If there is one incontestable truth in the world of horses, it is this: regardless of how costly your horse is, there will always be another pony some other place that's even dearer. You start puffing out your chest at having spent $100,000 on your most recent equine acquisition, only to find out 1 day later that somebody else spent $150,000 at the same location.
So far as I am concerned it's not how much you spend that is significant, it's what you spend that cash on. Your ability to choose the right horse is more important than the dimensions of your bank balance or the prices of individual horses. It is rather like comparing the Marlins with the Yankees.
The Yankees have constantly been stinky rich, and can afford to spend almost any amount of money on getting the players they desire. Their modus operandi is to assess all available players and pay for the best, whatever is needed. The amount isn't primary. The Yankees trust in steam rolling all opposition with a spread of expensive megastars.
Horse owners who are obsessed with purchasing winning horses, regardless of cost, are the same as the Yankees. I have lost count of the quantity of times I have seen horses picked up at exorbitant costs by some absolutely astonishing, unknown purchaser who apparently purchased the horse just for the gloating rights that came with it. Obviously, these purchasers do use the paid services or horse professionals when making their picks, rather like the Yankees use squads of talent scouts to smell out the megastars.
The Marlins are the poor cousins of baseball. They operate with a budget that is way more limited in size than the budget of the Yankees. They concentrate their talent searches on universities, in the hope they can pick up potential gems at much cheaper costs. Often , they buy more gems than they really need; they resell the surplus supply to bigger teams like the Yankees and make profits that help them maintain their budgets, which they use to head out to buy some more fresh players who they can resell.
The joke is that in the last few decades, the Marlins have a much better win record at the world series championships than the Yankees. It's obvious that the Marlins are running their 'farm' far better than the Yankees and coaching some fresh young stock to become winners. The Marlins have just about mastered the science of making hay from green prospects. If they miss out on a potential celebrity or 2 each time they sell stock to the Yankees (which they do frequently), that's O.K, because they have filled their coffers in expectation of going out to some more colleges and netting some more raw talent cheap.
I know of horse owners who explain away their horse's losses at competitions by justifying it with the claim the winner was a rather more pricey pony. They should take a leaf or two out of the Marlins' Book. The Marlins are able to take on big-spending giants like the Yankees because they have adopted a very successful technique. The point is this: you don't need megabucks to compete well, and this is what I try to impress upon my students. Like baseball players, horses also begin someplace low down before they climb to super stardom, and the trick is to catch them while they are still inexpensive.
Don't think I am anti big money. Given the choice, I'd much rather coach the Yankees than the Marlins. But I have performed well in the arena of horse events, and financially talking I am more a Marlin than a Yankee.
I'm convinced riders can become successes without stacks of money backing them. Cash doesn't equate to zeal and hard work. If ever you're feeling like bemoaning your loss at an event because in money terms your pony was a Toyota and the winner was a Mercedes, take a break. Use it to catch up on some Marlin history.
So far as I am concerned it's not how much you spend that is significant, it's what you spend that cash on. Your ability to choose the right horse is more important than the dimensions of your bank balance or the prices of individual horses. It is rather like comparing the Marlins with the Yankees.
The Yankees have constantly been stinky rich, and can afford to spend almost any amount of money on getting the players they desire. Their modus operandi is to assess all available players and pay for the best, whatever is needed. The amount isn't primary. The Yankees trust in steam rolling all opposition with a spread of expensive megastars.
Horse owners who are obsessed with purchasing winning horses, regardless of cost, are the same as the Yankees. I have lost count of the quantity of times I have seen horses picked up at exorbitant costs by some absolutely astonishing, unknown purchaser who apparently purchased the horse just for the gloating rights that came with it. Obviously, these purchasers do use the paid services or horse professionals when making their picks, rather like the Yankees use squads of talent scouts to smell out the megastars.
The Marlins are the poor cousins of baseball. They operate with a budget that is way more limited in size than the budget of the Yankees. They concentrate their talent searches on universities, in the hope they can pick up potential gems at much cheaper costs. Often , they buy more gems than they really need; they resell the surplus supply to bigger teams like the Yankees and make profits that help them maintain their budgets, which they use to head out to buy some more fresh players who they can resell.
The joke is that in the last few decades, the Marlins have a much better win record at the world series championships than the Yankees. It's obvious that the Marlins are running their 'farm' far better than the Yankees and coaching some fresh young stock to become winners. The Marlins have just about mastered the science of making hay from green prospects. If they miss out on a potential celebrity or 2 each time they sell stock to the Yankees (which they do frequently), that's O.K, because they have filled their coffers in expectation of going out to some more colleges and netting some more raw talent cheap.
I know of horse owners who explain away their horse's losses at competitions by justifying it with the claim the winner was a rather more pricey pony. They should take a leaf or two out of the Marlins' Book. The Marlins are able to take on big-spending giants like the Yankees because they have adopted a very successful technique. The point is this: you don't need megabucks to compete well, and this is what I try to impress upon my students. Like baseball players, horses also begin someplace low down before they climb to super stardom, and the trick is to catch them while they are still inexpensive.
Don't think I am anti big money. Given the choice, I'd much rather coach the Yankees than the Marlins. But I have performed well in the arena of horse events, and financially talking I am more a Marlin than a Yankee.
I'm convinced riders can become successes without stacks of money backing them. Cash doesn't equate to zeal and hard work. If ever you're feeling like bemoaning your loss at an event because in money terms your pony was a Toyota and the winner was a Mercedes, take a break. Use it to catch up on some Marlin history.
About the Author:
Horses are Heather Toms passion and she enjoys sharing her
extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers, like all things about horse shop
extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers, like all things about horse shop
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