Ask Julie Goodnight
Dear Julie:
I have a 13-year-old daughter who has been in 4H since she was eight years old. She has become a great rider and is interested in learning how to become a professional rider of reining, cutting, or any western-type horses in shows. What kind of advise would you give her as far as working towards that goal? She dreams of making it into the publications some day. She is also interested in becoming a clinician and has already begun training young horses with natural horsemanship. She would love to shadow someone during her summers. What would make her a better candidate for these types of goals?
Mother of a horse-crazy daughter
Answer: Dear Mom,
First let me say that I admire your daughter’s perseverance, determination and passion. I think it is wonderful when a child has that kind of focus and drive; horses are such a wonderful tool for developing focus, responsibility, and accountability in youth. When asked this question by youth or parents, I am not typically eager to encourage this career path. While there are many great opportunities in the horse industry, becoming a trainer means working long and hard for very little pay (and even fewer benefits) and not many trainers make it to “the big time.”
What I would encourage her to do is go to college and get a degree that could be useful whether she decides to be in the horse business or not, such as a degree in business, journalism, or animal science. There are lots of opportunities in the horse industry for people with these skills (and an interest and knowledge of horses), whether it be managing a breeding farm, writing for a magazine, or working in the nutrition, pharmaceutical, retail or marketing fields. With a “real” job, she can afford to continue to enjoy horses on the level she is now – as a participant, rather than as a worker.
I work closely with the Colorado State University Equine Program and they offer a variety of degrees. Their curriculum is one of the best in the country and aligned closely with the CSU business school. In fact, one can get a Bachelor’s Degree in equine science with a minor in business, then come back and get an MBA in one year. If I had it all to do over again, this is what I would do. You can get your hands-on horse experience lots of places, but nothing replaces a college education. What makes most horse trainers fail is a lack of business savvy.
If she is determined to make a career as a horse trainer, I recommend that she get as much experience in as many different aspects of the industry as possible – English, western, racing, breeding, teaching, colt-starting, trail riding, etc., - in order to make her skills more marketable and to round-out her experience. Working hands-on will help build her resume and get her the references she’ll need. It is very much a word-of-mouth business and these positions can be difficult to attain.
One thing that will jump-start her plan is to get certified as an assistant instructor when she is 16. CHA offers a hands-on certification that will teach her how to give lessons and keep people safe around horses and this could set her apart from the hundreds of other people trying to get their foot in the door as an apprentice. To read more about this process, visit http://www.cha-ahse.org/cert.htm#standard.
Your daughter will need to develop a realistic plan that will involve years of hard work at the not-so-glorious jobs like grooming, warming up horses, and even doing basic chores like feeding and cleaning stalls. If she can prove herself in these areas, she may get opportunities to ride some nice horses, but it will probably be a long time before she gets a chance to compete on those horses. It’s pretty easy to get to the “big time” if you can buy your way into the show scene; not so easy to get there based on hard work and desire – but not impossible.
Becoming a “clinician” is something that many young people strive for these days because they see the popular clinicians out there and it seems like a cool job. Being a clinician is not really a career in and of itself, but an outcome or result of a career. A clinician is just a trainer or instructor that has years of experience riding hundreds or maybe thousands of horses and teaching hundreds or thousands of riders. A clinician is an instructor or trainer that travels to teach in different venues, instead of teaching regular students in one place.
Right now, your daughter has only been involved in the fun side of horses. If she is serious about having a career in the horse industry, she’ll have to see the working side, too – the not-so-glamorous side – and decide if this is really something she wants to do. If it is, hard work and determination will get her there – eventually. As Pat Parelli is fond of saying, he is a “twenty-year, over-night success!”
I wish her all the success in whatever path she chooses.
Julie Goodnight, Trainer and Clinician
Contact:
Julie Goodnight Horsemanship Training
Goodnight Training Stables, Inc.
PO Box 397
Poncha Springs, CO 81242
press@juliegoodnight.com
(719) 530-0531
