November 1, 2024 
BREWSTER, NY—In an effort to convince her husband that horse showing is not a zero-sum pastime, Adult Amateur jumper rider Cindy Frank decided to host a dinner party using only her year-end winnings.
“He’s always giving me a hard time about how much my horses cost, so I figured I would give him an actual taste of his own medicine,” said Frank, who netted approximately $62 dollars after competing at eight shows this summer at venues around the Northeast.
“It’s just such a gas when that check finally arrives in the mail. I’d earned a fourth place and a sixth place in a couple of classes in August, and totally forgot about it until now—what a thrill!
“It almost makes you forget the $1,200 a week I shelled out in horse show entries alone,” says Frank, who estimates she easily spends over $20K a show season. “And so, after years of my husband telling me my prize money is nothing but a drop in the bucket, I decided to take matters into my own hands.”
Those ‘matters’ included throwing a “fabulous” three-course, BYOB dinner party for the Franks’ closest neighbors and friends on her $60-something budget. Appetizers included carrots sticks and ranch dressing and Saltine crackers with Easy Cheese and microgreen accoutrements (the latter grown in Frank’s own greenhouse).
“We’re having a make-your-own French bread pizza bar for entrées, with all kinds of gourmet pantry toppings. And box-mix brownies—which, of course, I’ve souped up with some imported European chocolate chips for dessert.
“Delicious, high-end tasting food doesn’t have to be expensive,” Frank continues. “The price of groceries is really off the rails these days, and every little bit counts. I’ll often look at things like name-brand peanut butter and compare it to the store’s own label, and I opt for the more economical, off-label version.
“I just think, well, Jiffy is nice, but so is paying my $600 braiding bill!”
According to Frank, her friends thought the dinner was a “smashing success,” with more than one telling her they want to come support their star chef by cheering her on in person at a horse show next spring.
“Now, when my husband complains about how much my shows cost, I can just say, ‘Look, honey, I hosted a dinner party for eight grown adults using just my prize money,” Frank says.
“I don’t remember eating out on your golf tournament proceeds.”
