I recently read where a rider was asking how we afforded the sport of endurance riding with all the other expenses of family and life. Here's the number one way: marry a man who can do anything.

For the men reading this, I guess they will have to go to trade school themselves. My husband can weld, carpenter, wire, work on all kinds of motors, etc. As long as I am around to read the instructions, he can fix or build about anything short of a nuclear plant.

We started "camping" in a borrowed shell stuck on the back of our pickup. If we couldn't borrow the shell, we cleaned out the back of the two-horse tagalong trailer and threw down the sleeping bags.

After a few years we bit the bullet and purchased a very used gooseneck trailer. It had been used to keep newborn calves in until they were old enough to turn out in pasture so was filthy. It had three axles and if you turned a corner too sharp the tires would pull right off the rims and voila, a flat tire.

We started renovations by cutting off the last eight feet and one axle. Put in a new floor since the old one was past cleaning, and built a divider wall. A piece of foam in the gooseneck and we had "living quarters."

We did many renovations on this trailer--added a stove top, cabinets, table and benches that made into another bed. Also when I got tired of banging my head every time I sat up in bed, we raised the whole front end of the trailer. For the horses, we added--over time--a ramp so they didnÕt have to jump three or four feet in and out anymore.

We made our first few trips out West in this trailer and thought we were living the life of camping luxury. Then while in Colorado we saw a combo RV camper/horse trailer on a used car lot. The light bulb came on in my head. When we returned home, we began the search for an RV trailer with a rear bedroom so there would be no important plumbing underneath.

We had about given up on ever finding a suitable RV when we spotted one sitting in the middle of a nearby town. Struck a bargain and went to work (watch for the backward trend here). We added a third axle and beefed up the existing floor for strength. Put in a divider wall and moved in. The living space was wonderful for us: regular bed, stove and oven, toilet and bath, sinks . . . wow. The only downside was there wasnÕt much storage for the horse "stuff" so we had to unload buckets, saddles, etc., from the living space when we got to the ride site.

We had fun giving tours as no one had seen anything like this before and a lot more fun bragging about how little money we had invested in the whole outfit because we "did it ourselves."

I would probably still be traveling in that rig if it hadn't been for a day of pouring rain on Interstate 75. Hydroplaned into a wall with the trailer jackknifed and pretty much totaled the front end of the RV. Luckily, the insurance company had no use for it and sold it back to us for a small sum. All the appliances, etc., were unhurt. Off on a trailer hunt again.

The current trailer was a nine-horse trailer for Saddlebreds. It only had stall dividers throughout. We gutted it and now have about 20 feet of living space. Normal sized shower, lots of storage for people and horses and even room in the back for my talented husband's "horse," an ATV.

Of course this trailer came with only two axles but both of them have dual tires so lots of strength and stability. (Also lots of money if you decide you need new tires.)

So if you really want to do this sport on a shoestring, Do It Yourself.

Maybe I will someday write a column on making your own saddle pads, shipping boots, blankets, half-chaps, etc., but that's for another day.

Hope everyone has had wonderful holidays.