Experience with Horses

Outline your experience with horses here/the scope of your freelance services. If you’re looking for a non-equine or non- yard-based job please use this space to describe your experience skills/abilities and adapt the questions to suit your line of work.

I’ve been working with horses for over a decade, with the last four years being spent teaching at commercial riding schools and freelancing including lunge lessons, riding simulator (including Franklin Ball), flatwork, polework, cross-country, gridwork, assessing new riders at the riding school, escorting hacks. Group & private lessons, adults and children. My preference, if I had to pick, would be private, adult lessons but I can and do teach all! I’ve taught Pony Club, RDA, and BHS exam training too. I’m a Working Equitation GB L1 instructor and I teach  of working equitation clinics locally. I’m also a trainee dressage judge. I hold the BHS Stage 3 coach Dressage rider, and UKCC L2.

Since I gained my Stage 2 teach in 2019, I have been predominantly teaching at various riding schools and private clients with very little yard work (aside from caring for my own mare) so not  at my fittest! Prior to that, I was in a weekend yard manager & pony club instructor role at a BHS approved riding school (alongside university commitments), and in various working pupil roles in riding schools before that.

I take responsibility in the yard in the manager’s absence including; monitoring horse health, making decisions relating to their care/routine etc., allocating jobs to staff, and training & mentoring junior staff. I am happy liaising with vets, farriers, physios, saddlers etc. I can take sole-charge also, and have no problem with this as long as I can work to my own routine and system (everything will get done, and be done to a high-standard).

I’ve previously written all policies and completed paperwork for what was a brand new riding school applying for council license which included writing biosecurity, risk assessments, fire safety and other policies so I’m quite happy to be involved in administrative duties too. Every role I’ve had has involved taking bookings and payments, answering queries etc. so I’ve no issue with this.

I’ve helped with organising shows and camps, coached at a pony camp this year.

 

 

Key Skills

What are you particularly good at? For example: working alone, working with others, clipping, plaiting, turning out for shows, handling stallions, handling/riding young horses, non-equine skills etc

I can work with others, including taking responsibility for a team or being part of a team taking direction. When working alone, I’m a motivated self-starter who can make decisions, and take initiative. I’ve got strong administrative skills and don’t mind doing paperwork. I lunge and long-rein well. I teach groups, private lessons, adults & children of various abilities. I do ride, but I’ve had a few confidence knocks so a little bit selective about what I do and on which horses for the time being, although I’m taking steps to improve this. I am tiny so I can ride small ponies, but equally will ride 17hh+ horses (so long as a tall enough mounting block or good leg-ups are supplied!). In the past, I could plait and bandage reasonable well although I haven’t done this for a long time so it may take a little time to figure it out again! I’m good at problem solving and lateral thinking!

 

Strengths and Weaknesses

• Is there anything you’d like to improve?

I’d love to have the opportunity to improve my turnout (I have a hogged cob with a mostly white bottom – so no opportunity to practice plaiting or quater marks!) . I’d also love to learn more about breeding – handling stallions, foaling the mare, and raising youngstock in a commercial stud. Equally, I’d love to gain some experience of polo as this isn’t an area I’ve worked in.

 

• Why should employers consider you above any other job seeker?

I’m extremely hard-working. I may not always be the fastest, but have no problem starting earlier and finishing later to make up for it:

During the last year of my degree, on days when no lectures were scheduled, I travelled from Gloucestershire to Birmingham to volunteer at a community riding school in return for training towards my BHS Stage 3 exams. I would get up at 4am, drive 3 hours to Birmingham, work on the yard from 7.30am-6pm (routine yard duties, schooling, lunging, teaching, training less experienced staff etc.), receive training for my BHS Stage 3 from 6pm-9pm, then drive back from Birmingham getting home to Gloucestershire around midnight, and then up the next morning for lectures! They were 18-20 hour days, but I loved it, and it was only stopped by Covid!

I genuinely want to learn, know more, do better.

I am loyal to good employers. I will give 110%, I won’t leave just because a better offer/paid job has come along.

Requirements

• What would you like to do or gain in your next job? 

I’d like to step-up to taking more responsibility, learn to groom to a professional standard for competitions and/or polo, and gain experience with stallion handling and foaling.

• Do you need accommodation?

Accommodation for myself, my dog, and my partner would be advantageous but absolutely not a deal breaker – we are willing to rent somewhere locally.

Side note – my partner’s good with maintenance, a qualified plumber and electrician, good with machinery, good people skills, learning about horses but very confident and willing to get stuck-in either on a volunteer or paid basis – if we can both live-in, he will earn his keep!

 

• Do you have any special requirements for any animals you wish to bring with you? 

The opportunity to keep my mare at the yard would be very helpful.

Being able to bring my small, mostly well-behaved dog to work (can be kept on a lunge line) would be great but again, not essential.

Neither of them have any special requirements – they are both pretty easy going!