Question for instructors- or anyone who is opinionated!

[matthew]

I posted earlier saying i was very sore after my first lesson in about 5 years!
Any way - i really wasnt impressed with the lesson and just wanted opinions!
To start with 2 people were over 15 minutes later so we had to wait for them to tack up etc ( this was a lesson full of adult novices as i wasnt sure were to put my self on my first go!) so we were walking round for about 10 minutes- no instruction on nice active walks etc just literally walking round! then when the ( very rude) people arrived we proceeded to trot round (rising) for about half an hour -all the instructed kept telling the novices was to check their diaganals! we did a few changes of rain and a few strides of sitting trot! at no point did she offer any advise we just kept trotting- roung and round and round and round............................................ still awake anyone????
We got one canter each- the riding school way of always asking for canter in the corner- that was it no instruction on position- it was literally well done if you could actually get a canter!
Tehn with about 10 mintutes to spare we popped a tiny cross pole- eveyone stood in a line waitng for there one go!
Am i being a bitch or would you be happy to pay £15 for this! i knew they are novices and it was my first lesson in a while but the horses knew what they were doing before they were even asked - a sure sign that things are just not varied!!!!
opinions????????????????????????

 

[teapot]

All I can say is that I'm so so so lucky where I ride. My RS wouldn't dream of doing that in a lesson

I think you've got every right to be annoyed by that. And the fact that she wasn't offering any advice - err how are you suppose to learn/improve etc?

No wonder riding schools get bad names.

 

[Super_Kat]

I would always expect to be given advice about my position and how to improve it to help the horses way of going, after alll, sorting out your position is a big part of learning to ride. If I were you I'd find another riding school because that one sounds pants!

 

[Tierra]

Ive posted recently that over all, I think the standard of tuition in this country is incredibly poor. There are of course exceptions and we do have some fantastic trainers and establishments in the UK (some well known, some very much unsung), but in comparison with the continent we seem to be very much behind.

Another poster put her finger on the issue (imo) when she said that the problem with the UK is that people are taught on the basis that riding is a pastime and not an actual sport. (Apologies to that poster! I dont remember your name!)

I dont think you need to be told that you probably arent going to learn much in the kind of lesson you had. As for the options open to you... Where abouts are you based? And are you wanting general lessons or discipline specific?

 

[matthew]

It is pants i just need to know of a decent instructor! i used to have private lessons on my horse but the instructors i used came to me and only on my own horse- i really want to just go for a manic hack with lots of galloping! i thought i would be nervous but i wasnt!
I need to improve my seat in sitting trot as it is appauling at the mo!
Im just so out of touch i need to find a really decent instructor-im not paying for that crap again!

 

[miller]

Cascade - I'm in Lincs, PM me where you are and the school if you like and I'll see if I can think of anyone

 

[SouthWestWhippet]

I think that sounds awful. For a start, if there were people in the lesson who were struggling to get canter, why did the instructor then go on to jump with them? That doesn't sound very structured.

And, although people are sometimes late (it does happen to us all) their horses should have been tacked up ready for them... and the lesson should have started without them.

Also, I agree that if a ride is trotting round, the instructor should be TEACHING people - telling them what to do to ride better.

If you came out of your first lesson in 5 years feeling bored and frustrated... I think you have your answer as to whether the teaching was good enough! I hope you find away to have a better lesson next time