Your Experience & Opinions?
Posted for a friend.
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I’m at the local barn, a big-time eventing farm (over 200 acres of cross-country fences of all levels) almost every day all day… and after school I’m there for at least 3 hours. I’ve been riding there for 6 years. The coach there (who was in Worlds) says that she’d consider me an intermediate rider and she suggests I invest in a horse.
The problem is, my parents have a company that makes the finest hardwood flooring. They make tons of money when they have a good contract, but when business is slow, sometimes paying for my riding is a struggle.
That’s why now, I started to work the entire day with my coach. I come at 8 o’clock each morning, and leave at roughly 7 o’clock each evening.
When I arrive in the morning, first we turn out all of the horses. (About 26 of them), and then we muck-out all the stalls, clean all the water buckets, give fresh hay and water, then sweep the enormous stable area. After this is complete, I then take the school pony out for a 4-hour hack in the additional 100 acres of public but extremely groomed trails in the forest nearby. When I return I have a 20-minute break before I do any other chores my coach requests of me. (This sometimes includes giving hay to the horses outside, or bringing the horses back in to eat and get their feed… and when we do bring them in, I help prepare and distribute all the feed). After noontime, my coach puts me on a couple of her very green horses to ride around inside the indoor arena, then outside in the jumper ring as well as the dressage ring, and as a cool-down I take them on a half-hour hack through the fields.
So per day, I always ride more than 5 horses for her.
I want to be an author when I’m older, so it’ll be an at-home job… this september I’ll be in grade 9, and so many people at the barn are telling me to ask my coach to become a working student next year.
The problem is I’m not 100% sure what a working student is, but all they mentioned was that its an excellent way to get to show & ride & learn about different horses and that it’s a long and amazing experience. I want to do it if that’s the case.
If you know exactly what a working student is, or you ARE or have been a working student at a barn, leave an answer.
Thanks.
& In case you were wondering, I live 2 minutes away from this barn, so I won’t be living on site with her if I’m basically her neighbour.
I look forward to reading the answers.
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I get lessons as well as coaching. I’m in training to becoming an event-rider, so that means stadium, dressage, and cross-country. I love riding so, so much… it’s not just pleasure, there’s a ton of passion in there.
You already are a working student. You work to ride, and should get some coaching as well.
I believe that what is being suggested is that you firm up an agreement that establishes a certain amount of lesson time, not just riding time, in return for the work you perform. All it would mean is that instead of your current arrangement, you become more of a student of horsemanship under her tutorship, and less of an exercise rider.
In my experience, you already are a working student! The things you are doing now is what is generally done by working students, assuming you are getting some coaching while riding all these horses all day.
I have been a working student at both lower level and upper level dressage and eventing barns, and that’s pretty much how it goes. You do whatever the instructor wants you to do in exchange for lessons and opportunities that you would not otherwise have (like how you’re riding 4 green horses per day).
a working student is prob someone who works and is a student ask the people at the barn wat it means
A working student is just what the name implies but rather than paying for the lessons/coaching, you are paying for them by the chores you perform for your coach. Just make sure that the trade off is far. True, it seems that you are getting a good deal of saddle time but are you getting lessons or getting coached in dressage? If not you may just be working for the pleasure of riding, which really isn’t a bad deal. If Mom and Dad can’t pay for it and by you working there,you get to ride, that seems reasonable although it seems like you are putting in a lot of hours but again I have to ask, are you getting your lessons? If not, you are just working for the pleasure of riding. Think ‘internship’.
A working student is a student who works off some part of what they pay at the barn. I am a working student I do all the same chores as you and instead of paying for my lessons and board I get free lessons and half off board. as a working student you don’t receive any money in the matter. you basically work to learn. with this you also learn more than a regular student because you spend more time working with the horses. just make sure you are getting a good deal out of it.