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| Mariann, Jennifer, Andrew, Kellie G & Kelly M. photo by Pebble Turbeville |
Barn managers
are the back bone of any barn. A barn the size of the St. Andrews Equestrian
Program not only presents all the usual challenges that barn managers face but
also the added challenges of multiple instructors, students that fit in their
riding lessons around their class schedules, our resident Veterinarian Dr.
Kellam and her interns, the stall cleaning and maintenance crew and the four
farriers each on a different schedules; all of which creates an enormous
challenge when it comes to keeping everyone informed as to the status of the
120 plus horses. In addition the barn managers teach the Stable Management Lab.
and assist with other Labs and team practices.
Over the past
week or so, I have had the chance to talk to each of the barn managers: Kellie
Garrabrant (KG), Jennifer Sansbury (JS), Kelly Meehan (KM), Andrew Micheal
(AM), and Mariann Stark (MS).
Katie: What is your favorite/best thing about your
job?
KG: Watching the freshmen come into St. Andrews and
seeing them grow through the years. I also love to work outside which is
basically where all my work is.
JS: I love everything! I work here because I love the
horses and the learning environment. I love being around the horses all the
time and being able to have my horse, Charlie Pops here. I really enjoy getting
a chance to make a difference in the future of the students.
KM: I get to be around horses all the time. I also get
to meet some very interesting people. I love being able to continue learning by
being exposed to a huge variety of different experiences.
AM: I like
being able to work with willing students and watching them develop. I enjoy
having consistent time off, a regular pay check and health care benefits.
MS: I really enjoy being able to learn new things,
every day. I love being outside all day with the horses, learning new things
and being able to pass the knowledge onto the students
Katie: What is difficult about your job?
KG: Communication is always a huge challenge. We also
have a budget, so making every penny count is another ongoing task so that we
provide the horses with excellent care while staying within our financial
boundaries.
JS: Organizing the students to manage their time for
lessons and work study. We depend on them to help us and when they don’t come
to work as planned we have to pick up their slack.
AM: Scheduling and communication is a huge puzzle and
it is easy to forget to tell someone something they really needed to know. We
all have to work at improving communication on a daily basis.
MS: Communication and keeping an open line between the
barn managers and other staff. If there is no open line, it is hard to be sure
that the things we need done are done. Things change all of the time so even
when you think you have shared something it may not be the most current
information!
Katie: What
brought you to St. Andrews?
KG: I moved to NC from NJ to be nearer my parents. I
actually applied to assist the Facility Manager. Peggy (Equestrian Program
Director, Peggy McElveen) saw my resume and offered me a job taking care of the
horses.
JS: I had lots of experience. I ran the barn at
Coastal Carolina University before this as well as running my own barn with a
boarding and lesson program so this was a natural progression for me.
KM: I loved working and learning from the barn
managers when I was a student and I wanted to do the same for the current
students.
AM: I started as a temporary employee when someone was
out sick. I guess I did a good job as Peggy offered me a full time job.
MS: I was living in Laurinburg when an opening came
available, Peggy called me and offered me the job.
Katie: In addition to horse care do you have any
specific duties?
KG: I make the work schedule for staff and students
and delegate specific duties to our barn team.
JS: The way the barn is set up makes it so we can all
step up into each other’s job when needed. I run the Boarder Barn which
includes the therapeutic horsemanship and dressage horses. Mariann helps me,
but I work alone quite a lot.
KM: I order feed and am the go to person on Kellie G’s
day off.
AM: I work on projects such as organizing the blankets
and storage in the loft. I also fill in for Mariann as Vet Tech Liaison on her
day off.
MS: I am the staff Vet Tech Liaison to the vet
interns. I am in charge of doing the meds when the interns are not here.
Katie: Any funny or memorable stories you’d like to
share?
KG: It was a few years ago, during the major
snowstorm. None of the stall cleaners could get here so the staff did all the
stalls. Anyone who could get to the barn pitched in to help clean stalls and
take care of the horses. It was hard work but we made it fun.
JS: Early in my time here, I took the WhisperJet (a
gas powered golf cart with a rather loud motor) out to watch one of the
students ride Charlie Pops. Little did I know that it wouldn’t make it back to
the barn after she was done riding. I had to push it back to the barn before
Peggy saw me.
KM: I was working over the break with Liz Dulski,
Heather Lee, and Mariann. I love the memory because we all got to know each
other much better. It was also the break that Mosa, Heather’s dog, drug the
deer leg out of the ANRC field!
AM: There used to be a therapeutic riding horse here
named Chaco. I used to ride him up onto the shavings pile and it would be fun
to have him sink into the pile before riding him out again. It was quite funny
to watch.
MS: Not long after I started here one of the horses
coliced. That day, I worked for fourteen hours, I learned a lot which really
helped my confidence to grow. It was also the day I started becoming more
involved in the veterinary part of the program.
Five
different people from five different backgrounds all working towards a common
cause. They work together as a team to make sure that the barns are safe for
both horse and rider.
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