabletop wargaming with armies of little model fantasy creatures.

Once a month or so won't teach anyone to ride. You have to commit if you're doing it,

"The sort I know that alit ifbchikdren go tonare a lot more expensive than that
Plus heybhave siffwrnr costumes and exam costs etc"

Again, I suggest that is because you know wealthier people. In the area I live, parents got together about sewing costumes and the dance school worked very hard at thinking up low-cost costumes for their shows so as not to put a financial strain on parents. Exams were infrequent, maybe one every year or every other year.

After dd stopped dancing, she attended drama clubs which were cheaper still. Costumes were about inventiveness and resourcefulness.

In fairness, many riding sports aren't hugely posh these days. Show jumping, for example... And there are a number of relatively "accessible" one horse sports, compared to polo and eventing.

There are also a fair few inner city charitable places which try to offer horse sports to areas where people may not be able to afford them otherwise.

That said, there is no denying that for the vast majority of people, riding is inaccessibly expensive...

Most hobbies become expensive as you progress. This is true of a violin costing several thousands, buying your first pony or spending a small fortune on transport, pointe shoes and private lessons to reach standard for acceptance into world of ballet. I can't think of a cheap hobby. Fencing equipment costs plenty. Sailing rig costs an amount. Chess might be cheaper but suspect travel to,competitors would rule out poorer competitors.

Well if simeone wants to pay for my riding lessons I would seriously consider giving up smoking. Bloody love horses!

Op it is an expensive hobby for most people in the UK, but if you can afford it and love it, then eff everyone else
Your money is going towards the upkeep of beautiful horses. Carry on and have fun, but don't delude yourself that its cheap. If people want to get snotty, they are the Ines with a problem.

50 bales, ok what about fortnightly then?