Does anyone know how to make money with a horse that does dressage?

[cap]

I can see how you lose money with that kind of horse given how expensive it is. But how do you bring in revenue? How do you get that horse to make more money than he spends?

Otherwise, you are evading taxes. If a business does not make money every five years then it is a hobby.

I think Rmoney has been evading taxes with that horse

[Tx4obama]

1. Isn't the point of dressage to use the (inflated) expenses as a tax write-off?

I don't have a clue.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. The Romneys have been using the horse as a tax shelter

which speaks volumes about the tax code and not the sport.

[Egalitarian Thug]

12. Just so. +1. n/t

[riderinthestorm]

14. This could very well be true. I'd love to see their itemized returns over many years nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. Read the stories on that

They have been on the news. They also abused a previous horse and were sued over it.

Here via Forbes no less

Rafalca, the dancing horse owned by partnership Rob Rom Enterprises, which is owned in part part by the Romneys has brought the “hobby loss rules” (Section 183 – Activities not engaged in for profit) back in the news.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterjreilly/2012/07/28/while-dogs-against-romney-are-rooting-for-rafalca-im-studying-hobby-loss-cases/

[Segami]

3. Like Nascar plaster the horse with corporate sponsorship logos like GE., BP, JP Morgan, ACI, etc.

[pinboy3niner]

13. That's branding in more ways than one

[Segami]

33. LOL!

[Ikonoklast]

4. Many livestock ownership deals by third parties are nothing but scams and tax dodges.

So, yes.

[Egalitarian Thug]

11. Just so. +1. n/t

[Cleita]

5. Well, my neighbors do, but they don't own them,

they train them for fancy fees cause they are also veterinarians.

Owning show animals, any show animals is an expensive hobby IMHO.

[Lint Head]

6. Dancing with the Stars?

[DJ13]

7. Hmm.....

I'm kidding!

[hack89]

8. Stud fees for champion horses are astronomical.

that is the real money in horses - selling a champion bloodline.

[karynnj]

22. Isn't Romney's horse female?

How many baby horses can a female reasonably have after a stellar career?

[hack89]

23. I took the question to be a general question

about horses and taxes.

The Romney's got a $50 tax deduction out of it so I don't see it as that big a deal

[larkrake]

30. using embryo transfer, one per year from age 4 to 20

[karynnj]

36. Thanks - I was curious as many spoke of money that could be earned and I couldn't figure out how

it could be a huge amount.

[Egalitarian Thug]

9. There are prizes, but to make money you have to win many events and then sell

the horse's genes to other (rich) people that want to compete.

Few people that work in the business are rich, but they work for their livings. The owners are almost exclusively rich.

[riderinthestorm]

10. Breeding, sales, training and boarding. I'm a pro in the biz for 25 years and that's how we do it nt

[Bluenorthwest]

16. Same as with a horse that runs fast....

why would it be different?

[larkrake]

31. you dont win money in Dressage to speak of, where in jumping, you can win thousands per show.

[procon]

17. If he has a tight contract agreement

with the horse's rider and trainer, their successful will attract other competition riders and their horses looking to be in a training barn run by internationally known names who can produce Olympic caliber show horses. The celebrity status, endorsement deals from riding gear and clothing, posh charity shows, some photo ops in glitzy magazine spreads, the training fees generated, plus the opportunity to use the business as a write-off, might make it an attractive investment.

[Speck Tater]

18. Free range horse glue. nt

[jberryhill]

19. Burgers

[ThomThom]

20. you can make money like any other investment

buy low sell high

[patrice]

26. That's stupid. Too bad an Alert for stupidity probably wouldn't succeed.

[patrice]

27. You know what, I've changed my mind. I'm alerting on your SEXIST remark. nt

[hack89]

24. They got a $50 tax deduction - does that really constitute tax evasion? nt

[cherokeeprogressive]

25. Geez... don't you know how to hate? True Haters would NEVER post information like this!

FWIW, I went to DU2 and searched the archives for the word "dressage" going back as far as the DU2 Wayback Machine goes...

I found 145 threads where it was mentioned, and strangely enough, after looking through about a hundred of them could only find 2 posts that mentioned dressage in anything other than glowing and respectful terms. And that includes the time period covering BOTH the '04 and '08 Olympics!

Go figure.

[Lefta Dissenter]

28. How to make a little money with horses?

Start with a LOT of money!

[larkrake]

29. the only way is to sell it( $100K to 4 million for a competitive FEI level horse)

[Turbineguy]

32. Evade taxes.

Pad expenses. Move horse using car elevator. Deduct cost of elevator, electric bill and nearby nuclear power plant. Say you live in another State, deduct State tourist taxes.

[hack89]

34. A lot of work to save 50 bucks. nt

[Turbineguy]

35. To a republican, it's not about the 50 bucks.

It's the satisfaction of sending kids to bed hungry that counts.

[riderinthestorm]

37. As a pro in the industry, I can speak to this

Rafalca makes money for their biz by the advertising sponsors she brings into the barn's bottom line, her breeding contracts (by AI - her eggs are already being harvested and inseminated), and by a potential sale worth many hundreds of thousands of dollars.

They can also make money (after the Olympics) by selling schooling rides on her for many hundreds of dollars each. She's an invaluable teacher and there will be people lined up to get lessons on her if they don't sell her outright.

I'm pretty sure he hasn't been evading taxes with Rafalca but I'm pretty curious about the rest of his second string line. THAT'S where the bread and butter is being made. Sales, training, breeding, competitions, lessons... those are the nuts and bolts of this business and Rafalca is one part of that. I'm really curious about the rest. One superstar horse is probably paying her way (especially in the last year when all of her expenses have been underwritten by a private foundation - the USET, including all of her costs to get to the Olympics).

[whistler162]

38. If it is any good

you could show its dress age designs in a show and sell them! Retro can be in depending on how far back it goes.