Is that horse a hobby or an investment? June 12, 2006 6:17 AM  
Subscribe  What do you know about the economics of the Grand
Prix horse jumping circuit?  I spent Sunday at the Upperville
Colt & Horse Show where I watched the $100k Grand Prix Jumping
event. The top prize was $30,000. There were horses and riders
there from all over the Eastern seaboard, some had come from
quite far away. The whole experience prompted several questions
about the economics of the event as the costs associated with
fielding a horse seemed to so far outweigh the possiblity of
adequate recompense.  I think the overarching question is: Is
this a business or a hobby?  There seemed to be several
different types of horses entered (out of 20 entrants this
year): 1) Horses owned by their riders (a distinct minority,
maybe 2 out of the 20). These folks could make some money by
winning with their horse. 2) Horses owned by a farm but ridden
by professional jumpers. ( A couple of farms had multiple horses
in the competition. This seemed like