There are three types of people in the Saddlebred show world. There are those most like the conformation people, who buy and own the horse, put it in training, and the trainer does all of the work, including showing the horse. There are those who buy and own the horse, put it it training and let the trainer and barn workers train and care for the horse, and they go out once or twice a week and ride and then show their own horse. The third type is the owner who buys and owns their horse, boards at a boarding barn or keeps their horse at home, does all of the training, and shows their own horse. Horses shown by the pros are in open classes. All others are shown by amateurs and juveniles. The amateur classes are the largest by far, as most people want to show their own horses. The amateur owner trainer classes are generally small, and the open classes fall somewhere in the middle. Most people put horses in training for lack of time or ability to train their horse. I had four of my own... Three Saddlebreds, and a Hackney pony, and was the third type- an amateur owner trainer. In all three scenarios though, unless people have their own land, or the money to continue boarding every horse they have had, horses get bought and sold as riders become more experienced and are ready for a new challenge, or have the means to afford a more competitive horse, or are ready to compete in a different division (show pleasure, country pleasure, five gaited, fie gaited pleasure, park, three gaited, show pleasure driving, country pleasure driving, fine harness, roadster pony/horse under saddle/to bike, harness pony, hackney pony driving). All of the hard work in the world with the best trainer out there isn't going to make a lower quality horse able to be competitive past a certain point.
To be honest, dogs are a commodity. Breeders sell them and we buy them. There isn't a whole lot of difference between a breeder selling the pups who don't fit what they are looking to keep and an agility competitor selling a dog who isn't a good fit with them. You have different goals. That is fine. But there is nothing wrong with a person being more competitive and wanting a dog who can help them fulfill the goals they have. The world is changing, and many people are limited to the numbers they can have. Who are we to frown on them for placing a dog to have the type of dog they want? Buying a puppy is a huge crap shoot. You can buy from a breeder known for producing agility dogs, and get a puppy with a great temperament, structure, drive, and intelligence but there is no telling what that puppy will grow up to be and while we have quite a bit of influence on what our dog becomes, each does have its limitations and we can only improve each to a certain extent. If that dog just isn't going to be what a person wants, they shouldn't have to keep it, so long as they are finding the dog a good home that loves and appreciates the dog.
There are, for instance, some dogs on this forum I wouldn't enjoy owning and running.. Too slow, too low of drive, too shy... And then there are dogs of mine I'm sure certain people wouldn't want either. Ember with her independence, her need for distance, when there are many who prefer a dog show wants to be there with them and enjoy the higher q rate while sacrificing speed, Aurora with her special circumstances to run successfully, and Kai also much like Ember. Rey are food dogs for ME but they wouldn't be good dogs for everyone.
I do know of competitors in agility who do return dogs who don't work out. I can think of one, who had a very talented fast agility dog. When he died, she went looking for another puppy. My friend sold her one, and she was told don't be surprised when she returns the dog. She had already returned several. My friend was lucky that woman did end up keeping the puppy... But yes, it does happen, probably more so the higher up in the game you go.
