Stella Stevenson
About Me:
My passion for horses began at an early age. I had my first horse at 11, a retired thoroughbred named Yelta Lad. Throughout my schooling I would compete regularly in show horse, dressage, show jumping and eventing disciplines, as well as working part-time at a riding school teaching children how to ride and care for horses. When I finished my year 12 studies, horses remained my biggest passion, so a careers adviser suggested a career in the equine industry.
The following two years were spent completing a Diploma of Equine Stud Management at NMIT. The diploma involved all aspects of thoroughbred breeding operations and included units from the Certificate II and III in racing. Once completed, I started working for a stud in Victoria and within 12 months was given the role of Yearling Manager.
In 2013 I started my Bachelor of Equine Studies. My contact hours at university meant I could no longer work at the stud, so I decided a job at a racing stable would be perfect. I believe this was a great opportunity to experience work in another sector of the thoroughbred industry.
About The Job:
The job requires a very early 4am start Monday through to Saturday, however, our morning duties are completed by 9.00am which leaves the rest of the day to study and ride my horses. Morning duties include preparing the horses for track work, feeding, watering and cleaning their stables. Once the horses have completed their morning exercise we unpack them, put them in the sand roll, swim them (if applicable), hose them off and place them on the walker to dry.
Once the horses have been worked we groom our dedicated horses and make sure there are no obvious issues, and that all their shoes are on securely.
The afternoon shift includes putting the horses on the walker and the sand roll, whilst watering and cleaning their stable, followed by rugging and feeding them.
At the end of the day, Thoroughbred racing is a 363 day-of-the-year industry and there are no standard working hours.