Teaching in riding school tomorrow...Help!

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Temptation

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Hi , no this could proberly go in careers and education but really need help!

I've got my PTT and teach privately on a regular bassis but teaching in a riding school is ovouisly very different!

Please help having such a confidence crisis!!

Thank you :)

Chocolate and marshmallow cheese cake if you got this far. :D
 
Hi, what do you want to know? I work at a riding school and although I don't do much teaching, I do know what sort of things do they do in the lessons. Just out out of interest, you aren't from Leicestershire are you? As we have a new Instructor starting tomorrow at our yard too!
 
Until recently I taught pretty much exclusively in riding schools. Now I freelance and teach privately. Private teaching is MUCH easier LOL but not always as exciting IMHE.

Some thoughts/advice:

Riding school riders are often very good within a very limited scope of experience. So a rider that can canter perfectly well to the back of the ride, may be totally unable to canter a 20m circle. Don't over-estimate rider's abilities.

Riders (and parents) will be generally be happier if their first lesson with a new instructor is slightly 'slower' than usual rather than faster. Riding school riders often have a bond of trust with their instructor rather than with their pony as they may ride different horses every week so they'll need time to get to know you before you push them too hard.

A lot of riding school teaching is about giving people time to practice as they (obviously) can't practice at home on their own horses. So find ways to basically get riders to do the same thing lots of times without appearing repetative. Eg if you are working on sitting trot, you can do it first on a 20m circle, then change rein, then 20m circle again, then on both long sides, then in all the corners etc etc... but basically you just focus on the sitting trot.

Know your ponies - ask riders and other staff if the ponies have any tricks you need to be aware of.

Most riders are more interested in improving themselves rather than their pony so will be happier spending an hour cantering and jumping rather than walking round getting pony to flex left/right, stretch down, work round etc.

Don't fall into the trap of being too adventurous. There is a reason that instructors get everyone to take turns cantering to the back, mainly that it is SAFE and the ponies know what they are doing. You will quickly find if you try to spice things up and get riders to do different things, the ponies will nap, the riders will fall off/get frustrated and it will all go tits up.

Protect your ponies. Try not to put them in a position where they are able to start napping or pissing about because they'll end up ruined for the school. Likewise try not to let people bang around on them or pull them around or they just get sour.

Have fun, have a laugh, good luck. RS teaching is the best.
 
Will depend on the riding school but generally clients are there to have fun and ride, not spend their 1 hrs week on horse working on an amazing position or horses outline.

Try to make lessons fun, include as much faster work trot, canter, jumping as possible (remeber riders may not be riding fit so lots of breaks).

Try to be adventertous and use serpentines, figure of 8, half 10 m circles, short diagonals etc not just long diagonal, centre line and 20m circle.

Always keep in your mind these people are paying a lot of money for a lessons, so with privates ask what they would like to cover.
 
Don't stress - think of all you have been taught and have fun

Introduce yourself and ask for name of rider and the pony they are riding.

Check tack and girths before you start, check your riders stirrup lengths are suitable for their level of riding and that the stirrups are level. While you check the tack ask the rider a few brief questions about the length of time they have been riding - what do they enjoy to do most and is there anything they are not so confident about.

Send your ride out in walk and look at all of them as a group as regards to position. Correct basics. Depending on the level of the ride either ask whole ride to trot on rising or ask each rider to trot rising to the back of the ride.

Use your school movements of circles, changes of rein, even the little ones enjoy doing serpentines and loops. Initially you can do it in walk as follow my leader - you being the leader and walk them through the movements. Use cones to mark relevent points. Older kids enjoy doing double rides and it helps them so much with control and steering. If your ride is jumping - do make sure you leave enough time for this. Again check position and maitain a safe riding environment throughout the lesson.

Whatever level you are to teach - make sure it is fun and constructive.
 
I must be a complete anomoly as I thrived on correcting my position/getting horse to work correctly, wanting to know the whys and wherefores when having lessons at an RS.

My tip, don't stereo type ;)
 
I'd agree with Evelyn, but I'd always get them to trot to the back of the ride for the first trot rather than as a whole. It gives you more chance to analyse each rider and is a bit safer.

For less able rides, or small children, have them halting individually, then walking off individually (so the whole ride halts with a gap inbetween them, then walks off in the order they halted).

For children, touching ears, tail, each toe etc. Being precise with halts etc - ie, doing it as near to the letter you've named as possible.

For more able rides, include a 20m circle before they trot/canter to the back of the ride. Ask them to name sequence of legs etc. Perhaps end with trotting poles/a small fence.

Totally agree that you should do less difficult things rather than more - especially if you don't know the horses/ponies either.

Good luck and have fun. You will be fine. I loved my years in riding schools.
 
miss_molly said:
Will depend on the riding school but generally clients are there to have fun and ride, not spend their 1 hrs week on horse working on an amazing position or horses outline.
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Thats where alot of riding schools go wrong imo- they just want to give the riders a good time. If someone wants to ride they should learn to do it properly- not just get to go faster without really knowing what they are doing. Learning correctly can also be fun but the right attitude to horses needs to be explained from the start- they are not machines to just sit on and do what you want.
OP- ask the riders what they want to do/try/learn. Watch and teach what you see. And as another poster said- protect the horses.
 
From my experience all pupils are there to learn but most importantly have fun. I always remember when I was learning to do sitting trot with no stirrups the instructror had us singing humpty dumpty - because it made you breath when doing sitting trot and relax more. Great memory. Laughed for ages.
 
Well what I would do during the last 10 minutes of the lesson would be to take off the saddles and let them all ride bareback and cool them off with an extended rein. Sounds like fun and it was but its also teaching them how the animals move and feel without a saddle. Probably not insured to let them ride without a saddle these days.
 
Well I'm glad you lot never taught me! Sounds pretty boring and patronizing! As a long term riding school client my advice would be talk to the proprietor and if possible the instructor who normally teaches the group to get a feel for their level. Don't assume your clients will always be beginners or even novices! Our group had lots of very capable riders including a BHSAI we would have revolted if asked to trot to the back of the ride!
 
I've always found it pretty easy to teach group lessons.

Safety of riders and horses comes first.
Have a topic to teach on before you go (ie. transitions) and keep to this theme all day but adjust it for different ability groups and different ages.

So a basic lesson plan would be something like:

-Introduce yourself and mount riders.
-Asses abilities by doing a few ride halts and a change of rein and repeat. ( the gait will be dependant on ability)
-Explain the topic and which exercise/s you will be doing and why.
-Do the exercises and correct riders if needed
-cool down in walk - during this time I usually talk to each rider for a few moments on any areas that need a bit of work. Back any negative bits up with something good - "you need to try to keep your hands a little lower, but you really did well at your halts today, well done"
-ALWAYS end by saying something positive to each rider.

Remember - this may be the only hour each week, or fortnight for some people, that they get to ride - they want to enjoy it!

Have fun and let us know how you get on :)
 
oh and don't under estimate the horses and ponies either! Amongst the usual riding school ponies the place I used to ride at had horses and ponies with BD points, BS winnings, and who had been to HOYS.
 
miss_molly said:
Will depend on the riding school but generally clients are there to have fun and ride, not spend their 1 hrs week on horse working on an amazing position or horses outline.

Try to make lessons fun, include as much faster work trot, canter, jumping as possible (remeber riders may not be riding fit so lots of breaks).

Try to be adventertous and use serpentines, figure of 8, half 10 m circles, short diagonals etc not just long diagonal, centre line and 20m circle.

Always keep in your mind these people are paying a lot of money for a lessons, so with privates ask what they would like to cover.
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As an ex riding school proprietor I disagree with you totally there. It is your duty and responsibility to TEACH your riders to ride well - that is to have a sound position, know the aids for the movements and transitions and to teach these in a progressive manner within the riders capabilities.

I used to get really cross with my instructors if I didn't hear them telling the riders HOW to do something. Telling your rider to trot on is not teaching - telling them to "prepare to trot, shorten your reins because your horse will raise his head a little, tap with both legs and trot on" is teaching your rider. And they need that for a long time!

Lessons can still be fun without masses of fast work and jumping. You do also have to consider the health and welfare of the horses and ponies used too. It is here that you teach your rider to have respect for the horse and its health.

Sadly there are schools out there that take the money and teach little - they give riding schools a bad name and turn out poor riders.

If you teach your riders well your horses remain well schooled and obedient and are not difficult to progress a rider on to learning how to ride the horse into an outline.
 
KristmasKatt said:
Well I'm glad you lot never taught me! Sounds pretty boring and patronizing! As a long term riding school client my advice would be talk to the proprietor and if possible the instructor who normally teaches the group to get a feel for their level. Don't assume your clients will always be beginners or even novices! Our group had lots of very capable riders including a BHSAI we would have revolted if asked to trot to the back of the ride!
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Do bear in mind that this is an instructor at PTT level, who has not taught in a riding school before - she is not likely to be given the more advanced class to teach. Group lessons are not the same in any way to teaching private, they require a lot of 'eye in the back of your head' and being able to multi task - teaching the rider in the front of the rider AND keeping an eye on the rest of the class and teaching them as well. There is nothing patronising in checking the ability of riders you don't know - it is basic safety.
 
KristmasKatt said:
Well I'm glad you lot never taught me! Sounds pretty boring and patronizing! As a long term riding school client my advice would be talk to the proprietor and if possible the instructor who normally teaches the group to get a feel for their level. Don't assume your clients will always be beginners or even novices! Our group had lots of very capable riders including a BHSAI we would have revolted if asked to trot to the back of the ride!
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Totally agree I've ridden at riding schools for 20 years and would be annoyed if a new instructor came in failed to find out the capabilites of the group before the lesson started and had us trotteing to the back of the ride.
 
You could always just ask the riders what they've been doing if you're not sure? I'm a client in a riding school and on the odd occasion our usual instructor is away we get one of the less experienced girls in and they always just ask us where we are at, we don't mind it all. They speak to our normal instructor as well. Have to agree with the other clients about being made to trot to the back of the ride, I'm not in the most advanced class and not in the novice classes either but we never ride in single file like that, since moving to a school that allows us to ride in open order all the time my riding has come on in leaps and bounds as I have to think about what I am doing alot more. In a ride I would just get lazy and let the horse follow the one in front! I avoid riding schools who would make me ride in single file like the plague now! However, I appreciate for beginner and novice riders where control isn't fully established then riding as a ride would probably be best option to asses everyone safely!
 
Evelyn, I disagree. I have ridden in a group for many years and have also been taught by inexperienced instructors from time to time too. Either for emergency cover or for their own experience. I would expect them to have checked the level of the group before the lesson so we didn't waste valuable time trotting to the back of the ride. In fact I'm fairly unimpressed if asked to ride "as a ride" full stop!
 
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