Great tips from Karie in CO:

I currently show jump an 10yr old Appendix gelding. The way I save money is-

A. Always shop consignment or used tack stores... Ebay works if you don't have one locally (once I found an amazing pair of tall boots that fit me so perfectly I showed in them THAT weekend for $65.00... the new ones I was looking at were over $200.00).

B. Never throw anything away... despite this sounding "pack ratish" I have found silly things like when the insides of my pants wear out I can sew in patches from my older pants that wore out as well.

C. Last, but of course not least. I shop for small things at local markets rather than specialty stores. Examples of some things are: I clean my tack with Murphey's Oil Soap (advertised mostly for wood floors, but works GREAT on leather and is $3.00 at my grocery store), you can buy gauze for that new kick wound at your animal health store, or once again the grocery store for half the price. Our fabric store recently had a clearance sale on fleece and we made our own coolers.