The Life of Jochen Schleese by the Hour – Part II

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Okay carrying on from last week….

10:30 am
Between now and 1:30 pm we see another 5 people with appointments (and the two that were squeezed in) and things work like well-polished clockwork. While one of us watches the client ride, the other is taking measurements and making adjustments for another, and the next client in line is busy tacking up her horse. It becomes a very efficient ‘assembly line’ so that at any given time we can actually work with 2-3 clients at once. This is especially important to be able to do for appointments which can easily run into each other, but also to accommodate the squeeze-ins, which invariably happen when other riders become interested in seeing what’s going on and become fascinated by what exactly we do.

1:30 pm
We have finished our first stop for the day and managed to see a total of 7 clients at this barn. We normally schedule 45-60 minutes for each client, but because some of them were simply ‘re-checks’ and only two were new clients who were buying saddles, the timing worked out fairly well. So we pack up, munch on an apple and a granola bar, and head out for an hour’s drive to the next barn on the list. Thankfully, this barn will be the location for an evening lecture, and our hotel is just 5 minutes further down the road, so it will be our last stop for the day.

2:30 pm
We have reached barn #2 where we again set up and see clients from 3:00-6:00 pm. This barn has four scheduled appointments; hopefully any interested parties will be able to stay for the evening lecture to learn more, as we absolutely cannot squeeze any more people in this afternoon. The afternoon’s appointments manage to go off without a hitch and we have four more happy riders.

6:00 pm
We clean up and move our stuff to the viewing room, which is where our barn hostess is offering an evening educational lecture for her boarders and their friends. It’s going to be a good evening – 26 people have signed up to attend,  of which 17 are possible new clients and for whom we have actually left the morning of the next day open for any appointments they would like to schedule to have a personal evaluation for themselves and their horses. Our hostess feeds us sandwiches and water, and we feel a little better and re-energized.

6:30 pm
I set up my LCD projector and organize my thoughts in preparation for the evening’s lecture, which is scheduled from 7-9 pm. My associate puts out my book and DVD; these are always great venues to sell further education to the attendees. People start to come in; some of them already have my book and ask for my autograph. This is always a really cool feeling I have to admit (it’s hard to get used to being ‘somewhat of a celebrity’ but it’s fun to hear them behind my back “that’s Jochen Schleese. He wrote that book about saddle fitting, you know”. 🙂 )

7:00 pm
The seminar begins and the next two hours pass in a whirl. I love to teach, I love to bring across my points with humour, and I know that people appreciate what I have to offer.

9:00 pm
The lecture ends (reluctantly I might add, because I know I could go on and on). My associate compliments me on keeping focused (sometimes I do tend to get sidetracked and go off on tangents…) and people come up surrounding me with questions and wanting to hear more.

9:30 pm
We are starting to clear up; 6 more people have signed up for appointments the next morning, which is great, and I am happy to be able to say “see you tomorrow”. We leave the barn and head out to the nearest restaurant for a late, quick, light supper. Tomorrow will come early.

10:30 pm
We finally reach the hotel and say goodnight. I know my assistant will head to her room and work on compiling the information from the day’s evaluation forms and lead cards into the computer while my associate puts together her saddle orders and client information. I will spend the next hour catching up on emails and writing the sales report for the day, as well as forwarding any specific issues and observations to head office for follow up.

11:30 pm
Okay, finally – lights out. This is a relatively early night for us on the road (I kid you not!); some days we literally work 14-16 hour days to help our clients – it’s tough when there is longer driving between appointments, but honestly – it’s always fun to meet new people and know that we’re making a difference in the lives and health of horse and rider.

And there you have it. Don’t you just love when people ask you “what do you do all day?”  Which reminds me of one of my wife’s favorite jokes: A man comes home from work to find his house a mess. The breakfast dishes are still on the table, the sink is full of dirty dishes, clothes are all over the place, the beds unmade. Concerned, he rushes upstairs to find his wife lying in bed watching TV, a box of chocolates on her lap. “Honey,” he says. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”  “I’m fine,” she replies. “Well why is the house such a mess?”  “Well,” she says. “You know all those days you come home and ask me what I did all day? Well – today I didn’t do it!”