Sep 15, 2023

3 Ways to Improve Your Eventing Business’s Financial Flow

USEA/Lindsay Berreth photo

The following is provided through a partnership between STRIDER and the USEA. As part of our commitment to diversity, enabling access, and building capacity throughout the industry we are pleased to provide this content to benefit the sport of eventing.

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it,” says leadership expert and author Simon Sinek. As the equestrian industry is a passion-driven one, there is perhaps no quote better suited to eventing professionals. Driven by love for the horse and for the sport, finances can seem more of a necessary evil than a motivating factor for business owners and operators in the equestrian space.

Because team STRIDER aims to help build capacity throughout the industry and help businesses to scale effectively, we’ve compiled a few quick tips to improve financial flow for eventing professionals.

Get creative with revenue streams.

Many eventing businesses have multiple sources of income. Training, boarding, sales, lessons, clinics, just to name a few. Consider how you might expand your offerings in a creative way. Can you take advantage of your facility and offer hourly rentals of your arena when it’s not being used for training or lessons? Perhaps your off-season from competition lends itself to your team’s ability to host grooming or unmounted clinics of some type.

Make it easy for folks to pay.

Digital payment tools are an important investment for your eventing business. Pick one or two that work for you (and for your clientele!). There are myriad options (PayPal, Venmo for business, Stripe, for example) with varied benefits and processing fees associated. Invest your time in sorting out which will best suit your needs and help your clients pay you in a timely, efficient manner. Remember you may have to change your fee structure slightly to account for processing fees!

We’ve seen the most success when businesses have between one and three payment options for clients. Yes, you could have 10 different ways for folks to pay, but let’s not encourage decision fatigue and confusion brought on by too many options!

Work smarter, not (necessarily) harder.

Leverage your marketing through social media, email, and your website. Take advantage of that digital toolkit which includes your payment and scheduling tools and remember that longer hours won’t necessarily be better for your business’s bottom line. Take a look at some of the other tips we’ve shared in the past few months for some more ideas! Find our handy business toolkit for eventers here, and marketing how-tos here.

Updates to your business operations can seem daunting, but remember that small changes can have big and lasting effects for the better. And more efficient practices for your business can mean you get more time to do what you love. Happy riding!

STRIDER is the leading entry platform across disciplines for the equestrian industry.

From enabling riders to discover and book the perfect opportunity to helping equestrians across the industry grow and run their businesses, STRIDER fosters connections to top-tier experiences. Please visit www.striderpro.com to learn more about the suite of software products and services available.

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Sep 23, 2023 Eventing News

Stellar Show Jumping Round Puts Saville in the CCI4*-S Lead at Plantation Field

As Tropical Storm Ophelia brought soaking rains to the region today, the Plantation Field International continued its four days of competition with CCI3*-S and CCI4*-S show jumping and cross-country for CCI1*-S, CCII2*-S, and CCI3*-S divisions.

Sep 23, 2023

Meet the Newest Area IX Champions

The USEA Area IX Championships took place during two different horse trials this summer, with the Modified Championships as part of the The Event at Archer (Cheyenne, Wymoming) in August and the Preliminary, Training, Novice, and Beginner Novice Championships taking place during The Event at Skyline (Mount Pleasant, Utah) in September. In addition, Area IX offered additional championship tests at the Starter and Tadpole levels at Skyline.

Sep 22, 2023 Eventing News

Martin and Luke 140 Take CCI4-S Dressage Lead at Plantation Field International

The CCI4*-S division at the 2023 Plantation Field International Horse Trials kicked off today with 39 horses headed down centerline. Local rider Boyd Martin of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, topped the leaderboard riding Luke 140, owned by the Luke 140 Syndicate, and is also tied for third (28.8) with the Annie Goodwin Syndicate’s Fedarman B. Martin is also placed 23rd with Contessa, owned by the Turner family.

Sep 22, 2023 Young Event Horse

The Dutta Corporation Returns as Title Sponsor of the USEA Young Event Horse Championships

The United States Eventing Association, Inc. (USEA) is humbled to announce the return of long-time partner The Dutta Corporation as the “Title Sponsor of the 2023 USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Championships,” which include the East Coast Championships at the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill in Elkton, Maryland, on Oct. 19-20 and the West Coast Championships at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California, on Oct. 27-28.

Official Corporate Sponsors of the USEA

Official Joint Therapy Treatment of the USEA

Official Feed of the USEA

Official Saddle of the USEA

Official Real Estate Partner of the USEA

Official Equine Insurance of the USEA

Official Forage of the USEA

Official Supplement Feeding System of the USEA

Official Competition & Training Apparel of the USEA