School rules?

juliecwuk

Well-Known Member
Mar 2, 2006
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Wolverhampton
share with everyone what your school rules are?

do you have to book it for every time you ride in it? book it for lessons only? no booking system? can you share it? etc etc

we have a new school (WHOOP!) and the yard owner is trying to decide on a fair usage system etc....its only 40x20 so usually max two people in there
 
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Both yards are was on had NO rules or system! We paid a real premium on one yard too, it was one of the most expensive for miles around. But did they have a system?! No!!! You couldn't even guarantee it if you were paying for a lesson. Sorry, thats turned into a rant!
I think it would have been better if you could pre book. I understand its not fair if folk hog the same slots but think it may have been a fair way.
We also had a real free for all - it was awful some nights. There would be folk manically cantering over jumps and the rest of us had to just get out the way!!!
And also you could have folk lunging at both ends. Not good.
 
For normal day-to-day riding ours is a free-for-all. You turn up and you ride and share with whoever is there. Those who want the school to themselves tend to go up at certain times (say a bit later at night 7:30/8pm or during the day while people are at work if possible). We have a booking system in place for if people are going to have an instructor up for a lesson or perhaps a new sharer is coming up. In those situations they have booked the school and everyone has advance notice (we have a whiteboard we write on) so they can get the school to themselves. I suppose if someone really wanted the school to themselves at "peak time" then they could book it but no-one feels the need to do that. We have 8 owners and 11 horses, a couple are happy hackers/retired horses who tend not to use the school much so it is often free or there is only one person in it. I'd say ours is around 20x60 so can comfortably fit a 2/3 sensible horse/rider combos and about 3 ponies (even if the riders don't quite follow the school rules!).

We do have rules about tidying up jumps/poles etc but I have to say, not many people do tidy up after themselves which is quite annoying!
 
Luckily we are quite a small yard so there isn't many of us. If we have a lesson we are asked to stay out of it but we also have a dressage arena (complete with flower boxes etc) set up in a field so if someone is using 1 we use the other
 
Our school is only 20 x 40 and the rules are if you want a lesson you must book the school, goes on the white board, also if you need it for a physio session you can book it, you do have to write 'private' by the side though as some people weren't getting it. We are not allowed under any circumstances to use the school for lunging as we have a separate round pen for that but we can longrein in there if we wish, I usually get the school to myself anyway as I'm the only person on the yard who rides first thing in the morning, everyone else tends to ride evenings. We too have the rule that anything you use in the school ie jumps must be put back after use and if your horse poos in there you are expected to clean it up after you, we even have a wheelbarrow and a poop scoop next to the school for that purpose and everyone sticks to the rules. I have seen about four horses in there on some evenings.
 
The small indoor can be used by anyone when ever the riding school are not in it (they tend to use the large indoor anyway) but if they are in the small the YO lets us use the large one anyway.

The very large outdoor is for really for yard only not the school. it is a free for all and we have had about 6 in it but we all get on and enjoy the company plus work off each other and often have imprompt group jumping sessions or pony swops.

You can book and hire the out door comp arena or the large indoor for lessons if you want private ones or use the large outdoor if you don't mind people coming in etc but during the day it is hardly in use at all.

Never had a problem at this yard getting school time at all.

Oh and no lunging allowed in any of the schools we have lunge pen for that.
 
We have two schools , no system in place. One of the school is lunge only and as that school is quite bad in the winter we generally use the bigger school. We can have 4 to 5 people in there including jumping which I generally leave if it gets to busy as there isn't enough space and I an so busy trying not to crash I can't school and sox mind is miles away as well.
 
We don't really have rules for our liveries' use of the school, we just expect a bit of common sense! Ours is pretty big and even if 4 or 5 people are riding at the same time it's easy enough to avoid each other. There's enough room for people to be doing flatwork while others are jumping - they just have to keep their eyes open to make sure they're not trotting behind a jump someone is riding at. When someone wants a lesson with my boss they are expected to share the arena like at any other time, and in return other riders are expected to try and keep out of the way. There are no rules because nobody really needs them, they just use their brains!
 
Basically our one school rule is leave it as you'd like to find it. Sweep the concrete in front of the arena so there is not sand everywhere and pick up your poo.
 
well, when I take my 'menagerie' (hohoho!) to the 'school' (a fenced of reasonably square area of grass over the road) I have to pick up any sh*t left in there or on the way there (the entrance is between some cottages, the cottagers do not appreciate sh*t on their doorstep), make sure I lock up afterwards and not go in there when it's really wet so I don't ruin the school for everyone else.
 
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