I’ve been thinking of working part time at a Dover Saddlery retail store and am wondering how folks who work there like it. Are the hours flexible? Can you get time off for events like horse shows? What is the employee discount? And just the general atmosphere and experience?
I cannot speak to Dover specifically, but I did work at a local tack shop for about a year and a half.
One of the biggest issues we had was hiring people who didn’t just stand around a chat about horses all day. That’s not the job. Sure it’s fine when it is quiet, but you need to be able to extract yourself from casual conversation to assist customers/other customers easily and gracefully.
Another issue with horse people/tack shops is that nearly everyone wants weekends off to show/clinic/trail ride. Be honest and upfront about how much showing you do actually do. As weekends can be difficult to staff in any job, it’s super annoying when someone says they can only work 1 weekend in June due to their show schedule. And then only 2 specific weekends in July.
Much like ANY other job, time off requests were first come-first served. I wouldn’t expect to start the job in January and get my time off requests for February. Too short of notice if someone else has already put in a request. Even so, someone may have already requested off the weekend of your respective championship show in the fall due to weddings/vacation or a show of their own. That’s just the reality of working for someone. I find small local employers more flexible, but if you are constantly trying to make your own schedule, you may not have much success.
YMMV
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Have you ever worked retail before? It is a service job and your job is to service the customers. Coverage is a bid deal to store managers and whether you get time off depends on that.
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I know someone that works at Dover Saddlery and from what I know she enjoys it. I can’t remember what the employee discount is but I remember it being pretty good. She doesn’t show so I can’t speak to that, and I think she works evenings after galloping racehorses so her store probably really likes her since most people don’t want to work nights and/or evenings.
When I worked retail (big box store), getting time off for shows was a bit difficult as everyone wants weekends off for various reasons. In general, horse showing and retail is not generally compatible.
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My daughter has worked at Dover for a couple of years as she was finishing up her undergrad. She was away at school so only worked on breaks and over the summer. Her store is very flexible. The discount is really the main reason to work there as the pay is minimum wage. Our mare has pretty much one of every single thing they have in the store and has turned into a real life Barbie horse due to that job.
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I know my local Dover’s manager and my understanding is that the store managers have some autonomy in scheduling etc. For obvious reasons, they don’t want to hire people who all show or ride on the same circuit. They also like to select staff with different strengths. For a while my local Dover had a rated dressage judge on staff part time and that helped because most of the rest of the crew were hunter jumpers. My local shop has a mix of riders and has some college students who work over breaks. Also, Dover doesn’t have late hours (Thu-Sat) til 8, other days til 6 so it’s not a great fit for people with a full time day job with traditional hours unless you want weekend work. A friend of mine who works for a bank tried it last year, loved working there but it was exhausting for her since she’s got her horse and a boarder at home and was also trying to do some showing.
Like any retail job, scheduling is a pain so be upfront about your availability. If you can, be as specific as possible. If you know dates of shows you plan to attend, tell them. Dover prides itself on hiring people who are active in the equestrian community, but it’s a double edge sword. If you are hired, make yourself as useful as possible so the manager will be happy to be flexible. When I used to do scheduling for a big retailer, nothing annoyed me more than a semi useless employee making scheduling demands.
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I suggest that if you do go and get an interview, don’t ask about the discount. 
You may not get the job if they think that’s what you are interested in.
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I also can’t speak about Dover, but I did work at a tack shop for several years and really enjoyed it. Sure we got a great discount and at that time some of the vendors gave tack store employees incredible discounts - I’m not sure if any of those programs exist anymore. One of the most enjoyable aspects is getting to know the customers many of whom are regular so you get to be friends with them as well as co-workers. I worked part time so did 1 or 2 weeknights after my FT job and then on Saturdays, which freed me up to show on Sundays. If there was a big show coming up where I needed time off, the manager was very well tuned into show schedules so was able to accommodate me.
If you interview be realistic about the days and hours you can commit to regularly, and if Dover has a need to fill those days and hours perfect, you can always fill in other days if they need someone
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