Giving Upcoming Professionals a Leg Up: The Rising Equestrian Pro

For many young equestrians, working with horses on a daily basis is a dream job, but there is much to learn and know about the business aspect of being an equestrian professional. The Rising Equestrian Pro is a new platform that helps direct young riders to find the next steps towards a career with horses. 

The Rising Equestrian Pro was launched to support future equine professionals strategically prepare for an equine career, assisting in a career path that is right for them and providing tangible business insights.

Countless lesson students have come up to me after their rides, exclaiming how lucky I am to work with horses day in and day out, and how they would one day like to be in the same position. 

Of course, working with horses professionally is quite literally a dream come true for me, as it is for many other professionals. However, as many other equine professionals and enthusiasts know, it comes with multiple challenges that require thoughtful and intentional work — just like any job. Navigating business, customer, and skill-based challenges can make it seem overwhelming to jump in. Where do you even start? What skills do you need? What resources or support exist, and how can you utilize those? What business model is right for you?

Identifying why you want to pursue an equine career and focusing your business model to support that passion is one component of developing a strong business. Photo by Robby B Photography.

The Rising Equestrian Pro is a new platform started by New York-based professional Emily Urban that helps direct young riders, such as the enthusiastic and passionate ones I teach, to find next steps towards a career with horses by strategically planning to find their role in the industry. Emily, who runs a successful teaching/training operation while pursuing a PhD in Soil and Crop Sciences at Cornell University, noted, “This is the type of resource I wanted when I was figuring out my own career path years ago. By the time I was in my early 20s, I had worked for some top riders in the US and Europe but still didn’t have a clear sense of how to ‘make the leap’ into the profession. You can be a great rider and horse trainer, but there is a lot more that goes into making an equestrian career successful.”

While existing organizational support for young professionals is super, The Rising Equestrian Pro began to offer similar support to riders just beginning to explore a potential professional equestrian career. “We recognized that many of our young riders who have hopes of going pro someday need more avenues to gain specific knowledge on the business side of things. We offer a 6-week virtual course that brings together experts in law, finances, marketing, etc. and current equine professionals to do just that. We want to give them specific business insight and a community of peer support before they launch into the industry professionally,” Emily explains.

Founder Emily Urban plans to bring in expert advice on how to plan and manage an equine business for a successful professional career. Photo by Stelladorables LLC.

The platform is structured in a way to support interested and potentially future professionals by offering an expert-taught, module-based course that offers technical and social support. Focused towards high school or college aged candidates, riders can sign up for the course and expect weekly live lectures with expert guests, biweekly ‘Meet the Pros’ Mastermind sessions, and weekly assignments and feedback to help them plan their businesses. Students will work through this course with a cohort of other potential equine professionals, allowing the students to connect and begin building a nation-wide network of collaboration and support. 

Modules focus on addressing and building skills useful for an equestrian business and career. Some module offerings will include those to evaluate why the students are interested in the industry (identifying passions and creating a written framework and business model to connect those passions), business logistics (such as accounting, insurance, and employee management), and personal well-being (diving into retirement savings, and mental and physical healthcare). 

This course is meant to provide a broad sweep of what it looks like to be a professional, introduce existing resources, and explore potential career paths (not all business models look the same!). With the opportunity to center your “why” in your plan, develop tangible skills necessary for an equine business, and connect with experts in the field and peers in a cohort setting, The Rising Equestrian Pro aims to set up up-and-coming equestrian professionals for success. 

Course registration is now open for the Spring 2022 session, which is scheduled for March 28- May 6. For more information on how to get involved and sign up for a course, visit The Rising Equestrian Pro’s website. Additionally, take a look at their Facebook and Instagram pages (@risingequestrianpro) for more information and to stay up to date!