'School rules' and people who don't follow them..

CatStew

CatStew

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I mean passing left hand to left hand, giving priority to the track when people are going at a quicker pace then you, and generally being courteous..

Some people at my yard don't have a clue about them and it really annoys me. It gets to the point where I just want to give up riding for the day. Today, I was trying to work on my boys flexibility and attempting to leg yield and ride him forwards into an outline etc but another person constantly got in my way.

Our school is a fair size, it's slightly bigger then 20 x 40, at a guess I'd say its 30 x 45, so there technically should be enough space to work round each other safely.

I was getting quite cross and my boy was getting confused as he'd start to work nicely but then I'd have to pull him up for fear of being run in to.

Does anybody else have problems like this?
 
I think people just don't bother to learn prior to horse ownership and/or have no interest in learning how to do things properly - they just want to get on and ride.
However, why not speak to yo and get her to post the rules on the side of the school/tack room etc - that way you may get your issue resolved without having to worry :)
 
Some people, who don't ride with others, will not know the rules.
Just ask politely if she is aware of them. It could be your chance to educate her :)
 
I have the exact same problem when i am riding my 4 year old whos a little nervy anyway and have people cutting right infront of me and one day one of them rode straight into me i try and choose the time of day i know they won't be there.
Does the BHS have the school rules on it?
 
Oh my.. don't even get me started!!

The amount of times I've had to swerve / stop for other people is ridiculous! This is at show jumping competitions, where the rules are clearly printed on the side of the arena which no body cares to read.

I find the majority of it is young teenagers (being fair to the little ones who I don't warm up with) who haven't learnt left to left at least. Jumping the warm up jumps in the wrong direction when the red and white flags are on the jump wings clear as day.

Also the amount of people who ride side by side in the warm up with no consideration for any body else, and normally with the grumpy tail swishing cow kicking horse/pony on the inside track whilst the other is taking up the outside track :mad:
 
It drives me mad.
Recently a friend brought her horse out to the yard and I rode with her. She did comment on how difficult it was to ride in the arena with other people (max 2 other riders) yet she herself didn't follow any of the conventional 'rules'. It was very awkward as I didn't feel I could say that this was a major factor.

One thing that drives me mad is some people's complete lack of awareness of others around them. Just yesterday I was riding in a relatively large arena (30x50) with other people. One person just caused mayhem though, cutting in front of everyone, walking on the outside track when there was clearly people working at faster paces (trot and canter) and what really annoyed me was I was clearly working on a 20m circle at C with one other horse and said person turned down the centre line and stopped directly on the path of the circle right in fornt of me, no warning or anything. Now maybe I missed something but surely it's common sense not to stop in front of someone?

Edit to add: Up until regularly I rode at a jumping league, where the competitors generally all came from a pool of local yards. It was kids/teens from certain yards only that had no knowledge/regard for the rules. Their instructors where there and either did the same when riding or made no effort to educate/correct the riders on ponies they were riding from said yards. I would think this was setting a bad example. On the other hand the other riders, from other yards clearly knew the rules and if not, they were educated before entering the warm up. I think this a case clearly shows the difference in attitudes.
 
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This is my pet hate too! especially people who stand their horses on the outside track to chat to friends in the warm up arena at competitions grrrr! and i am way too polite to say anything to strangers - i really wish i was brave enough to ask them to move over instead of "huffing" to myself as i swerve round them each time.
 
I know them, but tend not to pay too much attention to them and just avoid getting in the space of other people as much as possible. I learnt to ride at a really traditional BHS riding school so learnt "the proper way". Then kept my first pony there where we regularly rode in groups of up to ten in a 20 x 60. That was the first lesson in chucking out the rules. ;) We all went in the same direction, then someone would shout "change the rein" and we all went the other way. That worked so much better than people in both directions and even now i try to stay in the same direction as whoever I'm riding with as much as possible.

I did equine college with the rules drummed in again. Then did a fair bit of showjumping, with warm up rings and their own set of rules. Again with the same direction, but also with walking on the outside track. I like this far better. I've always hated "undertaking", as per the rules, in trot or canter between a walking horse and a fence in however much space as they have chosen to leave you. I'd far rather overtake without having to get too close to a slower horse's backside, thanks very much. I've stuck with this one and I usually walk on the outside track except to pass left to left if I'm going right and someone is coming the other way.

Then there is dressage. I've not done a great deal of dressage but I do think if you are riding with a dressage rider, it is very hard to know which way they are going to go next. I really believe that it is up to them to think ahead before executing a movement so that it won't be interrupted by another rider who isn't a mind reader.

Another one is people who don't ride into the corners. If you try to pass them left to left with you on the right rein, you sometimes end up doing a twenty metre circle in the middle of the school. ;) I just think you have to bear all this stuff in mind, then not take it too seriously and just try to watch out for yourself and your horse. :) Wow, that got long. :o
 
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Nice one, Flame_ :D

One that lots of people forget is "lateral work takes priority"...problem is, sometimes, if the lateral work isn't too established, it can be difficult to tell what it's intended to be...though in my case, the constipated expression and unwanted bodily contortions might be a clue! :o :p
 
spookypony said:
Nice one, Flame_ :D

One that lots of people forget is "lateral work takes priority"...problem is, sometimes, if the lateral work isn't too established, it can be difficult to tell what it's intended to be...though in my case, the constipated expression and unwanted bodily contortions might be a clue! :o :p
Click to expand...

we got told it has to be recognisable or it doesnt count! :p
 
I think a lot of people know them, but just think they are more important no matter who is where, they should always take priority. This was definitely the case on the last yard we were on... They had posh dressage ans show horses so their schooling mattered more, obviously!
 
Wow, thanks for all the replies, I've been out for the evening and just caught up on them all.

Unfortunately it isn't just the one person, but several, there was a boy on a pony (not wanting to be rude but his whole family share the pony and none of them have any idea.. Apparently its acceptable to turn out in a stable rug - but that's a different story!) the amount of times I had to shout "WATCH OUT!!!" at him was unreal. He was walking on the track and I was trotting, so I started to trot past on an inside track and he pulls out in front of me so I have to slam on the breaks to avoid an accident.

His mum was in the middle of the school squeaking orders at him, another lady was cantering a circle and she just stepped out in front of her without looking. It is most frustrating.

Luckily I usually hack at weekends, and when I school during the week they're usually about finished when I get on so it's not a frequent occurance but I am worried that there will be an accident very soon!
 
I guess whilst there are some general rules that everyone knows (eg pass left to left, don't ride thru the middle of someone who's circling) there are some that can vary. I've always personally preferred to come come onto the inside track to overtake people, I just feel safer when I'm the one choosing how much space to give the slower horse, however it seems a lot of people on here prefer to overtake on the outside track so if we were sharing an arena we'd prob get very frustrated at each other unless we actually talked about it! Cutting in front of me is always a sure way to wind me up as my boy has arthritis and so shouldn't be doing sharp turns & stops to avoid people
 
Really boulty? I've always been taught that the slower place gives priority to the track. A lot of the time I do pass on the inside though, or circle away from them at least. My horse is quite inconsistent in his trot still (he's only 4) and I'd like to be able to establish a forward going rhythmical trot but it sometimes is virtually impossible as I'm too busy concentrating on avoiding people!

Think I'll mention it to YM, she events and I assume she must get annoyed when she's trying to school or jump her horses too!

Does anyone know of a website with them all on please? If not I'll have to dig out all my coursework and find it!
 
I would think that explaining the rules to someone who does not know them would be the simplest and most direct way of resolving this issue. Just ask them to stop and say "in the interest of safety can we please both follow the same rules ie. left hand to left hand, fastest pace on the outside etc" Surely it is better to educate that just assume someone is being "ignorant" ignorance is assuming someone else knows the unwritten rules?
 
^ that's all well and good, and yes I do agree with you, but they're quite rude people and I don't think they would take much notice if I'm honest. The mother was smoking in her stable a few weeks ago, I told asked her politely not to, so she stood in the barn instead..! A week later and once again she was puffing away in her stable. That is something else I think I'll have to bring up with YM! I don't wish to be a trouble maker though! :)
 
I know the feeling when two or more people are sharing the school it should be a law that they have to follow the school rules. They are just so simple. I have a horse that is especially hard to deal with, let alone having to pull her to a sudden halt just because one silly rider did not have the common sense to follow the school rules. If i could i would just scream because they are making so much more difficult to deal with. I was going at a gallop and the next thing i know a rider just rams in to me and i have to pull her away faster than lightening!!!!!!!!!!
 
You seriously need to get the YO involved if she is smoking in the stable and hay barn - that is so rediculously stupid.

I would take her fag off her myself and throw it in the nearest bucket if someone was stupid enough to do that up our yard. Rude or not, that is sheer idiocy and I would tell them so!

Tell your YO about her behaviour immediately!
 
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