What did you do? Money making opportunities for younger riders

[Djones]

Pet sitting, baby sitting, tack cleaning, tack trunk sorting and cleaning, baking horse cookies and selling them are all solid options. Heck if she takes up sewing she could make some cool stuff that way, too.

I was a barn rat from ages 12 - 18 and rode everything. It was a small boarding and training facility (western events), 25 horses or so. Connections throughout rodeo and aqha aphc at the nationally competitive level. My work ethic and coachability put me on a lot of horses and earned me a lot of education. I got catch rides at serious barns and some incredible coaching. My trainers helped me get rides and appreciated the help. In turn my board was deeply discounted. I taught some basic lessons for beginners at that barn starting about age 16? And started a couple of young horses, using her facilities after the owners split up. She wanted the boarding and training income and I wanted the experience. He was no longer there to put the first 2- 3 weeks on babies, so that fell to me. This was the 80s.

This kiddo is already 14 and is not in a barn rat sort of barn. She doesn’t have the foundational connections (yet) to ride other’s horses, and the barn might say no to the idea of it happening at all - she would be bucking their system. She also hasn’t ridden a zillion horses to develop feel.

Better for her to figure out non barn ways to make solid, safe, reliable income. I got hurt a couple of times as a youth that were serious young horse wrecks. No way I should have been in those situations at that age, but your limits don’t show up until tested. I wasn’t a working student, lol I was a lab rat

[BrownDerby]

That’s how Mrs. Pasture’s got started. She was just an am in the SF East Bay.

[Long_Time_Lurker]

You have some great suggestions already. At some dressage shows near us the local pony club kids offer stall cleaning, night check and early AM or late PM feedings as well as braiding and other groom duties like bathing and hand walking or being an extra pair of hands ringside. There is a market for this since most of us showing dressage do our own care and many of us continue to show into our 60s and 70s. The kids spend the night at the show in a camper as a group with a parent or adviser providing supervision. The older more experienced kids are gradually given more responsibility, for example interfacing with customers for signups and payment and pairing with younger kids doing night check duties. This may not work as well for an individual teen since the pony club connection provides customers some reassurance (and gives parents some reassurance that their kid is not on the show grounds alone and unsupervised at night). And it may not work as well in the hunter world where I understand it is rare for competitors to do their own care.

[MHM]

@Long_Time_Lurker

And it may not work as well in the hunter world where I understand it is rare for competitors to do their own care.

I think rare is too strong a word. But there are certainly some shows where it is less common than others.

[fivestrideline]

@PNWjumper

But again, my kid makes more money bussing and waiting tables 3-4 nights a week than doing anything even remotely related to horses

Yep, absolutely. Unless kiddo is already living on the circuit, non-farm jobs will pay more. I’m thinking odd jobs like dog walking, cleaning tack, and picking up free rides for now until she’s old enough for a “real” job would work best. That said, some friends made cash on the weekends at our very busy local schooling shows by being jump crew, running for judges, and eventually running the gates. Gate crew is a very tough job, but a couple of trainer kids learned from the experienced staff and would cover breaks or the smaller rings. They weren’t afraid of anyone, knew the job, and anyway I think the trainers knew better than to try to bully Kiddo when Fellow Trainer Mom/Dad were a text away . Small world and all that.

As for OP’s kid, a lot of restaurants will hire at 15, but check local laws. If she’s mature and friendly, hostess jobs often pay above minimum wage AND get tip-out. Some bussers do too. Pick a restaurant with a more expensive menu to get better tips - remember it’s a percentage of the bill, usually. Steakhouses, upscale Italian or Mexican places, seafood, etc. The nicer the better, but the really nice places won’t usually hire super young or inexperienced. Waiting tables is not for the faint of heart and I wouldn’t suggest it as a first job.

14 is a tough age to try to start making money. BTDT. Babysitting for family friends was all the cash I ever made at that age!

[JSocks]

I can’t add more to the horse oriented money making ideas but I do agree with the person who said their daughter makes more waiting tables and that is probably the way to go.

I do think people are under valuing the need for their horse to get ridden. I don’t think the people who ride my horse while I’m away are training my horse, I value their willingness to ride my horse. I pay them for that service and I’m thankful for it.

I’ve never been in a barn with a program so that probably factors into my opinion on the matter.

[Scribbler]

In our self care barns, we pay teens or adults to do horse care when we go away, feed clean and either turnout or handwalk or ride as appropriate.

[Djones]

That’s not where this kid is…

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

I don’t think anyone has mentioned this, but one reason why it will be impossible for a kid that age (or even a high school kid) to make $20K to show at high-level shows is TIME. I’m assuming the kid is already at the barn every day, riding, doing work there (even if not paid work, but tacking up, lending a hand when needed just as a good all-round barn citizen), taking lessons, PLUS all the additional hours spent showing.

Kids who make bank at restaurants or working decent-paying kids’ jobs like running their own babysitting service usually do that as their main focus outside of school and other activities.

Where is this girl going to get the time to work at a restaurant, prep for shows, ride her horses, take lessons, and get her schoolwork done, and maybe participate in other activities? I can see it being possible if she was just riding, casually showing, and working to support the horse habit, but if the family is shelling out $20K for shows, I’m assuming a lot of prep is going into these shows.

That’s why kids pick up work at the barn–it’s just easier time-wise. But there is no way she can make that type of money (or half that) cleaning tack or braiding as a non-pro. Also, depending on the barn (if it’s a show barn) you need to be careful about stepping on the staff’s toes who might want to do some things for cash they need for necessities.

[jvanrens]

@Impractical_Horsewoman

I don’t think anyone has mentioned this, but one reason why it will be impossible for a kid that age (or even a high school kid) to make $20K to show at high-level shows is TIME.

I guess you missed that mom isn’t expecting DD to earn $20K to contribute. Just that DD wants to contribute to the expenses. Real world tells us it would be almost impossible for a 14 year old to earn that kind of money in a year.

[skydy]

She boards at a barn that goes to A shows as well as schooling shows, not a lower level barn that does schooling shows only.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

That was exactly my point–the level of prep required to go to those shows doesn’t lend itself to the spare time to waitress.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

There’s nothing wrong with pitching in (and there’s valuable know-how from just working a part-time job to be gained) but I think some of the suggestions of people to waitress or babysit as an extensive part-time job won’t jive well with the school and horse showing schedule the teen already has; truthfully the cash she can make while still do all those things will be pretty token.

[skydy]

I’m thinking that the range of suggestions here are helpful to give Mom some ideas to decide what is possible for her kiddo’s situation.

[jvanrens]

True that. When I was young, my parents bought me some really cheap ponies and a horse, but if I wanted to show, I had to earn the money to do so. About the only job available at that time was baby sitting. I babysat for a lot of the neighborhood! LOL I remember keeping those bills in a little collection making sure I had enough for the next show.

[Scribbler]

@Djones

That’s not where this kid is…

I know. But just saying there are places people would welcome a competent junior.

[MissMillyMolly]

Babysitting! Weekend evenings are not typically barn times, so no overlap. Or find a gig Monday afternoons if the barn is closed that day. Good babysitters make a lot, especially if they are consistently available. We found some of our best babysitters at the barn, we knew the older kids and felt comfortable that they were responsible and already knew my daughter.
Even at 14 they can watch elementary age if they have basic life skills (heating up dinner, letting the dog out etc). With lots of parents working from home a “mother’s helper” is also an easy gig. Keep the kids occupied, help with homework, get them snacks etc, with the parent still on the premises until they get more experience and are comfortable being in charge when the parents are not there.
I also know parents who would love to have childcare at the barn (or show) while they ride. Just occupying the kids a coloring book, game etc and keeping them away from horse traffic. When I was in that stage of life an older kid could have charged an obnoxiously high amount and I still would have been thrilled to hire them.

[173north]

During my first-ever babysitting gig as a 13 year old barn rat, one of the kids wiped out while playing and managed to reopen a big cut on his arm that had just scabbed over. It was too big for a band-aid and that was the extent of my human first aid knowledge, so I proceeded to bandage up this child’s whole upper arm like it was a cannon bone. In retrospect I am sure he would have been fine with a big piece of gauze and some tape, but that technique was not taught to me in 4-H!! The mom came home and was like “wow, very… thorough.”

But to be helpful to OP - I would 100% pay for a deep clean + proper condition of my tack.

[dmveventer]

@Impractical_Horsewoman

Where is this girl going to get the time to work at a restaurant, prep for shows, ride her horses, take lessons, and get her schoolwork done, and maybe participate in other activities? I can see it being possible if she was just riding, casually showing, and working to support the horse habit, but if the family is shelling out $20K for shows, I’m assuming a lot of prep is going into these shows.

It really depends. It sounds like they’ve been doing more schooling shows up until now and OP may not be comfortable shelling out $20k per year for the foreseeable future. It’s not unreasonable to set some boundaries and expect the rider to pick up some of the slack if they want more. Learning to compromise and prioritize goals with limited resources is a life skill she’ll need eventually anyway.

I worked non-horse jobs all through high school to pay for my half-lease and extra shows. I worked 3-4 shifts a week and was at the barn 3-4 days a week. Weekends and summers were great because I could do more of both. The non-horse jobs were actually easier than trying to get out to the barn more because they were so much closer to my house so I cut out commute time. As others have pointed out, babysitting on weekend nights doesn’t get in the way of barn time and you can pull in good money for a few hours of work, plus you can usually do homework after the kids go to bed.

I wasn’t a regular on the A circuit or anything, but I think it’s short-sighted to say that if OP’s kid can’t earn enough to show at the top level they shouldn’t even bother. Most people fall somewhere in the middle and balance the best they can.

[BeeHoney]

There are a lot of hurdles to for a junior rider wanting to make money riding or handling horses. I own and manage a boarding and training farm. I would not in a million years allow an uninsured junior to exercise a horse on my property. The liability is too great and exercising a valuable horse is a professional level task with professional level responsibility. Even a “cheap” horse can buck a person off and hurt them or get loose from its rider with a situation ending in vet bills. In these modern times, it’s a normal requirement for a boarding barn (even one without a professional trainer on site) to require that any person charging money for riding or training carry their own professional insurance policy. A trainer who allows a junior rider to assist with exercising horses is going out on a limb a bit in taking on responsibility should there be an issue–either for the horse–or the junior.

Similarly, there are concerns with allowing a minor child to assist with hand walking / grazing. Seems like a simple task, but horses are funny creatures. A horse cooped up on layup can be difficult to handle. Even for a calm show horse, a badly behaved loose dog or blowing piece of plastic and things can go sideways quickly. A grazing horse can step on its lead rope, snap its halter and end up loose and injured or causing injury.

Most clients of professional programs (and boarding barns) expect that their horses will be handled and ridden by professionals. When clients agree to have their horse ridden by a junior, the trainer remains the responsible professional.

I totally agree with people being paid what they are worth, and I don’t like teenagers being taken advantage of. That having been said, teenagers bring very little value to a professional equine settings.

Lastly, I want to point out that catch riding in the real world is a very dangerous job. Many people hire riders because they are having trouble with a horse–rearing, bucking, spooking, bolting. Many people will fail to disclose or will minimize a horse’s bad or dangerous habits. Speaking as a mom of teenage riders, many people view junior riders as “expendable.” (Sorry, my kids aren’t.) I can’t tell you how many people have asked my kids to ride horses that I know are dangerous. There also can be some chaos and some safety issues at backyard barns, ranging from unsafe tack, unsafe footing, a neighbor who sets off fireworks, etc. The horses that people need ridden at more relaxed barns and backyard settings is a VERY different safety profile than horses pre-tested and hand-picked by a reputable professional trainer who has their reputation on the line.