I know its exciting to be the big show rider… but there is nothing wrong about being the hard working tough as nails rider that puts a start onto all these young horses (or the coach that puts the start onto all those great riders) You say you’ve started or worked with a lot of young green types- not everyone can do that. Thats a pretty big accomplishment in my eyes. It may not have all the glitz and glimmer of being a show rider, but the industry needs people who can produce nice, well started young horses too (and the rider whos not afraid to smooth out the kinks on the not so nice ones!). I’m proud of all the horses i’ve started that have gone onto other riders and are doing well- is it me on their back? No- but I was part of the team that got them there. That fancy eq rider? Who was the one that had the patience to repeatedly show them how to hold their reins and get their heels down and how to post the trot? Don’t underestimate the value of all those hard workers behind the scenes- one actor does not make a movie!
[QUOTE=xemilyx805;6085367]
Where I am right now? I would be better off on a college team. Two years from now? Who knows? Maybe if I am in a training program and showing, then I would be better off advancing through that than going to college and riding less. But did I ever say I didn’t plan on going to college? No.
Let’s put it this way. If I won the powerball right now, and marched up to a nice trainer and said here’s thousands of dollars, can you put me in a training program, he would say yes and by the time I was about ready to go to college I could be showing the 3’ and beyond. How is it any different if I’m working for the training program or paying for the training program?[/QUOTE]
I don’t think you realize how much it costs to show (even in the 3’) at a show like WEF, It’s about $2,000/weekend. Thats before adding in the cost of purchasing/leasing a horse.
Yes, most trainers would take on a green rider only doing 2’ if they had money to pay for a new horse, full training and showing. I don’t know any who would take on a 2’ green rider who feels she is entitled to the right to work a little and get “what all the rich girls get”. I also don’t know many people who when paying for a ‘training program’ for their horse, would be ok with someone other than a pro, riding their horse.
I think your best bet is to go to college, get a degree in something other than riding, get a great job and then pay for riding and showing.
It is a priviledge to get to ride, the fact that you have horses in your backyard is great, start being more positive about what they all have to offer you.
You sound like me when I was 16!
I applaud your work ethic, and also your willingness to consider going to college. I think it will be much more enjoyable in the long run to have a non-horsey career and be able to afford to ride your own horses when and how you want to (and if you don’t want to). Most trainers I’ve known don’t get days off, and hardly have time to enjoy their own horses… they are always riding someone else’s, teaching, feeding, mucking, on the tractor, fixing fences, etc.
Until you graduate high school, however, go for that working student experience! Start making phone calls and find a barn that needs you. Keep riding the horses for your mom. Is there a way you can take jumping lessons on any of those horses?
Good luck.
I only read through the first page before I decided to post. OP you can and will do anything you put your mind to! Don’t let anyone tell you differently! I am a professional Hunter/Jumper Trainer who never showed in 3’ until I was 24 years old…I was the behind the scene person at a reputable ( not BNT) farm. When I felt the need to learn more I moved on to another reputable farm. With the experience learned at the first farm I was quite an asset to the next and so on and so forth!
Learning how to ride green horses is the best thing you can do for yourself. That is how I learned …training hundreds of horses not showing on made up robotic horses. The people that you work with will recognize your talent and give you more rides! I got all the rides that the Trainers didn’t want. When they were going good enough to show they let me show them. Typically I would only show once and the horse would get sold … Then I would start all over! Frustrating yes, but invaluable experience! Mostly you will be riding after you mucked 20 stalls which in itself will give you core strength to make you a better rider. There’s not a barn chore to be done that won’t improve your strength, coordination, fine motor skills, discipline, timing…etc. Have you ever seen Karate Kid?
…Continued… My phone cut me off. OP, you have what it takes and your insticts are right about the college riding team. Put your efforts into another avenue.
Your mom’s farm gave you a good foundation now move on and find a reputable place in your chosen discipline and start there. Work hard, keep quiet, observe everything and genuinly be happy for where you are now at any time because that is the place you are supposed to be.
My last thoughts are to develop an eye and technique for teaching as this will most likely be an important part of the equation.
Good luck!
Emily,
I’ve read through this entire thread with interest, and I can hear how exuberant and passionate you are about your dream. I don’t post often on here, but I really wanted to encourage you and offer advice. Most posters here are offering advice based on their experiences. I think the very best advice you’ve received is to get an education. Finish high school. Go to college and join the equestrian team, and earn degrees that will either help finance your passion to get excellent training and super horses, or earn degrees that might make you more marketable in and out of the “horse world” (business marketing, management). What if you do become a trainer/rider, and the unthinkable happens and you are physically no longer able to ride? Having a degree to make yourself marketable in other fields is a boon. An education opens doors that you can’t see right now.
In the meantime, have you considered finding an OTTB that might have some potential? By having a personal horse, you will not have it “taken out from under you”. Additionally, the initial expense on these horses could be (if it is sound, healthy) feasibly minimal, as it sounds like you/your family may (?) have your own farm. Perhaps you could enlist the help of a local trainer to search for one that might suit, and if you can bring it along (again, with assistance), you will gain experience, an education, and have a horse that could compete at the levels that you would like.
Another short term option would be to find a summer job grooming for a trainer. Go to local and/or rated shows and observe trainers, their clients, and even their barn management to get a feel for the lifestyle and how they operate. You’ll be more prepared to present yourself as a knowledgeable and reliable young lady.
I’m a recent graduate student, former high school history teacher, business owner, AND I used to groom (unpaid, to keep my amateur status…something else for you to consider) for some grand prix riders (falling into these jobs was lucky happenstance…but I also had my own horse that I was showing as well). However, my education led to my experience as a teacher, which led to my experience as a business owner, which now funds my habit. Grooming would never have provided the lifestyle I wanted, but it most certainly reinforced my love for the sport and the animal. As a former teacher, if there is ONE thing you take away from this long post…stay in SCHOOL.
You could advertise on Craigs List or put up a flyer at local tack/feed shops that you are available to exercise horses. You could make some money and make a few more local connections. Plus it may get you on a horse with show potential… and if you are riding that horse your foot is in the door so to speak.
I pay a college student to exercise my horse. It benefits me due to my travel/work schedule. When I do show, I offer her the opportunity to ride in a couple of classes that don’t conflict with my show schedule. Some of the group I show with are open to doing the same. She pays for classes she shows in, but other than that I’m already there to show, so there isn’t any cost for her.
OP- you seem really determined and that will get you far. I urge you to NOT major in English though. An English degree won’t get you too far unless you go to grad school, in which case you’ll be likely to rack up a lot of debt.
The entire post was about the fact that I want to work to make this happen for myself, not that I want someone to hand it to me on a silver platter. But why can’t I “make my way to the top without buying it”? Shouldn’t I be able to work for the same situations that people pay for? Shouldn’t the girl who is working at the barn from sun up until sun down get the opportunity to ride in the same lesson as the girl who just walks in and pays for it? I’m really not trying to sound naive or like I expect all these things to happen for me. I’m just saying I want to be able to work for the same opportunities the rich girls get.
Nothing’s stopping you. Go wait tables and pay for lessons. That’s what I did. That is called “working for the same opportunities.” Frankly, barn work is worth about $10 an hour. It’s not going to pay for $2,000 weekends at horse shows. It’s also probably not going to pay for you to both live, eat, AND ride a lot early on. Riding and showing are EXPENSIVE.
Not every trainer can afford to finance your dreams via time or money.
But no worries, I don’t ever let anything like this get to me, I groomed for some rich spoiled mortifieds. If ever it was hard to hold my tongue it was when the mortifieds were putting me down when they are on the easiest push button horses and still managed to mess up the 2’3" course they were doing and blame it on the horses.
Most importantly - LOSE THE ATTITUDE. Not one freaking word about “rich” people. If you ever want to make it in this industry, UNDERSTAND RIGHT NOW that these people will be your clients and will be financing you. No “mortifieds” no “rich brats” no “spoiled” – lose those words from your vocabulary immediately.
There is more to riding as a professional than just RIDING. It is a business, and you will need business skills. The degree itself may not be needed, but the skill sets CERTAINLY ARE.
This industry is also about who you know and how you can market yourself. Nobody cares if you can train a 2’ horse - so can almost anyone else. Nobody cares about your experience competing at the lower levels if what you want is to compete over the big jumps. Also? You would probably have learned more from one season at WEF than you would in five years of jumping 2’ courses – not only about the riding but about the business.
If I had a nickel for every time someone said that they have a “dream” to be a trainer or work in the industry, I would be a rich lady. The fact is that if you have the work ethic, the opportunities will likely present themselves – but you must be willing to start small. That doesn’t always mean riding.
Another thing? You have a huge leg up on someone like me – you’ve been riding your ENTIRE LIFE on a variety of horses. Please don’t pretend like you’re lacking for opportunity. Take what you have and build from it.
Wrong, wrong, wrong. If you plan to make the BUSINESS of horses and riding your career, you will benefit monumentally from learning as much as you can about BUSINESS. And I suggest you take another look at current professionals and their early careers. MANY, many, MANY of them had successful and prominent IHSA years in college and that time ABSOLUTELY boosts your resume measurably.
I know you feel driven and ambitious and you want a break, but you need to WORK for that break and find it yourself. There are nice horses out there for hard working kids to ride, but you won’t find them by posting 5,000 word diatribes on the internet. Go to the barns in your area, explain your situation and PROVE yourself before asking for anything. Wishing you all the best!
You seem unfamiliar with how the horse show world works. Yes, there is a lot of money involved, but even more important than what you can spend is WHO YOU KNOW and WHO KNOWS YOU. If the opportunity to groom during the WEF arises again, GO!! IF you work hard, keep your mouth shut (use tape if necessary) and turn out impeccable horses with happy riders you will begin to see doors open all around you. The, “That’s not worth my time because I wouldn’t get to ride” attitude will be your undoing. Any opportunity to rub elbows with the big players in the game is worth your time if you really want to make it as a hunter (or jumper) rider.
I didn’t have tons of $$ growing up to pour into horses, but I’ve ridden with some of the best trainers (Frank Chapot, Frank Madden, Debbie Stephens, Mark Stopford, Peter Hansen, Carter Bass, etc…) in the sport and sat on horses worth more than many people’s houses just by putting myself in the right places, with the right people and keeping my mouth shut and my ears open. Don’t worry about whether spending a show season as a groom will allow time/opportunity to ride. Just do what needs to be done and do it well and I assure you, if you have the talent you say you do, you will be turning down rides because of your busy schedule.
If you can show even the busiest professionals in the industry that you are will not be a waste of their time, they will want to help you. At least that was my personal experience.
I’m sorry there are just too many replies on here to respond to right now. I can’t reply to every one of these, but I will read them later and say something.
Among all of the other advice giving replies, I wanted to say something I don’t see mentioned elsewhere (and apologies if I missed it).
You say you have ridden fancy dressage horses, have access to fancy cutting horses, etc… but you are still dismayed by your lack of a 3’ horse. If I may offer a piece of unrequested advice which has served me well… learn to love the one you’re with! If you have an opportunity to ride nice dressage horses/learn dressage, do it. It will only help your training and jumping. Same with eventing, foxhunting, etc. If a big name barn in a different discipline will give you the working student opportunity you want, consider it. The riding may not be what you want, but the stable management and business skills you learn could be invaluable.
We are all on this bulletin board all the time lamenting the fact that some upper level riders (especially juniors) can’t bring along a young horse, can’t do correct flatwork, can’t wrap a leg, etc. Becoming a young person who CAN do those things (and more) will not be a waste of your time.
If the road you want to take (a working student position in a BNT hunter/jumper/eq barn) isn’t open to you… find a way around. Life is pretty much a series of challenges that you have to figure out… get used to thinking creatively now!
[QUOTE=JackieBlue;6085763]
You seem unfamiliar with how the horse show world works. Yes, there is a lot of money involved, but even more important than what you can spend is WHO YOU KNOW and WHO KNOWS YOU. If the opportunity to groom during the WEF arises again, GO!! IF you work hard, keep your mouth shut (use tape if necessary) and turn out impeccable horses with happy riders you will begin to see doors open all around you. The, “That’s not worth my time because I wouldn’t get to ride” attitude will be your undoing. Any opportunity to rub elbows with the big players in the game is worth your time if you really want to make it as a hunter (or jumper) rider.
I didn’t have tons of $$ growing up to pour into horses, but I’ve ridden with some of the best trainers (Frank Chapot, Frank Madden, Debbie Stephens, Mark Stopford, Peter Hansen, Carter Bass, etc…) in the sport and sat on horses worth more than many people’s houses just by putting myself in the right places, with the right people and keeping my mouth shut and my ears open. Don’t worry about whether spending a show season as a groom will allow time/opportunity to ride. Just do what needs to be done and do it well and I assure you, if you have the talent you say you do, you will be turning down rides because of your busy schedule.
If you can show even the busiest professionals in the industry that you are will not be a waste of their time, they will want to help you. At least that was my personal experience.[/QUOTE]
^^^^^
Possibly some of the best advice ever. I love horses, but I didn’t make them a career. I was lucky enough to get a job in my major, but i had start at the bottom, just like a lot of my other friends. Want to work at an ad agency and they only have room for an intern or a secretary? Apply for it. It is all about networking.
No matter how much you know, who you know will always be more important and more useful. People can argue with that one all they like, but it’s true. If you know someone, you get more connections. The more networking you do, especially even just as a groom at WEF will be more valuable than sitting at home riding peoples’ problem horses.
You’re young, and you’re headstrong. BUT… Putting in real hard work where it counts and keeping your opinions to yourself while you do a damn good job is going to help you.
As a recent grad, I’m telling you to not major in English. If you get nowhere with horses, it will not be useful and end up being a money pit for you… it’s one, if not the top, of the lowest paying majors. If you want to go in the BUSINESS of horses, become a business major.
Put what you want IN to get what you want out. PAY YOUR DUES and groom and maybe at some point people will ask you to ride. I hate you tell you, but people don’t just get plucked from the ground and put on the top of the tree of success, especially when they don’t have money. They have to WORK and SCRAPE and CLIMB to get up that tree.
Haven’t read the whole thing, but this jumped out at me.
And I say grooming won’t help my riding career because if I go to groom with someone for the winter there’s no guarantee that I’ll even sit on a horse. So that would be an entire winter that I didn’t ride and when I come back in the spring I’ll have to spend time getting caught back up
I have an old friend (we met when we were about 12, we are in our 50s now) who runs a successful “A show” Hunter Jumper barn in the New York area. She has horses at WEF every year, though the number varies.
She graduated early from high school, having earned her Pony Club B on a 14h3" “Morgan x something” who was not anyone’s idea of a show horse.
Much to her parents disapproval, and to our (her friends) dismay, instead of going to college she spent the next 5 years as a groom to an upper level jumper rider.
She did not get to ride AT ALL for THREE YEARS. THEN she started to get to warm up the horses for her boss to ride. We thought it was a terrible waste. She was the best rider of our group and she wasn’t riding. But she learned A LOT.
(She later got a BA in Biology, going to night school)
She went on to be a barn manager, started teaching lessons on the side, and eventually she, her husband (a groom) and another rider went off in their own training business.
“Not riding for a winter” isn’t going to hurt you in the long run, and may provide you with the needed education, reputation, and contacts.
Have you read “What Makes Good Riders Good” by Denny Emmerson? (Maybe someone has already suggested it.) It addresses your issues (how to get from here to there, and the choices you make) directly.
[quote=xemilyx805;6085281]Also, I can’t ride in the winter. We don’t have an indoor and the ground freezes so there’s nothing I can do then.
[/quote]
If you can’t ride in the winter anyway, then why not go down to WEF & groom? There is more to a career in horses than just sitting in the tack. Imagine all you could learn from seeing & being immersed in that environment for a few months?
[quote=xemilyx805;6085281]Also, I can’t ride in the winter. We don’t have an indoor and the ground freezes so there’s nothing I can do then.
[/quote]
If you can’t ride in the winter anyway, then why not go down to WEF & groom? There is more to a career in horses than just sitting in the tack. Imagine all you could learn from seeing & being immersed in that environment for a few months?
[quote=xemilyx805;6085281]Also, I can’t ride in the winter. We don’t have an indoor and the ground freezes so there’s nothing I can do then.
[/quote]
If you can’t ride in the winter anyway, then why not go down to WEF & groom? There is more to a career in horses than just sitting in the tack. Imagine all you could learn from seeing & being immersed in that environment for a few months?
OP, if you really work as hard as you say you do, send me a PM when you have a year off or something. I may know someone who can help you along the way.
Also, just stumbled on this on yardandgroom:
http://yardandgroom.com/jobs/united-states/california/here-is-your-opportunity-to-become-a-top-level-show-jumping-rider-trainer-and-instructor-/22152
OK xemily…I’ll lay it on the line from someone who has a WONDERFUL life in this industry and has bought-sold-trained-ridden and been the ground person for some spectatular horses/riders in this sport. AND someone who was EXACTLY in your shoes at 18…AND as someone who has helped, mentored and encouraged dozens of young professionals my entire career in an effort to give something back to a sport I so dearly LOVE. Been in this business over 40 years, believe in dreams AND believe there is a place in the horse industry for everyone…
There are two paths you can take…the fast one that tears you up, OR the methodical one that will make this a NICE lifetime career for you (and in the end is faster anyway). Do you want to “feel good” quickly or do you want to “be good” for the industry and yourself?? Simple questions but those are YOURS to answer.
I remember sitting on my couch in a VERY tiny apartment when I was 19…crying and whining about wanting to someday “be something in the horse industry and ride great horses” just like you are now. It felt really bad and hopeless since I was young, no money, no support (unlike you who has family and school support according to you)…I HAD NONE!!! Period zip NONE! I rode any horse I could get on at the El Toro Marine Corp base because I did not have a mom with a barn of any kind, nor a place to live if I didn’t figure it out myself…NO SUPPORT, emotionally, physically or emotionally!! BUT I felt like you do so I thought long and hard about how to climb this crazy ladder. Because I had to do it all on my own I learned a lot…and A LOT about what NOT to do.
First off, the industry has changed so much in the last few years (decades) and its a different place now. Staying in it is more difficult and the competition you will face for horses and clients is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay more complicated. Media has made it a small world and “word” gets out all over, both positive and negative.
The best advice is knowing ANY career will take quite a bit of time, just like an attorney-doctor-businessman…our industry is the same. The most important thing to SURVIVING in this industry at the level you are talking about is …GET AN EDUCATION AND GET A GOOD ONE!!! Just like a dr/lawyer etc has to learn thier trade, we do now also. ANYONE can get on a horse and train it to some level, ANYONE can hang out a shingle and teach and ANYONE can label themselves a professional.
This industry, and a good life in it, is about marketing YOURSELF and what you have to offer…LEARN MARKETING. This industry is now big time business…LEARN BUSINESS. This industry is now competitive at all levels of teaching/training…LEARN STRADEGY.
WITHOUT THOSE YOU WILL SUFFER NEEDLESSLY…you may feel good for a time but what a difficult way to do what you love.
I DO NOT say this like a lot of people do…they say you have to have something to fall BACK on…NOPE, you have to have something to move FORWARD on. It is in your court and at your age and with your energy…you can make it but be VERY smart about it.
Now to the reality of your posts…you went on a long time about what you want, why you are special and why you are different. I have to tell you that you say the same thing hundreds of young riders say, so don’t think you are any different than dozens of others. I say that to let you know who you are “competing” against for a leg up…your competing against dozens of kids just like yourself. Be sure you accept that and get smart about what to do next and next and next.
For me…and for me alone…there are flags in ALL of your posts that would make me really doubt if I wanted to give my precious time to you or would be better off giving it to another young one. FIRST, your a little critical about being the only one who feels this way…BE HUMBLE A BIT. NEXT, anything anyone has posted to help give advice and direction, your quick to point out how they are wrong and they don’t know you…they don’t have to. BUT MOSTLY…your comments that at your age you are not attached to anything (your words)…THAT would make me nervous and not sure if you would get attached to anything I had to say or offer. Sounds like you would drop any situation for a “better one” at any given moment…sounds like a taker and not a “partner” in the learning process. Figure out how ti come across as a partner!!
And your comment to one poster …“I’ve repeated myself a lot, you seem to see only the things you can argue with me about. I’m not asking for a situation like that I’m asking to work for a situation like that.” WOW THAT IS TACKY from a 16 year old who has asked for opinions here. The poster gave good advice, BUT not advice or opinion you wanted so you shot back at her!! A 16 year old with a trigger that quick would NOT be someone I would get excited about giving precious time too.
SO TO END…stop and listen!! Take it all in, doesn’t mean you have to agree BUT there are jewels of wisdom for you on this thread…HEAR THEM. If you will settle down, get a little humble and listen, you might just get the leg up you are wanting…BUT FIRST YOU HAVE TO HAVE STOP THE ATTIDUDE.
Say thanks and reply instead of coming back with the why the posters are wrong and you are right. COTH is a wonderful place and there are dozens of posters with amazing advice…HEAR IT, be the kind of responder that people will want to help. Pounding us is certainly NOT the way to make us interested in your plight.
So go ahead and have a hack at me if oyu want…its ok, I understand. As Cruisin said…go for your dreams, they ARE reachable…just be the kind of responder people will want to give their ladder to…GOOD LUCK EMILY…
