Just a note for anyone in Victoria, Australia or more specifically around the Keysborough area who’s interested in getting into teaching/looking for instructing work. Melbourne School of Pony Equitation are on the lookout for more instructors.

You don’t need a qualification but can work towards your EFA Level 1 through the school and gain teaching experience. A sound knowledge of riding principles and tacking/untacking horses would be needed however to carry out lessons. A general lesson consists of one to up to half a dozen students who catch, groom, tack up their horses then ride and bring in and untack, groom and put away.

The school has a 70m x 30m outdoor arena as well as a cross country course, jumps paddock and other areas to ride. If you’re interested in teaching and are available over weekends, consider contacting the school for work.

“His hooves pound the beat, your heart sings the song – Jerry Shulman.”

tag: horseriding, australia, Level 1, EFA, coaching, instructing

Perhaps you’re interested in being pulled along by a fast moving animal that weighs around 500kg rather than sitting on it’s back.If you’re into trotters and pacers rather than Thoroughbred racing and would consider pursuing work in this field, it’d be worth checking out the harness racing site with a locality near to you.

Harness racing is pretty big business in Australia and I’m sure in other countries and it offers you a few differences to the thoroughbred racing industry.

You can still be involved in sales, breeding, racing and training but will learn about different gaits for a pacer, artificial insemination when it comes to breeding and a different type of jockey who is in a sulkey rather than on the back of the horse. If you’re able to land work on a property that breeds as well as trains, it may be possible to learn about artificial insemination and gain the skills required to be a driver for exercising horses and this could potentially lead to driving in races.

If you have an interest in the breeding side of things, I’d suggest looking into trotter studs in your area to gain some work.If it’s the idea of racing that thrills you more, than training stables might be more for your pursuit.

Either can be found through harness racing associations:
http://www.harness.org.au/ausbreed/int_org.htm – International Organisations for Harness Racing
http://www.harness.org.au/ – Australia’s site for harness racing, including links to trainers, breeders and news current to the industry
http://www.ustrotting.com/ – the US trotting site with industry related links
http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/ – for the pursuit of standardbred related work in Canada
http://www.raceapacer.com.au/ – if you want to be the owner, this site offers information on why you should race a pacer, costs, what you could win, trainers and other related information
http://www.animalhealthaustralia.com.au/aahc/index.cfm? – Internet education via Bendigo Harness Racing

tag: training, artificial insemination, racing, pacing, trotters, standardbred

“Horseperson’s Glossary… Fence: Decorative structure built to provide your horse something to chew on.”