Costs

UWET does not receive sponsorship money from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Since we are not funded, most of our funds must come from the generous donations of friends and family members, as well as from the pockets of individual members. Because of this, some have concerns about how one can afford to ride on the team. In order to help members prepare for the cost of being on the team, we have put together a rough estimate based on costs from previous years.

Lessons: $38 each (members are required to take 22 per year)

Hoofer Club Membership: $115 per year

IHSA Membership: $30 per year

Practice: $130 per semester

Driver gas money (not applicable if you are a driver): $40 per semester

Horse Shows: roughly $175 per weekend (includes entry fees, hotel, food, and fleet rental)

A rough maximum if one were to compete at every show: $2,196 per year

Of course, this is not required up front at the beginning of the year; it is rather spread out throughout both semesters. This estimate does not include Tournament of Champions series horse shows, Regionals, Zones, or Nationals. Throughout the year, UWET's fundraising chairs put together fundraising events to help defray the costs of such things as practices and horse shows. In years past, we have been able to pay for a semester's worth of practice with fundraising money. This year at one show alone we raised over $4,000 and we look forward to continuing this fundraising success.