It sounds like you need your own horse.
Start there…if you love it start teaching lessons on the side. Then when you have cash flow from horses you can quit.
In the mean time, take lots of lessons with your ow n horse…
If you’re not looking for a fancy show barn, this is a very interesting opportunity. Brianna is a great horsewoman, and just an all around amazing and inspiring person.
I’ll echo what others said and in your shoes, I would be looking for a more flexible job option and evaluating my budget. If you make a healthy salary, you should be able to ride some. Unfortunately, at 25-26 that does always mean affording your own horse. Patience is a virtue (says someone who couldn’t afford her own horse until her late 20s after 9 years of school). It may not be now, but it will happen eventually.
I would also echo 4 years is not a long tenure at a job and while a transition to a new role in corporate America can be explained by things like the desire for more flexibility or higher salary, a year or two away to go ride would be hard to explain during an interview IMO. The other big factor is the loss of things like benefits-how will you cover your own health insurance? Do you have a plan to make up for things like retirement contributions for that year?
I’d suggest starting with a job change to a more flexible role or company with a culture that supports work life balance. I WFH in a pretty demanding role but even on 12 hour days, I still have time to ride.
2 Likes
Deciding whether to ditch your 9 to 5 job greatly depends upon your field and job. In some, you can pick up again fairly easily and there are enough employers who recognize the value of a gap year. In other fields, you would be behind in the latest developments and the employers are more stodgy and likely to go with the new grad rather than the “horse girl”.
As you can see, experiences and the value of WS really vary from place to place. You didnt mention your horse accomplishments and experience and this matters in getting and using better positions. In this country you really need to consider health insurance too!
I would consider if there is another position or slightly different career path that would offer more time and flexibility for your horse habit. And perhaps a different location if the costs are too high where you are. It seems like you should be able to afford a horse or lease and some lessons based upon the lack of debt.
Yup, this is where I’m at right now. About a year out of college, I had a job, but had no idea if that industry was one I wanted to pursue. Then I had my epiphany that for me to be happy in life, I want to be the nice ammie lady at the barn with her one or two nice horses and to be able to progress consistently with my riding, hopefully making it to Grand Prix dressage someday. The industry I’m in now could make that life a reality for me.
As it is, I took a riding hiatus, more or less, for about 3 years until I moved to my current job last year. Now, I’m taking lessons and getting a couple extra rides thanks to my trainer having a lot of faith in me. While I do want my own eventually, I’m patiently waiting because I know that day will come, and it will likely be sooner than I think.
3 Likes
I burned out in the corporate world right when I turned 30. I quit my high-stress Manhattan job and took a working student position on a horse farm for a year. I literally went from sitting in board rooms in NYC to driving a tractor in Kentucky.
I’m glad I did it, even though I decided at the end of the year to return to the corporate world. One thing I was always afraid of in life was waking up one day with a bunch of commitments and responsibilities and realizing I had never truly lived.
I am content with the life I have now, because I always allowed myself to investigate other possibilities. I know that there isn’t something else out there that I would rather have.
Just something to consider.
9 Likes
WS gig means you get to ride right now. Which is really tempting when you are at the soul-sucking office job that doesn’t appreciate you. (I was there a few years ago, I get it). But in reality it is just pushing your goal of having the time and money to ride further down the road.
The job you have at 23-27 is likely very different than the job you’ll have at 27-30. I was stuck in the office with zero flexibility and even less appreciation. Now I’ve got a ton of flexibility, WFH part-time, and feel really good about who I’m working for. Huge difference in a short time and I’m glad I didn’t follow my fantasy of working in the horse industry. YMMV
I’d say stick with the corporate and try to really plan how to get to where you want to be and the way to get there.
12 Likes
Why not go work as a groom instead of working student, make money AND do what you love. Phillip Dutton and Liz Halliday Sharpe and I think Tami Smith are all hiring now, money, housing, board etc travel the world.
Honestly being a groom or working student isn’t always the dirt job some people think it is anymore, grooming can be a real career if you go to the right places. I would honestly explore this route.
10 Likes
Have your career first and earn money…I quit my corporate job at the age of 40 to pursue running my own farm. If you go the working student route you may end upon with nothing for a Long time. I bought my first horse when I was 32 and could afford it then!
3 Likes
I agree with your point about there being money in grooming. When I have a bad day/ week at work I like to tell myself I’ll go back to grooming because I made more in a week (typically 5 days as a show groom for AAs and JRs no pro rides except warmups) than I do per pay period.
Big BUT here - there was NO time (and even less energy when show grooming vs WS) to ride my own and it’s not like the clients were bringing an extra horse for the groom to hack around (even with super super awesome clients). It makes more sense financially than WS, but definitely has a bit different focus (less farm life like driving the tractor or doing the arena etc) and different hours (even earlier mornings) and likely no chance at all for any riding except maybe hacking the clients next horse to the ring depending on client and show facility.
So again it depends on WHY OP wants to WS - to learn X Y Z skills? Escape the cubicle life? To be near a horse, any horse, in any capacity? To ride more? Etc.
1 Like
I mean, Phillip Dutton is hiring and advertising on The Gram…so…
https://www.instagram.com/p/CkMjjvVM9Ry/
So…I went from a corporate job to Barn Manager in my mid-30’s so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
I got my degree in animal science, and went into an ag business track at 22. In that track I eventually became a mid-level manager, had up to 25 people working for me and was sometimes reporting up to the president of the companies I worked for. Honestly it was a good career track and I was heading for upper level management. However I was miserable. When my husband (than BF) got a opportunity to move 2500 miles away, in a new state and new city for his dream job we made a deal. We would get married (it was gonna happen anyway this just tipped it over the edge) and I would move with him to that location sight unseen and I would get a job to fund my horse habit (as he called it).
After we moved here I landed a job as a barn hand and quickly moved up to barn manager as my boss decided she wanted to enjoy her husband’s retirement. Honestly I don’t blame her in the slightest!
I LOVE the work, working with customers, developing relationships with venders, being with the horses, mentoring and teaching the kids here to be great horse people and hopefully great adults too. I am able to directly apply my university degree and my 10 years as a manager in a high stress, 24/7 job. It is long hours and the pay is…way less than I was making before but both my boss and I agree that people need at least 2 days off a week. I can afford my horse and if my husband were to pass or be unable to work anymore I could make enough money to be comfortable.
I would advise looking for a groom position. Be honest that you need to learn the ropes but when I am hiring, a person in their mid-20’s with a year commitment ( at minimum if I play my cards right) would be gold! I would find a ways to entice you to work for me and hopefully keep you around for more than a year.
3 Likes
I’m probably a bit older than you but as an insight into your future-yes it will be worth the wait. Keep being patient… I’ve climbed the corporate ladder and had patience and now have two lovely horses I compete that live on the farm I bought. I’m pretty darn happy and while the wait was so hard it was worth it. I could probably have more if I didn’t have two little kids and other expensive hobbies like skiing 
I think the whole thing of parents still footing the bills of young ammies makes it really hard for those who don’t have that (and who don’t realize that’s how they’re doing it) to accept that it’s just not doable sometimes early in your career without substantial outside financial help. I know I didn’t understand.
8 Likes
In your twenties is when you really build a base for your long term career and fiances. Taking a year off to play with horses is going to set you back significantly both career-wise and finance-wise.
If you don’t like here you are working, change jobs but I say that with a warning. We have teetered on the edge of recession this year and polls of economists (www.wsj.com) are predicting a 63% chance of a recession next year. That’s up from 49% in July. They are predicting higher than normal inflation until the end of 2023 and expect unemployment to increase by 1.25 points next year.
So stepping away now may not be opportune. If/when layoffs happen it is typically last in/first out.
My advice to 20-somethings is build the career and finances now, play later. For example, my wife and I had careers in tech. We didn’t get into horses until our early thirties and still retired by 55. In comparison, our horse industry friends of the same age don’t ever see retirement coming. Horses are best done as a hobby.
14 Likes
Become a groom. Get a contract. Be paid.
4 Likes
Thank you for saying what I have been thinking! I work in the only corporate industry that really interests me (events) which is unfortunately not super lucrative, but at least I like what I do. 7 years out of college, I am still making only mid-five figures with not much room for improvement. I live in a high COL area (and I hate when people suggest relocating to a random town in the Midwest and it’s “your fault” for wanting to live in that high COL area, lol - this is where my family is, and a very stable job with good benefits) and managed to scrape by paying rent, my car payment, insurance, phone bill, dog expenses, etc. all on my own with no partner. I made it work having a horse by buying cheap and doing all training myself and working at the barn 3 days a week on top of my hour long commute each way to offset costs. I am married now and my husband has a better job than I, but with us wanting to buy a house in a nicer part of town, start a family, and having other hobbies (fishing, traveling), and wanting to build our nest egg to be financially stable - it feels like I will truly never be able to afford more than a $2500 OTTB that I have to start from scratch. While I have loved that journey in the past, it would be nice to get a horse already going for once and really be able to jump right in and enjoy. Thanks for pointing it out, because sometimes I wonder why the universe has yet to reward me for following all the right “steps”…wish it worked that way!!!
ETA: If I hadn’t met my husband when I did, I was already toying with the same decision as OP, and would have 1000% jumped at the chance to go be a pro groom during Covid when I was basically living at the barn anyway. I don’t think you have to have lofty goals of becoming a pro or even expecting to ride those high level horses in order to get some new life experiences and just feel like you explored all your options so you can make confident decisions going forward. I honestly feel like you aren’t far along enough in your career to greatly hurt your chances of getting hired a year down the road, and at least you have something really unique and memorable to talk about in the interview process!
6 Likes
I don’t think anyone here is arguing that you can work just any 9-5 job and the perfect equestrian life will fall into your lap. It requires some planning and sacrifice, but it’s possible for more people than you might think. I live in a HCOL area, live alone (and pay the astronomical rent prices for the privilege), and my salary just barely broke 6 figures with this year’s raise, which is plenty for me but definitely not in the top few % for the area. All of the decisions I’ve made over the past 5+ years have been with the eventual goal of horse ownership in mind: I chose my industry in college for the earning potential, I’m staying in my current job for the stability and benefits even though there are things I’m not crazy about, I don’t have a ton of discretionary spending outside of horses, and I won’t be able to buy my own place for another 5-10 years if I want to buy a horse in the meantime. Luckily I don’t want kids because that would probably put my horse goals completely out of reach. I have no delusions about ever owning my own farm in this area, nor is that a goal of mine, but for now I’ll be able to board one horse and hit up a few local shows each year which is enough for me. I won’t be able to afford the nicest horse and I’ll have to tighten my budget for the next few years and cut back on some things like travel and other luxuries, but it’s doable. In another 5-10 years my salary should increase enough to give me back some of that breathing room and maybe allow for more showing, a nicer horse, or even more than one horse if things really go my way.
For the record, I am by no means trying to say that anyone who can’t afford horses isn’t trying hard enough or anything like that. It does require some strategic choices in what industry you go into, where you live, etc, plus a decent amount of luck, and it still won’t be possible for everyone who wants it for any number of other reasons. But for a 20-something with a good paying job, no debt, and no dependents, I think being a one-horse adult ammy is a totally realistic goal.
9 Likes
While I didn’t quit to go do horses, in my late 20s I felt stuck in my corporate job and prospects and that I would never be able to afford more than a part lease living in a HCL area. I decided to switch careers and go back to school.
I had a several month gap before school started and my local trainer at the time took me on as a PT WS of sorts. I will say that the experience of riding multiple horses a day did wonders for my riding. If I could do it over I absolutely would take a gap year or two for the right opportunity to get time in the saddle on different horses.
The corporate world will be there waiting for you when you’re ready to go back to it.
1 Like
This is spot on. DH and I earn well (both in the 6-figures) and live a pretty modest lifestyle. Yet we live in a HCOL area where board and cost of a single horse is essentially another daycare cost and a horse property that is still commutable to our professional jobs is well over a $1M.
It continuously feels like we balance on a knife edge to afford cost of living, children (1 currently, 2nd on it’s way), and a horse. Yes I could have stayed at a more demanding job that paid even more generously (well into 6 figures) but at the trade-off of no time (60+ hr weeks).
There are ways to do it, but staying in corporate america for an extra year vs taking a year away is not going to make or break your ability to afford horses down the line. There are a whole host of other systemic issues that will have WAY more of an influence on your earning potential relative to cost of horses in your area.
ETA: When I say ‘balance on a knife-edge’ I don’t mean financial security, I mean more in terms of being able to own a horse the way I want to (lessons, a couple clinics, afford quality care for her, etc)
3 Likes
That is not the assumption. The assumption is that after working a corporate job for 6-10 years, you can afford a single horse that you could make into a nice ammy horse and then show at some level a few times a year. I don’t see anyone saying that after 5 years in corporate you’ll have a 6 figure horse showing on the A circuit and your own farm. Many people have mentioned that a lot of this depends on the area and COL, and if relocation to a lower COL is an option for OP it may help. If I had kept a horse while I lived
I say this as someone who graduated with a ton of student loan debt, is single (so I carry all expenses myself, and certainly no spouse to offset costs), and bought a very nice but very green horse to make up myself. I also relocated from NYC to a part of NY with a much lower cost of living/horse ownership. I make good money, but certainly not top few % money.
@horsepooramateur - No one is saying move to a random place in the Midwest. I gave up a very lucrative job in NYC and moved 5 hours upstate (yes, away from all my family who live right outside of NYC) because the lower COL would allow me to buy a house and a horse and compete. You’ve prioritized your specific job and proximity to your family over living someplace where horse ownership is more attainable, and that absolutely makes sense. But the OP is talking about an entire career shift in order to prioritize horses - so suggesting a relocation to a lower COL to someone who may want to choose to prioritize horse ownership makes sense.
10 Likes
