That sounds like a great start @selside! Good price too. What a find.
Riding School Diaries
- Thread starter pharoah
- Start date
That sounds like a brilliant place, an you get much more for your money when there is only a couple of you in a lesson
Good idea to have this thread and I am glad you had good instruction.
But the low cost of the lesson at £25 for an hour worries me. Presumably far from the south east?
The London Living Wage rate is £10.55 per hour and the rate for the rest of the UK is £9.00 per hour.
Then in a lesson one has the use of the school and of the horse.
I feel that women who work with horses are badly paid.
But the low cost of the lesson at £25 for an hour worries me. Presumably far from the south east?
The London Living Wage rate is £10.55 per hour and the rate for the rest of the UK is £9.00 per hour.
Then in a lesson one has the use of the school and of the horse.
I feel that women who work with horses are badly paid.
Yes, Skib. In west Wales. Generally a low wage, depressed economic area. But not this particular location, in the spectacular Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Although it's fully licenced it is not a normal RS. There is no website and they don't advertise. Recommendations are mainly through word of mouth. Small, well organised, very tidy and professional set up with a number of visiting instructors. They seem to operate mainly with loaners and liveries. They do have the usual little childrens' PC type activities. I consider myself lucky to have been accepted to ride there. The owner is lovely and the hacking looks gorgeous! I've only been once, and will find out more about the set-up, and how the loaning scheme works in due course.
I agree about people working with horses being badly paid. However just having resigned from one job and not having another to go to. I am only too happy to take the chance to ride where prices are reasonable. I couldn't ride otherwise. I lived in London for a few years some while ago, was unable to ride at all owing to cost.. I'm semi retired (by choice) and the job I was doing for a local hospice charity was minimum wage.
I agree about people working with horses being badly paid. However just having resigned from one job and not having another to go to. I am only too happy to take the chance to ride where prices are reasonable. I couldn't ride otherwise. I lived in London for a few years some while ago, was unable to ride at all owing to cost.. I'm semi retired (by choice) and the job I was doing for a local hospice charity was minimum wage.
Sounds great Selside! £25 for an hour is great in this day and age. These days I ride a share horse so would be cheating a bit to contribute on my lessons in RS diary but I'd love it if you got the thread going again - I always enjoyed reading it.
OK. I went back for a 2nd lesson. My hands are a real issue. Rode the same chunky mare and things seemed to go from bad to worse. It felt like I was managing an ocean liner in treacle. Only got canter on one rein - her worst rein is the side I am slightly wonky on so we don't help each other. The first time I rode her she'd been on a blast through the woods beforehand. This time she was fresh out of the box and although very safe was a bit too forward and tailgating the horse in front. Cue pulling from me as I get uptight when being ignored. I was taken out of the last 10 mins or so to watch the other 2 jumping. Fine by me as I was getting tired at the end of the hour, not to mention running out of steering and brakes as the mare got fed up with me. Horrified to find my hands are such an issue. No one has ever mentioned my hands before. I worried that going back to riding up was some sort of "blue remembered hills" thing - a land of lost content viewed through rose tinted specs. So a bit dispirited, and felt a poor rider.
Went back for a third lesson and had a much happier experience. I think the RI could tell from my face at the end of the previous week I felt awful. So they put me on a small chunky pony that much more closed matched my recent riding experiences. The little fella was helpful and forward, but ONLY if you rode with practically zero contact. So no need to worry about pulling too much. The RI MADE me use the full range of other aids. Got a nice canter on both reins. Practiced going into trot, coming round and past the ride then up into canter and round to the rear. Then into canter from the front of the ride and round, canter past the ride etc, etc, which I managed to keep going. Much happier, RI was much happier. Pony was a little star and if nothing else at least established that I'm not using the reins for balance as I couldn't touch his mouth!
Really happy with the new place, and the very good instruction. Take home tip, which should be glaringly obvious but proved a light bulb moment for me was : "Every aid has a beginning and an end." So don't pull, or don't pull without any other cues, or stop, ask again, try something else, mix it up, or don't use hands at all. Maybe just breath out, or hand on the neck and pat. VERY interesting for a rusty nervous nelly to work on slowing or stopping a forward going pony without any contact. Rather clever of them, I thought. Onwards and upwards......
Went back for a third lesson and had a much happier experience. I think the RI could tell from my face at the end of the previous week I felt awful. So they put me on a small chunky pony that much more closed matched my recent riding experiences. The little fella was helpful and forward, but ONLY if you rode with practically zero contact. So no need to worry about pulling too much. The RI MADE me use the full range of other aids. Got a nice canter on both reins. Practiced going into trot, coming round and past the ride then up into canter and round to the rear. Then into canter from the front of the ride and round, canter past the ride etc, etc, which I managed to keep going. Much happier, RI was much happier. Pony was a little star and if nothing else at least established that I'm not using the reins for balance as I couldn't touch his mouth!
Really happy with the new place, and the very good instruction. Take home tip, which should be glaringly obvious but proved a light bulb moment for me was : "Every aid has a beginning and an end." So don't pull, or don't pull without any other cues, or stop, ask again, try something else, mix it up, or don't use hands at all. Maybe just breath out, or hand on the neck and pat. VERY interesting for a rusty nervous nelly to work on slowing or stopping a forward going pony without any contact. Rather clever of them, I thought. Onwards and upwards......
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