Can you believe the Australian racing industry that employs over 240,000 Australians and 100,000 of those on a full-time basis is suffering a skilled worker shortage? Well they are, particularly in the roles of jockey and trackwork riders.

An apprentice jockey starts his career at around 15 years of age and is usually licensed to ride by 16. For every ride they earn up to $169 and often have as many as 7 rides in a day. Don’t forget we race 7 days a week so you do the math! On top of this the jockey earns 5% of any prizemoney the horse they ride in the race earns. Own your own home before your 21..EASY! What do you need to have this type of opportunity? A love of horses, be prepared to travel, have a good work ethic, be of a small build and weigh below 50kgs, have some background riding experience (although the right candidates can be taught riding from scratch if they meet the other requirements).

For people that are too big to be jockeys there is a great alternative career which is as a trackwork rider. A trackrider gets around $15 for every horse they ride in exercise and they can ride up to 5 horses per hour ($75 per hour)..Hmmmn again not too shabby. If you can ride in another discipline, love horses and want a job that offers great money, working hours of 5-10am then contact NCEE www.ncee.edu.au and we can train you or put you in contact with someone in your state that can.