Do you dream of having horses as a part of your daily life instead of only for your weekly lesson? Do you have a horse background but little to no professional horse experience? Are you unsure what position you could do best that would hire you, although you have minimal or zero professional equine background?
If you want to change careers and wonder how you can apply your skills to equestrian professions and present yourself marketable, here are a few suggestions that might help spark ideas on landing a new equestrian-related job!
Awareness of all the skills you bring to the table is key to accomplishing your goal of working as an equine professional. Begin by creating a list of all of the skills you do well and consider how you can apply them in an equine occupation. Second, you should review your resume and alter it so you can present yourself to a prospective employer as an irreplaceable employee, so don’t be afraid to brag a bit! Highlight your horse background as much as possible. Although you may have limited or zero equine professional experience, Show your prospective employer that you have the skills required to be the employee their company needs.
Meeting work deadlines, being punctual, and reviewing legal documents are skills applicable to jobs in the horse world. For example, overseeing a lease is executed correctly. A manager is responsible for examining a lease contract and making modifications in favor of the client, negotiating between parties, and managing the completion of the client wiring money are essential business skills any barn would appreciate.
Also, keep in the back of your mind attributes that make you a rockstar versus other candidates. If asked, what makes you stand out, and why should they hire you? Are you laid-back and don’t allow stressful environments to cause high anxiety all day? Do you let comments from unhappy clients roll off your back while the phone rings off the hook, and you, most of the time, can keep a smile on your face?
For example, a barn manager could be your next calling since a manager would have many of these office skills. Show barns, riding schools, and other equestrian training programs often prefer to utilize their instructors’ time wisely and like having instructors do what they do best: teaching! Farms can have another employee manage scheduling and business emails while the instructor focuses only on education. Suppose you are efficient in scheduling multiple trainers and delegating critical daily tasks to others. In that case, these are all excellent skills to brag about the potential employer you have and why they should hire you!
Outstanding interpersonal skills and presenting an outgoing personality all play positively in communicating with students and parents or other equestrian pros. Depending on how the barn operates, managers are often responsible for inputting students’ assigned horses into the scheduling system and appropriate days, times, and levels of classes. Managers can bill clients their statements, go over lesson information, lease options, or other training programs offered to clientele. A manager may be responsible for giving tours of the farm to prospective students.
Another prospective job worth considering and can often easily be a full-time or part-time position is working for a horse show organization. Working in the horse show office on the weekend of the show or working for a local show organization in your city is a great opportunity. Working for a show organization lets someone use their skills without the requirement of experience teaching and training students and horses. Many positions required at horse shows include concession stands, assistants, secretaries, and other office positions. Many horse show organizations seek employees for both full and part-time, which is an excellent option if you wish to keep one foot in your current job, too!
Have you held employment positions as a journalist or interior decorator? Are you creative and paint well? Do you make clothing, or are you a great photographer? Practically any job can be tweaked to have an equine approach. There are multiple occupations someone with minimal professional equestrian experience can get their foot in the door with and begin work in the horse industry.
Have you thought of changing careers and beginning an occupation now in horses? What do you think of the change?
