Does anyone else...

[happy_bunny]

... sometimes feel like they have hit a plateau in their riding?

I have recently come back to riding after a break of about 9 months and have been having regular weekly group lessons for a couple of months. The first couple of lessons I was basically re-learning stuff I already knew, then I started to be able to do a lot of things I could never get before (moving my hips properly with the canter, actually being able to SIT the trot instead of looking like a bag of spuds, finding the right diagonal first time etc.) - which was great, felt like I was making some real progress. But in the last few weeks I feel like my group are just repeating things - walking round, trotting round, cantering to the back etc. Sometimes we do circles or serpentines in walk and trot but I'm just not feeling very challenged. I was thinking of mentioning it to my RI but my lesson is sandwiched between two others that she teaches so its a bit difficult to get time to talk to her. On the other hand, my teacher and the group I'm in are lovely and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings or move groups.

So to my original question...has anyone else ever been in a similar situation - and is it just a phase, or a case of my ego making me think I am better than I am when actually I do need more work on the basics...or is it something that won't get better until I do something about it...??

[mrs pdales]

My first thought is stay with it,it may just be that you have picked up the lesson a bit quicker than some of the others,and you may find every now and again the progression slows down for everyone to catch up. See how things are in another couple of months(gives you time to get fully riding fit too) and then re-assess the situation - it may pay to have a look at a couple of the other groups and see if you think you would fit in,after all there's no point if you join another group and find you can't stand any of the other riders when you get on so well with the current ones!

[happy_bunny]

Thanks, you are probably right - i'm not known for my patience with people (yet I have been known to spend a whole weekend teaching my rabbits to jump over stuff for treats lol). I think its partly just because I look forward so much to my weekly lesson that its a bit disappointing when we don't seem to do very much.

I was thinking about maybe getting a horse on loan because then I would be able to ride often between lessons so I wouldn't be so dependent on them for my horsey fix. :)

[palmerlover52]

How do the other riders feel? Maybe you could have a chat with your RI and ask about doing something totally different!
Jumping, or stirrupless or even bareback, perhaps, or some basic lateral moves? Do you do much working towards collection? ALl beneficial to either the horse, you as a rider, or both!

ETA: A share sounds like a good idea.....can be very different from a typical RS pony, so can teach you a lot!

[happy_bunny]

I'm not sure how the others feel but they have all been going there loads longer than me so it feels a bit pushy to start making waves when I've only been going there a few months. And my RI has said she wants to get us jumping or take us out into the hills one day and we started doing turns on the forehand a while ago as a lead-in to dressage - maybe I just need to remind her about carrying on where we left off so we don't just end up repeating stuff

[Kate F.]

You've put the problem very nicely here - I'd try saying the same thing to the riding school. Speaking as an instructor, it's often really difficult to keep track of everyone in a group, how they are all feeling, responding, confidence levels etc. - and it could well be that your instructor would appreciate the feedback.

I'd probably try to do it outside the lesson - try to get the RI alone or maybe phone her, just in case she has reasons why this groups is going more slowly - perhaps someone else has fear/confidence issues they'd rather not have everyone know about. Discretion can be everything!

Again, speaking as an RI, I really like it when my pupils are interactive and tell me what they want to do and want to achieve, rather than sit there and expect me to generate the whole thing. Obviously, beginners don't know what's achieveable, so you have to start of setting the goals, and showing them how to reach them - but it's great when someone comes forward and says "I'd like to learn to do xyz" - then you start helping them achieve their own goals. Help your RI - tell her what you're telling us! ;):D

[happy_bunny]

Yeah, I really should talk to my RI- but I wanted to have a test run in telling you lot in case I was being totally inappropriate :o
Sometimes i get a bee in my bonnet and start making a big fuss and then realise later that it wasn't such a big deal and I could probably have done better by not saying anything :rolleyes:

Im not really sure how to get hold of her tho, no1 ever seems to pick the phone up and when I get there she has a lesson in progress which finishes just in time for us to start our lesson, then when we go to untack our horses etc she starts teaching her third lesson so there isn't really any in-between time when she is free.

[Kate F.]

Who takes the bookings? Is there someone else you could ask?

You're not being inappropriate - you are paying for these lessons so it's up to them to answer any questions you might have. It might be called a "school" - but it's not "school" in the sense that you have to take whatever they dish up :D - you're buying a service (riding lessons) and you're perfectly entitled to ask whatever questions you like about the service they are providing.

[Popz]

I totally know the feeling, my RI definitely has a couple of 'favourite' lessons which get regularly repeated and there are occassions I feel I'm not getting anywhere (I regularly rant and threaten to try somewhere different!!) but then all will be forgiven a few weeks later when we have a run of really good lessons! (like tonight!! :D)

I'd stick with it if I were you, maybe making a few suggestions if you feel comfortable doing that. Perhaps you could suggest working towards a dressage test for a few weeks and have a mini competition or something (I'm just thinking outloud of things that would be fairly easy to do and give you something to work towards)

[happy_bunny]

I think I will try to see what the others in the group think first, coz i don't want to push everyone into something they might not want - but if they agree then we can maybe approach our RI together - strength in numbers lol

But thanks for your suggestions - I can always find answers on here :D:D