Have you always dreamed of making horses not just your hobby but your career? Do you yearn to ride like the heroes you’ve seen in international competitions, on TV and in magazines? Would you like to learn the secrets that would allow you to ride a piaffe like Kyra Kyrklund, a six-foot oxer like Franke Sloothak, or a water complex like Karen O’Connor? If you’re young and ambitious, and willing to take a risk, then perhaps you should consider becoming a working student.

A working student position is just what it sounds like — you volunteer your labour, and in return you get a chance to learn from a bigname trainer. A great many top trainers worldwide offer working student positions, which generally come with some sort of basic accommodations and sometimes, a small salary. When personalities mesh and both parties have realistic expectations, the working student experience can be a positive one for everyone: the bigname trainer gets some inexpensive help, and you get to absorb knowledge, not just about riding, but also about how a top stable and top horses are managed on a day-today basis.

In addition, it’s a chance to see the world, and perhaps learn a new language! Though many trainers in the United States and Canada also offer working student positions — and don’t get me wrong, they can be wonderful learning experiences, too — there’s considerable appeal in the notion of going overseas to expand your education. In some cases, in fact, it’s almost considered an essential rite of passage, particularly in the case of aspiring dressage riders, for whom Germany is generally considered Mecca.

Of course, being a working student isn’t all hobnobbing with the stars, handling multi-million-dollar horses and travelling in style from one show to the next. It’s also, in most cases, brutally hard work ... and it also represents a major upheaval in your life. So before you take the plunge, ask yourself: are you prepared to leave your family, your friends, your job or your school, not to mention the horse you may own? The working student experience is generally a much more realistic undertaking when you’re young and relatively unfettered; once you have a spouse, a mortgage, and children, you’ll have too many obligations to just pack up and leave for six months or a year.

You should also consider whether you’re prepared to live in relative poverty. Many working student positions pay nothing at all, while others provide only a token salary that, if you’re frugal, will pay for food and an occasional trip to the laundromat. Your living quarters may be basic indeed, and chances are you won’t have access to a vehicle, so you’ll be at the mercy of others when you want to go to town to catch a movie or buy groceries.

Consider, too, what you’d really like to get out of a working student situation. Is your main goal to experience how a large international stable is run? Are riding lessons for yourself your main focus? Do you want to have the opportunity to show? Before you sign on the dotted line, you’ll want to have a clear understanding of just what your responsibilities will be, and what opportunities for learning will come your way. There are more than a few horror stories out there of working student situations which turned out to be nothing more than indentured slavery, with little or no opportunity to ride or to learn.

It’s wise to consider, too, that there’s the possibility of getting yourself into a nightmarish situation. Sonya Zeisig, of Calgary, AB, found out the hard way, while a working student in Germany in 1992, that impressive credentials in the Grand Prix dressage ring don’t necessarily mean a trainer is a fair employer. She describes a year-long contract position in Niederndorf with a dressage master who “was a horrible boss; mercurial, always pulling the rug out from under my feet when I least expected it.” Even worse was a trainer who made unwanted sexual advances towards her; she left the position the next day.

Still, as parent Beverly Rusk notes, “The bad experiences exist for both sides. Just as there are top trainers who don’t quite live up to their side of the arrangement, there are also working students who don’t work out. My 16-year-old daughter has been a working student, both full-and part-time, and it has been a great hands-on learning opportunity for her. I think these positions are a great way for keen individuals to learn a great deal, and can serve to benefit both sides involved.”

And let’s not negate the genuine excitement of travelling to a foreign land AND getting to work with horses at the same time. Krista Gessler, of Spring Grove, IL, is one who knows that wonderful anticipation; she put her career as a high school biology teacher on hold so she could become a working student for six months, with New Zealand event rider Kirstin Kelly, who’s based near Auckland. “The opportunity just fell into my lap,” she says. “I wasn’t looking. But a friend saw the ad on the Internet, and told me to look at it ... so I did, and then promptly applied, thinking they would never contact me!” She sold both of her horses to help finance the adventure, stored her furniture at her parents, and promised to sustain her relationship with her boyfriend via email.

What motivated Gessler to move halfway around the world? “I’ve been riding for 17 years,” she explains, “but eventing for only the last three. I wanted to see what competition is like at the higher levels, and I wanted to get regular instruction and training from an upper-level competitor. I don’t have the finances to fund that on a regular basis here. Plus I’ve always wanted to live in a foreign country! I had a chance to work in Germany with horses for a year, but decided to finish my Master’s degree first ... so when I found an opportunity again I figured I’d better take advantage of it!”

JOB HUNTING

How do you find a working student position, anyway? In many cases, it’s casual networking that does the trick — a tip from a friend, or a recommendation from your coach. As Gessler

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