What do you expect from a riding school?

Spottyappy

Spottyappy

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Just wondering really, but if you wanted your child to learn to ride at a riding school, on their ponies, what sort of things do you look for?
I don't mean suitable ponies, which hopefully they have,but BHS/ABRS approval, standards of teaching( qualified or not?), facilities, first aiders, etc.
Also, do you think the requirements by the horse community are different to non horsey parents who send their children for lessons?
This just came up in conversation as someone was chatting to me, and was not overly happy with the level of instruction being offered where their child rides. It sounds like the instructor is quite inexperienced, and novicey. I have not been to the said riding school so do not actually know what it is like.
However, this is not a horsey parent, and it got me wondering about riding school services, and what people expect.
 
If I was recommending a riding school to someone, I would do it from experience rather than if they are BHS and ABRS approved, but having one or either of those would make me happier to send someone there if I didn't know it.

I have seen some appalling lack of safety standards at some riding schools (unapproved as it happens) and some dodgy welfare issues, so I don't hold much truck with the council licencing system as it's only as good as the person who issues the licences, and they are not necessarily qualified horsey people.

Warbling on a bit here, but I would want to see:

qualified teachers
reasonably well behaved ponies (it's a hard job for them so a few quirks allowed!)
correctly fed ponies
correctly fitted tack

Non-horsey parents can be amazingly obtuse when it comes to riding school lessons, accepting more or less anything because they don't know any better. Huge groups, thin ponies, cracked stirrup leathers, old uncomfortable saddles, beginners put into more advanced lessons to make up numbers, teenagers with no qualifications and little experience teaching - all of this I have seen.

Yet many do sterling work and struggle on trying to do it properly. I am not sure non-horsey parents appreciate the difference which makes it harder for those that don't cut corners.

I could go on!
 
The school I learn to ride at was BHS and ABRA approved......it was shocking.

All levels of rider were bundled into the same lessons together. Some of the horses were kept stabled 24/7 to only come out to pack a novice round the school. They were miserable. There was a big chestnut there that was in his late 20's. He would stand and weave in his box all day long, got brought out once a day to be ridden by this obese woman who had him on loan from the riding school who would literally whip him round the school to get him to canter, poor old soul was so sour and fed up.

I loaned a little pony there (I was only about 12) and used to literally have to beg the owner to let me dig her bed out and put new bedding down. The beds were mank. Children were allowed to lead the ponies up a manic main road with traffic whizzing past at about 60mph with no adult supervision.

One time they were running an own a pony day and the owner had overbooked so she went down to the field and dragged in an ancient old Shetland that had been retired about 5 years and made him do two hours of schooling work. The place is a disgrace.

Owner used to go on about 'ride with your mind' natural way of going blah blah blah while she has horses displaying vices stuck in stables 24/7 just feet away.

When I was first learning canter I rode a very steady old pony who did as little as he needed to get by so i struggled to get him to go forward. My mum booked me into a private lesson and I said I wanted to work on getting the pony to go forward into canter as I only seemed to manage fast trot! The owner stood in the middle of this tiny school waving the whip around above her head while yelling 'whoopy, yippee!' while said pony pitched a fit charging around like a loon unsure of how to escape while I just clung on for dear life. Barking mad.

I could winge about the place all day long but I need to leave for work in ten minutes and I'm still in my onesy
 
From experience I think BHS approval is more rigorous so I would tend to look for that. I would want to see suitable ponies for a variety of abilities, not just plods. I would want to see quality age appropriate instruction from qualified instructors (or trainees with suitable supervision). I don't want to see teenage nvq students in sole charge and the place basically run by young helpers. Tidy ponies in decent tack that**look happy and varied lessons.

I would want lessons split by ability with reasonable size groups, and an instructor who refuses to move a child up too soon will always have my respect.
 
PS I am not a mum but my nephew has lessons and I can't really fault the BHS approved yard he goes to. The ponies are amazing and are well kept. The instructors are generally very good and think up great exercises even though it means carrying loads of equipment about.
 
Kat " I don't want to see teenage nvq students in sole charge"
Why? Every yard I ever went to as a child was run by miserable old hags. It made riding a chore and not a pleasure! I'd much have preferred a young lively sense.

For me I'm not too bothered whether BHS or not. Experience and talent means more to me than qualifications and memberships!
 
I was one of those teenagers that some of you disliked! I was called a trainee instructor and was always supervised, another instructor keeping an eye on whilst teaching. I taught mainly children to walk trot and canter then they would go into a group.
I think different types of instructors are inportant. some kids need a no nonsense approach and some you need to be more careful with. I loved every minute of teaching. :) I wasnt the best with the kids who needed no nonsense, but I understood and taught the scared kids who other instructors made cry! :D
Obviously healthy ponies is important as well, I jus wanted to say don't judge all teenagers teaching, as some genuinely love every minute and pride themselves in their quality of teaching.
 
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