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Riding holiday centre manager Trekking centre manager, equine tourism manager

Riding centre managers plan and run the centre’s activities, manage staff and develop the business.

£15,000 to £30,000 average per year

Variable per week

1. Entry requirements

You’ll need knowledge and experience of working with horses. You’ll also need to be an experienced rider. You could get this from on-the-job training, or from attending a college course or riding school.

You may have an advantage when looking for work if you’ve got qualifications from the British Horse Society (BHS), the Association of British Riding Schools (ABRS) or The Pony Club.

You could also:

train as a riding instructor, groom or ride leader and progress into management
prepare for management by completing a BTEC, foundation degree, HND, or degree in a relevant subject, like equine studies, equine management, or equine leisure management

Lantra has information about becoming a riding holiday centre manager and other careers working with horses.

2. Skills required

You’ll need:

business and commercial management skills
customer care skills
effective leadership and decision-making skills
communication skills

3. What you'll do

You’ll run a horse-riding school offering riding and trekking holidays.

You’ll be responsible for the organisation, operation and marketing of the centre, and for the care of the horses.

Your day-to-day tasks could include:

planning and overseeing riding activities
arranging a daily routine of horse care and stable management
handling queries, problems and complaints
recruiting and managing staff, organising work rotas and arranging training
carrying out administrative and financial tasks
marketing and promoting the centre

You’ll also develop working relationships with other local countryside and tourism operators.

4. Salary

Starter: £15,000

Experienced: £20,000

Highly Experienced: up to £30,000

Your salary will depend on the size of the centre, and whether extra benefits, like accommodation, stabling for your own horse and use of centre facilities are included.

These figures are a guide.

5. Working hours, patterns and environment

You’ll usually work long hours, including evenings and weekends.

You’ll usually work indoors, doing administrative tasks. In some centres you could also work outdoors, caring for the horses and helping out with other activities.

You’ll need to wear protective clothing like riding boots and a hard hat.

6. Career path and progression

With experience, you could open your own centre.

With BHS qualifications, you could work overseas. You could also become a qualifications examiner.