Progress for the years you have been riding?

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~Howrse~Mad~

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I have been riding for several years, but i feel my riding isn't upto scratch for how many years i have been in the saddle which is about 3 years i still feel myself as being a novice which i suppose i am :(. What should you be able to do within this time roughly, i mean i know everyone is different? And how long should it take to be able to perfect all of the basics and tie all the loose ends (if you have a riding lesson each week) walk, trot, canter, 10, 15, 20m circles, serpentines, figures of eights, on each rein on each diagonal, extended trot and leg yield...
 
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Yeah i do have an instructor, she is a family friend, and has been into horses all her life, and her daughter is also the same and has won several shows with her show ponies, i had some a few years ago from her and i have re-started again only had about four. But i need to re-fresh my memory to all of it ;)
 
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I've been riding for about 10 years but most of that was hacking and I never had formal lessons. I have learned the most in the last 2 years as I work for a professional rider and get lots of brilliant tuition, before I came here I didn't know how to assess a horse's way of going let alone know how to school to improve.

Everyone learns at different rates and there are other factors to take into account as well, like quality and amount of tuition, how regularly you ride, the number and types of horses you have ridden, your confidence etc - there really is no point saying "what should I be able to do in X amount of time" because it's different for every one of us!
 
I always think it is worth changing instructors now and again. They get too used to you and vice versa so I find I reach a plateau where I am not moving forwards. I have swapped riding schools 3 or 4 times over an 8 year period and have used different instructors at each. It is amazing what a fresh set of eyes can do for your riding. I always leave somewhere on a good note and have returned to the one I am at now
 
~Howrse~Mad~ said:
And how long should it take to be able to perfect all of the basics and tie all the loose ends (if you have a riding lesson each week) walk, trot, canter, 10, 15, 20m circles, serpentines, figures of eights, on each rein on each diagonal, extended trot and leg yield...
Click to expand...

i dont think you can *perfect* anything with horses - you are constantly getting better..... take a 20m circle for example. i have been riding for over 15 years ( :O)....... and yesterday they were egg shaped :D, so i was back to practicing my circle shaped circles today!!!

to be honest with only 1 riding lesson a week (i dont know what standard of horse...higher level should = quicker progress) i wouldnt expect someone to be able to go out and win BD test.... you only get on a horse 52 times a year... however i would expect that you could do all of the above to some decree... not perfectly, but have the understanding of the exercise - if the horse you are riding also has the understanding of what is being asked
 
Nothing's ever perfect! As soon as you improve things you then move the goalposts to get it even better. Maybe that's just me? Very frustrating but keeping a diary can help uou look back at where you were :)
 
I ride more aless every day but usually give my horse one day off aweek, i am a happy hacker and only up until recently have started doing anything else other than hacking but i am starting to incorporate schooling and jumping into my routine, and i am starting to become more conscious and more competitive and ambitious to where i want to start competing.
 
I've been riding two years. For a while I used to have twice weekly lessons but mostly, like you OP, once weekly. Like you I find it hard to gauge how much progress I'm making. I know I get more instruction now amd less correction so that could mean that I'm progressing or it could mean my RI has just got accustomed to some of my quirks and has given up correcting me! Eek! I agree with Cavalier that having a different instructor every so often really helps because they see different aspects to your riding and also give directions in a different way which can be really helpful. My RI will change the horses I ride quite regularly in order to keep me challenged and also so that I can adapt to different types of horses. Last week I had a different instructor that I really enjoyed my lesson. I had my favourite horse who is a sensitive soul and can be very tricky to ride. It turned out to be one of the best lessons I've had in ages. Maybe I was trying harder so as not to let my regular RI down or maybe it was how the new RI explained things but at the end I really felt that I was getting the hang of things.
However next week might be a whole different experience as I find its all a bit up and down. As to perfecting things..I don't exect that to happen anytime soon. I usually find as soon as I think I'm getting the hang of it along comes a different horse with a different lesson to teach. :-D love it though. The challenge makes it all with while.
 
I've been riding (and owning) for several decades - up to five horses at once before I had my son - I'm still learning and wouldn't describe myself as an expert. Even the very best preparing for the olympics have regular lessons.
I thought I was pretty good about 5 years ago - my old horse did everything really nicely, then I was given a horse coming out of a professional career - he did exactly what I asked of him - and showed me I really couldn't ride at all !! I was fidgeting and wabbling all over the place which my lovely old boy clearly ignored and did what he knew I was asking for - where as Polo responded to every fidget !!

I'm now a far far better rider but realise I know less than I did before he came to me!
 
I rode a little as a child, was reintroduced to horses through my daughter about 13 years ago so am well used to handling horses and being around them and watching lessons so I had a good grasp of theory but no experience!

I started riding last year... I was taught by an experienced friend who had a suitable horse that needed exercising, she put a western saddle on the horse and a lead line and we went out hacking as many times in a week as we could match schedules. Slowly I went from helpless passenger clinging to the saddle horn and praying to (sort of ) actually riding, best thing I ever did!

After about 3 months I ended up loaning a horse belonging to another friend and eventually bought her, she is a very smart, good horse and very novice friendly but also quite forward going at the same time.

Anyway, long story short, I've been riding for just over a year, I've ridden out hacking in all weathers nearly every day in that time, walk, trot, canter, gallop, encountered lots of different terrain and hacking situations but not done a huge amount of road work nor have I done much schooling. My horse is arthritic and has mild copd so I avoid the school but I know my riding could benefit from some proper schooling sessions. , I sometimes feel like my riding has got worse, I've got lazy
 
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