Are good instructors in short supply?

PaddyMonty

PaddyMonty

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Events over the past week have made me wonder about the quality of instruction easily available. I'm not refering to riding schools, more the freelance instructors that teach people who own their own horses and ride at riding club level.
Before I go any further I wish to state that I have absolutely no qualifications or formal development apart from my pony club D test from 1966.
So what has led me to this. Two weeks ago I started riding a horse for an owner who admitted she is seriously over horsed. She and her husband also have another horse each.
I watched the husband have a lesson (he's only fairly recently started riding) and it followed what I would describe as by the book working at a superficial level on lots of different elements. The following evening I spent half an hour with him looking at his major issues, talking through the interaction needed between horse and rider and explaining not only what needs to happen but also why and the effect it will have on the horse. He really enjoyed the session and admitted he had gain a huge understanding of how his faults were causing the issues with the horse. In the last week his riding and position has improved significantly without any further significant input from me.

On sunday I went with one of my daughters friends to view a horse. Spent about an hour with her talking through what was happening and how she need to adapt her riding to this horse. All went well. However, owner of horse was a fairly senior instructor in the local pony club and asked me if I would be interested in teaching within the PC. I was somewhat surprised by this given my previously stated lack of quals and formal training. Instructor did not know about my backgroung. Simply assumed I was a qualified and experienced instructor.

Yesterday I spent some time in the school with my horses owner. Again she has regular lessons but has confidence isssues. She can actually ride very nicely. The problem is her horse is so behind the leg she is having to work far too hard and is compromising her position as a result. Half an hour just spent purely on getting horse to go off her leg without given a hoot about bend, head position or any thing else. Net result she now doesn't have to work so hard, can use her nice position far more effectively and has a huge confidence boost as she understands where the main issue is.

Bit more background. When ever I school the horse I'm now riding both owner and husband watch. While schooling and talk them through what I'm feeling, what is causing the problem, options I have to correct the issue and why I select a particular method. School is often shared with other liveries at the same time.
Last night owner mentioned that a couple of the liveries had approached them and asked if I would be prepared to teach them. Both already have regular instructors.

All this got me wondering. I dont consider myself a particularly good instructor. I certainly dont teach by the book as it were. I tend to look for the biggest issue facing the horse / rider combination and deal with that. Once overcome I move on to the next biggest issue. All the time explaining what's causing the problem, how it needs to be overcome and the impact on the horse and rider interaction.
Standard stuff I would have thought so why are my services in demand. I dont really want to teach but this seems to happen when ever I start riding a horse for someone.

Is the development of instructors these days missing a trick? Is too much focus placed on what should be done rather than what needs to happen given the horse rider combination in front of them. I dont know as I have had very few fromal lessons and when I have they have been with the likes of Gareth Hughes, Steven Smith, Yogi etc to deal with a very specific issue so dont really have any experience of the normal riding club level freelance instructor.
Do people believe their instructors are good simply because they haven't experienced any other type of instruction. I dont Know???

Thoughts!
 
I partly agree with you (and i say that as a BHSAI freelance Instructor) I have had similar experieinces new clients have come to me and expressed how much of a differance it made that one lesson and that no one has ever explained that before! I am always shocked but having watched fellow liverys have lessons and had to bite my tongue at how the horses was obviously in back pain and lame why did the instructor not point this out?? why not discuss that it would help to change the horses way of going or something along those lines. But i have also had clinets want to learn to ... lets say jump or canter and actually they or the horse is not balanced enough yet to do the effectivly so i explain what we need to do before they get to that stage and often they go and find another instructor the will let them jump or what ever, but i have then had them also come back after an incident fall or confidence crisis. So i guess it swings in round abouts

You get some good and some bad like in any proffession

it will be interesting to see what people think, I hope it doesnt turn into an AI bashing thread
 
I have tried alot of instructors through previous riding club and through word of mouth. I found my favourite through a riding club event when the judge recommended this person. He has worked with the Queen and her horses for the past few years and is qualified. He is super and he is works on what the combination of horse and rider need tailoring his lessons to suit each pair accordingly. I have found him the best in this way suiting my mare who has her own issues as do I and he has been the only one to really help us bar one other we liked. I didnt like the others although many other people rate them simply as they did not suit me and my horse and i felt we achieved nothing as they wanted things the typical way it should be but she is not straightforward. I remember being in a lesson with all geldings and she was being a madam and all I got was look at the others and get her to do what they are! He rode her and then knew what I was dealing with and her issues for himself and this was invaluable then i believe when teaching me on her.
 
2horsesnomoney said:
it will be interesting to see what people think, I hope it doesnt turn into an AI bashing thread
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I hope so to as that is NOT what I'm getting at. Guess I watched quite a few lesson over the years and sometimes am really impressed and get a lightbulb moment just from watching. More often though I stand there wondering why the instructor is ignoring what seems to me to be the root cause of a problem. Generally I have no idea what level, experience or qualification the instructor has. Simply judging on what I see on the day.
 
Yes, and that includes at riding schools.
Think health and safety maybe part of the reason as people are afraid of the suing aspect. For instance, not allowed to teach kids without stirrups or without holding on the reins. Not sure who's they ever learn to balance, tbh!
I do not think passing an exam makes you a good teacher, either. It does mean you know things to a certain standard, but does not mean you can explain things in a fun, and interesting way.
 
Spottyappy your right exams and quals dont make a good teacher but they do have there place, I believe there are some that are very good teacher and some that cant and shouldnt but getting the exams helps give people the chance to start and confidence to trust there instinct.
H&S is a pain but i guess the world we live in, if riders are capable and horses/ ponies safe and responsive no reason not to do no stirrups etc but good riding school ponies arent always poss. plus parents want more and more progress and dont want to wait for kids to become well established
 
I've just had my first lesson with a new instructor (dressage competitor) at home, a breath of fresh air, she rode my horse to get a feel of what I was experiencing, was really explanatory on what we were trying to achieve, what I am doing wrong (lots!) and it all made sense and we finished with a positive result. So they are out there, I suppose it just takes time to find the one you connect with.
 
No, I think there are a lot of good instructors about. I think there is a problem with inexperienced people buying horses and then taking lessons to ride them to a basic level, rather than ensuring they are competent before they buy. I also think a lot of the constant "need" for weekly lessons and perfecting flatwork and position could be substituted more successfully for people just going out and hacking, doing cross country, hunting, low level jumping, etc and learning by their own mistakes!
 
I think sometimes how things are explained are as much of a problem as the knowledge of the instructor. I once a great instructor but she never actually said exactly what I needed to do clearly enough, but I didn't realise this until I had to use another instructor one week. Sometimes riders don't realise that they don't have the right instructor for them until someone better instructs them.
 
I couldn't care less about qualifications, I like to see if the person shares the same values as me and has an approach that I agree with or aspire to, would like to see if they ride well too but I actually have a good instructor now who may or may not have quals (I didn't ask) and I haven't seen ride. I think I got lucky as I basically just wanted someone who didn't cost a fortune to help me with my horse's napping so I could hack and go from there (of course thinking it was the horse more than me!). As it turned out the instructor is into just the right type of dressage and I learnt more about that in two lessons than I have in a long time, and with my new skills the horse doesn't nap much at all now :-)

I like someone who understands different types of horses and different types of people (in body type and in attitude/confidence level) and knows how those combinations work together.

Oh and who doesn't shout at me and get frustrated when I don't get it right, that's surely the biggest hurdle!
 
There's a lot of 'short term' teaching about I think. Where the instructor is teaching to solve the surface problems/ needs rather than addressing basic faults properly or teaching how to cope with different situations correctly.

And even if instructors are good, there's this weird mentality about lessons. Al has weekly lessons on two of her horses, occasionally all 3 get a go. And then about once a month she attends a jumping clinic with a very good instructor with them all. It costs, and she does sacrifice regular competition for regular training but it's worth it long-term. Her dressage scores have literally halved in just over a year (late 40s to scores in the 20s...). But there's this weird attitude that it's cheating to have such regular, high quality instruction. Like, she's not doing it by herself? It's very odd.
 
Lolo said:
There's a lot of 'short term' teaching about I think. Where the instructor is teaching to solve the surface problems/ needs rather than addressing basic faults properly or teaching how to cope with different situations correctly.

And even if instructors are good, there's this weird mentality about lessons. Al has weekly lessons on two of her horses, occasionally all 3 get a go. And then about once a month she attends a jumping clinic with a very good instructor with them all. It costs, and she does sacrifice regular competition for regular training but it's worth it long-term. Her dressage scores have literally halved in just over a year (late 40s to scores in the 20s...). But there's this weird attitude that it's cheating to have such regular, high quality instruction. Like, she's not doing it by herself? It's very odd.
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I would agree on both counts, although i would add to the first part that it's difficult to do much more than that if people only take a lesson very infrequently and/or regularly chop and change. There are lots of valid systems and I totally agree that different instructors will bring different ideas and emphasis to the equation, but if the riders are not fairly experienced it can be hard for them to see how all the pieces fit together, what bits pertain to which situations, etc. I do find a lot of people want "tips" to solve what are really quite involved problems, or they want weeks worth of information packed into less than an hour covering every possible permutation. In such situations people may feel best served by someone who simply tells them what they want to hear and doesn't get too involved.

I do think re the OP, you cannot really compare RC lessons to spending an hour+ with someone alone! I don't do masses of RC teaching but I have done a bit and have friends who do a lot and clients who regularly attend and discuss their experiences with me. Groups are often disparate . . . there is little time for individual discussion . . . riding someone's horse for any length of time is not really an option in a group situation . . . many people are there simply to "have a jump" or ride in a good facility. . . some have regular at home trainers and may be in a totally different system, others will have no other input at all. . . instructors have no input into anything other than that hour or so, which means horses may be unsound or underprepared or even unsuitable . . .

Even the best instructor is going to have to default to a pretty broad approach under those circumstances. Ideally the rider should be able to say what they need and pick out the pertinent bits but for someone who isn't quite skilled and used to being instructed, they are going to go with what they are told and that is, by definition, not going to work for everyone involved. I think they are very useful opportunities but they are not really situations set up for dealing with problems or horses needing individual attention.

Also, I have to say, lots of people are pretty blunt about getting value for money. If they have come to jump, they want to jump. Telling them they should trot circles in the corner for a month first isn't going to cut it. AFTER there has been a problem, people are much more amenable to an overhaul and to getting individual help but up to that point a lot of people don't even realise what's coming or that they are not being well served.

What does surprise me is the reluctance to have instructors ride a horse, even just as a fact finding mission. First, I would be very leery on any instructor at the basic level who will not get on a horse and produce an improvement or at least discuss the situation if improvement does not seen possible. Secondly, there are things that are not immediately apparent standing on the ground and it saves time and money to cut to the chase. I don't think this is necessary when riders are very experienced but it's almost essential at the most basic levels. But, as Lolo says, there seems to be a real culture that this is "cheating" and, to be frank, I think instructors who are not confident of their own abilities are quick to promote that idea as it serves their own ends.
 
I love my instructor. But she isn't one for quick fixes. That works for me as I would rather mend things properly but I can see how a lot of people would be frustrated by an apparent lack of progress if what they are looking for is one lesson and a guaranteed red rosette. I view my lessons as a long term investment but I'm not sure the vast majority of people do? Which must make it difficult for instructors to teach. I am no great shakes as a rider so I try and have as many as I can feasibly fit in/afford. Everything is explained, the bio mechanics of the horse, why a horse might be reacting the way it does etc etc. I really find that important. I am fairly analytical so I do like to know why I am doing something rather than just be told to do it. I just learn better that way (well, it probably seems to her that I don't learn at all as I am so slow to pick things up but you know what I mean :p )

I haven't really ever been taught by someone who explains in such detail and I really enjoy it. Which isn't to say that other instructors haven't been good, just that this suits me better

So in summary I imagine it is horses for courses. Some people with natural feel may need very little input, just eyes on the ground so what is a great instructor to them may seem like a bad one to me. If that makes sense?
 
To few people appreciate the need to attend to their own development over time and that never stops you should never stop seeking to develop yourself .
Modern lesson often seem to be about getting the horse to do x rather than training the rider so they can teach all horses to do x.
 
I have to amend my earlier post by saying it is important though, to not judge how people may go on by how they are now.

I have taught people who seemed to be very keen and invested in "doing things right". But then they don't do the homework, or they constantly make odd, unproductive decisions for their horses, they prioritise short term results etc. So they SAY all the right things, they may even look the part, with a nice horse and all the gear, but they don't want to do the work.

Then I have taught people who start off saying they will be happy if they hack around the block and don't die.:) But they get caught up in the process and suddenly they are so invested in the process they are reading, and asking questions and constantly wondering how they can learn more and improve. I think THESE people are often very underserved. They don't have access to good instruction, possibly for logistical or financial reasons, so they simply do not know what they are missing. I have even had other instructors ask me why I "waste my time" with someone who has, for instance, an older athletically limited horse.

I would say it's the same for instructors. The person who shows up wearing the "right" clothes and saying the "right" things may not, in fact, be the most skilled, empathetic horseman. This makes it very hard for people to judge! Alas, I don't think accreditation is necessarily the answer, or at least not all of it.
 
Interesting point of view! Looking around at the standard of riding at local competitions, on the hunting field and at the many happy hackers I see out and about, I think many riders would benefit from regular lessons. There's a lot of people who have ridden all their life who couldn't school a horse to save their life. I live in an area where there are lots of excellent trainers/instructors, some have formal qualifications and some don't but they have a wealth of experience and the ability to teach. You just have to find the right one for you and you know when you've done that as your riding and horse's way of going starts to improve dramatically.
Mithras said:
No, I think there are a lot of good instructors about. I think there is a problem with inexperienced people buying horses and then taking lessons to ride them to a basic level, rather than ensuring they are competent before they buy. I also think a lot of the constant "need" for weekly lessons and perfecting flatwork and position could be substituted more successfully for people just going out and hacking, doing cross country, hunting, low level jumping, etc and learning by their own mistakes!
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I have actually seen a lot of AIs who just ride badly; I mean, I dont expect them to be Carl, but I do expect them to have the basics down. Then they merrily go off and teach.

I wouldnt have lessons with anyone who isnt willing to get on my horse - save that my instructor is quite old now (over 60) and therefore she hasnt ridden my youngsters, only my two older horses. She is still willing to get on them and show me how to do something though. But I have been with her for nearly 7 years and she has changed everything I ever thought I knew about horses. She is a qualified AI but teaches the classical scales rather than the BHS method.

I dont know what I will do when she stops teaching; I just cant imagine having another intructor (having had several bad ones; both qualified and unqualified). I will probably go to Portugal more often and do intensive training there, but it is nice to be able to talk issues on your own horses through and have someone look at them whilst you are riding.
 
I think part of the problem is lack of regulation. Litterally anyone can get the insurance needed to be a riding instructor, and of course even more people teach in an informal way without being insured. If you have little knowledge of what a good instructor is, then I think it is very difficult to find one. If you have one who seems to be helping you, even a little bit, then I think most people will stick with that, even if they could get more out of someone else.

It must be difficult for instructors though, as they have to walk a fine line between making helpful criticism, and putting someone off their teaching style entirely. If people mainly teach children and novices, then sometimes they will focus on one issue at a time, because they know it's unachievable for many of their students to do everything correctly straight away. They also know people with their own horses or ponies won't spend hours on the lunge developing their own independent seat and balance, when that is what they really need. I do think some instructors focus a bit too much on correcting surface issues than explaining why you should do things a certain way.

In some cases, people may just want a lesson with you as they feel you are coming at things from a different angle to most instructors. I don't think that necessarily means their current instruction is poor, but just they think a differnet point of view would help them. Personally, when I can afford instruction, I do like to be taught by more than one person, as I feel different people focus on different things, and help me progress in different ways.
 
PaddyMonty said:
Is the development of instructors these days missing a trick? Is too much focus placed on what should be done rather than what needs to happen given the horse rider combination in front of them. I dont know as I have had very few fromal lessons and when I have they have been with the likes of Gareth Hughes, Steven Smith, Yogi etc to deal with a very specific issue so dont really have any experience of the normal riding club level freelance instructor.
Do people believe their instructors are good simply because they haven't experienced any other type of instruction. I dont Know???

Thoughts!
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I put myself through several "coaching systems" in different countries (I also have BHS Int T. qualifications) and think what many instructors are lacking is the ability (and opportunity) to take the rider through a learning process. Riding education is very often treated like a fast food - odd lesson now and then or regular lessons that are swallowed fast, rarely add up together and rarely lead somewhere.

I set up my own coaching programme for this reason because I do believe that to learn something rider needs commitment, some level of discipline and willingness to address the basics thoroughly (for the good of own horse).

Being a "good" freelance instructor in a quick fix culture is very difficult as many of you said, riders want certain content of the lessons or a certain solution (ideally a fast one) to an issue and if you don't deliver in a couple of sessions then you lose that client.

To answer your question: I think there is a short supply of good instructors i.e. those who will teach with a bigger picture in mind as well as having horse friendly methods but in my view there is also a wide spread lack of understanding of rider training process at grassroots level.
 
Goldenstar said:
GS you have hit the nail on the head for me. I am very lucky to have a horse who makes riding easy, he makes even me look good. When he was ill, I was riding my friends horse, who has never had any serious schooling. Dear God it was abysmal. I got a friend who is not qualified, but experienced to PSG level to come and teach me. It has been a revelation and I have learned so much. I have had to go right back to basics. She explains exactly why I have to do something, and the effect on the horse. I am hopefully going from being a passenger to actually "riding" the horse. It is simply wonderful.:)
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I have regular lessons with two instructors. One is a FBHS and the other, I have no idea if she has any qualifications. Both ask for and expect feedback. Both give me things to work on between lessons. Both would get on the horse if they felt necessary. I can ask them to explain what they mean without feeling stupid. They both are honest with me but also praise. Both have competed at top levels.

Previously I've had instructors that spend most of the time on the phone. Turned up late. Taught without letting the horse have a stretch. Taught a jump lesson on only one rein. One instructor never encouraged any pupils to compete above prelim Dressage as she was competing at Novice. She was a BHSI. If I named the dodgy ones there would be quite a few people on here who knew them.

A few years ago on holiday in South Africa we went on a ride and the guide was Dutch (if I remember correctly) and she couldn't believe that in this country anybody could go out and buy a horse and ride it without any form of training or qualifications.

Good instructors are like good hairdressers. Once you get one you want to keep them :biggrin3:
 
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Carefreegirl said:
I have regular lessons with two instructors. One is a FBHS and the other, I have no idea if she has any qualifications. Both ask for and expect feedback. Both give me things to work on between lessons. Both would get on the horse if they felt necessary. I can ask them to explain what they mean without feeling stupid. They both are honest with me but also praise. Both have competed at top levels.

Previously I've had instructors that spend most of the time on the phone. Turned up late. Taught without letting the horse have a stretch. Taught a jump lesson on only one rein. One instructor never encouraged any pupils to compete above prelim Dressage as she was competing at Novice. She was a BHSI. If I named the dodgy ones there would be quite a few people on here who knew them.

A few years ago on holiday in South Africa we went on a ride and the guide was Dutch (if I remember correctly) and she couldn't believe that in this country anybody could go out and buy a horse and ride it without any form of training or qualifications.

Good instructors are like good hairdressers. Once you get one you want to keep them :biggrin3:
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CFG Can I ask who you do use? Im looking for an instructor near MK to help me with low level dressage on my 6yr old mare.
A pm would be greatly appreciated if you can help.
 
Good instructors /trainers are blinking hard to find. I've been riding for too many years now and competing in a few disaplines and had lessons with top professionals but I've never clicked with any of them... Some less do than others...My latest trainer who I found when someone borrowed our school for a lesson with her, just gets my psychology and knows how to say things so *i* understand. She has taught me the first principles of training a horse - which is something that not many do... And as such my riding has improved no end. She has no qualifications that I know of - do I care? Do I **** . She's fab and I love her to pieces. You need to find someone that gets you as well as your horse - and that won't be the same person for everyone.
 
Interesting topic. I'll be honest, I've learnt *something* from pretty much every instructor I've had. However I've probably learned the most from the two I'm using just now.

I really like the approach of finding the worst problem, and working through it. Personally, if I don't see a difference (doesn't have to have fixed everything, but I do need to see a change) during the first lesson, I don't usually book again. However this is probably because the way I learn is revelatory - I like to learn something, a technique, something I need to improve on, an exercise that helps us, click that into place and then work on it in my own time. So for me, each lesson teaches me something. The more of a 'wow, this makes sense and totally works' I feel, the better I feel a lesson has gone - and sometimes it only 'works' for strides at a time, but without feeling and seeing a difference, I don't go back.

I appreciate long term strategies, but equally it's like how every schooling session has an aim, every lesson should have something you want to get out of it. Long and short term goals.

I've been very lucky with the quality of teaching around here I think, and whilst I prefer some teaching styles to others, there aren't many instructors I haven't gotten *something* out of - just some ways of teaching click better with me and make improvement seem easier than others.

What is important I think is that one off lessons, clinics etc should be about short term goals, whilst long term instructors should be working on long term goals with a specific training style etc. However in my own time, I often include exercises/tips I've picked up from clinics etc, and therefore start to form my own style.

However, it wasn't until I started with my two current instructors that I noticed huge leaps and bounds in his work. One I use monthly, as she is very expensive, but each lesson I come away from going 'that was BRILLIANT' and it leaves me with a month of work. The other has a similar programme of teaching, not quite so 'OMG' in each lesson, but keeps me improving and I've seen a huge change in my riding whilst she's been teaching me. She teaches me fortnightly, and is much cheaper, plus based at my home yard so very convenient.

Personally, I'm not hung up on qualifications, if the instructor has experience both riding and teaching and is a good TEACHER. Some that are very qualified aren't good at TEACHING. I tend to go by watching them ride, and watching them teach - if I like what I see, I'll ask for a lesson. I very rarely ask for qualifications.
 
I am very lucky to have found an excellent instructor who will ride my horse. However, she is fifty and won't ride anything dodgy... I am forty five and feel the same way! If an instructor doesn't help you understand what your horse is doing wrong and what you are doing wrong - get rid! My horse has come on so far, and so have I as a rider, that's a good instructor... She is extremely well qualified but I wouldn't mind if she had no formal qualifications if the improvement was as enormous .....!
 
Digger66 said:
CFG Can I ask who you do use? Im looking for an instructor near MK to help me with low level dressage on my 6yr old mare.
A pm would be greatly appreciated if you can help.
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I have Nick Turner for jump and Ginny Oakley for flat. They both sing from the same hymn sheet. On occasion they have both suggested asking the other about something I may of asked them. (If that makes sense ?) I've pm'd you :smile3:
 
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viola said:
Being a "good" freelance instructor in a quick fix culture is very difficult as many of you said, riders want certain content of the lessons or a certain solution (ideally a fast one) to an issue and if you don't deliver in a couple of sessions then you lose that client.

To answer your question: I think there is a short supply of good instructors i.e. those who will teach with a bigger picture in mind as well as having horse friendly methods but in my view there is also a wide spread lack of understanding of rider training process at grassroots level.
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Totally agree with this. I've had some brilliant instructors who have been qualified and others that haven't but sometimes I think some instructors are afraid to say negative things and also there are some who are rather sadistic! I want to improve, know I'm no Charlotte, and I can only get there if I have a system around me. I am also amazed at the amount of instructors who don't work to a plan - there must be objectives as otherwise how do you know if you are improving or not?
 
khalswitz said:
Personally, if I don't see a difference (doesn't have to have fixed everything, but I do need to see a change) during the first lesson, I don't usually book again. However this is probably because the way I learn is revelatory - I like to learn something, a technique, something I need to improve on, an exercise that helps us, click that into place and then work on it in my own time. So for me, each lesson teaches me something. The more of a 'wow, this makes sense and totally works' I feel, the better I feel a lesson has gone - and sometimes it only 'works' for strides at a time, but without feeling and seeing a difference, I don't go back.
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That's nicely put and from a rider point of view I would probably agree with you here. I also evaluate a trainer by what I learnt during a lesson. From instructor point of view it's not as straightforward (unless the pupil is as enthusiastic about own progress as you sound!)...Riders often learn something but that might be not what they wanted or expected to learn.

Teaching is a difficult skill and I feel like the more I teach the more I need to learn about teaching :) Almost the same like with horse training and riding ;)

What I always strive for and seek in trainers for myself is the eye for what to work on first. Sometimes this "big problem" that's so obvious and visible to many is NOT where corrections need to start. Teachers who can change the "big problem" in a way that the rider knows how to never end up there again are to me most admirable.
 
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viola said:
That's nicely put and from a rider point of view I would probably agree with you here. I also evaluate a trainer by what I learnt during a lesson. From instructor point of view it's not as straightforward (unless the pupil is as enthusiastic about own progress as you sound!)...Riders often learn something but that might be not what they wanted or expected to learn.

Teaching is a difficult skill and I feel like the more I teach the more I need to learn about teaching :) Almost the same like with horse training and riding ;)

What I always strive for and seek in trainers for myself is the eye for what to work on first. Sometimes this "big problem" that's so obvious and visible to many is NOT where corrections need to start. Teachers who can change the "big problem" in a way that the rider knows how to never end up there again are to me most admirable.
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I agree that often what we learn isn't what we think we should learn/want to learn, but is what we NEED to learn. Personally, I've never resented an instructor for that - I've had lessons where I've learned that I'M this biggest problem when I didn't realise I was, that my tack is causing half my difficulties, that my attitude needs changing or I need to be more patient/back off/ change my approach. However I feel that these, whilst painful a the time, are sometimes the best lessons!

However I can imagine from an instructor side, you don;t want to be teaching those lessons until you have a good working relationship - you don't want to scare potential clients off with the hardest lessons to learn first. So I can see how it might be tricky.

And *how* you teach those lessons is important - I had an instructor, an award-winning one who is very well spoken off, whom I've just never clicked with completely as in my first ever lesson with him at RC camp, I described my difficulties with jumping (something I'm not confident about) and what my horse did. His words were "well I think it's the pilot that has the problems, not the horse". A very true statement, but the way he said it (I've since realised he has a very banter-y teaching style, but I am very quick to get down if negatively criticised, I need positive 'do this' not negative 'don't do that' in order to react well) made me feel very defensive, and whilst I've had a few lessons with him and enjoyed them, I'm just not totally comfortable with him thanks to that offhand comment right at the start. So I can completely understand how it is difficult.

Yes, I know I'm a wuss, but I really take criticism very hard I guess because I try so hard, so I need a positive instructor who can show me what I need to do rather than what I'm doing wrong... at least 80% of the time, anyway.
 
With regards to riding schools, the issue behind the quality of instructors is the fact the establishments would rather pay a lower qualified/experienced instructor as it means they can pay less money! I have offered my services to many local riding schools as a freelance instructor but they are reluctant as they assume I will be expensive!
My last full time job in a riding school paid me no more with the qualifications I have now than what they paid me as a AI. Wheres the incentive for highly qualified instructors to teach in riding schools?
I now have a large amount of clients with their own horses, all of which require different goals and different methods of teaching. As an instructor you have to set realistic goals but at the same time be progressing and moving forward each session even if in just a small way otherwise riders switch off.
I have some that are happy to take their time, working through the basics and getting each part right before moving on, others just want to crack on and are happy to move at a faster pace, some you need to be patient and have a softer approach, others strive at being told what's wrong in a blunt way!
Being a good instructor is about being approachable, adaptable and never afraid to learn and develop their own knowledge.
I am more than happy to get on clients horses to understand their issues.
The qualifications I have are BHS senior coach and UKCC level three, I am still still striving to develop my coaching abilities.
 
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