Horse Illustrated Magazine

Are you an amateur rider who participates in dressage, show jumping, or eventing? A marketing student from Otterbein University wants your input for a research study.

Michael Willham, an Otterbein student who competes on the university’s three-day eventing team, recently launched a survey as part of a research study to gather information on the marketing, advertising, and buying of sport horses in the three Olympic disciplines.

In order to qualify for the survey, participants should be amateur riders age 18 or older who compete in dressage, show jumping, or eventing. The survey asks for general information about the level at which participants compete in each discipline and how often they shop for horses. It also asks about where they find horses, both online and off, and what information helps shape the decision to inquire about or ultimately purchase a horse.

As an incentive for riders to participate in the survey, there are four $25 gift cards from SmartPak on the line. Four participants will be selected in a random drawing to receive one of the gift cards. However, participants can opt out of the giveaway if they want to provide information but don’t want to provide their email address.

According to the U.S. Eventing Association, Willham is an accomplished eventer and dressage rider, having competed up to the Prelim/1* level in eventing and earned his USDF Bronze Medal in dressage. He’s combining his interest in horses with his studies in marketing in this survey of sport horse marketing.

The survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete. Click here to participate.

Leslie Potter is a writer and photographer based in Lexington, Kentucky. www.lesliepotterphoto.com