Why does OHSET Cost So much?

[Stephanie Land]

In a recent blog post, we discussed the troubled Oregon High School Equestrian Team system. One of the biggest concerns parents seem to have is the increasing cost to participate in OHSET. Let's discuss why the costs have risen so much and what can be done

[Cindy Land]

Actually, OHSET has been relatively steady in how much it costs, considering the major expenses: arena/stalls, judges and cows.

What changed: 1) how the athletes were charged and 2) the addition of one extra day of stalling added to each athlete. The extra day (Thursday) costs each athlete $45 for the season. Multiplied by 200 athletes, Thats an extra $9000 per season that goes to the Oregon Horse Center. It would save alot of money to make the extra day optional for the few kids who haul-in long distances and have to be in the show ring early on Friday morning. The first classes should be something that is small. Note on stallis: They saved a ton of money when Toni & Amber audited the stalls and made sure they were only charged by the day for what they used. I'll bet their efforts SAVED OHSET $15,000 per season.

The state charged the district for their raffle whether or not they sold the thousands of tickets, I think it was $40 per athlete. There is $85 per season per athlete right there.

Instead of registration fees, raffle fees, stall fees three different times in the season, plus club fees...it was all charged at one time. That cut down on of the renegades who tried to cheat the system, cut down on the many bounced checks, cut down on the school districts processing the club funds, cut down on the paperwork & bookkeeping required by the advisors & treasurer and gave the board an opportunity to know how much they had to work with during the season. Mike & Elaine Brotherton SAVED the organization thousands of dollars by squeezing every nickel, pinching every penny. Mike's professionalism handling the finances kept the over $100,000 per year accounted for and on time. Elaine negotiated everything, including getting thousands of dollars in end-of-year awards for a fraction of the actual cost.

This year, it will be even more, with the cost of hauling the cows, hauling the horses, mileage charges for the judges, etc. I sincerely hope the advisors and members are prepared, because it is a very worthwhile sport that is educational, fun and healthy.