Freelance teaching woes

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Zipzop

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Hi all.
I am a qualified instructor and have been for many years. During and once I had qualified I was teaching a little bit freelance alongside another equine job and whilst teaching at a riding school at the week ends.
I picked up more teaching along the way and quit the RS.
I'm not by any means 'blowing my own trumpet' but I was told I did a good job, I helped my clients achieve great progress, sometimes with very difficult horses. We sorted out some problems which other trainers hadn't been able to solve, not because I had a better skill set I'm sure, but because I have a different way of teaching.
My own instructor (who is brutally honest) said I was a good, effective rider (and told me otherwise when I had a crap day!)

The teaching dwindled off and I did other things and stopped pursuing it.

I have tried over the last couple of years to revive my freelancing but I absolutely cannot seem to get any clients. I have tried notice boards at tack places, leaflet dropping at shows, advertising on every available equine page on facebook, having my own website, blogging, I am out of ideas!

I'm not one of those instructors who competes, I don't have any ambition to - is this a hindrance?

Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong?
 
Where I live, and my surrounds, there are SO many instructors, all doing great but different things, it really comes down to availability and flexibility initially and then word-of-mouth. I know that probably isn't helpful, but being able to travel to a client as well as providing school facilities to be travelled to, checking your local area to identify a niche (difficult ponies/young horses/bringing new mothers back into the saddle...), running clinics to show your repertoire and getting to low level shows, maybe even getting involved in a riding school nearby initially, all may help you to get back into the school, although I'm no expert :)

Good luck with your dreams in 2017 xx
 
I think not competing or not being in the loop can be a hindrance for clients who want to compete, I advise on rules, tactics, test riding, course riding etc and help plan where to go as part of my sessions with clients, mine are at livery with me I don't do any outside work now so I do have more time for chatting.
I think if someone was looking for a new instructor they would take into account the whole package and if they do want to compete would expect you to help them progress, not saying you cannot but if they see someone who is either out there doing it or has clients who are doing well that is the person most would choose, I have always been trained by competition riders and their input can make a huge difference to the results, you need an up to date cv so maybe offer some free/ reduced sessions to your local PC or RC to get you started.
 
The idea of getting a niche market is a good one. I think you will lose out on the showjumper, dressage, eventer minded people if you don't have a proven track record out competing, i know it would put me off. So the idea to specialise in nervous riders, helping people gain confidence, get back in the saddle is good. You could aim yourself as almost a personal coach helping them work out a plan to achieve their goals.

Have you a location you teach from? or do you travel to clients?
 
Well Zipzop, I can only look at things from a client's point of view as I'm not an instructor and don't work in the equine industry.

It seems everyone nowadays has to specialize to make an impact. Almost everyone has access to social media, be it FB, Twitter, Instagram or whatever, so there are a lot of instructors out there plying the same trade as you. It would be tempting to try to spread your skill-set in a catch all ad, but in reality there's so many doing just the same that you can get lost amongst the masses.

My advice would be to format your ads/services to more specialized areas/audiences to target certain people and attract their attention. For instance there's:

Jumping (probably narrow it down further e.g. jumping tuition for inexperienced riders/horses)
Dressage (again be specific, e.g. good at bringing on young horses)
'Bombproofing'
NH
Trec
Tuition for older clients with emphasis on exercises to help loosen up creaky old bats like me.
Tuition for older horses to include specific exercises for the horse to stay supple.

Perhaps target your audience according to your style of tuition e.g. calm and sympathetic... or maybe you're more of a motivator with a more forthright approach. Whichever, your prospective clients need to know so that they can make an informed judgement.

I'm sure there are loads more areas of expertise and ideas that others will mention but the ones above are just off the top of my head.
 
My style of teaching addresses everything from a biomechanical stand point. This means we start with and correct the riders position to a really high degree and then work on similar posture changes in the horses carriage. It really is amazing stuff and riders comment on feeling much more secure, can feel what the horse is doing and we talk about not just what to do while riding but which muscle groups are in use and what things need to be done using which body parts/muscles. But the minute I say anything to do with classical or biomechanical people get scared off!
 
I was looking for an instructor but would not use an unknown. I was active within the competition circuit up here and took one year out. When I went back, I recognised hardly anyone as there were so many newcomers. You may find that if you got back on the scene for a short while to network might help.

I find a lot of instructors focus on the horses way of going but I prefer to focus on me first so I know I am being effective and therefore can then help in improving my horse. I ended up going for riding lessons to gain confidence on other ponies and the instructor was exactly what I was looking for so as soon as she started to advertise freelance, I took her up on it.
As others have said, knowing what you focus on may help.
 
Where are you based Zipzop and what areas of teaching do you specialise in (groundwork/jumping/dressage) - do you have your own facilities or do you have access to them - what sort of charges are you going to be charging.
 
Based bedfordshire, my area of interest/expertise is biomechanical positional through any discipline, explained better above. I have access to my,own facilities and people can come,to me or I'm happy to travel. Prices £20 per 45 mins.
 
Your approach to teaching sounds great to me, but perhaps you need to explain it in more 'user friendly' terms? For example can you say something about improving the horses way of going so it is consistent and harmonious, achieving a better connection between horse and rider etc?

I chose my previous instructor because every picture he posted on Facebook showed each horse going in exactly the same way - relaxed but working round and active - he was totally consistent and so I was confident that he would set up Young Cob for a life of ridden work. He specialised in backing young horses and remedial work with 'difficult' horses so had a very clear niche. He also posted A LOT on Facebook and Twitter and developed a very extensive network of contacts (1000s rather than 100s). Tragically he died of a serious illness earlier this year. I now have a teacher who uses similar techniques, but attracts clients in a very different way. I first came across her when I signed up for an explicitly 'classical' in-hand clinic. She does not have to advertise much because she is a very good dressage rider so her competition record does some of the 'selling' in terms of attracting clients.

Good luck!
 
Zipzop said:
My style of teaching addresses everything from a biomechanical stand point. This means we start with and correct the riders position to a really high degree and then work on similar posture changes in the horses carriage. It really is amazing stuff and riders comment on feeling much more secure, can feel what the horse is doing and we talk about not just what to do while riding but which muscle groups are in use and what things need to be done using which body parts/muscles. But the minute I say anything to do with classical or biomechanical people get scared off!
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Then express your self differently .
That's a serious suggestion I am not being flippant .
It's good to know how we ride but if you express in a way that switches people off it's not useful because you don't get a chance to teach anything .
 
One other thought - make sure you are not underselling yourself in terms of price. Both my instructors, and the ones my son has used recently have charged in the region of £40-£45 for 45 minutes, either at their yards or ours (in Berkshire). I think that somewhere in the back of peoples minds they can equate a lower price with lower quality - 'sales' psychology is a strange thing. You could consider a discount for a block of 5 lessons though??
 
Hiya,

Yes I have always wondered how to advertise this style in a more user friendly way as words such as 'classical' and 'biomechanical' definitely scare people aware! Basically I'm all about the rider being as good as they can be posturally throughout the horses movements which in turn means the horse has to have better 'posture' and so you end up with the horse working correctly through his body and achieving the 'on the bit', although I do hate that turn of phrase, you get what I mean tho!
 
Is it possible to get a clinic set up as a deal with a local equestrian centre, this would get you a client base with repeated business and get your name known.
 
Hi OP, a few thoughts.
Maybe try and break down your services into simpler terms. People are very results orientated so perhaps, instead of offering a biomechanics lesson as such, you could talk about achieving specifics instead. This would enable people to know exactly what they're signing up for and why they should choose you. Some random examples would be 'Achieve the perfect 20 metre circle in 45 minutes' or 'Simple strategies for a more secure seat'
These examples are VERY random and I'm sure you could think of snappier titles but I hope they make sense!
Obviously you'd be using your methods but the client would know exactly what they were aiming for instead of being scared off by 'jargon.'
You could also do some more content marketing via your blog. Write a few articles on how to do such and such and stick them up on facebook, targeting riders in your area. FB ads can be quite effective if you target them carefully.
 
I currently work at a riding school at the weekends and have to teach basic 'BHS' style teaching to groups. However when I get to do a private lesson or a small adult group I can much more do 'my thing', as it were.

Now, in these lessons, I love helping people make positional corrections who are then amazed at home much better they feel but at the start of the lesson things go a little like this;
Riders ride round and I have a look. I then see some things I need to improve them on and I say, for example, 'can you feel that your left leg is doing something totally different to your right leg?'
They then say that yes! They can feel it and their regular instructor has commented so many times that there is something wrong with their seat but can't quite pinpoint what it is - so it never gets fixed. I can mostly see exactly what is wrong and say ok, do XYZ and tell me how that feels because I can see it from a more biomechanical point.

How can I market this skill in more user friendly terms?
I can also educate people through issues such as regular instructor will tell client to half halt. Client does what she thinks it means. But when I ask for a half halt I describe to her exactly what should be happening through her body, her arm, her hand, leg what it does to the horses body and what he feels, why it should be timed specifically to what the horse is doing and so on. People seem to enjoy it and I have seen many lightbulb moments and the joy it brings to people finally working with the horse rather than forcing it.

But once again, how the bloody hell would I describe this!?
 
Zipzop said:
Hi all.
I am a qualified instructor and have been for many years. During and once I had qualified I was teaching a little bit freelance alongside another equine job and whilst teaching at a riding school at the week ends.
I picked up more teaching along the way and quit the RS.
I'm not by any means 'blowing my own trumpet' but I was told I did a good job, I helped my clients achieve great progress, sometimes with very difficult horses. We sorted out some problems which other trainers hadn't been able to solve, not because I had a better skill set I'm sure, but because I have a different way of teaching.
My own instructor (who is brutally honest) said I was a good, effective rider (and told me otherwise when I had a crap day!)

The teaching dwindled off and I did other things and stopped pursuing it.

I have tried over the last couple of years to revive my freelancing but I absolutely cannot seem to get any clients. I have tried notice boards at tack places, leaflet dropping at shows, advertising on every available equine page on facebook, having my own website, blogging, I am out of ideas!

I'm not one of those instructors who competes, I don't have any ambition to - is this a hindrance?

Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong?
Click to expand...

Offer to teach at Pony Club or Riding Club - the best way to start to get new clients.
 
Where in Bedfordshire. I would second trying to get in with PC,RCs. Even if it's a one off/ short series of targeted Biomechanical sessions, it will get your name out there. I know Keysoe RC have just asked members for ideas for camp. Maybe you could approach clubs and offer to do an evening demo at their camps.
 
This has struck home to me because I have a similar dilemma. I am a part time BHS qualified freelance instructor with 30 years experience in the saddle. I show jumped with a lot of success in the 90s, have backed, broken and produced numerous horses (including several 'problem' horses). I turned to showing about 12 years ago and again, had much success at a regional level. I have a few very faithful clients who tell me that my lessons are the best they have had but since dropping out of competing due to horse injury and my own health, it has been difficult to pick more clients up due to not being the 'flavour of the month', so to speak. It's quite amusing round here, because an instructor (generally not a qualified one- usually a competition rider), will be the talk of the area for a few months and everyone has lessons with them and then within 6-12 months, it's someone else and everyone jumps on that bandwagon.

Current flavour of the month is a show jumper, who is no doubt very talented in what she does, but having seen some of her lessons, namely the decisions she makes in order to progress a rider and a horse, I have no idea why she is so popular, but can only assume it is coz she is out there doing it herself.
A horse I know is extremely inconsistent over 80-90cms, so much so that rider tends to stick to 60-70cm classes when out and even that is hit or miss. I'm convinced the horse has navicular, it doesn't look sound in front at all and struggles to jump 90cm (it's a very messy display - horse gets under fence and practically lurches over). This instructor whacks fences up to 1m in lessons for this horse, horse massively struggles, barely gets over but bless him, does try. But because she's got the rider 'jumping big', rider is beaming and thinks it's brilliant and returns for lessons every week- but this instructor still turns around and tells her to stick to 60-70cm when out. What is the logic in flogging a struggling animal over 1m then??

Anyway, I digress. I also specialise in nervous riders, animal and biomechanics. I successfully got a teenager and a bolting pony back to a fantastic partnership, have made massive improvements to a novicey client and her newly backed cob and I am also paid to school a few jumping horses.
Interestingly, once I got back out doing dressage again this year, my client base went up again. Seems that people want to see you out there in the ring I suppose.
 
You need to offer your services to local pony and riding clubs.
Do a cheap introductory offer and if you are any good you will get lots of repeat PC/RC clinics but also get private clients too.
 
scats said:
Interestingly, once I got back out doing dressage again this year, my client base went up again. Seems that people want to see you out there in the ring I suppose.
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Can only speak from a personal level, but yes, I want to ride competitively so therefore I want to train with someone who either has lots of competitively successful pupils, or is successful themselves in the area I'm interested in (or both, ideally!) I'm less bothered about formal qualification.

I don't think that's unusual. For me , it shows evidence that the instructor can ride at the level I want to, and can show judges what they want to see. For me, the traditional BHS instructor qualification system alone doesn't demonstrate that.

OP you don't state your type of qualification.. BHSAI/I/etc or UKCC ?

Themed clinics are a good idea firstly to get people interested and secondly to allow people to try a lesson without feeling like they have to commit for the long term. It's a risk-free way for potential new clients to see if they like the way you work.
As well as the biomechanic type work, can you do other stuff like test riding clinics/imaginative gridwork or polework/groundwork (long reining etc). Stuff like that often goes down well.
 
How about offering to judge/steward/write to get back in the loop and get your name about. I always find I tend to use people via word of mouth.
 
Over the years I have paid a lot of money for my daughter to have some absolutely pointless lessons(some of them from 'top' people), given by people that think that being a good rider and getting some competition results means you can teach. More fool me. The ' best' one, arrived half late then spent most of the lesson on the phone.I fact when I think about it the only goods lessons she had were at PC, and off a very good friend who has no ridden qualifications at all, just years in a riding school. Boot camp at Talland was worth the money.
To get contacts you need to do RC/PC and as people have said develop a niche. Coffee morning club, 45min lesson, coffee, ride the test, and then feedback. Same with SJ. Give some free taster sessions or heavily discount the first lesson. A show service, where you arrive essentially groom but are the pair of eyes that is not a relative, that give pointers and tips. How many on here have problems at competition. I would have paid for that for two stroppy teenage girls. Even better if you can tow the trailer.
The equivalent of a spa day. You turn up clip, tidy etc give lesson, check tack , feed etc, if needed.
I would forget about the technical terms, to be honest there a very few people who have actually thought about what they do, sit etc affects how the horse will go. People like to see results, or have good time with value for money, and there is so much choice now.
When you advertise, what area do you cover and what days and a phone number. I am fed of ads that give you no information, or you get no reply to the contact information.
I understand you may not want to compete, but perhaps if you find a young combination through RC/PC that you could mentor you would be seen out. I have stopped going to competitions and I am amazed how few people I know now, a new group has come through and I have few useful active contacts.
 
I don't think the words "classical" or "biomechanics" themselves put people off. I see a number using these terms in adverts successfully, and I use/ have used at least three different trainers who use at least one of these terms. However, I think they can be a red flag when used without basis - who did you train with that makes your approach classical? I've used trainers who've come through one or other of the major classical schools on the continent, but I wouldn't use someone who didn't specify which branch of classical equitation they follow, or who appeared to use it as an excuse not to have competitive results.

The same is loosely true of biomechanics. It's a buzzword these days, and I want to know what makes someone qualified to teach it, if I am to consider training with them - are you a veterinary scientist who specialises in the field, or someone with extensive rehab experience, or are you using it in a looser, vaguer sense to mean you talk about position a lot but not necessarily from the scientific perspective? Without backing up these sorts of terms, you risk alienating the client base who might be drawn to you.

Basically, I'd say it's not the terms themselves that put people off, but how they're used.
 
Ask the local riding club if you can do a few reduced price clinics ... Have theme (dressage, showjumping , whatever ) this will give you exposure to loads of different riders quickly and thus expand your market plus help out the riding club with a good clinic date .
 
The best instructors are not necessarily the biggest names - I've ridden with a lot of v good (international) dressage riders and some r good some r not. The best instructor for you is the one that you understand and click with best who thinks like you do so can challenge dodgy thought patterns the best .
 
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