Caitlin Ward: Too Young to Be a Professional

We recently ran a feature article on Caitlin Ward, the young event rider from Australia's Gold Coast who is building a business, and a life, around horses. In this follow-up conversation, Sarah goes back to Caitlin with a different question: not where she's been, but how the plan has actually changed since real life, opportunity and setbacks got involved. Caitlin started riding at four, got her first pony at nine (her parents wanted proof it wasn't a phase first), and was eventing by twelve or thirteen. From there, as she puts it, it all just snowballed. This conversation follows that path forward, through a business built almost entirely on word of mouth, a professional identity she still isn't sure she's earned, and the goals she keeps firmly out of public view. In this episode: - How much of the plan has, and hasn't, followed the path Caitlin first pictured since she started riding at four - Building a business on word of mouth in a saturated industry, and what growing up off-property on the Gold Coast taught her about hard work - The hardest part of running her own business: keeping a clear line between clients and friends - What's surprised her most: the support she's found right across the wider riding community, not just close to home - Why she still isn't calling herself a professional, despite being paid to ride since 2023 - Why she keeps her biggest goals close to her inner circle rather than making them public - Her advanced diploma in equine business management at Marcus Oldham College, and the pull towards a second career in teaching - Her time on the Equestrian Queensland Next Gen committee, the squad age-bracket change she pushed through, and Jett, the once horse-shy warmblood who took her to three-star level - Her five-year vision: her own farm, marriage, a business she and her partner build together, and happy, healthy, fat horses Caitlin also talks about the "slow fade" she's watched many riders make out of the sport, drifting away gradually rather than making a clean decision, and why she wants to be a visible example for younger women weighing up whether to stay. **Links and resources:** Catch up on our earlier feature article on Caitlin Ward at equitas.ie HERE <- Marcus Oldham College, where Caitlin completed her Advanced Diploma in Equine Business Management Equestrian Queensland Next Gen committee Find Caitlin on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok: @csw.equestrian