Intensive course abroad

[Grajo]

Has anyone ever did any Intensive riding courses abroad? I am planning to go on long vacation (sometime from November till April - subject to COVID regulations). I will be probably at least 16th private lesson by end of October. Up to 3 months.


I have been offered a place doing Voluntary for a Polo Stable in Argentina for this year for a small fee where I can also learn to play polo as well as doing everyday horse-chores and learn how to train polo horses. - but at the moment we are "red" list to them.

Last week I applied for a 12 week voluntary outside Windhoek in Namibia for a Appaloosa Stable. My application was successfully accepted only to change their mind in 2-3 days later (((

I would need real-life experience before starting University next year!

 

[Cowpony]

There's a difference between an intensive course and volunteering. An intensive course would be expensive and you'd ride a couple of times a day under instruction. If you volunteer you are likely to be mucking out and doing yard chores most of the time, especially when they see you are a novice rider. You'd probably get the occasional lesson in return, but it wouldn't be an intensive riding course. If you are really lucky you might get to exercise the horses more regularly, but it wouldn't be a lesson and that's less likely for a novice rider.

if you want to volunteer its all good experience. Does it have to be abroad? There are plenty of yards in the UK needing help at the moment, or you could try the rescue charities.

 

[Winters100]

If it is polo that you are interested in then you aill have to look outside of Europe for the dates that you mention, as that is out of season, so not much going on.

I also think you might need to be a bit realistic about how much / what type of riding you will really get. You say that you will be on your 16th private lesson by then, so I am assuming that outside of this you have not done much riding. I am afraid that in a 3 month stay they will not be able to teach you to train polo ponies, although you will probably gain a theoretical knowledge by watching the youngsters being trained.

If you really need riding experience then I think that you might be better investing the money that you would have spent on flights etc in getting yourself a loan horse and an instructor, and taking a lot of lessons. Flights to Argentina are quite expensive, so it would be a reasonable sum.

You should also maybe consider that Covid travel regulations can change quickly, and given the way the UK seems to be heading now it might by November be on red lists for a lot of countries. Hotel quarantine is expensive, and it could be that some countries require it by this time.

Another alternative would be to think about moving more quickly and trying to find a volunteer position immediately, either within the UK or Europe. It might be quite difficult with so little experience, but perhaps possible. If there is a club near you then maybe drop in and ask if you can just help out grooming, untacking etc. I would not mention riding, and would view it as a bonus if you get some, but they would probably teach you some basics of preparing the ponies etc, and this will be useful if you later on want to volunteer somewhere.

You should also give careful consideration to your own safety. If you will be offered riding are the horses safe for your level? Remember that a lot of other countries do not have the health and safety rules and culture which exists in the UK, many will view it as entirely your own responsibility if you get on a horse who is too much for you. You will also probably see a lot of people riding with no basic protection, not even a helmet. DO NOT be afraid of being the odd one out. Wear you helmet whenever you are on a horse, no matter how hot it is - the risk-reward ratio of riding without a helmet does not make it worthwhile. Also make sure that your insurance is valid for whatever you will be doing.

Good luck and I hope that you find something fun and worthwhile.

 

[Orangehorse]

Good post, Winters.

Probably not a lot of help right now, but I went on a riding holiday to Montana where they employed young people (I think employed might have been a bit of an exaggeration) to do the chores, cleaning the rooms, the main hosting area, helping with preparation of food and cooking and then they could ride in the afternoons when the jobs were done. The faster the work got done, the more riding they could do. One of the guests was an 18 year old who was going to study to become a vet, and she signed on to come back the following year as a holiday job.

They didn't get paid much, all the guests paid some extra in cash on top of the holiday cost and we were told this was a tip for the staff, so they had board and lodging and riding, but not much money. And foreign workers would have paid their own flights.

I'm not sure if there are many establishments like this in the UK, but it would be a different angle for you to look at.

 

[only_me]

I think any voluntary post is unlikely to include riding lessons for a beginner (16th lesson or not) and that if your aim is to ride to a reasonable safe standard then an intensive course of riding lessons would be more suitable.

Polo horses are a completely different type of horse to a riding school horse - even the most relaxed horse will be different And unlikely to put up with the mistakes every beginner makes.

The horses you would be put on will not be riding school trained and likely to be a lot more reactive.

I worked in Kenya on a safari and my main role was training the youngsters to adjust to treking life. I took them on the guest ride outs for their safari as well as a lot of flatwork to try to create pleasant responsive horses for tourists to spend hours in the saddle. Plus basic jump and what I call “hunt” work - they had to learn to weave around the bush trees and watch their feet over rough ground as well as jump so they can be as safe as possible Themselves and for the rider. Plus go from 0-60 on request without loosing their heads when required (emergency go!) It was an amazing experience however totally unsuitable for a beginner.

As a beginner you are of limited value to the voluntary scheme except for groom/yard work. You could maybe hack out some of the horses.

I wonder would you be better going to European riding schools as they are maybe more likely to offer courses as well have horses to progress onto as you improve, unlike the majority of riding schools here.

Do you have any experience of yard work? Ie. tacking up, bandaging, grooming - polo horses usually have a lot of tack and riders can be very specific in what they want on.
have you mucked out etc. For general yard duties?

 

[MuddyMonster]

Does it have to be abroad?

If you based in the UK, it might be worth seeing if somewhere like Talland School of Equitation or another large EC offers intensive week, two weeks (or however long you need) offers school masters suitable for novice and you could have a number of lessons in a day.

It won't be cheap but nor will international travel be & I'm not sure how reliably you'll ne able to travel by November, either ....

I'm not sure what your doing at university, but what sort of experience do you need?

It might be worth looking to enrol on a stable management course - BHS run indistry recognised courses - for practical day to day handling of horses.

 

[Winters100]

Do you have any experience of yard work? Ie. tacking up, bandaging, grooming - polo horses usually have a lot of tack and riders can be very specific in what they want on.
have you mucked out etc. For general yard duties?

This is completely right, and preparing them is not really something that most players would entrust to someone who is inexperienced, as when changing horses there is very little time, so you have to trust that the groom has done everything in a safe and correct manner. To my mind someone with no experience would be mainly useful as an extra pair of hands when untacking and walking the horses after playing, but obviously if they came along regularly they would probably learn to do a lot of other tasks.

 

[TPO]

How old are you OP? Just for Visa options worldwide

 

[Grajo]

Good post, Winters.

Probably not a lot of help right now, but I went on a riding holiday to Montana where they employed young people (I think employed might have been a bit of an exaggeration) to do the chores, cleaning the rooms, the main hosting area, helping with preparation of food and cooking and then they could ride in the afternoons when the jobs were done. The faster the work got done, the more riding they could do. One of the guests was an 18 year old who was going to study to become a vet, and she signed on to come back the following year as a holiday job.

They didn't get paid much, all the guests paid some extra in cash on top of the holiday cost and we were told this was a tip for the staff, so they had board and lodging and riding, but not much money. And foreign workers would have paid their own flights.

I'm not sure if there are many establishments like this in the UK, but it would be a different angle for you to look at.

I am not going there expecting to get paid. It is the point of my posting. Either doing an intensive course or doing voluntary (with some riding/polo lessons) or bit both 50-50 whenever possible.

 

[Grajo]

Does it have to be abroad?

If you based in the UK, it might be worth seeing if somewhere like Talland School of Equitation or another large EC offers intensive week, two weeks (or however long you need) offers school masters suitable for novice and you could have a number of lessons in a day.

It won't be cheap but nor will international travel be & I'm not sure how reliably you'll ne able to travel by November, either ....

I'm not sure what your doing at university, but what sort of experience do you need?

It might be worth looking to enrol on a stable management course - BHS run indistry recognised courses - for practical day to day handling of horses.

Talland School had already reject me because of "COVID". Quob Stables had an intensive course but they no longer doing it!! They only offer EXPERIENCED riders at the moment

My local riding stable does have Stable Management but they aren't doing at the moment (COVID).

Yes I want abroad - to be far away from here!!