BHS Leadership Awards

[Flamingomumma]

Hi dd’s riding school has signed up to the the BHS Leadership AWards. Does anyone get what they are actually all about (I’ve included a link below). I can’t get my head round it. Does it involve learning about ponies more? It would involve her doing a full day at the yard once a week and we would also have to pay £12 each time she goes. There is no form of payment, free riding etc in return for working.

https://www.bhs.org.uk/careers-recreational-awards/recreational-awards/horse-explorers/bronze

It looks more about learning to manage staff? The equestrian industry is a million years behind in terms of being a good employer so it looks like it’s trying to teach management and leadership skills to young people now. I’m personally not sure I’d bother if she doesn’t want to work with horses (which I would massively discourage…)

If I was being cynical I might suggest it's just a revenue stream. It looks quite similar to many generic youth award schemes.

@Lastqueenofscotland2 Why would you massively discourage working with horses, if you don't mind me asking? All I really know about the equestrian world is what I see pop up on Mumsnet active, so I'm curious why it would be so strongly discouraged.

Owning horses and having them as a hobby = marvellous.
Working with them. Awful.
Outside of racing the lack of regulation and pay is shocking. Less than minimum wage is still very normal and weirdly accepted. When looking for a full livery yard I did actually find myself grilling people as to what their staff were actually paid.
Hours are often very long, weekend working almost always expected, shite conditions in all winds and all weathers (might be fun and character building for a once a week riding lesson, less so six days a week), included accomodation is often grim.
In racing the pay is good (for horses) and is regulated but again, weekend working very normal, weird working patterns (usually VERY early start and late finish with a long break in the middle of the day), it’s very dangerous, a bunch of horses that fit, fed rocket fuel and kept in a box 23 hours a day are not going to be angelic.

Jobs where your job is riding are like gold dust and reserved for people who have a combination of one of the the three - either the incredibly talented, incredibly rich (who probably don’t make any money off it) or brave to the point of stupidity. All three and you’ve got a good event rider!

Id always encourage any horse mad child to get a good job where they can keep a horse as a hobby. It will really make you fall out of love with it.

Wow yeh that's far from great. I thought it might be tough and physical but didn't realise the extent of it. I'm surprised they manage to get people to work like that but I guess maybe it's high churn.

I think there are people who work in equestrianism who love it. If your idea of hell is being shut inside the same four walls day in day out and don’t mind being muddy and dirty it might be for you.
The one’s doing all the mucking out tend to be the juniors. As time goes on most people move onto being instructors, yard managers etc I guess some do leave.
My ds’s riding instructor loves her job. She runs her own event yard. She employs people to do the yard jobs, they all get to ride the horses when owners need them keeping fit. She only takes full livery and charges over £200 per week. She has high standards but runs a very friendly yard with a waiting list. Staff and liveries have regular socials and it is a nice place to be. She also teaches freelance about 15 hours a week which she really enjoys. Loves seeing her pupils progress and thinking up exercises etc to help them.
No one wants to muck out horses for 40 years but there are lots of avenues if it is your passion.

Just to put the other side, my daughter rides for a living - she works for an event rider and her job is literally just riding. She rides 10-11 horses a day, schooling (flat, jumping and XC) and hacking and she gets off one horse and the next one is brought to her tacked up. She also competes the younger horses as well as her own - it is her dream job and she absolutely loves it. She usually mucks out her own two but apart from that doesn’t touch a mucking out tool. She has her own cottage which has just been redecorated and gets paid a reasonable amount plus a bonus when any of the horses are sold. She hated school and had debilitating anxiety and point blank refused to consider university (which I think was the right decision for her). She started out as a groom at another yard with a lot more mucking out and mainly warming up horses for her previous boss to ride and knew she didn’t want to be a groom for ever. I don’t know if she’ll do this for the rest of her working life but she’s exactly where she wants to be at this stage of her life plan.

Please don’t, I’m absolutely not saying there aren’t fantastic employers out there. There are, unfortunately there are alot of awful ones, I find the worst are people with 2/3 horses on a private yard who doesn’t really see why they should have to abide by employment laws. however there are lot of them about! It also feels like several times a year there is a scandal with some big name rider or another paying £6 an hour and justifying it by saying they get a lesson once a month or whatever, and I think it’s quite exploitative of young people (usually girls) who struggled at school, and just want a career they are passionate in and a bit lost and confused about what to do

And yes people shit shovelling are young, but in my experience they don’t go on to other horsey jobs (or if they do it’s working in an office for a horsey comapny like Weatherbys), they tend to leave the industry to find a job well paid enough to support it as a hobby.

It’s no different from any other industry, you need a plan if you are going to progress. There are plenty of people working in minimum wage jobs with no scope for promotion. If people accept less than minimum wage that is on them and shouldn’t happen. I’d rather much out horses than work o. A care home for example. It’s about finding the right job for you.

That's really interesting and I'm glad your daughter has found a path that suits her so well, especially after having such a rough time at school.

@Lastqueenofscotland2 yes there are some terrible employers alongside the good ones but the bad employers are starting to find it harder to fill vacancies. What I’m arguing against is the blanket pronouncement that working with horses is always awful and is guaranteed to put you off horses - that’s simply not the case for a lot of people. My daughter got a job as a rider after two years of working as a groom - she’s not come from a horsey background and we are certainly not a massively wealthy family. However she works incredibly hard, is completely focused, knows what she wants to do and has a plan for getting there.

Rather than discouraging everyone from working with horses why not encourage young people considering it as a career to do their research, join the British Grooms Association, insist on a contract and make sure they’re being paid the correct amount for their age?

The issue with young people working with horses is future prospects . Unless you are going to be able to set up your own stables / be a show jumper etc you really need to look into the future and think about what you plan to be doing / where you plan to be at 40 . I always wanted to work with horses , didn’t apply for uni and just after my A levels realisation hit ( with some ill health ) that being a riding instructor wasn’t going to be a long term career . I did nursing instead and just stayed as a horse owner . WRT not being paid for work / given free rides @Flamingomumma , that is the exception nowadays as there are always so many kids that are only to pleased to spend all their weekends working with the horses / at the stables .

A relative recent initiative is to have people work with horses as mentors. Look up Equine Assisted Learning. It's not about riding, or learning about horses but about working in collaboration with horses and coaches to develop life skills. I looked into doing the training once but couldn't afford it. The coaches are highly trained and skilled, while the horses are chosen for their suitably for the task. As this one's being run under the bhs banner, your daughter would be in good hands and i would highly recommend it @Flamingomumma