How much do you pay for lessons?

[langside]

On a regular - once a week basis that is for showjumping or dressage?


Just wondering if costs have effected you too in the sense of having less lessons such as one every other week or choosing different regular trainers due to them being cheaper even though 'normal' trainer is very good it just comes down to cost?

 

[monkeybum13]

I have 2 lessons for week. Thursday - jumping, saturday - flatwork
Currently I have the midweek lessons for free (3 free for christmas and 3 free for my birthday)
When paying I get a special price of £10 per hour, Me and mum are good friend's with instructor and help out ie give hers a feed on a morning, hay them on weekend. She is a BHSI and evented to advanced level.
If lessons cost me more I think we'd have to go to once a week, maybe even once a fortnight (depending on cost)

 

[Kayfm]

I have a great trainer. Cost wise, £35 for 45 mins.

 

[Joss]

Absolutely no chance of affording once a week lessons. But once monthly ones are £25 plus £8 for hire of the indoor school.

Have paid up to £45 for 45 mins - but thats for an extra special treat & not regular occurence. Yes, cost most certainly has stopped me many, many times. Partly because we normally have the additional cost of travelling to lessons. We now have a very local indoor school which is only 40 mins away but previous our nearest winter venue was 1 1/2 hrs away. I have come to terms with the £1/min rate of top trainers but have yet to find one that warranted paying anymore than that.

 

[Vikki89]

I have weekly lessons, £20 for 45mins, flatwork and jumping. Have had the same instructor for over a year and have no plans on changing

 

[ecrozier]

I aim and plan to have one flatwork lesson a fortnight, and my dressage instructor is £25 and hour plus travel (v cheap around here but she teaches more because she enjoys it than needs the money I think as is retired.)
At the mo I am not jumping but usually have one jump lesson a month with a different instructor and she charges £35 an hour and will come to me or I can go to her and use bigger school/better jumps. I am currently having lessons on the youngster with her every other week too and she charges me £20 a time - we probs never even do half an hour actual ridden work but she is usually with me at least 45 mins as I run through what I have been doing with him over the last couple of weeks and what we should work on until the next lesson etc....she helped back him so has known him from the start!

 

[Shipley]

I pay £12.50 for weekly jump sessions, Riding club clinics are £23 and XC clinic £30 I have to weatch how much I am spending I used to have fortnightly lessons at £35 a time but cant really afford it so have changed to lessons at my yard

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

dressage only, i pay one trainer £35 and one £40 for 45 mins each.

my clinician i pay £25 an hour (great value for a GP trainer!)

i see each trainer once a month and clinician 3/4 times a year for a 2 day clinic each time.

i will gladly give up lunches, and wear holey shoes in order not to scrimp on training and competing lol!

 

[Jingleballs]

At the moment I have on flatwork lesson every two weeks at £30 for 45 minutes.

Once pony is fitter I'll also have 1 jumping lesson a month at £20 per hour.

 

[VioletStripe]

I have one Pony Club lesson a week, with around 2 or 3 other people in a group. One week we do flatwork, the next we do jumping. Because it's a group Pony Club I pay £15 for an hour. I also get free insurance for being part of the Pony Club

xx

 

[only_me]

Try to get one lesson a month, not easy when at uni and only home at weekends! I plan to do an event every other weekend (student loans are great!) and hopefully get a lesson when not eventing - bit difficult though when trainer will be at the events

I get lessons from eventer who is great, I pay £25 to £35 (dependant on how long lesson and what we do ). We do flatwork for jumping as well as jumping

dressage trainer I need to get lesson with (£35) but finding the time is V difficult!

my YO teaches me as well, she is fantastic, she is also a BHSI - free

 

[SW66]

Try to have a lesson every week from January to end of event season but due to weather & horsebox not starting

I still have not ventured out. However should be getting box sorted this week so fingers crossed for first lesson this weekend.

£25 + travel costs per hour with an eventer.

 

[FigJam]

I'm aiming for one lesson a month, but the way they're working out schedule-wise, they're all happening a bit close together! Still, can consider it boot camp instead?!

I don't have a regular trainer as such, but I do have a couple that I will make the effort to get a lesson with as regularly as I can afford it/can fit it in.

I'm also keen to try lessons with other instructors, just to see if they offer anything different or spot something that other's haven't, have a different approach, thing to try etc.

Cheapest lessons I have are £20 for shared (with one or two others) through the riding club. I'll occasionally spend £30 for a shared (max. group of 4) lesson at local centre with trainer I know I like and have spent up to £45 for XC training. I really want another lesson with Ian Stark as he's up near me in April, but worried it will be too expensive and I'd be better with 2 lessons with a more regular trainer, even though I really enjoyed my XC lesson with him last year.

Doing the re-act training clinic with Jeanette Brakewell tomorrow, it's only £40 which is pretty good value, I'm in a group of 3.

Will report back!

 

[cptrayes]

Grand Prix level dressage and BYRDS trainer £30 and an absolute bargain. I go once every two weeks because I can't practice/change enough in a week to make it worth going more often. Cost is also an issue, though this is cheap for the experience my trainer has.

 

[jens]

I manage one flatwork lesson once a fortnight. It costs me £40 for 45mins and £5 for the arena hire.
I always thoroughly enjoy them and wish I could have them every week but the instructor only travels to my area once a fortnight.

 

[MandyMoo]

sj - £25 michael potter

dr - £40 liz taylor

xxxx

 

[Sarah_Star]

I pay £15 for 30 mins with my YO who's a BHSAI, having 2 lessons a week atm. Then once a month I pay £45 for an hour in an indoor school with another instructor who's a BHSI

 

[langside]

Thanks for all your replies its interesting to see how much difference there is

Now this might sound mean but im glad im not the only one struggling

I struggle for both time and money despite having a pt job and student loan and then the added fun of not being able to drive the box so having to schedule around the taxi man and his job is just great!!

Currently im going through the either compete or train dilemma and have opted for training (one BE entry is £70 so might as well 3 lessons to attempt to be decent and not look pathetic

)

Dressage trainer is great costs just £20 and travels to yard for 45min although its normally a good hour and shge never charges any more but she depends on availability - e.g. shes off to sunshine tour soon so really she's more a monthly slot

i enjoy one-offs and group sessions but really i need someone more regular......


Now the dilemma I have is current regular trainer costs £35 for 1hour had lessons with her for donkeys years and still really enjoy them – she knows me and the beast
Problem is a young event rider has set up their yard with facilities and started teaching but is only charging £25 per hour

Both are the same distance to travel to so that’s not a factor
Both have rode at 4* regular trainer previously (last time was 3 years ago) new event rider currently (aiming for Badminton I think this year) but is much younger - obviously probably has less experience but would that put you off?

Just £10 can go a long way…….

but at the same time i don't want to offend as theres really no other reason than ££££

 

[kerilli]

i'd probably have a trial lesson with the young one, and decide then, if it was me.
i'm not having instruction now (can't ride at the mo) but as soon as i can i'll be going back to my usual trainers, at £40 an hour, as often as i can afford (monthly-ish for dr, fortnightly or monthly for jumping). i'd rather have someone i know and trust for that much than someone else for half that...

 

[Leg_end]

When pony is in work we have fortnightly lessons and I'll try and squeeze in a jump lesson once a month when we get closer to the start of the season.

My trainer is an Int event rider and charges £30 per hour. He is the best instructor I have ever had and I hold him in very high regard.

 

[Shrimp]

I used to try and have a lesson everyweek, alternating between flatwork and jumping (2 different instructors) Paid around £25 for each I think though I had to travel to my jumping instructor. Both were high level eventers though neither really compete much anymore, one was an accredited trainer. When/If I get a horse again I would definitely go back to them both.
Agree with Kerilli, can you have a trial lesson or two? Then you can decided whether you like them or not and if its worth the £10 difference

 

[tink101]

I have same trainer for both concebtrating on flat work over winter as can only jump in field, have lessons most weeks and pay 30 for about an hour and a half .... and Id happily pay double

 

[langside]

Well i've followed your advice and booked a lesson to trial her this thursday (already a positive in my book as she doesn't mind doing evening teaching

) will probably try and get another in after unless its utterly negative to try and get a better idea
will report back

 

[madhector]

£30 jumping £25 flatwork, have on average one a week if I can afford it, which at the moment I cant!

 

[jumptoit]

£25 p/hour for a mix of flatwork and jumping, I try to get them every week if possible and I also have PC rallies on top of that they range from £10 - £30 for 1/2 hours tuition.

 

[stencilface]

Used to be £15 for half an hour jumping, although would often go over without extra cost. Flatwork I pay £30 per hour, but she doesn't clock watch, and will go on longer

She charges me more than others as has to travel 30-40 mins to come and teach me, and I'm the only one she teaches in my area

I also pay £10 for the school hire as I don't have my own

But she is great, trained with Chris Bartle, and is very constructive and critical of every small point (something that is needed) but we also have a good laugh too

I have one lesson a week for 3-4 weeks then have a break for my bank balance, I want to have them more regularly though....

 

[lizzieb]

Last time I had a lesson (nearly 2 years ago) I paid £20 for however long I needed with a 4* eventer. Some days is was 30 mins, others it was 1hr 30 mins!

I would love to be having lessons now but sadly my new horse is still off games so I will have to wait a bit longer

 

[BronsonNutter]

Used to have an annual o) lesson with the YO for about £20 for roughly an hour. He was fab but really didn't like Bronson that much.
Now I just do PC rallies every once in a while - probably once a month or every other month? There's a reason I'm so bad

! Most are in an evening so it depends on whether or not we can get there. Dressage is £10 for an individual half hour slot with a lady who's ridden to PSG (I think?) and SJ is £12.50 for an hour's group lesson (4 people) with a really good trainer.

 

[coen]

I am now having flatwork lesson's once every 3 weeks and its £30 for 30mins. The lady only comes to the area every 3 weeks & besides I would be hard pushed to find the money on a more regular basis.

I had tried getting lessons every 2 weeks with a local instructor but that didn't work out well, I tried 2 both were shocking. They charged £25 for hour but I would rather never have lessons than inflict them on my horse.