UMISSION

What helped me get this job were the acting and music classes I took in high school and college. Being competent and having confidence are the most important things you can have in any interview or role you are ever going to be in.

1. What led you to the mission of being a tour guide at an equine (horse) breeding facility?

I was going to school and working at another job. But this was a job I didn’t really care for. So I applied to work at the equine breeding facility. A few months later, I hadn’t heard anything back. But then a few days after that, I got a call and the person at the facility wanted to know if I was still interested and wanted to come in for an interview.

I went in for an interview and about a month later, they called me back and offered me the position.

I started working there first as a tour guide. As I worked there longer and longer, I developed more opportunities to work with the horses. I watched the handlers and adopted that work style and ethic as well. I learned to get horses ready to show.

In high school, I had two years of choir. My senior year I got a lead role. I learned to be comfortable in front of people. When I went to college, I took an acting class. I had to learn how to act out parts of plays. I had to be in front of the public and I think this is what helped me get this job at the ranch.

When I was interviewing for the job, they asked me if I had any equine experience. I did not have any horse knowledge or experience. But I still got offered the position. I think being competent and having confidence are the most important things you can have in any interview or role you are ever going to be in. What helped me get this job were the acting and music classes I took in high school and college.

2. What does this mission mean to you?

It means a lot! The challenges are new every day. Every day is definitely not the same. I’m working with the horses and working with the people. The horses’ attitudes change every day. I never have a tour that is the same. This work is really rewarding and extremely humbling.

3. What was your best day as a tour guide at an equine (horse) breeding facility?

I recall doing a tour with a bunch of people. One couple came up to me and told me they absolutely loved the tour. The lady was so kind – especially expressing her gratitude to me. I started to tear up. She said if she could, she would adopt me! That was really humbling to know that I had positively impacted somebody.

Dealing with sixty or seventy people and two different tours a day, you see a lot of people. But you don’t get that personal interaction with everyone. It was really eye opening and humbling to know that I had impressed this couple and had done it in that manner.

4. What was your worst day as a tour guide at an equine (horse) breeding facility?

I haven’t had too many worst days. But if I did have one, my worst day would be when I had a lot of personal things going on in my life.

You are not always going to be on you’re “A” game. You are not always going to be in a happy, peppy talkative mood. But even when life starts to attack, you still have a job to perform and you still want to please the people. You want to smile and make them laugh. In turn, this makes you feel better.

One of the worst days would be having some stuff going on in my life. You get to work and you don’t really want to be there. The horses can feel that and they might start acting up. You want to have the horses stand still while you groom or bathe them. Not having them do this can get on your nerves. You want to work with everything in a professional manner. But sometimes you really aren’t feeling it on that day.

5. How did you survive your worst day?

What enables me get through that day is mostly my co-workers. If someone is having a bad day, the barn usually knows it. The co-workers help everyone get through that day.

There are eight of us and we are a close-knit group of people. I’ve been working there for about three years, so the relationships that I have built there extend even further than just work. That is really nice! At the end of the day and after work is over, we can all sit around, talk, goof off, and tell jokes.

What helps is to know that tomorrow is going to be a good day.   One good day at the farm always trumps any bad day!