Hi everyone!!
I’m a show jumper from the UK and have competed to 1.30 level. I am about to leave school and am trying to persue a proffesional show jumping career. I have a job lined up in the UK as a show rider and will be moving there and taking my horses with me. However I have a lot of flexibility of when I start this job for various reasons. My dream has always been to come to wellington and show at WEF. However I am not made of money. I was wondering if anyone has any advice on what I should do as I definetley dont have enough money to bring my two horses over and I would definetley not be able to afford board or anything there!! I would love to work there maybe as a working student or something similar, Im not entirely sure how it works over there, I would love the oppurtunity to show and ride but equally I love doing any hard work etc. I was wondering how I would even go about this or if anyone had any suggestions for me?
Thanks so much!! XX
Facebook has a WEF/WEC/HITS community group where people post looking for help or jobs a lot. Good luck!!
Be sure to check on visa requirements and get that started before you seriously look for a position over here. One of the first questions a prospective employer or sponsor is going to ask is your visa status and how long you can stay. May be you need proof of a position in order to get the visa unless you just come over on a tourist or student visa But you need something to enter the country and stay for any length of time.
Agreed, this is unfortunately not the year to do this- you likely won’t be able to get a visa and are subject to hassle even if you do. Maybe see if you can go to Spruce Meadows for the summer instead? It’s also a very cool and big destination and there is a lot more to do in the area in terms of hiking and sightseeing than WEF. It’ll be much easier coming from the UK as its in Canada.
Canada is a great suggestion. Canada and the UK have a young professional youth mobility agreement. You can easily get permission to come and work in Canada for 24 months. Requirements are here, but a quick snippet:
United Kingdom – Young Professionals
Description: The Young Professionals category is designed for British citizens, including recent post-secondary graduates, who wish to further their careers by gaining professional work experience in Canada. Participants must have a signed letter of offer or a signed contract of employment before submitting their profile to the pool.
Note: As a British citizen, you may participate in IEC twice:
- a first participation of 24 months under any category
- a second participation of 12 months under any category
If you participated in IEC before 2015 for a period of up to 12 months, you are eligible for a second participation of up to 24 months in any category.
Those who already participated in IEC twice are no longer eligible to apply.
To be eligible for the Young Professionals category, you must
- be a British citizen from
- the United Kingdom or
- the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey
- have a valid United Kingdom passport with British citizenship or a valid Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey) passport for the duration of your stay in Canada
- Your work permit in Canada can’t be valid longer than your passport.
- be between the ages of 18 and 35 (inclusive)
- have a minimum of CAN$2,500 to help cover your expenses in Canada
- have health insurance for the duration of your stay
- You may have to present evidence of this insurance when you enter Canada.
- not be inadmissible to Canada
- before departure, have a round-trip ticket or demonstrate that you’ll have the financial resources to purchase a departure ticket at the end of your authorized stay in Canada
- have a signed letter of offer or contract of employment in Canada
- The employment offer must be in your field of expertise (through schooling or work experience) and contribute to your professional development.
- not be accompanied by dependants
- pay the fees
I agree with the suggestion to go to Canada instead, there are no guarantees for a foreigner entering the US right now, even if you do manage to get a visa. Which is expensive, BTW, just to apply is expensive, and there is no guarantee that you will get it.
A friend of ours, UK citizen, with a green card, US residency, homeowner, US husband and highly professional, well-paid job, recently travelled back to the UK, and was held up at the US border on her return. She wasn’t sure she was going to be allowed back into the country.
That is great information from @Mouse_amp_Bay and sounds like the much better alternative.
Good luck!
Thank you guys so so much for all this advice!! Canada definetley sounds like the way to go! Does anyone have any suggestions of what barns I should be looking at, preferably top show jumping barns. I dont really have a clue about any of the barns in Canada. Thanks so much
I would definitely look more specifically into either Ontario or Alberta… not to say there aren’t top show jumping barns in other provinces but in my experience, most are located in either of these provinces (plus they are closer to major show grounds such as Angelstone, Spruce meadows etc.) If you choose to focus on the Ontario area, you may want to look into contacting Millar Brooke Farm, Lothlorien Farm or Galten Farms (While this one is run by an eventer they do participate in the local show jumping scene). Good luck on your search!
I hope you like heat, humidity and mosquitos.
There’s a reason everyone who is able flees Florida after Easter
I would see about trying to line up a job working for someone in the UK who comes to Wellington for the winter season. Most people leave once it’s hot; even people who are listing their main residence as Wellington are spending the majority of the summer in the north. It’s better now, but it used to be even the farriers left and it was hard to find someone to shoe horses in the summer.
Still need a visa to enter the US and that will be more challenging than getting one for a Commonwealth country. Like Canada.
If she stays less than 90 days she’s fine. I think we will find that many riders from out of the USA will be staying January-March next year.
Still need a visa (tourist?) for short term visit to get on a plane. It can get complicated so be sure and get it before you make too many plans if that is the way you want to go. Immigration is not being too friendly these days and pickier then they have been in the past.
Don’t screw up with that visa because the stakes just got exponentially higher. Trump plans to send people who have overstayed their permits to Guantanamo with no notice to their home countries, including Germany, France, Holland and the UK.
From the Washington Post:
That’s not good.
Is that due to the smoke from the wildfires?
Yes.
