New Riders Tips for Sponsors and Junior Riders

    Some tips from Angie for Juniors looking for sponsors:

    It's good to see some young people managing to discover endurance on their own. We usually get 2nd generation endurance riders whose parents already compete.

    This isn't a good year for me to sponsor, since my horse is at his peak and I'm kinda "going for it", but in past years I did pick up some kids I didn't know. It's not an easy decision to pick up a junior you don't know. When we work our horses for months, pay for shoeing, gas, entries, and all the other "details" to try to compete, it's sort of hard to tie your fortunes to that of someone when you really don't know if they did their homework like you did and know it could make your day a disaster if they didn't. For that reason, you'll have a little more trouble getting a sponsor until people start to know you and know what to expect from you and your horse. That is not to say nobody will volunteer. I have yet to see a junior show up for a ride that somebody wasn't willing to take out on the trail.

    Here are some "Do's" for you.

    Do: Come to the ride with equipment that is safe (no rotten cinches, etc.) a good shoe job, and all the other details that you can possibly be aware of to make your chance at success better.

    Do: Be humble. You are asking a favor. It is much better to go with a sponsor whose horse is slower than yours than to hook up with a horse which will have to slow down for you.

    DON'T: complain about the pace being too slow. If the pace is too fast and you're worried about your horse, tell your sponsor you feel you should drop back and part company at the next vet check. It's better to risk being left in camp with no sponsor than over ride your horse. There are some people who'll accept a sponshorship, tear off down the trail and never look back. Not everyone will worry about whether your horse should be going that fast. Do what's right for your horse. I have no doubt that someone behind you would be happy to pick up your sponsorship.

    I have had juniors both help and hurt me in a ride. When my horse was green, I sponsored a junior who had a wonderfully trained horse and while I showed her the ropes, her horse showed mine the ropes. It was a mutually beneficial partnership.

    I have also been asked to pick up a junior's sponsorship when I was running top 10 and "in the hunt". I should have said no, but then, they shouldn't have asked either. I didn't know the horse, but assumed that he must be used to going that pace or "surely they wouldn't have asked". I ended up losing several placings waiting for that horse when he quit on the last loop. Turned out, he was known for doing that and they should have gone with a slower sponsor.

    I have seen juniors ask to be sponsored by a stranger who was a top 10 rider, and then not be ready to go when their out time came...they got left behind. I was the only person willing to take them and they were openly rude making it clear that their horses *were* faster than mine and they were only that far back because they didn't have a faster sponsor. They kept riding up ahead of me and were simply jerks in general. It didn't take long to see why I was the only one who'd been willing to pick them up. Word gets around on kids like that. Make yourself a good reputation and never pass your sponsor unless they tell you to.

    Yes, it's a pain needing a sponsor, but if you stay in the junior division your chances of getting awards are much higher, and before you know it everybody sort of adopts you as their own. If your horse is reliable, and gains a reputation for being able to travel at a certain speed and have a good chance of finishing, the sponsors will come.

    Angie McGhee Wildwood, GA