EDC apprentice Jackson Black has had a passion for horses since a young age and having completed his studies as an apprentice with EDC, he’s off for an exciting future.
Jackson has a long history with apprenticeship employer Stotfold Crest Stables. “I started riding here from when I was just 5 years old.” he said. “I learned to ride here when it was a riding school and stayed on. I started volunteering at 14 and when I was around 16, I started to get a feeling for dressage. I’ve just gone up the levels from there really.”
He’s always been completely dedicated to his craft. Jackson’s supervisor Lesley said “He came every Saturday religiously from the age of 14 as a registered helper in our riding school, working with people, the learners. I think he got a lot of people skills doing that. He went on from that to assisting his auntie who was our head competition groom, so he got a wealth of experience from that. At 16 he wanted to do an apprenticeship with us and it was a no brainer really to take him on. He did NVQ level 2, and then didn’t want to leave so he did level 3 too.”
Jackson’s spent a number of years qualifying as an apprentice with training provided by EDC: “I’ve learned so much from my time here and I’ve developed from doing my level 2 to my level 3. Alongside that I’ve been training to do my BHS (British Horse Society) stages with Lesley. She’s trained me a lot and got me to a point where I’m a lot more developed in my horse knowledge and riding. The college has been really good too - especially my assessor. She’s been really good with keeping up all my coursework assessments and making sure everything is up to date.”
Lesley echoed Jackson saying the college had been a great help: “The college provides loads of support for the students. They have regular visits from assessors. I think they find the assessments that they’re set relate directly to what they’re doing on a practical basis here. They’re learning about things on the job while at work, and I’m confident that the college are then giving them the written input, meaning they actually retain the skills they learn.”
As for the future, Jackson will soon be leaving Stotfold for pastures new, but both trainer and coach are incredibly optimistic. "Next I’m going to go train and do my BHS training stages because I want to be a riding instructor. And I’m going to go as far as I can with that. I’d also love to be a grand prix dressage rider. It’s such a good feeling when you’re on the horse, you’re basically looking pretty prancing on a horse, it’s great."
Lesley added It’s very hard to find another word other than talented. “Because that’s what he is.” she said, “He’s also a very good coach and teacher. Although I don’t want him to go, I’m happy for him to go and develop those skills. I’m very proud of what he’s become, he’s a very talented young man with a very bright future.”
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