jenz87
Well-Known Member
When I'm shopping online I regularly get charged at £2 fee. Or if I want to use PayPal it's 2.5% etc?
Setting up riding school
- Thread starter jenz87
- Start date
ahorseandadog
Well-Known Member
Must haves:
BHS Registered
Own-A-Pony Days
Private and Group Lessons
Help with BHS Stages
I would recommend being closed on Tuesdays/Wednesdays and closing (at least on weekdays) at 7:30.
What style of riding are you teaching? Western or English? When you become more popular, I would invest in a side-saddle or western/english tack so that you will be catering for a wider group of people.
BHS Registered
Own-A-Pony Days
Private and Group Lessons
Help with BHS Stages
I would recommend being closed on Tuesdays/Wednesdays and closing (at least on weekdays) at 7:30.
What style of riding are you teaching? Western or English? When you become more popular, I would invest in a side-saddle or western/english tack so that you will be catering for a wider group of people.
horsesense
Well-Known Member
I successfully ran a riding school for many years, and you have been given many good suggestions by other contributors. From the proprietor's point of view I would emphasise the extreme importance of safety in everything you do, and that extends to the horses you choose and how they are kept. They need to be very trustworthy and tolerant of different riders' techniques. You will only develop good riding school horses if you are prepared to train them to do the job, just as any other horse is trained for a particular discipline. Many combined riding school / livery yards treat the school horses, and often the school clients also, as second class citizens, which is a mistake; if you care for them well they will earn you more profit than any of your livery clients do. Running a riding school well is extremely hard work; you have to be prepared to turn your hand to all the jobs that need doing, from cleaning the toilets upwards. You won't be able to afford staff and tradesmen to do everything. The financial rewards are limited but it can be a rewarding occupation. But you must be realistic about the work and 100% personal commitment required.
Count Oggy
Well-Known Member
A few people have mentioned deposits and card payments. A yard I worked at used to get a lot DTUs (didn't turn up) or very late in the day cancellations. My boss brought in a prepayment rule and people became a lot less "forgetful". We also took card payments over the phone but the business absorbed the bank charges so people weren't being charged extra whilst being made to pay in advance.
Also as an habitual tea drinker I highly recommend a kettle and honesty box in the viewing gallery :-D.
I wish you the best of luck. Brilliant news to hear of a riding school opening.
Also as an habitual tea drinker I highly recommend a kettle and honesty box in the viewing gallery :-D.
I wish you the best of luck. Brilliant news to hear of a riding school opening.
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Deltaflyer
Well-Known Member
I haven't read all of the replies but as an adult who went back to riding at a riding school I think it's important to remember that adults want to do 'fun' things as much as kiddies do. The RS attached to the livery yard where I keep my boy seem to focus so much on kiddie activities that they almost forget to provide any other than standard lessons for the adults. Even when they do organise things that are open to the adults they're too 'dumbed down' so the kiddies can take part even though the kiddies have plenty of their own 'fun' events to enjoy. In the end the adults give up because it's not that much fun for them.
Another issue I found before I bought my boy and rode there as a client was their insistence on private lessons only (often two or three private lessons going on at once in the same school but still charged at private lesson rates because it was one instructor per client!) and the absence of group hacks. Individual accompanied hacking is prohibitively expensive.
When I used to work at an RS we often had people come for the first time who sulked and whined if they weren't put on the sharpest horse available because they though they were too good to ride the quiet ones. I don't know if it's been mentioned already but you should have a clear policy on assessing new clients so you can gauge the level of horse they're capable of riding. Many people do like to exaggerate or overestimate their capabilities.
I guess it's already been mentioned that you need to have a nice range of horses to cater for clients needs as they improve.
Good luck and really hope it goes well for you. So many nice little RS have closed down these days as land gets snapped up for development.
Another issue I found before I bought my boy and rode there as a client was their insistence on private lessons only (often two or three private lessons going on at once in the same school but still charged at private lesson rates because it was one instructor per client!) and the absence of group hacks. Individual accompanied hacking is prohibitively expensive.
When I used to work at an RS we often had people come for the first time who sulked and whined if they weren't put on the sharpest horse available because they though they were too good to ride the quiet ones. I don't know if it's been mentioned already but you should have a clear policy on assessing new clients so you can gauge the level of horse they're capable of riding. Many people do like to exaggerate or overestimate their capabilities.
I guess it's already been mentioned that you need to have a nice range of horses to cater for clients needs as they improve.
Good luck and really hope it goes well for you. So many nice little RS have closed down these days as land gets snapped up for development.
Araboo27
Well-Known Member
Haven't read all the posts so it may have been mentioned - get a good weight carrier, it'll be worth it's weight in gold! If you had even one horse that could carry say a 15 stone novice, I bet you'd get people traveling for miles for a lesson.
Good luck, you must be super excited!
Good luck, you must be super excited!
jenz87
Well-Known Member
Thank you to everyone, we are now operational! Very excited!!
alainax
Well-Known Member
LibbyL
Well-Known Member
At my old riding school we had what was called "rangers club" basically meaning we could stay all day to help out and have a lesson. then we would help in the afternoon with the other lessons, getting horses ready/leading etc. The premise of this idea was good but it was executed poorly. I went to be involved with horses as well as riding but it seemed everyone else was just taking the p***! Purely using it to take selfies and video themselves to later put on facebook or instagram calling the horse theirs, which led to further arguments when more than one person liked the same horse, it was all very childish and annoying!
It would be very helpful for you though, I'm sure, if you had a few people who really wanted to be there and have some common sense! I would happily wander round and sort four or five horses ready for a lesson and due to the yard owner not employing enough people the grooms were stretched anyway so I think this was appreciated!
It made it enjoyable for me too because I felt like I was helping and learned so much about how to fit bridles, about different bits and nosebands, boots and everything like that, which I find incredibly useful now and brought me out of my shell because I was very nervous.
So to sum up, a few dedicated teenagers could be super helpful, maybe offer them discounted/the occasional free lesson in return and they'll benefit from it hugely too
It would be very helpful for you though, I'm sure, if you had a few people who really wanted to be there and have some common sense! I would happily wander round and sort four or five horses ready for a lesson and due to the yard owner not employing enough people the grooms were stretched anyway so I think this was appreciated!
It made it enjoyable for me too because I felt like I was helping and learned so much about how to fit bridles, about different bits and nosebands, boots and everything like that, which I find incredibly useful now and brought me out of my shell because I was very nervous.
So to sum up, a few dedicated teenagers could be super helpful, maybe offer them discounted/the occasional free lesson in return and they'll benefit from it hugely too
Sugar_and_Spice
Well-Known Member
Keep an eye on the tack if clients are tacking up. Nosebands usually but also saddles on horses with / without much withers. A person learning to tack up with only one sort of horse/noseband ends up putting the saddle in the wrong place and the noseband above/below the bit wrongly, when faced with an unfamiliar horse/noseband. I've seen times where instructors haven't noticed this.
Good luck now you're up and running.
Good luck now you're up and running.
Celtic Fringe
Well-Known Member
Hope it is all going really well. Not sure if anyone has said already but you could think about a discount voucher scheme for people who can ride mid week and during the day. My local RS gave me money off private lessons when I was between horses as they were quiet at those times. Another one runs a 'mums' ride and coffee session one or two mornings a week. They also make sure the ponies don't get stale by boxing up and going out for a hack somewhere different at half-terms etc with their competent riders and staff.
Carrieandolaf
Active Member
Best of Luck ,
And parents and children in the more experienced classes they dont like their kids sat around taking turns to jump a cross pole they want proper lie flying changes and dog legs etc .. Not straight after school but like 5:00-6:00 the. 6:00 - 7:00 are good since pick up then straight riding is a nightmare ! Kids usually like picking hat silks so i suggest buying hats and a few boys and girls hat silks so they can choose its lart of the young experience ! Also mini competitions every month or so just to check up their skills also the older kids like to try new things ie . Horseball ; trick riding ... You dont have to be good at it yourself just read up a bit and learn it will be fun !!! And good luck x
And parents and children in the more experienced classes they dont like their kids sat around taking turns to jump a cross pole they want proper lie flying changes and dog legs etc .. Not straight after school but like 5:00-6:00 the. 6:00 - 7:00 are good since pick up then straight riding is a nightmare ! Kids usually like picking hat silks so i suggest buying hats and a few boys and girls hat silks so they can choose its lart of the young experience ! Also mini competitions every month or so just to check up their skills also the older kids like to try new things ie . Horseball ; trick riding ... You dont have to be good at it yourself just read up a bit and learn it will be fun !!! And good luck x