Louis lesson with Anna Ross-Davies

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katiejaye

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Just a little update on Louis and Rachelskeff's lesson with Anna R-D.

Took the orange monster and Rach to Patchetts for a lesson with Anna yesterday. After having a bad experience with another top dressage rider which was a big waste of money (he basically spent the whole time on his mobile) I was interested to see what we would take away from this lesson.

Well the lesson was worth every penny of the £50 I spent
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Firstly Anna was lovely and very down to earth and was totally focussed for the whole lesson. Not only that but she gave me constant feedback on her thoughts and methods throughout which made me feel totally involved in the whole process. She spent most of the first half an hour on Rachel's position and how to maximise the effectiveness of her seat etc, she was very impressed with Rach
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She was both fair and strict and it was amazing to see the transformation in Louis' way of going just by making little tweaks to Rachel's position. She then spent the second half of the lesson focussing on using Rachel's body/hand position to get Louis' head position more stable (he has a habit of bobbing a bit in the head when he is not coming through properly from behind). They did lots of bending and transitions and lateral work working with straightness etc.

Well she really really liked Louis and commented on how well he was put together and his cadence. She said that he should be easily going out and getting 70% Elementary and with these simple changes she made we should see a big difference in his scores. It was really lovely to hear how complementary she was about Louis.

The lesson was so effective that we have booked another one for next month. I now can't wait until I can ride again and have a lesson with Anna too
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Sounds great, it's so disapppointing when you look forward to your "top" lesson for ages, and then as happened to you, the "great one" doesn't pay you any attention, even though you are paying them shed loads!! I went on a clinic once with a well known event rider, he basically made us gallop down a grid, when my pony had trouble making the distance, as the grid was built for a horse, he told me to gallop faster, it was really rubbish, a waste of time, & I was gutted as I had looked forward to it for ages. Anna sounds really good, bet you can't wait to have a go yourself!
 
Sounds like you have found a trainer to suit you both.
I must admit intructors who talk on their mobiles during training sessions really bug me too. I don't mind if they add the time on at the end, but often they have someone waiting so can't do that.
It's becoming a familiar problem but of course you can't say anything to them, perhaps someone could write to H and H saying how annoying it is?
 
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I went on a clinic once with a well known event rider, he basically made us gallop down a grid, when my pony had trouble making the distance, as the grid was built for a horse, he told me to gallop faster, it was really rubbish, a waste of time, & I was gutted as I had looked forward to it for ages. Anna sounds really good, bet you can't wait to have a go yourself!

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Gosh what a waste of time and money for you
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It really is annoying when they are unwilling to listen to you and take into consideration your pony's individual needs. I've had similar experiences and it really uspets me as like you i've normally really been looking forward to it...it makes it even worse when you've had to save up for it for ages
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Sounds like you all had a great time.
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I sooo wish I could have a lesson with someone like her. There seems to be a shortage in Yorkshire.
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We are def lucky to have her 5 mins down the road
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Sounds like you have found a trainer to suit you both.
I must admit intructors who talk on their mobiles during training sessions really bug me too. I don't mind if they add the time on at the end, but often they have someone waiting so can't do that.
It's becoming a familiar problem but of course you can't say anything to them, perhaps someone could write to H and H saying how annoying it is?

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That's a good idea, I feel a letter to H and H brewing! I don't mind a quick mobile pick up but this certain person spent his whole time constantly speaking on his phone and it was obvious it was nothing urgent either
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It really ate into the session and it really only felt like 5 mins of actual teaching...with Anna's session it was a really full and production with her totally concentrating and tuning into the horse/rider's individual needs.
 
Blimey...you are all too polite! I would say something to the trainer and not pay them their money if they spent almost the whole lesson on the phone. Mobiles do have answering messages so they can get back to their clients when you are not paying them! Certainly don't understand this HH : "but of course you can't say anything to them". Luckily my trainer has excellent manners!
 
It sounds like a terrifically productive lesson, i have always heard really, really good things about Anna R-D and would love to have a lesson with her one day. Do you happen to know, is there a minimum standard that she teaches to? in other wordss, do i need to be out competing at a certain level to have a lesson with her?
 
I have never had this experience with a trainer, but I don't think I would have the guts to say anything which is completely ridiculous! After all, we are paying them for their time, not the other way around
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Maybe we should all be a bit braver and tell them if we are not happy about something.

It sounds as though you had a really successful lesson, even though you were watching as opposed to riding it seems you learned a lot too. We don't really have any people like that around here, only when they come up to do clinics. There is a bit of a drought in the North West. I could do with Emile moving up here...
 
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Do you happen to know, is there a minimum standard that she teaches to? in other wordss, do i need to be out competing at a certain level to have a lesson with her?

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She definately teaches all levels of horse/rider, if you go onto her website she states this.

http://www.annarossdressage.net/services.asp?services_id=3

The best thing to do is to e-mail her, she responds personally and is very helpful. I really recommend it. Just warning though that she will be brutully honest about your position as it's what she thinks is most important
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, the changes she makes are amazingly effective though. DO write an update if you have a lesson.
 
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Blimey...you are all too polite! I would say something to the trainer and not pay them their money if they spent almost the whole lesson on the phone. Mobiles do have answering messages so they can get back to their clients when you are not paying them! Certainly don't understand this HH : "but of course you can't say anything to them". Luckily my trainer has excellent manners!

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I agree, I did consider saying something but it was cold and late and we had a long drive home
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We did complain to someone who has a horse at his yard so hopefully it got back to him! Thankfully my normal trainer is fantastic and a lot cheaper
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That's a good idea, I feel a letter to H and H brewing! I don't mind a quick mobile pick up but this certain person spent his whole time constantly speaking on his phone and it was obvious it was nothing urgent either It really ate into the session and it really only felt like 5 mins of actual teaching...with Anna's session it was a really full and production with her totally concentrating and tuning into the horse/rider's individual needs.


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I once watched my YO have a lesson with a dutch guy. She paid £50+ and he spent the entire lesson making roll ups and puffing away.
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No I really wouldn't ever say anything face to face to trainers who do that, just vote with my money and not book them in future..
It doesn't matter when they add the time on to the lesson, it's when they do their allotted time and finish dead on time that bugs me!
It does seem to be a common thing nowadays for the phone to ring throughout a training session, it's happened with every single trainer we have used in the last few years. Part of modern living I suppose.
 
Gosh, I'm shocked at how many people have had bad experiences of trainers. I guess I've been very lucky, but this hasn't happened to me. My usual trainer leaves his mobile by the wall of his school and switches it to silent when teaching.

When someone comes to my yard to teach, I can understand them wanting to have their phone on them in case they need to be reached in an emergency, but if they spent their time nattering or texting I wouldn't be having them back! Soooo unprofessional and just plain rude.
 
I'm really glad that I'm not the only one who's had a bad experience & not said anything. I booked a lesson with a FBHS once when we were on hol in Gloucester & one of the grooms wandered into my lesson twice, once about someone using someone else's headcollar & once about a lost locker key. Both totally non-urgent & both discussed at complete leisure as if I wasn't even there.

Must have been 4 or 5 years ago & I'm STILL annoyed. At the time I was too afraid to say anything in case the Name ordered me off the yard.
 
The worst thing is, I'm fairly sure I know who you mean katiejaye - my previous RI had a lesson with a certain male Top Dressage Rider who did exactly as you have described!! Leopards and spots come to mind...
 
I wonder what the certain male Top Dressage Rider would say if his pupil whipped out a mobile phone mid-lesson and started chatting to her friends. I'm sure he would find it incredibly rude and insulting; yet the pupil has more entitlement to waste her lesson than he has to waste it for her. He basically thinks he can be paid just for being present, like a celebrity, and has lost sight of the fact that he is actually being employed as a teacher. Yes, write to H&H. IMO in any professional situation, unless you need to receive a specific or emergency call, you turn your mobile OFF- end of.
 
I can't recommend Anna R-D enough. I desparately needed help with my position because I feeel as though I had adapted my position to suit the horses I rode rather than the other way round, and however effective I might be I know that you can always be 10 times more effective if you are sitting correctly and she picked up on it straight away. She pulled me into the most perfect position and I didn't think I'd be abe to ride in it but of course I could and it made all the difference in the world! I can already see a big improvement in the horses I schooled over the wkend
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Anna also gave my confidence in my abilty a massive boost and I can't wait to go back to her!
 
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