Working with Horses is a ‘real’ Career Say Stubbing Court Training
Is working with horses really an option in today’s financial market? Can we really make a dream come true by spending all day, every day, with something that also happens to be our passion?
Here Stubbing Court Training explain how, with the right guidance, it is possible to to combine your passion for horses with a real career.
It is many young people’s dream to work with horses – but what happens when the realities and responsibilities of adult life intrude? Can they earn enough money? Can working with horses become a real career, properly rewarded?
Yes – the best professional grooms are highly sought after and are well remunerated. But, as in any career, ambition and hard work need to be backed up by proper training and respected qualifications. An apprenticeship with Stubbing Court Training Ltd (SCT) is the foundation stone to a solid career, as Jake Fowles, who runs a livery and competition yard and competition centre at Wellow in Nottinghamshire, is keen to point out.
“Grooming isn’t just something to do when you are young and love horses,” he says. “It is a career that can take you to amazing places.”
Jake recently attended SCT’s exclusive Masterclass for SCT apprentices and employers with British eventing team coach Christopher Bartle alongside Michaela Allen, who is working towards her Level Two apprenticeship with Jake.
“Michaela is a pleasure to have around – she shows good initiative and is someone who will be a real benefit to the industry in the future,” says Jake.
Michaela, 16, says that her dyslexia means that she finds it much easier to learn in a practical, hands-on way than in the classroom, and finds SCT’s online learning tool a great benefit.
“I know that I am learning the correct way because I am working towards a qualification, but I am also learning how to apply that knowledge every day,” she says. “I’d like to event and also to teach riding in the future.”
Jake is appreciative of the support SCT offers its employers as well as its apprentices.
“SCT helps us put the procedures in place to comply with all the legal aspects of employing staff – the company [Britain’s leading provider of apprentices to the equestrian industry] is very clear about what is expected of both us as employers and them as employees, which helps promote the professionalism of the industry. And the apprenticeship programme is well-structured, comprehensive and easy to follow.”
“SCT’s contacts within the equine industry not only give us access to training with people like Christopher Bartle, which we would never be able to do otherwise, it also can help apprentices pursue a wide range of paths into and through the industry.”
Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.