got me thinking Re: lessons

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abina

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There have been several posts on here today ( sorry I have been sat here doing boring paperwork-Honest!) that I have been following about peoples perception of their riding, are they too old, too late , worthy of lessons and if they think they are any good and why they don't have lessons.

I am an instructor (23yrs) Judge dressage (10yrs) - I own a riding school, compete my own horses at dressage (I don't jump due to a broken back) run a livery business and still have weekly lessons from my trainer

For me my hour with my trainer every Monday is so treasured ( it costs me a small fortune ) but I consider it money well invested. We spend time working on the minute details - straightness, moving the shoulders across, taking more weight onto the inside hind leg etc - and I just love it - I then spend all week perfecting what we have worked on reday for the next little stage. For me it's not just getting it all right but improving my riding, position, aids and educating myself. It's also about bettering myself, - to make it
easier for my horse to carry me in a balanced and relaxed way of going. This I believe makes it more enjoyable for me and my horse.

So what do you get out of your lessons? how deeply do you take it? do you take what you have learnt and continue with this in your own schooling sessions? Are lessons important to you ?

Any comments welcome!
 
I ride at what is (for me) the best riding school I have ever been to!

They have taken me from someone who, in february this year, before starting weekly lessons, would burst into tears at the thought of riding, to someone who cannot WAIT to canter :D

You only have to read my lesson reports to see how much i love them! :D x
 
Where I used to live I had a fantastic instructor and I loved having lessons with her. She was patient, kind and tough at the same time, so she really made me ride properly! Both me and my horse improved alot under her tuition.

Before I rode with her I had tried a different instructor who was rude and nasty about my mare, so I never had a lesson with her again. I later found out that she often made her clients cry.
 
I would *love* to have lessons as you've described! That's what my piano lessons are like, & despite having no talent whatsoever, I've got to small tour standard pieces through this approach.

Jumping...my trainer is very experienced at teaching, but really & truly, all she does is put the jumps up & gives the odd command (kick!! more left rein!!), & gives me the confidence to do more than I think I can. Sometimes I wish it was more technical, but I'm really quite wet & jumped tracks in lessons of 1 m 25 & competed to 1 m 15 with her help, which is astonishing.

Dr - my trainer is an ex international eventer who has competed in pure dr to PSG & whose youngster is competing at AM. In lessons, she wants to ride Trev without explaining what she's doing, then announces that he's 'better', & after the lesson I'm always a bit bemused re what we actually did & what I should work on. I always start these lessons with the best intentions re getting homework etc but can't seem to deviate from the above.

Other trainer...chief BHS & PC examiner...puts jumps up at home & watches me trotting about but never says much! Has said that she can get us to elem...but not sure how when we never seem to progress or teach him anything, & she just says, 'oh, he's really coming on' every 5 minutes.

Not sure what the answer is really...

If only my piano teacher also taught dressage cos he's fab at getting progress from the talentless!!
 
I am an instructor, have my own business (livery, riding school and training of RDA horses), and have competed for my country in polocrosse...and I still have a lesson every week like you.

I am lucky enough to have an instructor who is best friends with Yogi Breisner, so I get the odd session with him too which is incredible! My trainer has competed at the top level of pretty much everything, and has helped me so so much. My position and strength really suffered after my accident, and she has helped me fix most of the problems my injuries caused. She gets on my horses and they look a million dollars even while she's just adjusting the bloody stirrups, and I long to be able to make them go half as well as she does! She has particularly helped with my old boy's recovery after his injury - building up topline and encouraging him to use his quarters more to regain suppleness.

I couldn't have brought on my current youngster without her - it's so wonderful to have someone on the ground noticing things that you can't even feel, like the fact that since my accident, I overcompensate for my restricted movement in my left side by lifting my right hand like a nutjob!

I think that the day a rider says they no longer need lessons is the day they fail their horse. My big lad is so much better than I'll ever be - he's been a puissance horse, has competed at grand prix dressage, and he has taught me so so much. He is very good at sticking his nosey in, looking pretty and pretending he's working, but it takes a hell of a lot of riding to get him working properly and tracking up etc., which my instructor has helped me with.

No more wild polocrosse riding for me!
 
Catembi - I think you've really answered the question yourself - to me your not getting what you want out of your training sessions - you know how you learn and get motivated ( re piano teacher) so new trainers needed! It's your money and it's not well spent if your not getting a 100% out of it ! - Enjoy looking for a new trainer !
 
Starzaan - I too have had the odd lesson with Yogi which is like having all the cake and eating it ! amazing person ! Was also lucky enough to have Tracie Robinson when she was head girl at Tallands when I was training and always still now remember and treasure our lessons !
 
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