Two schools at once, good idea?

[raingodz]

Hi all,

I am on to lesson 3 and I am feeling that once a week is not enough, I currently only ride on a Sunday morning and I am not sure my RS has an evening lesson I could attend, so my question is:

Dose any one ride at two different schools during the week, if so do you find this benificial or conflicting?

Also if any one is wondering from my previous posts, the knee seems to be holding up well :)

[Ruffiane]

I've ridden at two schools already when I couldn't get enough riding time. I thought it helped at the time. Subsequently, I found out neither school was very good (I'm a beginner), but it did give me more time in the saddle and more experience.

[Peace]

I did one summer while I was in law school, because I worked out of town during the week and could only have 1 lesson on the weekend at my regular school.

I found it more confusing than beneficial, but that might have been because the weekday school required everyone to start western, and my weekend school didn't offer western tuition. It was nice, though, to have a different perspective on my riding, and I probably would have kept it up if I hadn't had to keep switching disciplines when I was such a rank novice at both! :)

[KarinUS]

I think it could work if you pursue two different riding styles (jumping and dressage, English and Western, etc.)
If both school teach the same type of riding then I think it would be very difficult to get two different directions on how to do the smae thing, kind of like the old chinese proverb:
a man with one watch always knows what time it is. A man with two watches can never be sure... ;)

[danielle:>]

I have always stuck with the same school, so haven't had any experience, but I personally think it would be confusing. Different instructors have different views on how things should be done, whats right and whats wrong ect. What one instructor may tell you to do with your position, the other one may think it was completly wrong.
Each would be contradicting the other, and you would get really confused, and in the long-term, it may just make your riding worse.I mean, if I get a different instructor for some reason in my lesson, or a different helpers lesson or something, I would get confused, and that would only be with one lesson!!! :rolleyes:. With a different school, this may be even worse. Personally, I wouldn't go for it, but that is just me :)


Danielle
xxx

[Crazy Mare]

Hi raingodz

I don't blame you for wanting to spend more time in the saddle, I do too. One hour at the weekend goes so quickly doesn't it?

Riding at two schools could get pretty confusing but sometimes even teachers within the same riding school have completely different ideas about how things ought to be done.

When I started riding lessons my instructor kept telling us that we shouldn't talk to our horses and should just kick on :eek: When she was off sick the yard owner took our lesson and encouraged us to constantly use our voices. I asked her why our regular instructor told us not to and as you can imagine she horrified :eek:

This was so confusing at the time, although I'm now in complete agreement with the yard owner.

I guess sometimes it's good to get a different perspective.

Good luck with your riding, whatever you decide :)

[raingodz]

OH has a final PhD viver (spelling? vivor?) next week so I will start looking after that - not sure how popular I will be if I look before then. I think I am going to try for a second lesson when I can, I can see why it might get confusing though. Idealy it would be good to have a share, or be allowed to ride someones horse in a non-school situation, but I know I proabably need more work first (must remeber not to try to gallop before I walk ;) !) before going down the share route, so maybe next year.

[kedwards]

I take weekly lessons from different dressage and jumping instructors. I also occasionally sign up for clinics with others. For the most part, there are more similarities than differences between them, but when there are differences in approaches, I tend to find it more helpful than harmful, since it exposes me to a wider range of options and ideas. However, I only started doing this when I was at a point where I was looking to refine specific skills in each discipline. I had a pretty broad background already, so I'm comfortable with the notion that there can be more than one way to do things. I also don't have a problem asking "why," and I only work with the type of instructors who will give me a well-reasoned answer without getting defensive.

I do think it's harder to reconcile two different programs if you are just starting out.

[PunkRockPony]

I've ridden at more than one stables a week before and i've now started a college course which includes three hours of lessons and I still go down my riding school as well! I think in away it is a good idea because you get to ride a wider selection of ponies which helps your riding!!! I find that becuase i've ridden alsorts of different horses and ponys I find it easyer to adjust to a new mount! and also you can gain more experiance from riding different ponies because some will teach you different things than others! :D

[8victor rocks8]

Cowley does do evening lessons! just phone up and ask. Or you could help out to get free rides. xx

[ajhainey]

I did two schools for a while and especially if you are relatively novice it's fine. I think it's the more advanced stuff where there are many ways to 'ask' and you might start getting confused...Plus it gives you some perspective if you think one instructor is a bit mad/wrong/misguided which I feel helps redress the student teacher power imbalance and enables you to make decisions for yourself more confidently (i.e no I don't want to kick kick kick all the time and it's not the only way)

And I think it's viva by the way - I distantly remember having one myself..Short for viva voce - 'by live voice'?

aj xx

[raingodz]

Cowley does do evening lessons! just phone up and ask. Or you could help out to get free rides. xx

Yes they do do evening lessons, but, as far as I know, not for beginners - which due to my 15 year absence from riding I find myself being again. I think I am maybe wanting to rush forward a bit due to the fact that I am enjoying it so much, but I am sure in a month or two I will be at a higher standard and the options avaliable to me will be bigger.

As for helping out, I'd love to but I work full time and I am taking English A-level and OH might not want me disappearing all week end :rolleyes:

[8victor rocks8]

Lol, if you ever have any time, helping out is really fun. How old are you? Because, it's mostly the kids that help out for free rides and I'm not sure but I think the adults help out for extra work and money, but I'm not that sure. What grade are you? There's grade 1,2 (which I'm in) 3,4,5,6,7 and if you look in the room where you pay, there's a list there that tells you what you're supposed to be able to do to move up, down or stay in the grade. They don't move you down much, though, it's mainly up.

In the lessons the instuctors are now being asked to work on balance, In our lesson, we had to stand up in our stirrups to the trot! and we had to lean forward and up in canter which was fun once I got it coz spike was being a little devil!!

Anyway, I'm going on about cowley lol

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[8victor rocks8]

*they only move you down if you either don't feel comfy in that lesson and want to go to a lower ability or if they think you need to. But they do discuss it with you first to see what you want to do .


sorry lol im going on and on about random things!

xxxxxxxxxx

[raingodz]

It's so not fair! OH had her second ever riding lesson on Sunday, on the way home she told me that she had some catching up to do so she could be at the same level as me, so she will be having a second lesson during the week, she works part time at the moment so she can get to the RS in the day during the week.

It is good that she is enjoying it, but now I want a part time job too :( (damn mortgauge and uni fees for eldest kid keep getting in the way of that plan....)

Oh well, looks like I'll have to start helping out at the RS on a Saturdays so I can get more horsey time in to the weekend.... not that I'm being competative about this at all :rolleyes:

EDIT: To be fair, OH probably dose do full time hours (if not more) because she has a part time job during the day and then she teaches violin, viola and piano in the eavenings.

[Wobblydeb]

Not sure if the original question still applies considering your last post, but I'll put my two-penn'orth in anyway :p

In the last few weeks I've ridden at 3 different places, and been taught by at least 7 different instructors :D It hasn't been confusing at all - I'm really enjoying it :)

Normally it's 2 different places, with a regular instructor at one, and a variety at the other place. All of them are different, but as kedwards said, there are more similarities than differences. I think I have definitely come on quicker as a result - for instance my regular instructor has done wonders for my seat, but I was struggling to improve my contact. Then we worked on it more at my other school, and now my contact has improved to the point that my regular instructor has commented on how well I'm coming on! :p The only difficult point is that I don't like to tell her that I think it's because of my other school :o

There are some differences (relating to way of teaching contact) and I think I'll be brave and tackle the "why" in the next few weeks. Both are very professional so I'm sure I'll get a positive, thought out response :) In the meantime I can try using the different techniques I've been taught, and see what response I get from the various horses I ride :)

[laura kevin]

i sort of ride at two schools. on sunday mornings, i ride at a riding school with my RI. in the afternoons, i go to another school to look after and ride my horse, Kevin. i still want to keep learning so stay at the riding school, but i want to practise on my own horse too, Kevin. :)

[raingodz]

Or you could help out to get free rides.
This is what I have ended up doing (especially with waiting lists for evening lessons being around a year long round here), there have been a number of Saturdays in the last two months where I have been able to spend the day at my RS to help out and I have really enjoyed it.

It does kind of make the weekend a bit short, so I'm guessing that in the new year I'll only be able to help out once a fortnight or so. Early next year I hope to start an evening class for my stage 1 so that will give me another hours riding, just need to find a suitable venue (I am on the waiting list at two places).

[MI Horsey]

I riding at two schools right now and I kinda feel as if I'm cheating on my old instructor .Also I have to keep biting my tongue because I keep wanting to tell them about each other .So I'm just left feeling guilty right now,but my new instructor offered me a job so how could I say no to that ?I'm probably gonna fully switch early next year ,maybe ,I don't know .

[Peace]

I riding at two schools right now and I kinda feel as if I'm cheating on my old instructor .Also I have to keep biting my tongue because I keep wanting to tell them about each other .So I'm just left feeling guilty right now,but my new instructor offered me a job so how could I say no to that ?I'm probably gonna fully switch early next year ,maybe ,I don't know .

I'm sorry to say, but in my experience that's exactly how it will be perceived, too - as though you are "cheating.":rolleyes: So I wouldn't go out of my way to tell them about each other.;)

If you do decide to make a complete switch, and if your horsey community is as small as mine, then you'll have to think of something tactful to explain your presence at the new barn. For example, maybe it's closer, or offers instruction in a discipline the other doesn't - or they offered you a job.:)

[de_Stille_een]

Oh gosh, this is me six months ago! I trained with an excellent event trainer for a couple years, and then I got a job working for a gaited trail horse clincian- my gosh, have you ever brought up gaited horses with an event rider? 'Fox trot' is pretty much a dirty word. I did my best to not bring up the job around the trainer, but eventually it got out- haha. She gave me a funny look and refused to acknowledge it ever again.

As far as leaving one stable... I just left the eventing barn because I didn't like the competetive atmosphere- it was to performance based, and I wasn't enjoying it. But like Peace said... be careful. Where I live, everyone knows every trainer's top riders- and if one of those riders went to a different trainer... all hell would break loose. Rumors fly and everyone's a gossip. So again- I agree with Peace... be tactful about leaving one school for another- actually... I wouldn't even bring up the other school. I would just explain that I don't think that this is the place for me right now. Let us know what happens...

[MI Horsey]

That's exactly what I'm worried about,all the barns know each other around here.Both trainers are great in their own way,and both are very successful.One (my old one) does mostly western and saddleseat.The newly added one is a hunter jumper and dressage barn and I really want to get back into dressage .Oh and to complicate things more ,my daughter just took a spurt of the moment lesson at the HJ barn and loved it .Now that's great and all because of the job and I can just throw her on a horse there whenever she wants but her old instructor got really attached to her :(
Weird how such a great opportunity has turned into such a mess:(

[ponylover88]

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