Ivana Maria

I have majored in Business (International Sales and Marketing management).

Since I stopped competing in 2018, I’ve been helping my friends as both a home and show groom, we went to competitions with up to 5 horses, ponies and stallions as well. At home, I was lunging, taking horses in and out of paddock, preparing special breakfast/dinner as instructed by the trainer, tacking up horses, cleaning horses before and after riding, helping during jumping lessons (bulding the course per trainers orders, picking up poles which were knocked down, taking videos per rider's request), (hand) walking horses before and/or after riding, flat riding. I've been helping as a teaching assistant during summer riding school for kids. At shows, I was lunging, tacking up and cleaning horses before and after riding, mucking out, hand-walking or taking care of horses while rider was on course walk, warming up horse when rider had more horses in one competition. I don’t have experience grooming professionally, but I am efficient and a quick learner eager to help wherever I can.

I have worked with a very quiet stallion for around 4 years (flat riding as well as show/home groom for a friend). No experience with broodmares or foals. Little experience with mucking out. I am very proactive, and when I see something needs to be done that I know how to do, I do it. I have no experience working professionally as a groom, but I am a quick learner and enjoy working with horses.

I have experience with young horses, and stallions as well. Because I am quite small, I am able to ride bigger ponies as well. For my trainer, I was riding horses, which were being used in the riding school. This meant I had to fix some problems which came up from the inexperienced riders (no reaction to aids, straigthness..) I have been riding horses since I was around 7 years old, had my own horse as a teenager, did competitions (2013-2018) up to 1.20m, but haven’t been actively riding since.

I used to compete in showjumping with leased horses as well as my own horse in the years 2013-2019. Only national competitions, up to 1.20m, both ponies and horses. For the riding school, we organized our own home competitions (for kids without showing license), as well as official competitions, from 60cm to 1.20m. My job varied depending on what was needed. I did announcing, warm up ring coordinator, ring master, also did judge assistant (taking notes) for international dressage competition.