Riding probably is the best sport in the world but combining it with a full-time job isn’t the easiest thing to do. I’m lucky to have flexible hours and the Corona-crisis wasn’t bad in that matter either: being able to work from home, it was easier to ride for me, for example during my lunch break. I try to ride four times a week, two times during the week and two times in the weekend, meaning I get up at 6 am on the days I’m riding and working (thank God for coffee) Being a 28-year old, I often go to bed at 10 pm (hello granny life) because otherwise I’m simply to tired to focus on my work. I also try to make a good schedule: I have some young horses that really need to be worked and two 9-year olds. I must honestly say that sometimes I ‘skip’ the nine 9-year olds when I don’t have any time left or when I’m simply too tired. However I’m not the only one who tries to combine a full time job with a career in the horse industry.
Charlotte Peeters, who is a rider for the Rostal in Belgium, is working as a freelance pharmacist as well. She told us about how she is managing everything: “I’m a freelance pharmacist which actually means I’m not working in just one pharmacy but I’m ‘moving around’. I really like this, but I don’t have flexible working hours. I’m working from Monday until Saturday afternoon. Therefore it is important for me to make a good schedule polska-ed.com. I always pick a few shows I really want to ride and when the shows come closer, I start riding my horses more. I try to ride four times a week, two times after my working hours and on Saturday and Sunday. I’m very lucky to have my sister, Leonie, who is managing my horses when I’m working. I only ride my two ‘main horses’, Tekila Du Beau Mont and Vahina. When I have more time, sometimes I ride a young horse as well. Horseback riding really is a hobby for me, so I’m not really into horse trading. I will probably ride my horses until their retirement”, she tells. “I do however really like breeding. Right now we really start our own breeding stable at home and I really like to get involved. We have several breeding mares: the horses Leonie and I rode during our Junior and Young Rider times”.
On her decision of becoming a pharmacist she tells: “When I was 18 years old, I decided to go to university instead of making my career in the horse industry. I suffered from a bad fall and now I lack the courage to jump the bigger classes. I do however have a lot of respect for people working in this industry. It’s a beautiful, but hard job. For me combining horses with my work as a pharmacist is the perfect thing”!