Working Students

Working Student Comments (continued)

You do not only meet a lot of new people, who you meet for example on barbecues, you also explore thebeautiful countryside, while riding the horses. you have also a lot of fun when you go swimming with the horses in the pond.

At the evening you do many different things like going to the cinema, eating with caris' friends (who are really nice), or just watching tv with self-made popcorn.

Meet people from different nations, explore the countryside and take care of all animals.
– Maya, 16, Germany

I have been a working student for Cari for quite some time now. I met Cari when I was about five or six and immediately liked her. I rode with her for the first time when I was a bit older on her donkey, and since then I have been going to Cari’s a lot.  I began going seriously when I was 11, in the summer of ’04. I felt welcomed into the program and I began to ride and work alongside Cari. We went to lessons together, where I watched the dogs or did some school work in the fall. This year I came back as soon as I escaped the doors of school and I try to be at Wind Rock every day.  I ride a variety of Cari’s horses, from her older event horse Mash to joining up with a feisty filly that has come for her backing. I get a huge amount of real world experience from Cari, as she gives you the freedom to make the error and then fix it and move forward. Even with the busy schedule fun takes a high spot in the priority list. After grooming, feeding or cleaning tack, there’s a reward, a ride. It could be a simple hack through the hunt trails behind the house and barns, a thrilling gallop up the mile long hill at Weathers Field across the street, or my personal favorite, a swim in the pond next door. Splashing through the water on Cari’s quarter horse Weed, or actually swimming across the pond on sweet Ravel, I haven’t had such a “refreshing” experience on horse back ever before. Cari makes the days work easy, fun and cheerful. The reward of riding completely cancels out any hard task you do during work. Then kicking back at the end of the day with Cari and her fabulous dogs completes a perfect day. I would recommend being a working student for Cari to anyone who likes horses. The only prequalification is you have to love horses, chickens, cats, and dogs. Working alongside Cari is one of the best things I have ever done.   
–Chloe Field, 12 year old working student at Wind Rock Farm

Hi, I am Feliz. I went to Windrock Farm for a month, to learn English. I didn't learn only English, I learned to swim with horses in a pond, to ride better and to work on a farm too. It was a great experience, I loved all the days, we did hacks, and we swimmed in a little lake close to the farm. Horses were very nice and I enjoyed riding them. Sometimes, Cari taught us something else than ride; sometimes we went to the cinema, we visit other villages like Poughkeepsie, we met a lot of new people, all very lovely. One time, we went to New York City. We loved the trip. We had really fun! I loved very much to come to Windrock Farm. Thank you Cari.
–Feliz, 16 years old, Nice, France