What standard would you expect from a person with a year's riding experience?

[mystiandsunny]

So say they started riding a year ago - what would you expect them to be able to do, and on what sort of horse (i.e. safe and steady, average well behaved but forward going, spooky, feisty...)?

 

[rhino]

Too many variables - are they doing a 1/2 hour lesson a week at a bottom end riding school, riding purely with a friend or taking serious amounts of lessons with quality horses and good instructors? Very much down to the individual's 'temperament' too; after a year of lessons at a not-so-good riding school I was jumping 2'9 ish courses and would ride anything although I was fairly sporty and completely fearless

 

[lq22]

As above but also what age/maturity are they?

 

[Jackson]

I think it depends very much on how/where they have learned.

For example, I know people who ride regularly at a RS and have done for years, know basic w/t/c and may occasionally pop a Xpole, all on 'bombproof' school horses, and then I know someone else who bought a horse (rightly or wrongly) with very little experience, luckily took lessons on it, just over a year later she is a very confident, good rider, can deal with spooks and silliness and has been XC and other confidence requiring stuff.

 

[mystiandsunny]

Teen - think twice a week for most of it, lesson once, hack once.

 

[nosenseofdirection]

Definitely depends on the person and what they have been doing. A teenager riding twice a week for a year might be capable of passing their stage 2, or might be incapable of going faster than a walk, depending on who has been teaching them, their natural aptitude and whether or not they have been scared witless by being put on a horse that needed more experience than they yet have

When I was in that situation I was pretty much a menace to civilised society, thought I could do anything, in fact fell off every other time I got on and wouldn't have known whether pony was on the right or wrong leg if someone had drawn me diagrams

Not much help,sorry!

 

[hcm88]

This is a basic average idea, but I would say a teenager riding twice a week for a year I would say would be happy to w,t,c and pop a small fence probably max 70cm. If they've been regularly hacking I would think they'd be happy to ride in open fields on a bombproof horse. This is if they're fairly confident, it does totally depend on the person themselves - I'm sure you can get someone else who is nervous to canter after a year of riding. I wouldn't expect anyone who has only been riding a year to be confident on anything that's feisty/forward going/strong, I would imagine they'd be happy to do most basic things on a safe horse. But this is totally guesswork as obviously every person is different.

 

[icyfreya]

I used to work at a riding school, where the majority of our clients were teenagers, mostly riding once a week or a fortnight, usually in private or semi private lessons as we only had 2 'horses' the rest were diddy ponies. I would say on average most of our riders after a year were able to walk/trot/canter confidently & independently, pop small x poles, small jumps, and do a small course of jumps (maybe 1ft9 / 2ft).

Some, who were very nervous or really lacked ability, still didn't have a good seat in canter or understand trot diagonals etc by the end of the year. A few of them progressed to jumping 2ft6 courses, going for canter hacks, and beginning to understand outline/impulsion/beginnings of dressage.

1 girl, who was very ambitious & had previously been a national level tennis player, bought her first horse at the end of 1 year, a push button schoolmaster alrounder type, but still a full tb, and although they were a bit mismatched at start, she's now had him several years and competes british showjumping & dressage.

So i think it depends on the individual. However, I would definitely say steady eddie horse, or at most a safe push button forward going, nothing spooky/strong/that would buck or anything. Why are you asking?

 

[sophiebailey]

Well I'll give you my personal experience;

I'm 20 have been riding since I was 19, for 6months I hacked twice a week and for the last 6months I've had a lesson once a week and hacked once a week.

In the school; I have mastered rising trot, diagonal changes, leg yield, bending into the corners. I have popped a small crosspole and jumped a course of 6 jumps at home.

Out hacking; I can canter in a group (but I do grip on for dear life) and am semi confident. I'm not very confident at hacking alone.

All of the above has been done on my (mostly) reliable + quiet 20yo cob. He does have some strong fiesty moments generally whilst out hacking.

I'd still say I'm a novice and not massively confident and know I couldn't ride anything 'fiesty' but technically I now know all my aids etc.

Hope this helps