News
Youth Employment Week: Opportunities for young equestrians through apprenticeships
- Written By: British Dressage
- Published: Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00
This Youth Employment Week, we're shining a spotlight on the opportunities available to young people and highlighting the benefits apprentices bring to employers.
In Scotland, our training provider, Scottish Racing Academy, delivers the Generic Horse Care Modern Apprenticeship (incorporating Dressage), helping aspiring equestrians develop the skills and experience needed for a successful career in the industry.
To celebrate Youth Employment Week, we spoke to apprentice Zoe and her employers, Lorraine and Eilidh, about their apprenticeship journey. Having successfully completed her Level 5 qualification, Zoe is now progressing to Level 6 with British Dressage and Scottish Racing Academy.
“We have a real interest in training here and enjoy working with people. There was no opportunity for myself to train when I left school, so I had to travel 350 miles in order to gain experience and do my coaching exams, so it was always an aim for myself to offer this up in Scotland. We have so many keen riders up here and there was a big uptake when we advertised for an apprentice so there is obviously a big demand. By taking on and training a young person, we can ensure that skills are taught in the correct way and we also try hard to ensure that they know about employment law so that they are informed going forward as to what is the expectation on staff and employers.” Eilidh spoke to us about her motivation for employing an apprentice.
Reflecting on the value of apprenticeships, Eilidh said, “I hope that apprenticeships will become more popular as a career choice for pupils in schools as long as they come to employment with some life skills, a passion for being with horses and an ability to work hard, they are an asset to a business.”
Zoe is a Level 5 Horse Care apprentice at Caskieben Dressage, she spoke to us about what her day generally consists of, “The day consists of feeding, turning out and mucking out and then making hay nets up and feed before usually finishing this around 11.30am. During this time, I often tack up and wash down horses for Eilidh as she rides them. After this I generally ride or lunge horses as required. After lunch, I tend to do some yard jobs such as tack cleaning or putting washing in the machine and tidying up. Before I start to bring horses in and feed in the afternoon.”
When asked about the future, Zoe told us, “I’d like to be a rider in my own right and do some freelance work on a self-employed basis eventually.”
Interested in learning more?
At British Dressage, we offer a range of apprenticeships in England, Scotland and Wales, covering a range of equestrian and business areas (England only).
Whether you’re looking for an apprenticeship or an employer looking to upskill your staff, we have a range of apprenticeships to suit all.
