Donât blame the youth, blame the industry.
I frequently hear horse trainers complain about their young assistants. Their criticisms include things like, they donât work hard enough, they always sick, theyâre too slow, they donât seem keen to do the work, etc. But as a relatively young professional in my early thirties, I can explain why the younger bunch doesnât last long in this industry. Iâm fortunate enough to be in the in-between ages of being a young adult but actually have some miles under my belt when it come to maturity and life lessons.
All of us in the industry are grafting up to 80 hours a week. However the lower down you are on the ranks, the more you get handed the dirty work of schooling youngsters or the rotten apples, teaching the mundane up-downers, driving manure, hay, and whatâs left of our dignity for our employers while they sit on their hundred thousand Rand sport horses.
However we take one for the team with the dream that one day that will be us. This industry is not one in which will make you rich, it is one for passion. Especially when you are young, earning enough to buy bread and milk and thatâs about it.
Youngsters especially school leavers are welcomed, they are eager, energetic and dumb enough to be exploited as cheap labor, with the notion that sweat equity is what it takes to make it in this industry. This could be further from the truth when it comes to âmaking itâ in the industry. Sure some do workout the way we envision it but mostly, itâs just a case of cheap labor. The youngsters donât see what they have is enough. Usually these positions include a live in option, where rent, water and electricity is paid for, and if you lucky enough they pay for your horsesâ stable too, should you be one of the elite who may own one.
Personally my life took a roundabout way to get back to what I always knew I wanted. I only started working in the Equine industry at the age of 28, and I was lucky enough that I did. Should I have jumped into working in this industry at the age of 18/19 years old, I never would have lasted. As a kid, you want to see big bucks in the bank account, you want your own place and all that come with it. However life experiences have not yet taught you that the big sum in your account will only be swallowed up faster than you can say â I did itâ to rent, water, electricity, petrol, insurance and other bills, leaving you only with the small amount left to buy a beer here and there. Now add extra stress, demands, exhaustion onto this fact and the youngsters drop like flies as they soon figure out that their dreams are a lie.
Personally Iâm not sure what the answer is here, maybe itâs to not exploit the youngens so much that their hopes and dreams get crushed and that they run far away and leave this industry in their dust. Maybe itâs not hiring them for big demanding positions until they have accumulated enough life experiences of their own to appreciate their future job, Iâm not sure. But we all got to stop blaming them for being useless.
So unfortunately, many young professionals in this industry have been chewed up and spit out by the elders in our sport. The very same trainers who we look up to and respect and dedicate our lives for. Often getting judged and criticized for not doing things the way it was done âback in their day.â Which for some trainers could be further from the truth as they inherited their positions and  never had to work a day in their life, and should you be so lucky to land yourself a job for one of those trainers, well youâre in for a rough ride, excuse the pun. Weâve been drilled to never complain and always be grateful for opportunitiesâeven when they come at the cost of our physical and mental well-being.Â
We are brainwashed to believe that we can claim the compensation for our hard work and that should be the satisfaction of getting better. The better you ride, the more you get to do later in your career. I grew up in a middle class family, I was blessed to have my own pony and learnt to ride at an once was great school. Best years of my life I tell you. Absolutely horse obsessed, and I knew from an early age that this is what I wanted to do with my life. I never had the best horses, nor the opportunities to compete on high levels at elite shows, but I entered the equestrian industry with huge enthusiasm and hopes that the yard Iâm involved in will take me to the top. Once again another lie.
The truth that I never had the money for a top show horse was apparent. Like most of us, I owned a Thoroughbred. Excited and hopeful that my new boss and trainer will take me and my horse to new heights, I came in guns blazing only to be slowly broken down bit by bit, starting with the fact that âmy horse may amount to something after allâ in the most sarcastic tune imaginable. On the daily I got reminded that my horse and the rest of the Thoroughbreds I ride are no good school ponies never breaking the heights of 80cm or should dare even do a dressage class. It was apparent, that not owning a Warmblood was career suicide. But let me just speak out for all the young processionals here, most of us canât even afford a horse, but this doesnât mean we cannot ride. We are now YOUR brand, working for YOUR legacy; we aspire to reach top goals with your guidance, on your line of progenies. We eagerly wait for the opportunity to school THOSE horses with YOUR guidance to represent YOU when we go out. But alas we were shot down as we are thoroughbred riders, we do not hold the wealth in our blood to earn the ride on a Warmblood, and we are conditioned to believe that every day of our dream job. Mentally breaking down each day at a time. Itâs no wonder that hard work is not enough in our young professionalsâ eyes.
One of the biggest things that have suffered since I started riding professionally is my confidence. Iâm sure many young professionals can relate to the feeling of never being good enough. Itâs unbelievable the things that have been said to me by some of the people Iâve worked for.
When I was younger and just starting out, I believed that I deserved the cruelty of that criticism. All I wanted was to get better. If that was the price I had to pay, so be it.Â
As I got older, the words hurt me more and more. Iâve realized that no one should be spoken to in that manner. Verbal abuse seems to be commonplace in the horse industry. Sure every industry has there rude remarks but why is it so easily accepted and considered ânormalâ in the horse community?
I have worked to my breaking point; literally, Iâve made innumerable sacrifices for my health and family time, and dedicated my entire life to this career. It is nothing else but a lifestyle. Constructive criticism in the saddle to improve our riding and training is one thing, but being scrutinized and yelled at constantly in and out of the saddle becomes unbearable. Itâs difficult to ride with confidence and have self-respect when suffering this type of treatment. People wonder why assistant trainers bounce from job to job, eventually leaving the horse industry altogether. I too was left running and I got at least 12 years on the younger guys. The vast majority do it for their own well-being! Â
Not only can trainers be cruel with their words, but many simply have no respect for their hired young professionals.
Many trainers say that true horsemen are going extinct, and that the old thoroughbreds are not what they once were, but youâre not giving US (the Thoroughbred and youngsters) the chance, and letting people who can buy their way to the top of the sport be the only ones to watch. Unfortunately it took me, my first job as a professional rider that I realized I was the underdog. Iâm not rich, and I will always be trying to catch up to those riders no matter how many hours I work or how hard I try. Â
While I do have a love for hard physical work and tremendous determination, I donât have the resources or the backers they have. The fact is it takes money to be successful in this industry. So consider yourself lucky if you happen to have money and talent, then youâre practically guaranteed success. But for the rest of us, If you have exceptional talent but no money, then you are screwed⌠just kidding, hang in there we may still get our chance.
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