There are so many ways to economize if you really want money for something. Other people have done a good job of bringing that out. I paid $800 for a young horse 12 years ago, and am still competing him. You don't have to own multiple horses to compete, just take excellent care of one. I may not be financially well-off, but I feel richer than Bill Gates when I'm moving down the trail with my friends, my horse is fit, and I'm living in the moment...exactly where I want to be, doing exactly what I want to do. If you want something badly enough, you WILL find a way to do it! Since this thread was started by a 20-year-old, I tried to remember what I was doing at age 20, so I checked my diaries (kept since Jr Hi). On Nov 5, 1977 I was taking Horse Management at a small college in northern Minnesota and was back in Minneapolis for the weekend taking a lesson at the stable I worked at during the summer on my favorite dressage horse Bojangles. Whew!
