Got an email from Julie-Anne Gower who with her family looked after me while I was over in South Africa, working (playing;)) on her property with her horses. They’re looking for someone to fill a position on their farm for at least 12 months. If you’re considering a visit to South Africa, love riding and the beach, read on!

POSITION OF INSTRUCTOR – TRAIL GUIDE – ASSISTANT
Situated on a farm on the Wild Coast of South Africa, about 1 hour north along the coast from East London is a property that requires a general assistant to help with the running of our equine business.

WHAT WE DO:
– 6-7 night Wild Coast Horse Trails – our clients are from UK, Europe and the USA
– Working Riding Holidays for young riders 18 to 30 year age group – they stay with us for 1 or 2 months at a time – they come to ride, help out and have fun.
– Torstone Sport Horse Stud – Arabian, part Arab and Anglo Arabs – 45+ horse’s altogether, 3 Arab Stallions, 15 working trail horses (Boerperd/Arab/TB), a couple of competitive/prospective endurance horses, brood mares and young stock.
– 1-2 hour & half day Beach rides for holiday makers in Kei Mouth and Morgan Bay.
– We practice natural horsemanship, our horse are all barefoot and live out 24/7/365
– Clint (Julie-Anne’s husband) is a professional Hunter and also does deep sea fishing charters.
– Cattle/game farm

WHAT WE REQUIRE OF YOU:
– A South African Visa valid for at least 12 months or be a South African Citizen permanent resident
– Commit to at least 12 months of employment.
– Drivers license is mandatory.
– Pleasant out going personality that enjoys working with people.
– Teaching experience – a recogniwed qualification would be preferable –  experience teaching young adults in flat work/dressage and schooling young horses.
– A general working understanding of “natural horsemanship
– Previous experience in bringing on and schooling horses in basic dressage and jumping (You will be shown how we start our un-ridden young horses)
– A hands on do it yourself attitude to grooming, general horse care and stable management.
– Contactable references

Your primary responsibility:
– Teaching – riding lessons/schooling/out rides/or starting young horses in the Working Riding Holiday program. Schooling and exercising the working horses.
– Generally assist in the day to day care of the horses.
– You will be required to look after the Beach Horses and be trail guide taking clients out riding when we have bookings.
– Promote and actively source beach rides in the villages of Kei Mouth, Morgan Bay and surrounding area.
– To relieve the other staff on days off.
– Assist when necessary on the over night trails, either as back stop rider or back up driver.
– Generally fill in and help out where necessary.

WHAT WE OFFER:
– A negotiable salary per month, dependant on your qualification and the amount of experience you have.
– We have a separate house for our assistants to live in. This accommodation is shared with other employees and or work riders.
– An environment that offers you a chance to be part of the team, and our family
– Place for your own horse if you have one.
– Commissions on beach rides
– 15 working days Annual general leave
– Collect days off and either go away for a few days once a month or take a longer break every second month.
– “Free” days to go into East London and do shopping etc when it’s quiet.
– Generally we start at 8 am and finish around 5 pm – sometimes its longer –  sometimes shorter and the hours are flexible.
– This is a full time, long term position and we are looking for someone who can commit to being with us, and be part of the team that grows our business.
– If you are interested, please send us a detailed CV including details of your riding experience and your expected starting salary.
– For more info on whom we are and what we do, please go to our web site http://www.wildcoasthorsesafari.co.za.

“Silence takes on a new quality when the only sound is that of regular and smooth hoof beats…” – Bertrand Leclair

tag: endurance riding, job, south africa

Different types of the sport:
Arena and outdoor polo. Read about the history of polo at http://www.hpa-polo.co.uk/about/history_polo.asp.

Horses needed – number:
As a beginner, 1-2 horses should do suffice to practice on and play matches. This can increase to 4 as your level progresses and even stables of 10+.

Costs involved:
Horse care, tack, polo equipment – helmet, boots kneeguards and mallets, shoeing regularly, vet bills, rugs, feeding and stabling. Game entries, tuition.

Rules of game:
Arena polo is made up of 4 chukkas (each 7 minutes in length) with teams swapping horses and goal ends at the end of each chukka. Indoor is played with 3 players per team on a field 300 x 150 feet.

Outdoor polo is played on a field of 160 x 300 yards – 10 times the size of an official arena. There are four players to each team and goal ends are changed each time a team scores a goal. There are six chukkas in outdoor polo. More horses are needed for outdoor as it is a faster, more demanding and longer played game.

Links to associations:
http://www.aapolo.com/ – Argentina Polo Association
http://www.us-polo.org/ – United States Polo Association
http://www.hpa-polo.co.uk/ – The governing body of polo in the UK, Ire and other countries worldwide.
http://www.sapolo.org.za/ – South African Polo
http://www.australianpolo.com.au/ – Australian Polo Association
http://www.fippolo.com/ – Federation of International Polo
http://www.polo.org.nz/ – New Zealand Polo Association

The game is fast paced and no doubt requires a decent amount of time and money to invest in horses! The financial rewards may not be the amount invested into polo, but many would argue the thrill of the game is award enough.

“A polo handicap is a persons ticket to the world.” – Sir Winston Churchill

tag: argentina, australia, south africa, UK, america, polo