You can’t blame an entire industry’s problems on “kids these days and their cell phones.” How incredibly obtuse! There are loads of hardworking young people who love horses and have no problem putting in the hours because they understand that it is necessary. I think everyone in this industry needs to be aware of how they treat the people who work in it and how they treat each other. Especially dressage riders. I see so many people (usually over the age of 40) with self-important, toxic attitudes who feel entitled to treat people however they feel like, and that needs to change because they are pushing younger people [read here the future of the industry and the sport] away.
I’ve worked for trainers in a variety of capacities (stall cleaner, groom, working student, training assistant) as well as in tack shops, and let me tell you, employers get what they give. Oddly enough, the best employers I ever had were in New Jersey and I think the horse industry there will survive, because living is hard there for everyone. So farm owners and trainers understand that a lowly barn worker or working student really struggles. When they find a good worker, they really go above and beyond for that person. They were also tactful at keeping the clients who had mean streaks out of the barn most days, which I really appreciated. Outside of New Jersey is where I was treated really poorly. I was always told by whomever I worked for that I was a really hard and dependable worker, and they appreciate how I “do my work and don’t complain” and yet, I was usually doing the work of 3 people by myself and eating exclusively peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because that’s all I could afford. I was also treated like dirt by 75% of the clients of the trainers that I worked for, and that’s not okay. I had one lady that made me especially uncomfortable in they way she spoke to me and belittled me, and I said something to the trainer I was working for because I thought he was one of the good ones, and that he truly cared about me. His response was, “She is one of my highest paying clients, and you cost me money. You’re right, but you aren’t worth me saying anything.” So I left the next day and I still worry about going to horse shows because I don’t want to see his old clients. They wouldn’t likely recognize me if I’m not covered in manure, but it would be enough to rattle me. Good “employees” in the horse industry will move along to a better situation because they understand their own value. If anything about “good help” has changed, its that people are learning that they have the right to choose how they are treated, and that is a good thing. So now, if you don’t step up as an employer, that’s on you. Not Millennials, or Gen Z.
Workers from the racetrack are excellent. I’ve met many phenomenal sport horse grooms who got their start at the track. I’ve also seen some go back to the track, because they didn’t feel as valued by sport horse owners and trainers as they did by racehorse trainers and owners. That should wake up barn owners and managers.
And it’s not just towards workers- we need to watch the way we treat each other. I just saw on Facebook that a USEF R judge went on social media and was publicly shaming an AA’s riding abilities. It’s that kind of thing that is killing dressage, because no one wants to deal with that. We ride because we love it, and we love horses, but who would chose dressage as their discipline if bullying is happening so rampantly?
