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| Think You've Got What it Takes? |
I am offering a working student position to a desperately hungry young
rider who is committed to a long term working agreement. To start out, we ask
you to pay for your horse's hard expenses. As time goes on, this role often
turns in to a paying position with us. I believe this is a great opportunity
for someone out there to get an understanding of what is involved in all
aspects of eventing. This role is more ideal for someone who is an accomplished
rider who wants to learn the intricacies of the top levels. Please understand
that this job involves a lot of ground work, assisting with the management of
the farm and horses.
One of Silva's and my proudest accomplishments has been transforming the
promising kid from down the road into a successful 3* rider who is on her way to Rolex
in 2013. Over this time, Caitlin Silliman has had plenty of ups and downs,
screaming and shouting, working in the sleeting rain, going weeks on end without
a day off, but the hard work, dedication, and willingness to learn has made her
into one of America's
leading younger riders.
If this sounds like something for you, please email Operations Manager
Lindsey Taylor. If you are a person who posts comments on The Chronicle of the
Horse's chat room, this job is probably not for you...
Lindsey Taylor
Lindseyktaylor@yahoo.com
630-338-3331
Quote from current working student, Beau Guimond: "The working
student position is either sink or swim. No floating allowed."
Classy swipe at CoTH. Very professional.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteNice professional touch there with the dig at COTH.
ReplyDeleteI guess Boyd has forgotten or does not need the business from the men and women who both post on COTH AND lesson and clinic with him not to mention those who rallied on COTH to donate money and items to him.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what COTH its self thinks of this classy little piece of conjecture.
Come on COTHers, at least post under your COTH username, if not your real name.
ReplyDeleteAdd me to the list of people who will no longer support Boyd Martin's endeavors or attend clinics/pursue training. Same goes for companies that support him--plenty of other places can receive my business. Interesting how one comment provides such a valuable insight into an individual's real persona. Especially considering that COTHers rallied to support him, his family/farm team, and horses after that terrible fire. Nice slap in the face.
ReplyDeleteKellyS from COTH
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteWait...
DeleteI didn't write the above post! I don't talk to people that way. I was out riding my pony.
WTF?
I agree with all the above. There is no reason for Boyd Martin to disparage COTH or allow anyone on his farm to do so. Even if he himself doesn't like the COTH forum, it is unprofessional to complain about it in public (i.e. the 'net in this case) This is the type of snarky and elitist attitude that is going to bring the sport down. We need people to be team players not snobs.
ReplyDeleteTeam Players?? All I seem to read on the CoTh chat, is people bagging out team USA riders, selectors and coach's... And they do this under a fake name. At least Boyd used his own name in his terrible attempt at being funny. Jean
DeleteBoyd's comments in the ad are unprofessional. period. He shouldn't post that kind of stuff.
DeleteJust because people say whatever on COTH doesn't make it ok for him to trash people. He needs to hold himself to higher standards than he does here. Your comments on COTH are irrelevant.
I don't think anyone who posts on COTH WOULD like this position, from what I recall it sounded like Army bootcamp except the holes you dig and fill in are piles of horse poop! Not too cool to post it though even IF it was meant tongue in cheek. Summerhorse on COTH
ReplyDeleteAnyone who has time to read and post on COTH, requires both hands to do so via cellphone, tablet, or computer.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't leave much time for the many hours of hard work and lessons (!) ....
I also took this as tongue in cheek.
Lighten up COTH posters! Only having a joke. If you give it, now and then you have to take it ;)
ReplyDeleteBoyd
Not all of us on COTH "give it", thus the confusion. The only thing many of us have "given" to you were donations when you and your people were in need. I'm glad you were having a jest and wish you all the best.
DeleteSKYDY
Get over yourself! Why don't you read the 160 comments on the forum 'giving it' to Boyd. That's what he was JOKING about. I tell you what, let me know your name and address, and how much you donated. I will gladly write a check and give your money back. Just promise me that you won't visit this website again. It's idiots like you whom deter top level riders being involved with social media!
DeleteYikes, did you read my post? I am glad that Boyd was jesting and I wish him all the best.
DeleteI did not participate in the thread where people on COTH were "giving it to Boyd". I am not a working student candidate nor do I have any opinion in regard to how Olympic riders run their programs.
I follow all of our Olympic riders (and hopefuls)and was horrified at the loss suffered by Boyd and his students and owners,in the fire.
I was happy to help (albeit with a small donation) and have no regrets.
Giving my name and address to someone on the internet, who exhibits such hostility as you do ,would be the height of stupidity .
Skydy
What, you don't want a working student without a sense of humor! Horrors!
ReplyDeleteBadger
Boyd's comment is in response to a lengthy thread a year ago complaining about the requirements of Boyd's working student program. Considering that the people of COTH are able to talk freely about anything but the subjects aren't allowed to defend themselves I understand the frustrations.
ReplyDeleteBeing familiar with the COTH message board, I thought his comment was hilarious. If you have time to play on the internet, you're probably not the hard worker you think you are. If you get your panties wadded that easily, you probably don't have the great sense of humor you think you have.
ReplyDeleteI think it sounds like a wonderful opportunity for somebody with the drive and heart to get to the upper levels! I would hope very few COTHers will take this seriously, seeing as how big of a joker Boyd is. As far as the requirements for his position goes, it's nothing really out of order for a working student anywhere else, be it in the hunter/jumper world, dressage or fox hunting. I myself am a working student for a local fox hunting barn and hope to one day learn more about the whipper-in position so I can eventually become a professional. I've shadowed the local hunt club's professional huntsman/whipper-in couple a good bit and every day I end the day physically exhausted, but hungrier and hungrier for more.
ReplyDeleteThe ones who WILL rise to the top are not going to let a butt-load of hard work get in the way, they're going to push through anything and everything to achieve their goal.
I took it as a light hearted comment, with some truth behind it. As I was reading the requirements I thought, not even in my most hungry days would I have taken on that job!
ReplyDeleteShea'smom on COTH, but I have a real name, Kathi Hines
Hi Boyd!
ReplyDeleteYour WS position sure sounds awesome but before I send in my application, I have a couple of questions for you.
1. What is this 'Chronicle of the Horse' thing that people keep talking about?
2. Your post mentions that your lucky WS will be 'surrounded by brilliant trainers'. Could you name names and tell us just who those 'brilliant trainers' are and also in which ways they are 'brilliant'?
Thanks!
JER
PS -- My black pony and her rider had a great experience in your clinic in NC last month. Sincere appreciation for that.
Hello JER. Thank you for your comment on the blog. To answer your question, we have Silva (Grand Prix dressage), Kymmy Pullen (P.St George dressage rider), Caitlan Silliman ( 3 star event rider), Lindsay Taylor (2011 PRO, USEA groom of the year) and myself (4star ra ra ra). It is unusual to have a collection of of great people at one farm from different equestrian sports. Silva, me, Caitlan and Kymmy used to be all 18 year old working students at one point in our lives.
ReplyDeleteThe whole comment about the COTH is simply a joke considering the verbal bashing I coped last time I advertised for a WS. As I said before, if you give it, now and then you have to take it. People whom got upset need to lighten up and smile!
The reason we ask new working pupils to pay their horses hard costs, is that the reality is that a lot of them are not going to be suitable. I can't afford to pay to have people here that don't work out. Pretty soon it is obvious that they are good for the job and they go on a salary. If not, they move on with no hard feelings.
This is the system that I came through with Heath and Phillip. It works, and I plan to help produce the next generation in exchange for there work.
Thanks for that. I admit I was being silly when I asked about the 'brilliant trainers' (you had to be referring to yourself!) but now that you've taken me at face value, I can see you've got a great team. When I see titles like 'groom of the year', I start looking around for large, stationary objects to hide my muddy horses behind.
DeleteI totally understand why you expect a WS to pay costs to start. You are taking a chance on them and vice versa. If it's a good fit, then it can become a more secure situation for all involved. If not, you've both fulfilled your obligations to make a clean break and even stay on good terms.
Good luck. I hope you find someone who is both a seriously hard worker and a seriously fun person.
This sounds like the opportunity of a lifetime. I'm pretty sure the 1% who are suitable are a) busy applying not complaining and b) not afraid of hard work and taking a chance for their dream! If only I were younger and a better rider! Good luck with the search!
ReplyDeleteTo clarify, (not that it is of importance, but to hopefully prevent hostile remarks) I did post on the COTH forum today regarding Boyd's COTH comment, but not previously on the thread he was referring to.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised that you would say such a thing, Boyd, and then someone pointed out that you were no doubt getting a little of your own back from COTH, which IS funny. Skydy
Add me to the list of Boyd Martin supporters and the companies that support Boyd Martin!
ReplyDeleteKennyS from TW (true workers)
I also found Boyd's comment about Coth to be tongue in cheek and worth a chuckle. COTH has people post anonymously so it is viewed as a lump of one opinion. That is the price they pay for being able to slam someone without divulging who they are.
ReplyDeleteIf I were 40 years younger, I would beg, borrow, and steal to get this position. And I totally sympathize with not want to add someone as an employee until you know they will work out. I've had too many employees who spent as much time as they could texting on the cellphones or smoking out back behind the storage shed.
Boyd and his team are awesome! I envy the person who gets to be his WS!
There have been a number of posts on this blog entry from an Anonymous commenter who has signed other users' COTH screen names to the posts. Any such comments have been deleted. While constructive criticism is welcome, outright insults (calling other posters "idiots") will not be tolerated.
ReplyDeleteThank you and Happy New Year.
Amber Heintzberger
Social Media Moderator
Gee, don't I count? The post calling me an idiot is stiil here...
DeleteThanks and Happy New Year to you and yours!
Skydy
Try refreshing your page..it shouldn't be there any more!
DeleteEven at 46 I would jump at the opportunity (if it weren't for that pesky mortgage and 3 teenagers). Good luck in your search!
ReplyDeleteJen Shattuck (ACMEeventing on COTH)
This is the problem with Social media and email. As a writer of an email/text/FB comment trying to be witty or brief, I have often later re-read my words and realized that wearing the "hat" of the recipient, I did not have access to my inner thoughts as the poster - and thus the background that I was assuming as I typed it. Which meant that as a recipient, my words had unintended impressions (negative). Here, I read Boyd's comment and knew instantly what he was referring to and thought it was hilarious! He was skewered by many on last year's thread for his terms regarding HIS position. It will work or the free market will let him know that he overreached. Sounds like he wanted the applicant to have "skin in the game" as a way of insuring a mutual level of comittment. Yes, COTHers are free to express their opinions as they did, and he simply did the same here. However, I do see how anyone not familiar with that thread would feel like a ULR with a gregarious personality took a snide swipe at the rank and file members of the sport. Hence, the issue with lack of background on digital media comments. Either apply or don't, but the (thankfully!) free market controls this ultimately. Time will tell...
ReplyDeleteAs an independent observer, I probably would have advised a clarification on Boyd's blog that the comment was related to a past, specific thread on COTH boards..... and that it was NOT meant to disparage COTHers at large. War of words on social media is a conundrum for him and so many others..... to reply or nor to reply?
Just curious, what do you consider an "accomplished rider?" Is there a certain level that you're looking for the applicant to be at, if they are to get the position? I'm looking to graduate high school in December next year so I can get a position similar to this one, but I'm still in the "lower levels."
ReplyDeleteLaura
I am curious as to how many of the people that are so quick to get upset by this
ReplyDeletea) have ever been a working student in a competitive barn (a serious one - not a pretend one) and
b) have actually put the hard yards in to become a 3 or 4 star rider?
If you are someone who spends 8 hours a day on the internet finding ways to be negative or criticize others and no time slogging your arse off in a barn trying to earn a crust, try this - Go outside, get some fresh air, ride a couple horses, shovel some horse sh*t and chill out. I bet you will feel better about the 'comment'
Anyone can scour the internet searching for an opportunity to get all bent out of shape and comment negatively - not everybody can spend the better part of their lives working their arse off to become a brilliant horse rider and represent your country.
I know Boyd and I know he was being lighthearted, he is looking for a hard worker who has their eyes on the prize and not on trivial things such as internet comments or Facebook statuses.
I worked for 2 years as a working student on 50 bucks a week, sleeping on a pile of horse blankets in the spare room, 7 days a week with no car and no day off. On a Thursday night, Chopper (one of the other working students in the area) used to collect me, we would drive to the local pub and buy a beer at 8.45 and wait til 9, when the elderly folks who had been eating there would all get rounded up on their bus, and would leave. We would then quickly run around the half finished plates and snatch up steaks and potatoes etc before the waiters came to get them. I could tell you countless other stories of 'elitist, snobby, out of touch' riders who spent many years living the same way. The hard yards are just that - hard, and Boyd was just trying to save a lot of people the hassle of even applying - simple as that
Dom Schramm (214 544 5729 dom@schrammequestrian.com)
Well said, Dom!
ReplyDeleteNice stuff. this is majority of established eventing legends are a product of a program. work usa
ReplyDeleteAnybody who is upset by these remarks or the ad are clueless. Being a working student is a REMARKABLE opportunity. However it begins with WORKING! Upper level grooms don't get days off during the competition season. When we were on the road I would go weeks without a day off - my rider might afford me a "late barn arrival" 8am instead of 6:30, every couple of weeks!
ReplyDeleteWorking students work to pay for the schooling and exposure they get to phenomenal, finished horses and riders. Man up and grow a pair. Great riders and HORSEMAN are not born in the saddle but created from the ground up with calloused cracked hands and dirty jeans. Kick on Boyd and the lucky person who earns their place with you. Peggy Brown, retired groom
OMG - am i too old at 72? I still ride and train and bred and try to show but is difficult alone. Soon.
ReplyDeleteMaybe next life??