I want to be a working student?

[Anna.m]

You do not want a working student position during college. No one hires a working student for a few hours a week.

I don’t know about in your area, but I have seen farms look for part time muckers, usually these positions just cover the regular working students/farm staff’s days off. Or, try to find a horse owner who is looking for an exercise rider.

[EVneo]

There is some great advice on here! I personally took the “normal” campus job route, being a secretary for one of the departments. It was 8 hours/week and allowed me to catch up on school work when it was slow (which was almost always) and gave me the funds for two lessons/week. Once I got more established as a student with the trainer, I definitely made it clear that I was always happy to lend a helping hand, whether it was hand-walking, stalls, bathing and braiding, etc. I think when she saw that I was willing and happy to help, she was more willing to throw me a few practice rides on client’s horses. This worked for me and my goals - I knew I didnt want to be a pro after school, but also needed and wanted some pony time.

[541hunter]

USC has an IHSA team, which likely will have some opportunities for relatively low-cost riding and showing. I don’t know anything about how good they are or where they ride, but I do know that IHSA gave me the chance to compete in college for a very reasonable cost and the connections I made at the team barn gave me some great non-IHSA opportunities as well. I paid for my riding with a part-time job all through my undergrad degree, so it’s definitely possible.