Trying somewhere new

[EquineSpirit]

Hello I was wondering if anyone has any advice. I am going for an assessment lesson this weekend to see if I am at the right level to ride there. I still struggle sometimes to get the right trot diagonal and I haven't cantered in a little while due to covid. I was wondering if anyone had any advice to help keep calm during the assessment lesson as I'm feeling a bit anxious. Thanks

 

[Kahlua]

This is probably going to sound quite silly but the best thing to do is not worry ? Remember you are going to be “assessed” and not “judged”. I’m sure where you are going they have seen plenty of people less experienced and plenty of people more experienced than you. So just enjoy yourself!

 

[Bernster]

Is it an assessment to work out if you’re the right level to rider there, or to help them judge what horse and training you need? The latter is more common/likely and hopefully feels a bit less nerve wracking! You’ll be fine. Riding trot - as you go up, the outside front leg goes out.

 

[View]

When I do assessments of new clients, it's very much a two way conversation during the whole session. I want you to relax so that I can see the whole picture - and if you're talking to me, it's much harder to tense up. Please don't worry if you're being asked a lot of questions - it's to help you relax, and to understand if you are aware not only of the what, but the why.

And while I'm assessing you, I hope I'm helping you improve, so I'll be making suggestions "try using a bit more inside leg - how did that feel this time?" "remember to look ahead of you round the turn".

Above all, you need to be sure that you will enjoy riding there - so you are also assessing them.

Different instructors and schools have different approaches, so don't worry if you don't understand what is being asked of you. Just ask for the instruction to be re-phrased.

Enjoy yourself - and please report back afterwards