Aspiring junior catch rider help?

[tdhunterjumper]

After losing my mom to brain cancer about a month ago, my family is unable to support my horse showing this summer. This year was supposed to be my year to debut in the medals and equitation with my horse Caspian (who I lease), but due to my mother’s passing, and the expenses entailed, as well as the necessity for my dad to take time off of work to ground himself, this can no longer happen. While I can keep Caspian, shows are out of the question, unless I can find a way to ride for free or cheaply.

The barn which I currently train with attends A/AA circuit horse shows in the SF Bay Area (including Woodside, Almaden,etc.) as well as in Sacramento (Brookside,Murieta,etc.), Sonoma and occasionally further down south. My trainer is a classic equitation rider (with several championships at medal finals under her belt) and seasoned competitor, and teaches us the finer points of hunter/jumper riding.

While I am limited financially, I am able to help out by schooling the horses and ponies of my trainer’s clients, helping people get to their proper ring on time, grooming, removing braids, etc. I get how shows work. I’ve shown myself in the past, at Woodside and other venues, all resulting in good ribbons and placings.

Additionally, I am an experienced junior rider myself, able to handle the greenies my trainer brings in as consignment projects, to horses coming back from injuries or abuse, to my own horse, a recuperating 1.50 jumper who is transitioning into a life as a hunter/eq horse. The fact that I’m just under 5’4 and lightweight allows me to ride almost anything.

I want to know how you, the equine community, would approach my situation, and how you have found catch riding experiences yourselves. Any help would be appreciated, and, should you be local, any leads on ponies or horses that could use a rider would be even more appreciated. I’m just a girl who would do anything to ride. Whether it be a flat class, jumping class or even a pony model, it would be a dream come true.

[Show_boots]

First talk with your trainer about going down grooming (if you are grooming and mucking you should be getting paid AND tipped) and helping trainer during the week. Your trainer should also be able to network for you and find you rides, and let other trainers know you can hack/jog/model.

Two, go prepared, make sure you have boots, breeches, show coat with you.

Three, sometimes just sitting by the ring is enough. I had two large junior hunters, and I could only jog and hack one. I would jog the naughty one who liked to kick up his heels, and pretty much someone else (groom, junior, pony kid) jogged the other one, and then anyone that could hack got on and hacked. If I was riding in another ring, then anyone available at my barn, or from a barn we were friendly with jogged and hacked. My favorite ring to watch was the ponies, and I probably jogged/ modeled something every show if I sat there.

[ParadoxFarm]

I’m sorry for your loss. I don’t have any advice, but I wish you luck.

[Gorgonzola]

[QUOTE=tdhunterjumper;7575147]
I’m just a girl who would do anything to ride. [QUOTE]

I am sorry about the loss of your mom.

I do want to point out that you ARE able to ride, you still have your lease horse! I realize that not showing may seems like a huge deal, but it really is not. I would focus on enjoying the horse you do have!

[hunterrider23]

I’m sorry for your loss.
My advice would be to talk to your trainer about working off your training fees/board on your lease horse by grooming and helping, so the only think you’d be paying other than the lease/fee or maybe some board would be your actual show fees (stall and class entries).

[tdhunterjumper]

You have an amazing point. It’s just my second to last junior year, and, selfishly, I want to enjoy it while I can. But it’s true, showing does not matter as much as people make it seem. My horse is wonderful and I WILL enjoy him as much as I can.

[tdhunterjumper]

I will do that, thank you so much. You’re very helpful.

[BostonHJ]

I’m very sorry for your loss. It can’t imagine how hard of a time this must be for you.

If you can braid well, that could be a way to fund shows. The good news about showing is you can do it long after you age out, and I think many people enjoy showing far more without the pressure of “last junior years”.

[222orchids]

We are all very sorry for your loss and it is not anything that someone your age should go through. I wish your first post on COTH had a happier genesis. I hope you and your dad (and any siblings) all take care of each other. You’ll get a lot of advice about getting good rides, or working off your lessons and board, by doing things around the barn or at shows; it’s possible. My advice is, without knowing how old you are, be careful of the day you turn 18 and what you do thereafter, to work off your horse expenses. Riding your trainer’s consignment horses or other client’s horses, in exchange for board, will cause you to lose your amateur status. I just would not want that to be an unintended consequence of the hard work you are undoubtedly going to take on. You sound like a very level-headed and dedicated person. I hope you get the rides you are looking for. Look for va college with an IHSA team so you can keep riding later at a very reasonable level of expense. Best of luck.

[findeight]

Sorry for your loss.

Strikes me that if you are looking for AA level barns? You probably should stress your ability to ride GOOD horses that may be a little tougher then they look or quirky and not mess them up for their owners. There really are not a lot of dead Green horses or true stinkers to ride in that kind of barn. If they show up they tend to be very temporary either rapidly schooling up or going buh bye.

Highlight what you can do and ability to get along with anything and keep it polished, not ride bad horses.

Be flexible about what you do and be willing to do anything asked. Use your existing trainer for referrals. Chin up, stay positive you have most of your life ahead.

[SweetMutt]

11 1/2 years ago, I was in almost your exact shoes. I had just lost my mom, money was tight, and all I wanted in the world was to ride and compete for my last couple of junior years. (Well, and find some peace and meaning in life, but I didn’t dare entertain that desire yet.) I had a horse, but bought him green, and jumping and showing were shaping up to just not be his thing. There wasn’t any money to take him to the big shows anyway.

I’m going to tell you what I did, and then I’ll tell you what I wish I had done differently.

At first, I spent a lot of time riding my own horse. I poured myself into trying to make him into the jumper I wanted. In return, I got pitched over a lot of jumps and had teeth and hooves flying at me every time we tried to clip or braid. After 2 years, I threw in the towel and sold him. As a nice side effect of him hating to jump, we had schooled to third level dressage, so he went to a great non-showing dressage home.

I was pretty disenchanted with riding at that point. Because I couldn’t show and didn’t have a fun easy horse to jump 3’6" on like all the other girls, I didn’t see the point. I didn’t declare that I was quitting, but I stopped asking my trainer for rides and stopped hanging around the barn like I always had before. I struggled dearly with the chaos in my life, and I let go of something that could have kept me grounded and been my one constant.

Eventually, my heart got to me and I found myself back at the barn. I was a little rusty, out of shape, and off the radar from being away. As I started to be available again, the opportunities came back and I got some really fun rides for a while. I still didn’t have the money to show myself, but the horses were fun and taught me a lot. I started going to shows to groom and braid for other people at our barn and just be there. Before I knew it, the BO was asking me to ride some babies for her, and then asking me to show them. Were they big fancy jumpers? No way. Were the shows AA’s? Nope, just schooling and breed shows. But dang, I learned a lot.

Onto what I would have done differently.

I would have kept that horse and asked for rides from my trainer, too. He was a really great dressage horse and I think it would have been immensely rewarding to be the one who worked him through his clipping and braiding phobias without the pressure of wanting to show him right away. Even if he wasn’t going to be a jumper, an upper level dressage horse is still pretty dang cool and not something I could afford made. I would have taken the time I spent looking for excitement at parties and spent it at the barn instead. I would have saved every spare penny I had or spent it smartly on riding.

Most of all, I would have shaken my pity party over not being able to keep up with what everyone else had and I would have been thankful for my talent, my physical shape, my free time, and the relationships I’d built with great people who allowed me to sit on their horses I either couldn’t or wouldn’t buy. Considering the opportunities I got with my attitude, I think I would have been pleasantly surprised at what I would have gotten if I swallowed my pride and rode the nags day in and out. The junior years I had been so worried about wasting were out the door once I started thinking it would never happen.

This is a very long and roundabout way of saying, remember what’s important (the horses, not the shows) and remember that if you work hard, work smart, and stay humble, some very good things will come your way. Just maybe not as soon as you’d expected. Life is very long and it gets much better that you can imagine.

And here is a big fat hug from someone who’s been there. ((((((((((hug))))))))) If this didn’t help, I hope it at least gave you some reading material for the day.

[darkhorsecj]

Truly sorry for your loss. I’ve just been thinking it would be great to have a junior to show my greenie for me, maybe we would be a match. I’ll send you a pm.

[Dubarry]

[QUOTE=Show boots;7575190]
First talk with your trainer about going down grooming (if you are grooming and mucking you should be getting paid AND tipped) and helping trainer during the week. Your trainer should also be able to network for you and find you rides, and let other trainers know you can hack/jog/model.

Two, go prepared, make sure you have boots, breeches, show coat with you.

Three, sometimes just sitting by the ring is enough. I had two large junior hunters, and I could only jog and hack one. I would jog the naughty one who liked to kick up his heels, and pretty much someone else (groom, junior, pony kid) jogged the other one, and then anyone that could hack got on and hacked. If I was riding in another ring, then anyone available at my barn, or from a barn we were friendly with jogged and hacked. My favorite ring to watch was the ponies, and I probably jogged/ modeled something every show if I sat there.[/QUOTE]

This and network…If you see someone you needs a leg up, give them a leg up. Tell someone their pony is cute or they had a good round. If you see someone who is taking off their martingale for a flat class, offer to be a seond set of hands. People will remember you and it could help you in the long run when they need an extra rider.

Judging by the mature post you made, I am sure you already do these things. There are no words I can say to match the depth of your sorrows but I hope you get every opportunity to ride/catch ride and find comfort in the memories of your mother. hugs!

[fordtraktor]

I don’t live in your area and can’t help but just wanted to say how sorry I am for your loss, OP, and wish you all the best in finding some horses to ride and show this year. ((HUGS))

[Trixie]

I’m very sorry for your loss. Check with your trainer and see if she knows any ammies that are looking for a catch rider - I myself would take one at some times - or if she can help you in that regard.

Also check with the riderless horses thread. I found my first rides after not having much money here on COTH, and I still ride with the same people to this day. That was a decade ago, at least.

[Tuesday_s_Child]

I have no real advice, but I just wanted to say first off, I am so sorry for the loss of your mother. Secondly, I think you have a very mature attitude (I am a high school teacher and see a lot of immaturity) and I wish you the best of luck in enjoying your horse and finding some nice catch rides!