Great idea!
Thanks, love the idea of a monthly package with X amount of cleanings and cleaning tack at a show.
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The âcan talk to anyoneâ is an extremely valuable skill, it can really open doors for you.
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I was in a similar situation when I was younger. I participated in a couple of schooling shows every year, but when I turned 14, everything lined up for me to do a few rated eventing shows. At the time, we didnât realize how expensive it would be, so we only did three in the first year. We also participated in Pony Club, which added at least eight more shows, along with lessons and educational meetings during the winter. My family wasnât wealthy, but we often made compromises in our activities. Instead of playing hockey, baseball, soccer, or other sports, we focused on 4-H, where you could join as many clubs as you wanted throughout the year.
After I learned how much it cost to participate in equestrian events, I started doing odd jobs in the fall and winter. At one point, someone was looking to buy cedar to make garlands, which they would then take to the city. After a month of collecting cedar with my siblings, we made a decent amount of money. Closer to Christmas, we made greenery bags and also did wood burning on cutting boards. When I was 12, my parents bought a project pony who ended up staying longer than planned due to an injury. In the end, I received my share, which was enough to buy tack and accessories.
As long as she is willing to put her head down and get the work done, there will be opportunities.
Every bit counts!
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I only skimmed through the replies, so Iâm sorry if this has already been said, butâŠ
Have you considered switching barns? Are you (time wise) able to groom your own horse at shows? This would be a HUGE savings. My current trainer allows me to do all of my own grooming and therefore I do not pay show splits (I donât use the crossties, etc). I do pay the guys to feed and clean my stall. My show bills are $3-400 because of this.
Also, learning to braid her own horse will be a huge savings.
I think as long as your âturn outâ skills are up to snuff, most trainers would allow self grooming. Especially if it means youâre able to afford more shows = more training pay for them.
Feel free to PM me. Iâve always been the âpoorâ kid in big barns - Iâve also worked at several top barns, trained with WC/NC riders, and currently ride with a trainer who goes to indoors every year. So, I have a lot of creative ideas and also know what realistic expectations are.
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I started at my first paying job cleaning stalls and doing turnouts at 12 (after 4 years as a working student for my first trainer, doing all aspects of barn care and horse care to work off lessons). That evolved into random jobs for the barn owner and almost all of the boarders.
Tack cleaning
Extra grooming at the barn when the owner was short on time (to get the horse ready for a lesson or clean him up afterwards)
Blanket washing
Clipping
Bathing/medicating with topicals
Hand grazing
Exercise rides, that turned into training rides. I started by charging $5/ride and as I gained experience was able to charge more
Longeing
Show grooming
I had such a great connection with one horse that I worked with a lot, that the owner left him for me to free lease for a year when she went back home to Canada.
The first barn I was at was strictly a boarding barn with no grooms, so there was a lot that the amateur ladies wanted to pay to have someone do so they didnât have to do it. Is there an opportunity for your daughter to get an âinâ at a boarding barn that needs this type of help?
The first barn I was at sold, and I moved onto another barn with an awesome barn owner that was very particular about horse care. There were a handful of owners that didnât come out regularly so he paid me to care for their horses - grooming, medications, bathing, longeing, riding, etc.
I had built enough goodwill by working hard and never saying no that I got lessons for free from pretty much every trainer that came through the barn - FEI dressage trainers, upper level jumper trainers, natural horsemanship, etc. I rode some really cool and really talented horses just because I was always at the barn. Your daughter sounds like sheâs a hard worker as well - Iâd like to hope that owners are the same today and will give her really nice horses to ride and trainers will give her free lessons because she has a great work ethic. I actually never had plans to go pro but because I had ridden so many horses and gotten a reputation for getting on whatever (for better or worse! 
), people kept calling me to ride their horses. It was a bit of a snowball effect where I gained more experience from riding more horses and they taught me more and more so I got better and better. And the calls kept coming!
As I got older (and a license), I started house sitting. Maybe your daughter could do some local pet sitting where she can ride her bike to the house or you can drive her?
My parents never paid for my horses and I saved up enough to buy my first horse at 16. I moved her to a friendâs house and cared for her 3 horses everyday to be able to afford my horse. I didnât have any big show aspirations, but Iâve always paid my way with no family support. Having to always say yes to helping out has given me incredible experiences that I still draw from today as a professional
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At 14 I had a job at Arbyâs. But your state laws may vary.
A nice compromise could be that parents are willing to pay for (a certain number of) local shows, but kiddo has to raise the money to pay for away shows.
In addition to the other ideas already given, does your kiddo have any other hobbies or interests that could be monetized? My eldest niece loves baking and used to have a little baked goods sales business going on from about 10-12. When she actually advertised and had time for it (she cheers now and thatâs like five days a week) she did pretty good. Even basic stuff like pretzels dipped in chocolate (strawberries in chocolate for Valentineâs Day) that donât require any actual baking were big hits.
She also sold some bracelets and such for a little while. DIY beaded jewelry, customizable.
As a young teen my dad taught us to use basic tools, and with the big âcrafts boomâ of Etsy the last many years, it could be fairly easy to get into making some kind of craft to sell online. Coasters, decor, etc.
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Itâs probably not realistic that she would be paid directly for riding or catch riding, but possibly a sale ponyâs owner might pay the ponyâs show expenses. Some juniors do get paid more directly but thereâs a pretty high level of skill and polish required for that.
As far as a true job⊠also keep in mind that there is only so much time in the day, and as she transitions into high school that time will get more and more precious depending upon her other future goals as well as riding.
Riding will always be there, it is a sport you can do for decades, but there are opportunities she will only have as a student. The right career will set her up to be able to have horses and show and that is more valuable than a few years of high end showing as a junior.
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At multi-day shows (many of which donât have turnout available) I would 100% pay for someone to hand walk/graze my horses. Itâs really important to me that they get as much time out of the stall as possible, but walking/grazing is a real time suck when there are a million other things that also need to be done. (Obvious caveat - mine are very well behaved for hand walking/grazing and I would feel comfortable having a teen do this with them)
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Catch riding is heavily dependent on connections, so the best way to expand outside the barn would be for your trainer to put in a word for her with their network, if willing. That might be a no-go if your trainer is concerned about poaching. Itâs unlikely sheâd get paid for any of it though - her compensation is the extra saddle time which has its own dollar value.
Honestly Iâm always surprised when people recommend braiding for a minor. No school-age kid should be working night shifts. Itâs not a bad skill to have on hand to save money on her own show fees or if a one-off opportunity pops up that can be done on a better schedule, but not something Iâd encourage for consistent income.
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Iâm very torn on this perspective. While lots of us built our experience on free rides generously granted by owners with really nice horses, at some point (maybe not yet for OP), you start providing a real service for the owner by getting the horse out and getting it exercised. I think the mindset of âbe thankful you get to rideâ sets young riders (who are overwhelmingly girls) up for a lifetime of not charging appropriately for their time, which we all know is a huge issue in our industry. I would encourage anyone in this position to really evaluate what they are bringing to the table when riding horses for others. Caveat: of course talking about juniors here and not adults who want to stay amateurs. 
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Multiple people on this thread are referencing what they did when they were younger. But times have changed, drastically. Most barns do not offer options to work off your board or training costs any longer. This is not a financially beneficial model for trainers, and there is a lot of liability related to having underage workers in a potentially dangerous horse farm setting. Itâs a lot of personal responsibility to be responsible for someone elseâs teenage daughter.
In terms of riding horses for others, there are a lot of liability issues there also. When I was a teenager, âpoorâ junior riders were often treated with very little concern and we were put on all kinds of poorly behaved and even dangerous horses. But times have changed. Horse owners and trainers are aware that they can be held responsible for any accidents that might occur. Not only are owners and trainers concerned about liability, modern h/j business models involve the trainers wanting the revenue from all exercise and training rides. Having a less expensive junior rider offering the same service would devalue that service and take revenue away from the trainer.
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I agree with you in general, but most junior riders are really not adding much value to offset the value of the saddle time theyâre getting. And going into it with the expectation that they should be paid may rub owners/trainers the wrong way if they feel like theyâre doing the rider a favor.
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I was that age in the 1960s, and EVERYTHING was different, but here goes.
My parents paid to keep our horses at home, and paid for Pony Club, including lessons and rallies. But we had to pay for our own Horse Shows. The Horse Shows were all local, and one day shows (every once in a while there was a 2 day show, but we would âship inâ each day). (So no stabling, no hotel.) We had our own trailer and tow vehicle, so there was no âshipping chargeâ per se. And there was never a paid trainer with us at a show. So it was basically paying the entry fees.
Both our horses were former (very high class) lesson horses.
I made momey for horse shows by
Baby sitting
Giving riding lessons on our horses (see note below)
Giving lessons to other people on their own horses (often fellow pony clubbers)
Exercising horses for people who were on vacation or pregnant (once I had my license)
Note- âGiving riding lessonsâ was one of the skills we were taught in Pony Club. The âolderâ members were expected to help teach the beginners. I remember that I charged $6 per hour giving lessons on our horses, but I had to put $2 of that in the âhorseshoe fundâ to âpayâ the horse. For some reason I no longer remember, one of our (high school) teachers asked all the students in the class if we did any paid work, and what we got paid per hour. I remember that everyone was astounded when I said I was paid $6 per hour. That didnât change when I explained it was really $4/hr, and it was only a couple of hours a week. Most of the others who were working were getting about $2/hr.
I doubt that much of that is explicily relevant to your daughter in 2024, but I hope the general sense is useful.
From the payerâs perspective, in 2024, I hire someone to feed, muck, etc. my horses when I am out of town. I currently pay $50 per day for 2 horses. That DOES require transportation. But the lady who does that for me (now all grown up with a son in high school) started doing that before she was old enough to have a driverâs license. But she lived close enough to bicycle.
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Another vote for babysitting all the way. Itâs one of the few ways to make money, especially at that age, where you can really say yes or no based on your schedule without having a ânoâ be the last time you ever get the chance.
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The GSA calls this âfinancial literacyâ - and invaluable skill for young people to learn at an early age.
I donât have any particular ideas on how to make some money that were not already covered but I applaud the young lady for the iniciative.
Braiding you learn by doing. She can start with her own horse and a pack of rubber bands (which can be bought at the human hair section in most stores for a couple of bucks) before venturing into the sewn in variety. I learn best by looking others over the shoulder.
perhaps she can also monetize on her baking skills and ask for permission to set up a little booth at a show or two (or have a âboot saleâ and selling them out of her tack trunk)
I guess at 14 she can do a lot of things horsey for money without losing her Amateur status.
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Iâm going to piggyback on a lot of the good advice already given on this thread.
The best opportunities for your daughter are braiding, clipping, mane pulling, tack cleaning and boot polishing.
She can do all of these things when sheâs already at the barn or at the show, so no need for a separate transportation schedule. (I canât imagine you wrangling transportation to a McDâs job and the barn - thatâs a full time job for you!) She can also do all these things for cash and as self employed.
With clipping and mane pulling, there maybe some push back from other barn employees who do these chores for extra cash, but she should be able to pick up some here ant there. Tread carefully in that space.
Braiding takes time to learn to do a show quality job but it is a terrific money maker if youâre good at it, and I absolutely do know people who paid for their showing by braiding.
She should approach the barnâs regular braider and ask to observe and help for free, watch a ton of YouTube videos and practice, practice, practice. You also need to be fairly quick at braiding to make good money at it. She can start out by offering braiding for local and schooling shows.
Tack cleaning and boot polishing are great ideas. There is NEVER a time I wouldnât pay a kid to do a thorough, Pony Club clean and condition of my tack. Ditto boot polishing!
I have a friend whose kids did both at shows and they made good money. First, because people thought it was adorable that these small kids were offering the service, and then, because they did a really good job! If you could have seen them taking off the bits and carefully scrubbing them with toothbrushesâŠswoon!
I brought every pair of boots I owned - black dress, black field, brown field and paddock boots to them!
I would not advise your daughter to catch ride unless very specifically approved and coached by your current trainer. Too easy to get scared, hurt or both.
Finally, brava to you for both supporting your kid but making sure she also learns financial responsibility rather than being an entitled princess. Way to go!
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Agreed. While not true in all cases, in general younger riders are brave and athletic, which can be very useful, but havenât yet learned the nuances of training to the same extent as an adult rider might. A junior might be great for having the horses get some exercise, but not necessarily a lot of training value.
And even then, Iâve seen some teen riders who are happy to gallop around and practice tight turns on a horse who doesnât necessarily need that degree of wear and tear (again, not all teens, but itâs an age where the fun factor might exceed thinking about the consequences).
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Thank you, it would be really difficult to change barns just because of our barn âfamilyâ there. That plays a big role in our enjoyment of the sport. She basically does all her own grooming at the shows but that unfortunately doesnât get us out of paying for, nor tipping, the grooms that the barn brings. The last A show was almost $600 towards grooms (pay plus tip) so that is a big expense. The most the grooms do for her is feed her horse and clean the stall but at times she does that as well because she likes to take care of her own horse. The only shows we get the horse braided at are the A shows and I think it is frowned upon to not use the braiders that are there. But I will definitely inquire if that is an actual option for her.
I think it is unlikely that it would be workable for your daughter to get paid for schooling ponies. Most likely the trainer considers this an opportunity/favor that s/he is bestowing on your daughterâthe opportunity for more saddle time on show quality ponies, that likely includes some supervision/advice from the trainer. The payment is the opportunity and experience. I would be cautious about trying to seek any kind of payment or support from a professional trainerâtheir business models rely on clients paying them, not clients looking for help supporting their hobby.
Iâm a mom and so I understand the logistical issues of having teenagers who want to earn their own money. Braiding is likely not a good option for a 14 year oldâit takes place at night at show grounds. (I also wouldnât pay a teenager to braid for me as I have an established relationship with a braider, and that relationship ensures that my horses get braided even at the busiest shows.) My kids helped neighbors with their dogs (I had to drive and supervise). Babysitting can pay well, but 14 is a little on the young side. I really like the idea of tack and boot cleaning. Itâs a skill that would have to be learned, but people need it done and are often happy to pay for it. The downside of tack cleaning is logisticsâbeing responsible for peopleâs tack and getting it cleaned and returned to them in a timely manner without any mixups. My kids have had the best luck making money with non-equestrian jobs, but when a kid doesnât drive, it ends up being a lot of parental responsibility.
As far as reducing costs by doing self-grooming, even if you shopped around I donât think that would workâŠa lot of trainers / programs nowadays would not be receptive to that. They expect a horse in their program to be guaranteed to be groomed and prepared up to their standards. Trainers do not want the chaos of clients âdoing their own thing.â
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