watch. We try to make sure they feel part of a team, like making hats for syndicate members and sending them updates with news, good and bad, all the time.” While Boyd creates monthly progress videos of the horses for his syndicate members, Silva prefers to communicate through emails. “It’s a different relationship than a single owner. You’re inviting them along on a journey with you,” she says. Doug is a bit of a media whiz and his website boasts helmet cam videos of his cross-country rides alongside podcasts, a Twitter feed and active Facebook page. While social media can be a great way for riders to get a broad following, he reasons that people that buy into a horse want to feel like they are getting something special, that’s not available to everyone. “That can be a group email or if it’s just a couple of people you can call them on the phone,” he says. “They are an integral part of your program, so you need to make them feel special. When it’s possible, I also do things like tailgating at events to make sure people who are involved have a good time and to also attract more people to become involved.” While some riders offer a private area of their website
for syndicate members, Doug feels that might make non- members feel excluded. “Ultimately I don’t want to shut anyone out,” he says. “I also do video updates because ultimately everyone wants to brag about their horse. I’ll post the video on Facebook and tag the syndicate members so their friends can see and comment too. I think it makes people feel good.”
Cover Your Assets Finally, while you want to make sure everyone is friendly from the start, it’s best to take steps to keep it that way. Don’t just seal the deal with a handshake. “Make sure you have an agreement reviewed by a lawyer
Eventing Owners Task Force I
n the interest of promoting syndication of high performance horses for U.S. riders to give the U.S. Eventing Team an edge on the competition, the USEF-sponsored Eventing Owners Task Force (EOTF) is a small group of eventing horse
owners elected by peers in 2008 to improve owner communications with the USEF and to facilitate the expansion of eventing horse ownership. It is a great way for riders, horse owners, breeders and potential syndicate members to meet and evaluate opportunities to form syndicates together. The EOTF currently conducts informational and educational seminars about eventing ownership at national meetings and eventing venues, arranges social gatherings for owners and spends long hours refining the details of horse ownership syndicates. The goal of the EOTF is to help owners and riders reach successful agreements, often formed as LLCs. The EOTF has an equine attorney available to form the documents and help with the operating agreement at a very low price, as she starts with a set of model agreements and does not have to reinvent the wheel each time. Open Owners Forums (meetings arranged for individual prospects in-person) will continue to be held around
the country to allow direct contact between riders and potential owners. In addition, their website provides owners with access to detailed information about ownership opportunities and riders with an important platform to aid in developing syndicates. For more information, go to their website,
www.experienceeventing.com.
Hat images courtesy Boyd Martin Warmbloods Today 93
covering every aspect of what can go wrong and right,” cautions Boyd, who also advises that riders should be picky about syndicate members. “Don’t take just anyone on board— make sure their intentions are in line with yours. Make sure they understand their role and your role.” Maintenance fees can be paid in any number of ways,
such a flat annual fee, a flat monthly fee or actual expenses. “We do an annual fee for maintenance,” says Boyd. “One of the attractions, I think is that people don’t get a monthly bill that fluctuates—they know what their expenses will be up front. It’s my problem, then, to sort out how to manage it.” “You have to keep the maintenance fees low enough to
attract people,” Doug remarks, “so I’m trying to be a little creative about putting that together. I’m lucky one of the owners is an attorney and she’s helping me iron out the details. I think people are most happy if they completely understand what they’re getting into. People are there to have fun, but if you forget one little thing in the contract, it can be annoying down the line. It’s important to be clear up front and decide if your agreement is right for everyone. If it’s not, maybe you can still work something out. If everything is laid out clearly up front it seems to work out best.” Michael started with the documents available through the
Eventing Owners Task Force (EOTF; see sidebar). His mother- in-law is an attorney, so she also looked things over. “The EOTF documents are very rider friendly, but you may have to change things depending on the situation,” he points out. Forming a successful syndicate takes more than a group
of friends, a horse and a rider. It requires good organization upfront and ongoing maintenance, as well as clear, open communication and a common goal. For any rider who cannot afford to bankroll their own competition endeavors, syndication can be a fantastic way to realize your competitive dreams.
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