When passion becomes a profession

How my daughter and her horse studied in England

The beginning

When my daughter was 6 years old she fell in love with horses and riding. We could not wait for her to turn 11 - the age when she could officially start training in riding in the equestrian sport school Kleisti. Before that there were 5 years of private riding lessons at stables in locations such as Ligatne, Burtniek and Šaulai.

After 11th grade, the time came to choose a future profession and university . My daughter studied at one of the best schools in Latvia – the 1st gimnasium - and she was completing the international baccalaureate programme. Some time ago we made up our minds that she needed to continue her studies in English and away from Latvia. We were considering the United Kingdom and the Netherlands – both countries offering a wide choice of programmes for international students.

What profession to choose?

What profession to choose? What to do in the future? In our case the choice was not an easy one – we were choosing not just a profession but also a place of study with stables and training arenas nearby where my daughter could continue show jumping, with her beloved horse, and participate in equestrian competitions.

“Mom, I don’t want to spend my life in the office, spending hours in front of a computer screen. I want my job to be lively and exciting, involving travel and maybe some fun"

Since my daughter was very busy at her school, I assumed the role of a career navigator. I knew she liked economics and business studies and I started my search in traditional programmes in business and management. But then I heard her saying “Mom, I don’t want to spend my life in the office, spending hours in front of a computer screen. I want my job to be lively and exciting, involving travel and maybe some fun”.

I discussed the results of my first search with my daughter. We even discussed such occupations as security service agent, beach lifeguard, pilot, oil rig manager. And she was seriously interested in some of these ideas.

Choosing programme and univerrsity

However, our priority was equestrian sport and it significantly narrowed down the choice of university. I found a programme in Equine Business Management. This programme was available in several British, North American and Australian universities. Several specializations were available:

Equine business - how to breed, raise and trade horses.

Equine sport – how to raise and train a sports horse, duties of trainer and rider, feeding and nutrition, the basics of veterinary care.

Equine events management – management, marketing, sponsorship.

The programme my daughter chose was organised by Hartpury University #hartpuryuniversity #equinebusinessmanagement. It was a hybrid of sport and animal husbandry studies.

The business side of the programme was of a very high standard and was provided in cooperation with the Bristol Business College (a double degree upon completion).

The university had excellent equine sport facilities - up-to-date arena, stables and various training facilities for horses and riders. The university also had an Equine Sports Academy attached to it. To enrol there one needs to pass an entrance exam and take an annual exam to continue the course. The benefit of studying at the academy includes participation in competitions, training, and master classes with prominent sportspeople free of charge.

My daughter studied and trained with her horse at this university and the academy for three years. On the second year of studies my daughter started a part time job as a supervisor in three stables. Then she and her horse became “a face” on the marketing brochures of the Hartpury equine department.

And that is how her passion became her profession.