Riding Schools and cost of living crisis

[SO1]

I had 5 tokens left for the riding school. I was riding twice a week and it was cheaper for me to get the buy 10 lessons get 1 free deal even though I was looking for another horse. I rode there for a year before getting Bert.

My tokens expire at end of June as they last a year so I thought I better use them up. I used to ride once in the evening after work in a group lesson and then do a hack at the weekend.

So I booked in for the group lesson on Thursday evening and was the only person there so it ended up being a private lesson. I am booked for this Thursday evening and still only person on the lesson at the moment at this rate I will end up getting 5 private lessons for the price of a group lesson.

When I was riding there regularly it was never just me and often the lessons were full with 6 people. They do evening lessons most evenings.

I am not complaining as having a 45 minute private lesson in a huge indoor school for the price of a group is nice.

A 45 minute group lesson is £63 without a token so I am presuming that it is a cost issue and people cannot no longer afford to go regularly. Though the staff said it is still busy at the weekends and the Wednesday evening class is more popular.

When I was there I also did a lunge and jump challenge award that was a 4 week evening course. I also did some adult horse days at the weekends which included stable management.

 

[pistolpete]

Everywhere in the south of England is just so expensive for riding. I recently did a two hour hack which was £120. Often an hour hack locally is over £50. No idea how people afford to go more than occasionally. It’s why I’m a sharer.

 

[nutjob]

A one hour group lesson is £30 near me, you're expected to get the horse ready yourself if competent but I'm surprised it can keep going at this cost. Possibly subsidised by other income streams.

 

[Glitter's fun]

My nearest RS is £30 for an hour group lesson. They're fully booked , even weekdays. For children's beginner lessons there's a long waiting list.
They're in a very scenic place & seem to do a lot of group hacks for tourists. They're fully booked for that & go several times each day. Maybe that's how they keep going? - In some locations all the business must be concentrated at weekends?


Edited because I realised this is all meaningless without location! We are in a touristy part of Scotland!

 

[criso]

I had 5 tokens left for the riding school. I was riding twice a week and it was cheaper for me to get the buy 10 lessons get 1 free deal even though I was looking for another horse. I rode there for a year before getting Bert.

My tokens expire at end of June as they last a year so I thought I better use them up. I used to ride once in the evening after work in a group lesson and then do a hack at the weekend.

So I booked in for the group lesson on Thursday evening and was the only person there so it ended up being a private lesson. I am booked for this Thursday evening and still only person on the lesson at the moment at this rate I will end up getting 5 private lessons for the price of a group lesson.

When I was riding there regularly it was never just me and often the lessons were full with 6 people. They do evening lessons most evenings.

I am not complaining as having a 45 minute private lesson in a huge indoor school for the price of a group is nice.

A 45 minute group lesson is £63 without a token so I am presuming that it is a cost issue and people cannot no longer afford to go regularly. Though the staff said it is still busy at the weekends and the Wednesday evening class is more popular.

When I was there I also did a lunge and jump challenge award that was a 4 week evening course. I also did some adult horse days at the weekends which included stable management.

There's another riding school not too far which now has an indoor school which it didn't before and is cheaper so I wonder if there is more competition.

Their group lessons or hacks are £43/£50 for 45/60 minutes for adults.
They're not as smart and a bit more difficult with public transport but actually might be more fun for kids at least. The indoor school will have made it more attractive for evening lessons in particular in the winter.

I did a hunter trial there and lots of the riding school pupils were competing and having a great time.

 

[stangs]

There's another riding school not too far which now has an indoor school which it didn't before and is cheaper so I wonder if there is more competition.

Their group lessons or hacks are £43/£50 for 45/60 minutes for adults.
They're not as smart and a bit more difficult with public transport but actually might be more fun for kids at least. The indoor school will have made it more attractive for evening lessons in particular in the winter.

I did a hunter trial there and lots of the riding school pupils were competing and having a great time.

Which yard is this? Can’t think of any new indoor school builds in the area.

 

[Skib]

I am a sharer too with a monthy contract but have paid £50 or £60 for a ride for years. I used to ride twice a week, a hack and a lesson and always intended to return to that. Due to Covid lockdown, I too have massive pre paid credit at a local school.

 

[whirlwind]

From someone who teaches a few times a week at a local BHS school we are busier than ever. £36 for group hours and most nights have 2 hour club sessions with stable management as well. These are 12 week sessions signed up and prepaid in advance in the southwest area. I teach from 4-8 most evenings and have a minimum of 6 in each group!

 

[webble]

The prices you mentioned sound quite expensive compared to the schools around here so maybe that is why?

 

[MuddyMonster]

Everywhere in the south of England is just so expensive for riding. I recently did a two hour hack which was £120. Often an hour hack locally is over £50. No idea how people afford to go more than occasionally. It’s why I’m a sharer.

To be fair, although not cheap per se I think it's still largely value for money when you consider the running costs of horses and running a business.

I pay £50 for a lesson on my own horse and almost £90 for a school master lesson - the quality of horses and instruction make it good value for money

Especially when you look at the cost of instruction for other sports - my OH pays £75 for golf instruction, for example.

 

[Orangehorse]

If I go for an hour's hack it is £40.00. It is good country, quite a few canters and little or no road work.

 

[criso]

Which yard is this? Can’t think of any new indoor school builds in the area.

Gillian's in Clay Hill Enfield.

When I say new, a couple of years ago. There's also been a lot of rebuilding of stables too. It doesn't have exactly the same offering and facilities as TP but it all looks much smarter on Facebook than it used to so I wonder if they've picked up some clientele looking for a cheaper option.

Slightly better hacking as they're close enough to Whitewebbs for that to be their standard hack rather than a pub ride.

 

[teapot]

Interesting post @SO1 - will properly reply later as I’ve experienced both sides of the fence

 

[MerryMaxmas]

I've been looking at rs prices in my area recently, I've not ridden for about 8 years and hope to get back to it in the next couple of years so was looking at prices of various places, 2 very local unapproved schools charge £18/20 for half an hour private, whereas the 2 (bigger and further away) approved schools charge £35/40, maybe the difference is to do with bring approved? Northwest England area

 

[I'm Dun]

I've been looking at rs prices in my area recently, I've not ridden for about 8 years and hope to get back to it in the next couple of years so was looking at prices of various places, 2 very local unapproved schools charge £18/20 for half an hour private, whereas the 2 (bigger and further away) approved schools charge £35/40, maybe the difference is to do with bring approved? Northwest England area

I'm glad to hear your looking to ride again. I remember your posts about your health struggles. How are you doing now?

 

[HollyWoozle]

My fiancé has been having lessons at a nice stables here in Cambs. They can only offer shared lessons and he's a beginner, meaning he has to go in a class with small children essentially, but it's £22 for half an hour which just seems bonkers. He is always on the horse for a good 45 minutes in reality and once they split him out and he had a private lesson as the class was busy and his horse was four times the size of the kids' ponies.

He'd rather have private lessons but at £22 a pop it's absolutely worth the money just to have the experience and gain confidence of being on a horse. I went along once and it's a lovely yard with good facilities. I can't see how they can make much off it to be honest!

 

[teapot]

Wanted to give this a proper reply as I've sat in meetings over what to charge, but also was (though not ridden in a while) a client at one of the most expensive centres in the UK, so my opinions firmly straddle both sides of the fence. Caveat of this is in the south where prices are very different.

From a business point of view - you only ever really make money on group lessons, activities like pony owning days, or camps are even more beneficial to a business. For a private lesson say of 45 mins, the costs involved will be the coach at c.£18 an hour, the groom who tacked the horse up at £12 an hour, and the office staff on £12 an hour who handled the admin side. That's £42 already and the lesson may only be £45/£50! Then you have to factor in the daily cost of the horse, who could potentially only be doing one lesson that day. So imagine the repeated costs of one person in a group lesson, or days of privates. People really don't understand the daily running costs of a centre (I know where SO1 is referring to - their overheads will be large, like where I was). So group lessons become your best change of covering all costs. Now, once you've done the maths you then have to consider what your clients are willing to pay, what your rivals are offering (we literally had a spreadsheet of different centres, costs, size of group lesson, facilities, level of coach etc and it's amazing what you can find out without having to mystery shop )

However imho one of the biggest issues with riding schools is the financial management or lack of. SO so many places continue to run at a loss because a) they've never been priced correctly b) and now literally cannot afford to make the jump in their prices to try and break even. Clients get TOO used to paying too little for something and while yes absolutely jumping from £20 to £40 would be a hit for most people's pockets, these riding schools simply cannot afford for their clients to jump ship. So that's the biggest vicious circle there is.

Then there's value for money and again I feel this is understimated when it comes to what clients want/understand. If you charge £40, the coaches are only to x level, but you can always book a lesson, the staff are polite and horses are well cared for, people will keep going back, maybe even book a second lesson, and won't run for a 'better option' because they appreciate what they're getting. My old job we had exteremly loyal clients in part because the price increases were subtle, but there were trade offs. Keep clients on side without thinking they're being ripped off and they end up booking more! Aside from the obvious too expensive/cost of living crisis - clients at that centre may well be balancing the value for money aspect. Are they getting what THEY want for the cost they are happy to pay, which is a very personal thing I feel? One person will throw £80 at a group lesson, someone else wouldn't pay over £50. They may well have gone down to two a month just to tick over, I personally wouldn't immediately think it's only cost of living crisis. In my old job, our evening lessons were always far quieter the moment it was light after 6pm with the weekend day time lessons quieter in winter. Once the clocks went back again there were waiting lists again for the evenings.

From a business side though it is a very subtle art balancing of the scales - if do x, will we lose y, but many are running at a loss unless they have other incomes in place - training courses, loaning, liveries, arena hire etc.

With my client hat on, I absolutely get the costs involved and price rises, and again agree that a lot of people under value and sell what they offer. We do not do a cheap sport, stop offering a lesson at £20 type. However, when you start getting to £80 for a group lesson or £100+ for a 45minute private lesson without looking at your business model, the customer service, the range of horses, allocations, facilities, level of coach, I think it can begin to take the mic. Lesson provision has dropped off a cliff at my centre since reopening after the first lockdown in 2020. They have enough space that they could run 8/10 lessons at any one point and have the coaching and horse power to go with it. Yet in every lesson release, you struggle to book a private lesson with a senior coach. Not because they're fully booked, but because those arenas are stood empty (and costing money to stand empty too...) Then you get an email saying 'oh we need to increase our prices to cover our costs'. No, you need to run more lessons/training/courses etc. Trying to pull the wool over clients' eyes when most of us have seen how quiet the place is on a weekend, let alone a week day, is just an insult. I went there once to find I was the coach's only lesson that day, and was the only lesson being taught in that specific hour's slot; they certainly weren't being paid minimum wage either.

Now, I adore the place and have done and will continue to pay the price for their private lessons because there's no where else that comes close horse power and coaching wise. Group wise, since my last lesson which wasn't great AND the price increase I won't pay it because a) horse allocations go out the window (whereas I know I'm guaranteed a schoolmaster for a private) but also at £80, they don't even guarantee the level of coach for the group, nor do they tell you if there's a change once the cancellation but charged period kicks in. So if the main coach is off you end up with a PTT/Stage 3. I have no issue in theory with someone with only their PTT/Stage 2 coach or whatever it is called now, but if you're paying that amount and usually getting someone FAR FAR more experienced/qualified/able, then I'd expect a similar equivalent as cover. I do not want to be coming out of a lesson that has cost £80 and almost half a tank of fuel, thinking it was a waste of money, I've done my time schooling school horses (see above re not guranteed horse allocations), I'd rather not ride, hence why I'm not booking them, nothing to do with the cost of living crisis. From what I've heard through the grapevine, I'm not the only person to think this, and most of those I was riding irregularly with in the weekend group lesson no longer ride there...

Which brings me back to business planning - price rises aren't always the best, immediate option. Riding schools really need to look at what they offer, and what their clients want - my centre runs day courses that are never ever fully booked, yet their 90min clinics are fully booked within hours of being released. What does that tell you? People are willing to pay x for y, but not a for b. Put more of what clients actually want on and more money comes in, because regardless of what's happening in the world, if someone can book what they want to book within the price realm they're happy with, they will continue to do so unless physically unable to in my experience.

 

[exracehorse]

Everywhere in the south of England is just so expensive for riding. I recently did a two hour hack which was £120. Often an hour hack locally is over £50. No idea how people afford to go more than occasionally. It’s why I’m a sharer.

Bloody hell.

 

[Skib]

my OH pays £75 for golf instruction, for example

My kind OH always said that my riding cost about the same as my neighbour paid to play golf.
I hacked and had lessons but going for a RS hack and sharing have always worked out about the same for me. One major difference is that an RS hack is escorted while I ride my shares solo. And another difference is the continuity of the share on a known horse.
But in my RS days I aways rode my favourite Connie. What seems likely in theory for adults riding other people's horses, doesnt always fit with the way things turn out. I have ridden about 24 years and on about 4 horses.

 

[nagblagger]

Inspired by this thread I looked around my area, one actually charges £1 to park your car there, even though it is out 'in the sticks' so probably driving is the only way to get there, is that normal?

 

[pistolpete]

I love having lessons. The place @teapot used to work at was amazing but after a few weeks I just couldn’t justify paying out any more. I did love it there though.

 

[teapot]

I love having lessons. The place @teapot used to work at was amazing but after a few weeks I just couldn’t justify paying out any more. I did love it there though.

I didn't even include that place in my post above, was an entirely different set up, and certainly isn't what it was when you rode there these days! Also now probably double the price

 

[pistolpete]

I didn't even include that place in my post above, was an entirely different set up, and is certainly isn't what it was now compared to when you rode there! Also now probably double the price

Gosh really? I really liked the horses. What a shame.

 

[MerryMaxmas]

I'm glad to hear your looking to ride again. I remember your posts about your health struggles. How are you doing now?

I'm plodding along, Long Covid is a bit of a rollercoaster, just as you think you've figured out your baseline it comes along and whacks you with a crash But I am making small steps in the right direction, so who knows? I have found a lovely yard that let's me just go and spend time with the horses which has done wonders for my heart and soul, I've been reading recently about people with LC returning to riding and they all seem positive, so given time to try and recondition my muscles I'm hoping I can maybe ride again, I'll take it all very slowly so have set myself a goal of the next 2 years

 

[teapot]

Inspired by this thread I looked around my area, one actually charges £1 to park your car there, even though it is out 'in the sticks' so probably driving is the only way to get there, is that normal?

Oh wow! Is it an area full of footpaths etc? Might be to put off others using the car park, but even so!

 

[Tarragon]

I worked in Milton Keynes for a couple of years as an IT contractor back in the late 1990's. I lived there Monday to Friday in digs and it was before I got my ponies. The highlight of my week was a individual lesson at the MK Equestrian centre. I would ride lovely schooled horses and had all sorts of lessons, from dressage to jumping, and loved it.
That has been my only use of riding schools, but it allowed my to learn stuff I had learnt as a teenager and had forgotten, learn new stuff, and lose bad habits. I was just getting my confidence back jumping, and was going to take a friend's ID out hunting, when I found out I was pregnant with my first baby and decided that it wouldn't be such a good idea.
I have a nephew, whose 4 year old daughter has started lessons in York Riding School and absolutely loves it. But I believe that this school is at threat due to possibly losing land for a new road.
These riding schools are invaluable and so important. It would be such a shame if they are forced out of business with high costs and high insurance.

 

[Skib]

one actually charges £1 to park your car there

That is nothing. We have just had a blissful few days in Norkfolk, beach parking £6.70 for 3 hours, Holkham Hall £6 and about the same at Houghton Hall. Sandringham where we walked was a flat charge of £7 for parking.
In London, our o.a.p. vouchers for close relatives and workmen only are £5 for the working day.

 

[ester]

Still pretty unusual for a RS rather than a car park at a tourist attraction

 

[teapot]

That is nothing. We have just had a blissful few days in Norkfolk, beach parking £6.70 for 3 hours, Holkham Hall £6 and about the same at Houghton Hall. Sandringham where we walked was a flat charge of £7 for parking.
In London, our o.a.p. vouchers for close relatives and workmen only are £5 for the working day.

It’s a riding school, not a tourist destination.

 

[Skib]

I still dont understand your objection. A tree surgeon came to our house today. It cost us £5 for him to park. Plus we live in an area where few houses have garages or off street parking. We have to pay about £140 p.a. to park outside our house.