Your Horse Career Starts Here
Well if you’re seeking work in the horse industry (or seeking employees!) you may be interested in finding out about Colts and Fillies Labour Hire.
I love finding businesses that are working to promote positions in the horse industry, and find suitable workers for horse employers.
If you’re seeking work, why not sign up with them today and provide your resume? You never know where it could lead!
This business is Australian in its location, but does cater to international queries, too.
I’ve just received an email about a job opportunity and thought this one worth sharing! To sum it up:
Job content and responsibility –
- Primarily to implement the department training programme.
- Advise on the preparation of materials for the training programme.
- To train daily, the junior staff and trainees in the department, following the direction of the Director of Stable Operations.
- To ride and train the equestrian horses that the club has, including dressage and jumping
- To re-school some of the polo ponies, teaching them dressage and jumping and to be suitable for members lessons.
- Horse care and stable management on a daily basis, including some daily yard duties.
- Report on the performance and progress of the horses and classes
- Teach member lessons when required.
- Co-ordinate the arrangements for Stable Operations part in Junior Equestrian & Polo Programme (JEPP)
- Develop the equestrian Services department as the occasion arises with the Director of Stable Operations.
- Assist with the planning and running of the 2017 Chinese National Equestrian Games.
Educational background and professional knowledge demand –
Educated to Degree Level, any subject.
BHS Stage 3 or Pony Club B Test or above
PTT qualification is preferred.Professional skill demand –
Capable of Jumping 1.10m courses
Able to school horses to Medium level Dressage
English speaker
Clear communicator Working experience demand5 + years experience working with competition sports horses.
Practiced instructor, dressage and show jumping
Competition experience
Experience of breaking and/or re-training horses
To have managed a yard of horses before
Some event management experience beneficialOther demand
Microsoft Office computer skills
Overseas experience is preferable
Some Mandarin and/or Spanish language skills would be beneficial
This position is for the Metropolitan Polo Club in Tianjin, China. It is a 3 year contract offering 35000RMB/Month Gross = approx. 3500GBP (approx. 3000GBP/ month net, depending on exchange rate); 20 days holiday per year / 11 days national holiday per year / 1 return flight per year to your country of residence / Time off in lieu for overtime.
To discuss this opportunity further please contact John Fisher, Director of Stable Operations, attaching your current CV: johnfisher@metropolitanpoloclub.com
Recently I had Twin Work and Volunteer follow me on Twitter. Curious to see if they had any horse related GAP travels or paid work, I did a search and found they do!
Now I’ve touched on equestrian tourism before, but thought I’d bring it up as a potential niche market for a career again. For someone who loves horses, loves travelling and gets along with people, this could be an area of interest to pursue as a possible line of work. How wonderful to be able to offer people an equine related experience in the form of:
Horse museums could be visited, horse art galleries and much more. To be someone in the know about all things horses around the world would be of great benefit to such a job.
“As they run through arenas and open fields, past mountains and seas, moving like the wind toward heaven, we travel with them, if only in our hearts.” – Author unknown
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:
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
Uni sent out a message to the equine science students about conservation work in South Africa and I thought I’d scout the website for horse related work! Found two that may be of interest to the student keen to take some time off school next year and get in some horse experience overseas – what could be more appealing?
“How to ride a horse: Step One – Mount the horse. Step Two – Stay mounted…” – Author unknown
