If you think you might be interested in saddle fitting for a brand, feel free to reach out to me and I can give you some advice. The work life balance is great (usually).
Met many people who have reached the top of their professions sacrificing everything else. Nobody else has mentioned the trail of broken relationships they leave behind. A steep price to pay on top of everything else mentioned.
There are other ways to enjoy horses and other ways to be competitive without the costs of the elite levels.
Find your niche.
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You could also choose your weekends to work and account for that. Are you away at a show Sat and and Sun be at home Mon and Tues or for the next planned long weekend? Your clients should understand that unless you are taking them to shows/they are showing, you get the weekend off. And get long or whole weekends off for life balance.
Even this scenario is not always a recipe for bliss. Having your parents own the farm and the horses (and by extension pretty much own you) depends on what they expect in return. I know a few people who got tired of having to ask Mommy and Daddy once they got past say 25. Or having Mommy loudly tell everyone loudly how embarassed she is if your quirky horse had a bad day in the show ring. You are expected to WIN, every time, or Daddy has wasted his money. And when are you going to the Olympics??
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fair point. That polo drama/documentary they did on Netflix? I felt for the one young guy whose parents were backing him and his team. Such an immense amount of pressure. They say never mix family with business, and I think the parent/child relationship falls into that category.
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I don’t recall off the top of my head who the rider was. But there was a live stream of a Grand Prix class within the last year or two, and the rider on course was a second generation top jumper rider. It might have been Alex Matz, now that I think about it. But I won’t swear to it.
Anyway, one of the commentators was saying how it was so great that the rider had so much support, and his dad helped him so much, and it was such a fabulous situation, yada, yada.
However, the other commentator happened to be Rodrigo Pessoa. And he finally piped up and said something like, “Well, it can be difficult, too. It’s not always the easiest thing in the world.” Lol.
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Trainers kids often carry that same burden.
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