Wordless Wednesday – Let’s Jump
Profile On: Stacey Sikorski, Professional Show Groom
How much of your day/week is related to horses?
A good 50% is related to horses probably more.
What is it exactly that you do?
At my “real job” I do chart review, marketing and other duties at a major veterinary hospital. This includes horses as well as small animals (cats/dogs).
My other jobs include:
- Working one day a week conditioning and clipping show horses for an Arabian trainer.
- Running a boarding facility for 9 horses at my home.
- Running a clipping service for horses – I body clip and show clip.
- On my “vacations” I work as a professional show groom.
In this field of work, is it possible to be a full time professional and earning a liveable income?
Yes but it is not easy. Most people do not want to work 80+ hours a week or be away from home as often as this type of work requires.
What are the general steps taken to be employed in such a role?
In my case I just started letting people know I was available again. I got my start by working for people who had known me when I was a full time professional groom. They knew I was hard working, knew I could clip, braid, longe etc. They knew I could handle mares, stallions and young stock and drive a truck and trailer or tractor.
When I first started out I was lucky enough to find someone willing to give me a chance. People for some reason did not think I would stick to it. My first big show as a groom was the Scottsdale Arabian Show. I lived in a portable stall while there. It rained non-stop the entire show. My stall was flooded but it didn’t deter me at all. At the end of the show one of the trainers asked “What do you think?” I replied “This is what I want to do”. I worked there until the farm was downsized in a divorce.
Most importantly you need to be willing to work hard and LEARN. If my work was unacceptable I was told to do it again until I got it right and instead of being offended I got better and better. Learning to braid I practiced on all of our breeding stallions. You have to want to be the best and keep at it until you are.
Favourite horse memory?
There are many but galloping *Enrilo in the 100 acre field ranks way up there. I was fortunate enough to work with some very famous horses and groomed more National Winners than I can count. Watching my friend and head trainer ride horses I had prepped to National Championships is another big one.
Future goals?
To make enough to be able to quit my day job and work for myself – I’m closing in on that goal. And to be known again as one of the best show grooms in the country. I’m competitive – being good is not enough. It feels great to hear one of my veterinarians say “I can tell a horse you have body clipped by sight”. Huge compliment!
Best thing about your sport/profession?
The feel of family. Even after my 10 year “retirement” when I came back to the industry they all still knew me. I knew them and honestly I felt like I had gone home. No one questioned me, no one yelled at me and best of all I didn’t have to worry I might do something wrong. They were all happy I was there to see to it that everything was how it was supposed to be.
“Don’t count your ribbons before the show starts.” – Author unknown
Horse Carriage Business Possibilities
So as a little girl, I dreamed of arriving at my own wedding in a horse drawn carriage. At some point, I must have shared this dream with my parents, because they remembered!
In 2012 I married a wonderful man and was under the impression that I was getting driven to the church in an aunt and uncle’s car – they’d even cleaned it up and organised the traditional wedding ribbon! You can imagine my surprise when I stepped out of my parents’ front door and heard ‘clip clop, clip clop’!
I got my dream of being taken to the church in a horse drawn carriage and loved it.
For those who have a passion for carriage work with horses, there are a few business opportunities to consider. These include (but are not limited to):
- Carriage rides to weddings
- Touristic rides around historical towns or in the city
- Horse drawn hearses for funerals
One such business in the United Kingdom provides horse drawn carriages for the first and last services on the above list. You can check them out at Clayton Carriage Masters.
“He was hard and tough and wiry – just the sort that wouldn’t say die; there was courage in his quick impatient tread; and he bore the badge of gameness in his bright and fiery eye, and the proud and lofty carriage of his head.” – Author unknown
Profile On: Jonathan Brant, Guardian Horse Bedding
How much of your day/week is related to horses?
Our company, Equustock, manufactures horse bedding under the brand Guardian Horse Bedding. We also manufacture cat litters, fuel pellets and a moisture absorbent. I am primarily engaged with the horse bedding products.
Not only is our business founded and dedicated to horses but we also have our own farm with currently 6 horses residing there. We call this our “research facility” because all of our products were formulated, developed, tested and of course, subsequently used here.
I am around horses most days when I’m not traveling in some capacity. In addition to our corporate offices at another location, I have my own office in our barn. I am fortunate that I can walk out and pet, groom, clean or ride anytime I feel the need. Thanks to the wonders of modern communications I remain completely connected by intercom, internet, phone, cell, fax, etc. to the rest of our organization.
What is it exactly that you do?
I am one of two managing partners of Equustock, LLC (my wife Claire is the other partner). Together, with our team of 10 office staff, we oversee the day to day operations of manufacture, packaging, shipping and marketing of our brands: Guardian Horse Bedding, Guardian Angel Cat Litter, Unconditional Cat Litter, Absorb & Clean moisture absorbent and Big Heat Fuel Pellets.
We’re both fully engaged in sales and maintaining and promoting our company policy of Reduce-Reuse-Recycle-Repeat. We ship domestically and internationally direct from 10 plants regionally located around the country.
In this field of work, is it possible to be a full time professional and earning a livable income?
We began our business with our own horses in mind. We wanted to provide the best, cleanest and most consistent bedding we could. We finally came to the realization we had to make the effort ourselves. So, at first, Claire was the only employee (and she was working free).
We then slowly built the business until after about 2 years, Claire was able to take a salary out of the business. Anyone with a start up business will cite this same kind of story so we aren’t anything special. At first it was difficult and I continued to work at my other job while we established the framework of Equustock. After 13 years, we still continue to grow and expand our product lines. Short answer: tough, but do-able.
What are the general steps taken to be employed in such a role?
See a need… create a solution… persevere.
Favorite horse memory?
So many… I’ll go with finishing a training level event on my wonderful young Irish Sport Horse “MJ”. He was quite a project but with expert assistance we were able to bring him along. I look forward to many more years competing him at Preliminary Level.
Future goals?
We would like to build the business to be self-sustaining or perhaps sold at some point. This goal would free up more time for us to spend together, and with our horses and animals.
Best thing about your sport/profession?
Equustock has provided me with the ability to combine my love and passion for horses with a stable business (no pun intended) that continues to grow. We began with the health and well-being of our horses as the objective and still remains our core philosophy for all horses.
“Give me food and drink; and care for me. And when the day’s work is done, shelter me. Give me a clean bed and leave me not too small a place in the stable. Talk to me, for your voice often takes the place of reins; be good to me and I shall serve you more gladly and love you.” – Author unknown
Friday Feature: Breeder
This week’s letter is B. If you missed last week’s Friday Feature, take a look at Accounting (Equine Business).
It is possible to be a person who breeds horses for a living. It should be noted however, that a successful breeder needs to be able to:
- Cater to a niche market – there needs to be a demand for what is being bred
- Support financially the cost of keeping mares, foals, young stock and/or stallions
- Have somewhere to keep a number of horses
- Be patient – it takes 12 months to breed a mare and generate a foal and even longer to sell the progeny
- Turn out the sale horses to a high standard or pay for someone else to do so, so that they’re presented well to potential buyers
An awareness of a mare’s reproductive cycle, and how to care for her during pregnancy and feed her appropriately are important. If owning stallions, knowledge of live covers and/or artificial insemination as well as appropriate training and handling of entire horses is also vital.
If you plan to breed horses, but only provide the financial backing, then you’ll need to find an appropriate property (stud) on which to keep the horses and will be charged for the staff knowledge and experience with regards to the care of stud horses, breeding fees and agistment costs.
For posts that relate to this area of work on Equus-Blog, take a look at:
- Breeding for a Niche Market
- Breeding for the Season
- The Equitainer
- Przewalski’s Preservation
- Working from Home
“Breed the best to the best and hope for the best.” – Breeder’s axiom
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