Choosing a career to support my horsey dreams...

[OveroHunter]

Good for you for planning, but make sure you keep your eyes open for the unexpected!

If you had asked me at the age of 20 where I’d be now, the dream would look nothing like the life I have now… but you know what, I love where I’m at

As far as a career path, I’d say you have to find something you can be passionate about that can also make you some money. Am I passionate about what I do? Meh, it’s a boring field, but companies need a person like me who can come in and do a good job. I get paid decently and have a flexible schedule that allows me to ride so the perks of the job make up for the boring consultant thing.

[OveroHunter]

I have been double posting like crazy lately… Is this a COTH issue or a me issue?

[CatchMeIfUCan]

[QUOTE=amt813;8023754]
I can appreciate dreaming big and all but to finance an international riding career you are going to have to make way more than some of the suggested career paths mentioned on this thread - sorry to be a realist, but $100,000 a year isn’t going to finance international competition.

I am a lawyer, my husband is a doctor, we both make six figure incomes and I have to seriously save and plan to attend a few big “A” shows a year. Additionally, while I work in house and have much better hours than many attorneys who work for the large firms (and a lesser salary to go with it) I am still lucky to be able to ride four days a week.

While I am sure there are the exceptions, most of the time “big salaries” and “reasonable hours” are not used in the same sentence. Usually you have to give up one for the other. I find that “most” of the very successful amateurs either have a lot of family money or are married to professionals.

If you have the aspiration and talent to compete at an international level I would suggest pursuing riding full time. I know a lot of people will disagree with me, but I think that in order to compete at the level that you described in your original post you will need to devote several hours everyday to training and need substantial amounts of time to travel and compete. To realistically obtain this goal its my opinion that you need to devote everything to riding.

Best of luck![/QUOTE]

I find this super hard to believe, but maybe I have set myself up differently. I am in sales and make $100,000 to $150,000 a year. I am single. I am looking to change roles so that I have an even higher ceiling ($600,000+). I live very basically and spend my money on horses. The horses all live out - I don’t pay $800/month in board. I have 4, 3 of which compete, 2 of which are for sale. We are eventers and do not want for more competition time. I stay in my trailer at shows and cook my own food.

Anyways, I highly recommend sales, specifically group insurance (MetLife, Cigna, Aetna, etc). Lots of hours, but super flexible so you can run out when you need to (generally). I have 24 vacation days as well, and my company really wants us to take them.

[amt813]

[QUOTE=CatchMeIfUCan;8023811]
I find this super hard to believe, but maybe I have set myself up differently. I am in sales and make $100,000 to $150,000 a year. I am single. I am looking to change roles so that I have an even higher ceiling ($600,000+). I live very basically and spend my money on horses. The horses all live out - I don’t pay $800/month in board. I have 4, 3 of which compete, 2 of which are for sale. We are eventers and do not want for more competition time. I stay in my trailer at shows and cook my own food.[/QUOTE]

Well I am not lying haha - perhaps you have set your self up differently, and from your post it appears that there are a few differences

I pay about $1,000 a month board for my horse - standard for where I am located. Obviously in a different locale board may be cheaper. Then add shoes, about $200 a month, lessons, about another $300 a month, supplements of about another $150 a month and it is quite expensive. These expenses might be less depending on where you live and what type of training program you participate in, but this isn’t extravagant for someone who wants to compete at larger shows. To do a horse show on top of that is a lot. Admittedly, if you are going to do all your own hauling, stay in your trailer, and do all your own work that will save you substantial amounts of money. I do do a lot of my own shipping and care but hotel costs, horse show stabling and entries can be quite high. At some of the larger shows just entries and stabling can cost over $500 (although this is hunter jumper - eventing may be less). I live fairly basically but I have a mortgage, car / gas / maintenance, food and student loans to pay. I also need some savings and contribute to my 401K. So while not all my money goes to horses, I certainly do not live extravagantly. These costs add up quickly.

While I can certainly afford to have my horse and show at a reasonable level, the OP isn’t talking about hauling her horse to a few shows in the area - she is talking about competing “internationally” at the “grand prix” level - in my opinion this isn’t happening on a $100,000 salary.

[Faye]

[QUOTE=amt813;8024045]
Well I am not lying haha - perhaps you have set your self up differently, and from your post it appears that there are a few differences

I pay about $1,000 a month board for my horse - standard for where I am located. Obviously in a different locale board may be cheaper. Then add shoes, about $200 a month, lessons, about another $300 a month, supplements of about another $150 a month and it is quite expensive. These expenses might be less depending on where you live and what type of training program you participate in, but this isn’t extravagant for someone who wants to compete at larger shows. To do a horse show on top of that is a lot. Admittedly, if you are going to do all your own hauling, stay in your trailer, and do all your own work that will save you substantial amounts of money. I do do a lot of my own shipping and care but hotel costs, horse show stabling and entries can be quite high. At some of the larger shows just entries and stabling can cost over $500 (although this is hunter jumper - eventing may be less). I live fairly basically but I have a mortgage, car / gas / maintenance, food and student loans to pay. I also need some savings and contribute to my 401K. So while not all my money goes to horses, I certainly do not live extravagantly. These costs add up quickly.

While I can certainly afford to have my horse and show at a reasonable level, the OP isn’t talking about hauling her horse to a few shows in the area - she is talking about competing “internationally” at the “grand prix” level - in my opinion this isn’t happening on a $100,000 salary.[/QUOTE]

I agree with amt813. Both my DH and myself make 6 figures, no kids. We own a house, cars, no student loans, we do savings and contribute to 401K, and we like to have vacations and visit our family who lives overseas periodically as well.
Area where we are, costs are similar to what amt wrote. Of course I can afford to have a horse (board, vet fees etc) lessons, and occasionally show. But for international levels, just the thought about those costs is making me sad.

Full disclosure: I dont’ own my own horse, i just lease one, because i never grew up with horses, so spending this amount of money monthly is a bit hard to swallow and my DH may have a heart attack.

[red_mares]

@amt813;8023754

I can appreciate dreaming big and all but to finance an international riding career you are going to have to make way more than some of the suggested career paths mentioned on this thread - sorry to be a realist, but $100,000 a year isn’t going to finance international competition.

I think the $100,000 per year might finance international competition if you subsisted on ramen noodles & lived in a tack room. Probably your best bet for financing international competition is a sugar daddy a lucky Power Ball ticket.

If you found board/training for $1K/month for a grand prix-international show situation, I would check the contract very closely, as it’s probably a deal with the devil. There are several threads over in H-J land about the cost of just the AA pony circuit. $$$$$$

[tewhann]

The problem with international competition is not only the money, but also the time.

Finding great flex time and $300,000 + income is tough. I don’t think $100,000 would even come close to supporting both you and international riding.

Focus on sponsors for the riding and do what you love. There is not enough money to be miserable at a bad job every day.

[Dewey]

You should choose your career because you love it and are good at it, not because it will enable you to ride. You have to consider job availability, the amount of student debt you take on, etc., but you need to want to do the job for its own sake. See danceronice’s post above.

Sorry, I love horses, too, and understand your dreams–they’re attractive, but you’re setting yourself up to not succeed in your job. Your priorities aren’t in order. It’s more realistic to hope to own your dream horse someday and be able to have time and money to ride it.

[poltroon]

[QUOTE=red mares;8024248]
I think the $100,000 per year might finance international competition if you subsisted on ramen noodles & lived in a tack room.[/QUOTE]

No, it does not, in most locations in the US. For one thing, a salary of that size comes with certain obligations and expenses. Price one trip to Europe or even Wellington and you start to see the problem…

If you can dig up the stories about Patty Meyer with her horse Exakt from Practical Horseman, she was a true amateur who financed her USET run from her career as a corporate attorney. Her schedule and her finances were laid out pretty bare there.

Edited: found this LA Times article on her:
http://articles.latimes.com/2000/apr/08/news/mn-17353

Another path, if you want to compete internationally, is to seriously consider where you will live, and perhaps the number one thing you can do to give yourself a leg up there is to plan to live in Europe for a few years.

[red_mares]

My intent was that you could drop $100K/year just on the horses at that level, without having any left to actually live.

[clanter]

[QUOTE=red mares;8024576]
My intent was that you could drop $100K/year just on the horses at that level, without having any left to actually live.[/QUOTE]

$100K might buy a competitive western pleasure horse… possibly

[Texarkana]

No, $100K doesn’t finance international competition. No one can outright afford international competition unless they are a millionaire. This is why the big names have sponsors and rich clientele backing them.

But making $100K annually instead of $35K annually is going to give you a lot more financial flexibility to support your horse hobby and develop your skill… so you can hopefully get those sponsors and rich clients one day.

Other options would include marrying rich or selling your body and soul as a working student with the hopes you will one day get a break.

[showhorsegallery]

[QUOTE=Texarkana;8024631]
No, $100K doesn’t finance international competition. No one can outright afford international competition unless they are a millionaire. This is why the big names have sponsors and rich clientele backing them.

But making $100K annually instead of $35K annually is going to give you a lot more financial flexibility to support your horse hobby and develop your skill… so you can hopefully get those sponsors and rich clients one day.

Other options would include marrying rich or selling your body and soul as a working student with the hopes you will one day get a break.[/QUOTE]

Also making that much gives you more options. You can live frugally and save, save, save and invest in other businesses that generate passive income. Get enough of those going and you can might not need that job anymore and may be making way more than your salary ever was.

That’s my personal plan.

[danceronice]

[QUOTE=AKB;8022457]
Danceronice, I think too many young women become discouraged when they find math is difficult for them. Just because something is hard doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. My younger daughter always found math to be hard. She was tutored in math from elementary school through college. Then, something clicked. She realized that some math, like Differential Equations, was not hard for her. Physics was not hard. She is now a PhD biomedical engineer with a good job.

We all need to teach our daughters that when something like math is hard, you can still do it. If it is important to you to get it done, you can find a way to do it.[/QUOTE]

No, we should teach our kids that sometimes, no matter how much you try, you have as much chance of learning something as I have of making weight in the Kentucky Derby (if I went full anorexic now…) Do not waste your time on things for which you have no aptitude just because they’re allegedly ‘more important’ than the things you’re good at. I can do basic arithmetic and algebra, but the last time I got a grade higher than C in a math-related course was freshman algebra in high school. This would be why my father did not approve of my plan to jump into calculus and physics (I never took physics or chemistry in high school and to this day, I have never taken chemistry. I wish I had; no one told me basic chem was just rote memorizing for the most part.) To even pass the course (and he legitimately could have failed me anyway) my calculus professor had to literally go over every lecture with me again in private, trying to rephrase it in a way I could understand. He finally said if I could manage a D on the final he’d pass me for the gen-ed credit if I promised to never, ever attempt to take a higher level math course at that school again. He could see that while I was trying desperately, I was never going to get it. Physics was slightly better, but again required an awful lot of extra sessions with the professor and in that case a lab partner who genuinely would be an engineer. It would be like forcing my brother to try and minor in German despite his barely struggling through the required two years in high school. People have different abilities. All the trying in the world won’t help if you simply can’t do it.

And let’s be honest, you want to be on the Olympic team before you’re old enough to be a trivia item about aged Olympians, you don’t have time for a job that pays six figures. Riding has to be your job. So if you’re not already wealthy or married to money…

[zaparaquah]

Thanks for all the feedback guys!
I’m starting to see that riding internationally may not be totally reasonable for me. But for me it’s more about the skill and mastery of reaching that level. If I can’t actually compete in the big shows, I’ll live. I just want to develop into a really savvy, talented GP rider and trainer. That’s my real goal. If I have to stick to regional shows, I’ll live. Having said that though, I am serious about learning and improving. I have been aiming to spend some time studying and maybe living in Germany (and riding, of course). For now I’m just going to focus on working towards a USDF gold, gaining training experience and saving up to buy a nice WB mare to show.
We may end us scaling down the vision and scope for our horse facility, and it may not play out how we expect. I’m fine with that. I just want to be sure I’m doing what I can now to position myself so that if that becomes an option, I’m in a situation to go for it.

Also, I see now that framed this as if I was going to decide my career solely based on what would earn me the most. I’m not. I have done extensive aptitude testing and it’s really important to me to be happy and passionate in my career. But I have the aptitude and work ethic to do pretty well in a huge variety of fields, STEM and otherwise. There are just too many options! And I’m getting sick of not knowing what I’m working towards in my schoolwork - since I’m pretty goal oriented obviously XD). So I figured I ask you wonderful COTHers for input to see if it uncovered any new options or considerations. And it has.
So thanks again for the input!

[zippyrider]

Well, horses take a lot of time AND money. Some of the careers mentioned can look like cheap labor after you figure the incredible hours that you have to put in, especially in the early years.

For my own children, I will encourage them to be entrepreneurial, to think about passive income (i.e., creating a business or investing in a way that you get income without having to work for every dollar), and to create multiple streams of income (i.e., if you lose your job, how will you make up the slack?). Even if they want to be a school teacher, I think they need to know how to manage money to produce some passive income. That passive income acts as a second income stream in the event of a job loss, and can also help with material comfort (i.e., horses!).

My family owns commercial real estate, so that has enabled us to have passive income. We also own two other businesses that give us semi-passive income and incredibly flexible schedules.

But where did we get the money to buy the real estate? We inherited some of it, so that was a major leg up. Starting from college, I have always owned my own businesses, so I used money from my companies to invest, and being my own boss gave me the schedule flexibility to ride. My husband was in the NYC finance world, but retired in his mid-thirties. The bonuses were invested in real estate and other income-producing assets. These assets now produce enough income that he no longer needed to work in NYC (and didn’t want to anymore).

Best wishes to you, and good luck! This is a great thread!!!

[zippyrider]

[QUOTE=showhorsegallery;8024671]
Also making that much gives you more options. You can live frugally and save, save, save and invest in other businesses that generate passive income. Get enough of those going and you can might not need that job anymore and may be making way more than your salary ever was.

That’s my personal plan.[/QUOTE]

YES, yes, yes. That is exactly what we did. You said it way better than I could have.

[maketo]

I am a software engineer and I work from home, pull a six figure salary and can work from anywhere there is high-speed internet. I can also work any time of day I want so long as I fulfill my obligations - this means I can ride during the day and work in the evening/early morning. However, it took a while before I got to be senior enough to have this “luxury”, I am 40 now and I started with computers when I was 12, I have always been talented that way. Your mileage might vary. In my experience career should not chosen as a vehicle for something else. Ideally, you should do what makes you happy and only then will you realize your true potential. Hence, if you think working with horses will make you happiest, pursue working student/apprentice relationships with top trainers and doors will open if you want it enough.

[rizzodm]

This site is great for researching careers. It tells you pay, education required, market demand etc. etc. I linked to air traffic controller to give you an idea but you can research any career here.

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/transportation-and-material-moving/air-traffic-controllers.htm

[clanter]

I have to once again point out…do you something that clicks within you… for me ATC was a piece of cake, never a stress at all…it was a just a big video game to me …and that was before video games came about

My youngest son, we never thought we were going to get him out of high school, he was in special ed most of the junior and high school… he now earns seven figures … that is over $1M a year… he is doing something he loves, and is very good at it