hello all -
I’m wondering where I might find leads to a possible gallop/excercising job? Any websites or anything that may list “wanted” ads?
Thanks
[QUOTE=harmonytx;2932607]
hello all -
I’m wondering where I might find leads to a possible gallop/excercising job? Any websites or anything that may list “wanted” ads?
Thanks[/QUOTE]
Shouldn’t be a hard thing to find if you’re near a racetrack or training center.
You’ll first need to get yourself a saddle, helmet, and vest. Then just show up in the morning undoubtedly somebody will need you.
After you ride for a few outfits you can weed out the bad payers which you’ll inevitably get first.
If you prove yourself to be pretty good you can work your way into being employed by a good outfit and not have to freelance. Just depends how you want to go.
Shouldn’t be a hard thing to get into at all.
George
You don’t need a saddle, trainers have their own tack. Don’t even bother getting on a horse someone wants you to use your saddle on.
re: gallop jobs
I would not just “show up” in someone’s barn and try out the horses before I weeded out the bad ones. You may be the one weeded out. There are a few ways to go about this, one is to look on Yard and Groom internet site, secondly, you can try Equimax, but if you go the route to just go to the track, do make sure you speak to exercise riders there for their input. Some barns have downright dangerous horses and would love for you to put your life on the line. Actually, just thought of another way, go online and look up the TB breeding and training farms in your area, call them up and ask them if they need help training the babies, if they have a training track at the farm that is an excellent way to get experience before you go out in the general public at a regular race track.
At the risk of sounding like a smart alec; If you seriously don’t know where to find a exercise/gallop job-should you really be looking for one? If you don’t know because you are new to the racetrack/racehorse scene-you need to go to either a farm or a training center and learn to ride racehorses (even if you know how to ride showhorses). You need to learn the ins and outs before you ever get a job at an actual track. Once you have done that-you will find out about plenty of jobs-many top trainers have babys and layups at these farms and training centers and you will be networked in with them. Most racetrack jobs are not put in the classified…they are advertised by word of mouth around the track. If you are looking to break in-you have to learn at a farm…it is a dangerous job and not to be taken lightly. And-you do not need your own saddle.
re: advertisers
Equimax and Yard and Groom both have many advertisers with horses to exercise at the farm and on the racetrack. They are the better jobs and the trainers/owners are trying to find a higher level of employee than someone who comes to them completely out of the blue. I can’t imagine that the OP is trying to exercise race horses without some knowledge of what inherent risk is involved.
At the risk of sounding like a smart alec; If you seriously don’t know where to find a exercise/gallop job-should you really be looking for one? If you don’t know because you are new to the racetrack/racehorse scene-you need to go to either a farm or a training center and learn to ride racehorses (even if you know how to ride showhorses). You need to learn the ins and outs before you ever get a job at an actual track. Once you have done that-you will find out about plenty of jobs-many top trainers have babys and layups at these farms and training centers and you will be networked in with them. Most racetrack jobs are not put in the classified…they are advertised by word of mouth around the track. If you are looking to break in-you have to learn at a farm…it is a dangerous job and not to be taken lightly. And-you do not need your own saddle.
I totally agree with event1. Before I became an exercise rider I was a groom and would spend time watching those who exercised (when I could) I then had friends who would allow me to use one of their off track horses to pratice on…then it wasn’t long before trainers would notice I was a very good rider (I had experence with hunter jumpers before) and they would allow me to ride. It is much easier to start off on ranches I would assume, as there is less comotion and competition.
JMHO
just an FYI, you need a helmet and vest but not a saddle. saddles are provided by the trainers. cheers, alex
[QUOTE=JHUshoer20;2932656]
Shouldn’t be a hard thing to find if you’re near a racetrack or training center.
You’ll first need to get yourself a saddle, helmet, and vest. Then just show up in the morning undoubtedly somebody will need you.
After you ride for a few outfits you can weed out the bad payers which you’ll inevitably get first.
If you prove yourself to be pretty good you can work your way into being employed by a good outfit and not have to freelance. Just depends how you want to go.
Shouldn’t be a hard thing to get into at all.
George[/QUOTE]
I would personally work on the ground at the track you want to work at - even if you are just hotwalking. This way you get to befriend people, and they will help set you up with someone who will take care of you. If you go down with helmet and vest people will put you on anything and you could get hurt.
Sorry typo - you will get hurt - you could get killed.
I agree with those that said you should either work as a groom/hotwalker first. Showing up at the track with a helmet and vest does not an excersise rider make… There is a lot to learn to keep not only yourself safe, but those other riders around you safe as well.
The racetrack can be a very dangerous place for a novice wanna be excersise rider, it really doesnt matter what you’ve ridden in the past… there are a whole set of proper do’s and dont’s when it comes to being out on the track. Learn at a farm if you can, and have someone experienced teach you… then start with a reputable trainer, preferably one with a stable pony and other riders to “teach” you.
All of the above plus you need a license to gallop at the racetrack.
[QUOTE=gallupgirl;2935830]
All of the above plus you need a license to gallop at the racetrack.[/QUOTE]
And approval of the outriders up here.
Try a farm first. Usually a lot safer. :yes:
a couple of things … the quality of riding on racetracks is pretty poor or at least appears to be declining, so you really don’t need to be a great rider, but you do need to know what’s going on and how to look after yourself for sure. as noted you need a license, which means you need a job and approval from the outrider (although not always the case, when i got my texas license i just filled out some paper work without anyone else’s signature). at sam houston the PA system at least twice a week announces the need for a rider to go to a barn, or the need for a rider to be at the receiving barn, so if you can find your way in, you can get some work. anyway, just offering a few counterpoints in case you are already pretty experienced. cheers, alex
re: jobs
I have to second what Alex said about the quality of riding. At Charles Town, all you need to do is go in and fill out the paperwork and pay your money. They may ask you to gallop for an outrider, they may not, they may ask you if you are riding for a particular trainer but there are plenty of free agents out there, so that is not a requirement. In my experience, hotwalking and grooming were not very good ways to either learn to gallop or to figure out how to learn, you are usually too busy doing your job unless you have a boss who is interested in teaching you to gallop. That is why I suggested the farm, or, if you have the time, go to the track and watch the riders, day after day. See if you can find someone who will go with you out on the farm, (which has a track) and can put you up on a reliable, easy horse to gallop and coach you as to position of your body and hands. You will need to be fit, bicycling, running etc, heavy on the cardio, it is hard work. And, because there is alot of substance abuse at some of the lower level tracks and probably nowadays it may be more prevalent even at the better tracks, it becomes very, very important that you know where you are, and where the horses are, that are around you, at all times. In other words, you need to learn the etiquette of galloping, where you need to be when you are just jogging, where you go when your horse is in a regular gallop for exercise and when you can and cannot be on the rail. Likewise, when you can go the opposite way on the track. You need to learn the poles, how to estimate times, etc, all of that can only be learned from experienced riders, you need to buddy up with someone, if you search correctly you may very well be able to find someone who can teach you all of this on the farm.
