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| I could use a hug, prayer, jingle and/or drink pls | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 3 2011, 12:33 PM (949 Views) | |
| Trialbyfire | Aug 3 2011, 05:52 PM Post #16 |
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You're BANNED!
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![]() Wow, that's some news!!! I wonder if there is more to the story? (Esp. financially??)I'm so sorry you have to deal with this stress. Too bad we aren't closer..... we could go for drinks and figure the whole thing out. ![]() I know it probably hurts that your friend was offered a different deal.........I guess the best response is to try to remember why you are friends -- if that friendship is strong it will hold. But in the short term, everyone deals differently....hopefully she will come around, too. Keep us posted. I am sending drinks your way and jingles and hugs.....hoping tomorrow is a much better day!!! ![]()
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| Barn Girl | Aug 3 2011, 05:53 PM Post #17 |
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It'll be an adventure! We're going on an adventure!
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Wow, BT-- !Remind me when it's cold as heck and icy/snowy this winter that I'm lucky I don't have to deal with boarding anymore! It is so stressful sometimes, and hard to change the status quo when you and/or your horse are happy somewhere. |
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| vxf111 | Aug 3 2011, 08:16 PM Post #18 |
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You're BANNED!
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BT, that is tough. Try not to be TOO upset about your friend. I am sure her head is spinning and she isn't fully thinking through things yet. But the BO... man, I'd be pretty annoyed. Pretty SHORT notice for a HUGE change and it added a ton of work to your load getting everyone sorted in new arrangements! |
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| incentive | Aug 3 2011, 08:41 PM Post #19 |
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Magical Leopluridon
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Holy crap------------That's alot to deal with all, much less to deal with all those changes at once. That is a HUGE increase on the board. i can't believe that enough will stay or move in to make that fly. After that news, you need lots of and
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| MissBri | Aug 4 2011, 04:01 AM Post #20 |
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But, I don't care - it's 5:00 somewhere
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Are you KIDDING ME??? that is ridiculous. big hugs my friend that you find another barn that needs a new instructor with a block of open stalls so you can bring over some of your favorites. The BO's have not really thought this through very well. One of their main focus should be to retain the best instructors at all costs. If you leave, guess what, most of your students will follow you. Not good for business as most of a barn's cash flow income is derived from lessons/training while board simply covers most of the overhead costs. If they were smart, they would have offered you free board, or kept your board as it is. Wish there was something I could do to help. Here have a couple of these |
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| Little Diva | Aug 4 2011, 05:13 AM Post #21 |
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You're BANNED!
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I want to come up and visit and have a drink (or three) I wish I was closer This totally suks.This just frustrates the bejeebers out of me. The same thing is happening in Ottawa. Barns around here are becoming more and more like what you describe. It is getting increasingly hard to find a barn with good care that is not an "A" show barn or that has ambitions to become an A barn. We have had two or three young pros set up their businesses here in the last couple of years -- partly because their were not a lot of A barns here of any signficance that went to places like Spruce or Florida or Cali amd because it was cheaper to do so here than in Toronto or Montreal. What this has done to the local riding scene is that anyone with any talent and money has migrated to the those barns. I have a friend with 3 horses at barn belonging to a young pro right now and she is paying $1200/horse/month. This includes all of her kids lessons as well. And this is OTTAWA!!! So now you have the local barns who have had their base start to errode. Some of their better clients, with the good horses and talent leave and go to the A barns. And now, to compensate, those same barns all starting to jack up their board to try and compete. Now granted, some are jacking up board, some are starting to charge for things they previously did not charge for and some have increased their trailer fees and coaching fees. The downside of all of this economic shifting in the horse industry here is that for someone like me who has no interest in showing, and just wants to hack, it is hard to find a barn that has the quality of care that I want (demand ) for a price that is not almost an extra mortgage payment a month. Luckily, I found one, and that barn now has a waiting list of folks like me who want to get in.And the coaching has not improved. Because the barns are trying to get as many people into the show ring as possible, it appears that the quality of riding has dropped off tremendously. Some of the equitation I see on our local schooling show and even provincial shows is . Is this an effect of the shift? I think so. Are there more people riding now than say, 10 years ago? I think so too. But I think at the heart of these changes is is an economic shift that is impacting this industry in ways we will see in a few years.I do not agree with what your barn owners are doing at all and what the barn owners here are doing. I think that to go from one extreme to another will ultimately impact their business in ways they may not have foreseen. If they want to cut down on the work load, close stalls. Don't stop lessons though and do not eliminate a good coaching position. In fact, barns with good coaches need to understand that to keep those good coaches, they need to be rewarded for their loyalty and their quality of coaching, much like you do with a good, long standing employee. A good relationship with a coach where the student thrives and achieves is difficult to find and difficult to maintain. Barns who do not nurture those relationships do so at their own peril, I believe. A good school with quality coaching, great school horses, happy, sucessful students goes a lot further in the long run to build a business than jacking up board. |
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| Crackerjack | Aug 4 2011, 06:05 AM Post #22 |
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We're on a bridge, Chaaaaaaaaarlie!
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Amen LD! I look around from time to time for boarding and it makes me want to And some of the barns in Ottawa that people are raving about make me want to !! Luckily I board privately.BT that really sucks big time- it's quite ridiculous.
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| AstonMartin | Aug 4 2011, 06:14 AM Post #23 |
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Off visiting Candy Cave, be right back.
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BT.....Sooo sorry to hear that. That board does sound CRAZY! The amount you were paying before was high but probably about right for a nice show barn. The new amount would have me upset. Also, I grew up riding at a particular farm. When the owners sepparated eventually the barn was sold and the organization moved to another barn. It was always fun and I loved it, but my second home was that first barn and always will be. I have such fond memories of learning to ride there, going to summer camps there, and basically just living there for many many years of my childhood. We were probably there for almost 10 years. When I left I remember crying because it really was my second home. I hope that either there is an amicable resolution, or you find an even better place. I try to adapt well to change, but the truth is, i don't usually like it. I enjoy predictability. I'll jingle jingle as hard as I can for you! |
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| stephjm | Aug 4 2011, 06:34 AM Post #24 |
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It'll be an adventure! We're going on an adventure!
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So sorry to read this BT. From what I know of you, I think anyone would want you as their coach and instructor! That is a huge blow and in a short amout of time. I have no experience running a barn, but purely from a business point of view, their new idea doesn't make much sense. And if they don't have a good instructor there, who is going to want to board and train there? If they want to be an "A" barn they need to have "A" trainers and instructors to back up that reputation and boarding price. Seems like common sense to me.Sending you and that things will sort themselves out soon. Hoping for that window to open!! |
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| Black Tack | Aug 4 2011, 08:36 AM Post #25 |
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You're BANNED!
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Flashy Thanks for the sentiments. You are so sweet. Trial, I also wish you were closer! That would be so perfect to have a drink and figure this one out! BG I have been thinking of having a couple at home but have to admit that the long cold winters really just screw with my head. Just to clarify, they have begged me to stay and teach in the riding school. With tears. Want the continuity, yada yada. I have said yes and will do so. However after the meeting, when I had time to digest the different ways my friend and I were treated I have become rather unhappy about it. I will stay at least for awhile because they are "my" kids and I'm not ready to leave them. Also, it's hard to look at the riding schools in the area and decide who I would want to work for. I have been approached a few times by a number of them and always said no. hmmmm |
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| Black Tack | Aug 4 2011, 08:40 AM Post #26 |
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You're BANNED!
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Exactly! Yes, they want me to stay and afterwards I realized it's just because many of my students would follow me. Of course, not all of them but def quite a few. I would have thought that it would have been incentive to keep both instructors happy instead of pitting one against the other
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| Black Tack | Aug 4 2011, 08:53 AM Post #27 |
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You're BANNED!
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VXF, they did give us notice that this won't be starting the new board until Oct 1 and they are offering to help find new situations for people. It's a couple and the husband who is the main coach has had health issues over the past three years or more and they feel the need to downsize significantly. The wife manages the school and helps with the boarders. It has been a very big facility with a ton of boarders and I think they were struggling making ends meet over the years because as the prices went up fewer and fewer riders were doing lessons and showing so they were starting to lose money. I think they are burning out. However since they have a full barn I would have thought it would make more sense to keep the boarders and start showing at the Provincial (B) level so that more people could afford to do it. By increasing the board so much and insisting on a number of shows they are having so many people leave. Very worrisome. However I think they just don't want to deal with the numbers anymore. Aston Martin, yes, this is exactly that kind of place. JTM used to have sleep overs in the hayloft when she was little. It has been a family type place and a very good atmosphere until a couple of years ago when the managers and coach have started to keep more to themselves and the facility has become somewhat run down. That makes it so hard for the kids that have grown up here. Also very difficult for the BM even though they are the ones instigating the changes. We are a very good starting level A barn. In my opinion. We have very few riders doing the core divisions, mostly Beginner and Novice divisions. It's a natural progression from the riding school. Won't be any more
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| Black Tack | Aug 4 2011, 09:06 AM Post #28 |
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You're BANNED!
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Wow LD that sound like a pain the way the barns are shifting up there! Not surprised that you are getting more A circuit barns now though since there weren't many before. Who is the new young pro charging 1200 for training board? That's what some of the BNT around here charge!! And they have been doing it for 30+ years. Glad you are finding a good place for you! When can you move him? This case is not going from one extreme to another. We have always had the riding school and I have been teaching in it since it started. It will continue and they are hoping it will grow. Our barn was doing Trillium years ago but when a few riders left because they wanted to go to A shows our coach finally made the shift over when JTM and I wanted to start doing A also. They have been doing it successfully for a number of years, mostly shipping in but getting stalls also at Palgrave in the past 6 years or so. However in the last couple of years the board has gone up and the cost of showing and with the recession etc people are not showing as much and also not taking as many lessons. So we have alot of stalls full but not much income over the board. Not making money other than in the camp over the summer and riding school the rest of the year. I think the BMs are tired and are hoping they can do quality instead of quantity. Good concept except we are not a BNT fancy show barn and it makes the gap between school and owning too much so we won't produce boarders. But who knows, hopefully for them I am wrong and they are right. I would hate to see the whole thing go down the tube. I have ALOT of respect for the elderly man who owns it. |
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| Little Diva | Aug 4 2011, 09:38 AM Post #29 |
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You're BANNED!
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BT, I will tell you in a private FB message who is charging that amount, but this barn is not the only one doing that now. Even some of the barns that show on the Quebec A circuit and the local trillium circuit are charging over $800 a month, including lessons. I looked for over 4 months for a new home for Tigger. I had simple demands -- good fences, good feed, good turn out, not a show barn, more adults than kids, hacking is nice, and clean and tidy facility. Some of the places I visited One of the things I have noticed is that there are more barns popping up in this area who are owned by families who have one or two kids that ride and they want to have their own place and think that having a couple of boarders will cover their expenses of keeping their horses at home. So, after much searching, we settled on Dewmont. I am thrilled to bits to be there -- BT, Helen Douglas has her horse there! (local wonderful vet, and my vet!) It is not everyone's cup of tea and I have been there several times before I made the final decision, but everyone I saw was glossy, happy, healthy (horses that is ) and there are a ton of hacking trails and the hunt is close by as well, and it takes me 15 minutes to get there instead of 90 mintues to get to him now. There are three pros teaching there so if I get into a jam, I have someone who can help me. Tigg moves on August 31. Believe me I am counting the days
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| Almostafarm | Aug 4 2011, 09:46 AM Post #30 |
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We're on a bridge, Chaaaaaaaaarlie!
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BT here are your drinks..many of them I wish my barn was bigger and closer, would love to have you as a coach and boarder <sigh> as LD has mentioned there are more "A" barns in this area than needs be IMHO which makes it hard for someone like me who is starting out, who doesn't have stallar facilities but they are nice and the care is great but we don't show "A" and only do a couple of Trilliium and schooling shows...I like to classify myself as a great "starter barn" :-)..........would be blessed to have you to help us grow. Many hugs that things get sorted out! Almosta |
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![]](http://z1.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)
I wonder if there is more to the story? (Esp. financially??)



Holy crap------------That's alot to deal with all, much less to deal with all those changes at once. That is a HUGE increase on the board. i can't believe that enough will stay or move in to make that fly. After that news, you need lots of

. Is this an effect of the shift? I think so. Are there more people riding now than say, 10 years ago? I think so too. But I think at the heart of these changes is is an economic shift that is impacting this industry in ways we will see in a few years.
And some of the barns in Ottawa that people are raving about make me want to
That is a huge blow and in a short amout of time. I have no experience running a barn, but purely from a business point of view, their new idea doesn't make much sense. And if they don't have a good instructor there, who is going to want to board and train there? If they want to be an "A" barn they need to have "A" trainers and instructors to back up that reputation and boarding price. Seems like common sense to me.
One of the things I have noticed is that there are more barns popping up in this area who are owned by families who have one or two kids that ride and they want to have their own place and think that having a couple of boarders will cover their expenses of keeping their horses at home.
) and there are a ton of hacking trails and the hunt is close by as well, and it takes me 15 minutes to get there instead of 90 mintues to get to him now. There are three pros teaching there so if I get into a jam, I have someone who can help me. Tigg moves on August 31. Believe me I am counting the days 
7:33 AM Jul 11