What would you like from your riding instructor?

F

Farma

Well-Known Member
Joined
17 March 2010
Messages
2,107
Visit site
Having recently started freelance teaching I would love to know what people would like from their instructors. So far I have got a radio earpiece so I don't have to shout which people seem happy about, but during the lessons I have people with such varying ability but all with the same ethos of wanting someone to help improve with a specific goal in mind.

I have found people have been really happy with support away from the lessons too, ie they like to msg me with what they did, or how they did at a show and have some feedback and support not just while they are on a lesson which I have been happy to do and honestly have found the most rewarding part so far when someone calls and says guess what today it clicked into place!

If you have a terrific instructor what makes them terrific or if they are lacking what could improve?
 
That is a difficult one because people are so different. I needed someone who would push me out of my comfort zone and help me improve but at the same time not scare me to death. Also that person needed to understand that I also have knowledge and experience to bring to the session and that needed to be considered. For example I may throw in random upwards and downwards transitions if my horse is not paying attention, my instructor understands why I do this. I can talk to her, sometimes she concentrates on the horse more then me, I need to be told if I have flattened my hands or drop a shoulder but I understand some people find it difficult to be corrected. So I let her know that I prefer to be corrected and that I prefer it to be one word so I can quickly correct myself, so we have developed a code.....hands, elbow, shoulder....you get it. The best thing is to chat with your clients and find what they want from you. You are right that you need to show an interest outside of the lessons, be prepared to get dressage scores at odd times of the day or night and rants about judges!!!! My instructor always says our successes are like her successes too.
One thing I do think is important is making sure that your client really understands what you are teaching. I sometimes have the habit of saying I understand( thinking I will work it out and not wanting to appear stupid) and not really getting it. Sometimes I get hold of the wrong end of the stick and you have to spot that in a rider.
Good luck I am sure you will be great...you already seem to care enough to do research.
 
My previous instructor was excellent. She would push my boundaries (I'm used to be a bit of a woss) we would constantly fall out but she gave praise in the right places and I really achieved a hell of a lot in the 2 years she instructed me.
Also whilst I worked for her we had a few instructors in for interview and I found that a lot of them would tell What I'm doing right (which is great!! everybody loves to be told they are doing right) but there was no discipline or "you need to do this" or "your doing this wrong" which by the end of the lesson I had not achieved or learnt anything new which is the reason why I was there in the first place.

What I look for in an instructor is Discipline, support and the understanding of telling me to man up and get on with it once in a while :) but then every one is different so I suppose the quality of being able to adapt for each client and the clients horse is a "must have" factor!
 
This is what I personally like from my instructor, others may vary but this is my opinion:
My instructor writes up a plan for me to try and stick to, it means I can work towards my goals with my youngster and know that I'm doing things correctly.
I also like how my instructor is so friendly, if I make a mistake then it doesn't matter, we just laugh about it!
She also always makes time for me, if my youngster is being a little difficult to get on then that's fine, she won't knock that time off of my lesson time. Nothing is ever too much trouble :)

Another thing is that I have found a lot of instructors in the past have blames my horse for some things, whereas actually since I've moved yards and got a new instructor, things just seem to fall into place. She really focuses on getting my position right and none of my previous instructors did that in much detail. She's also able to pick up on things like how the bit is working with my horse and what I could change. I've changed my bit, saddle and my pony has never worked better. I think instructing is more than just teaching, it's about picking up on the smaller things that make the bigger picture.
 
A real understanding of where I want to go and a flexible plan of how to get there. A certain je ne sais quoi that you have with an instructor who suits you. Honesty, I don't want to be told that I or the horse has potential that I don't or told that I am doing an '8' movement when it is the best we can do but still only a '6'.

The ability to re-explain something in different ways until it clicks (don't keep saying the same thing if I am not doing the right thing, I obvioulsy haven't understood). I recommend lots of googling here so you can borrow other peoples phrases/explanations.

Don't assume knowledge, I am a competent Novice/Elementary dressage rider, that doesn't mean that I don't need leg yield etc re-explaining to ensure shared understanding and correction of old habits.

Listen to your rider and their horse.
 
High expectations of me! I need someone who will be patient enough with my occasional wobbles about something but will help me to push through it by expecting me to be able to handle it.

My usual instructor is ace. She pushes me to achieve, without scaring me stupid. If canter is going to be a problem because I'm having a moment, I can do something else such as leg yielding but it has to be to the highest possible standard. When we are dripping with sweat after achieving that, she'll say something like "just give him a quick canter on both reins and then we'll call it a day" by which time I've forgotten the nerves and am so desperate to finish that I just do as I'm told!

If we do well, she is full of praise but we really, really have to earn it. If we do something badly, we go back to step one and start all over again until we get it right.

She's also very good at giving homework - ie what we need to work on between lessons - and varying lessons so that we never get bored. Just when I think we're going to do lateral work for the third time running, we do some pole work or balance work.
 
Thanks guys, I have found so far that I have been spending a lot of time on position and rider effectiveness which seems to be lacking generally and people are amazed to find how different positioning of their bodies affect their horses way of going, so far its taken off on the strength of this as there doesn't seem to be many instructors that start with correct riding more on the horses way of going without a clear strategy of how to improve it. Love all the ideas to make customers happy though!
 
I have a rather specific list:

1) The ability to accurately read the horse and rider and teach accordingly
2) Someone who is invested in the whole story . . . so is aware of and cares about the overall management of the horse/rider (feed, turnout, routine, competition diary, etc.)
3) Someone who is adaptable and thinks on their feet when teaching rather than coming in with a particular plan . . . i.e., teaches the combination in front of them "on the day" . . . but keeps the overall plan in mind

I love our coach/trainer . . . she is very invested in us as a team and is very much part of our team (along with our jump trainer). If she can, she will come to competitions with us to help us work in (and not charge us), she is always at the end of the phone for a discussion about a particular management issue and is always waiting with baited breath for a call or a text when we are out competing. Lastly, she is a good friend . . . which is even more lovely :).

P
 
PolarSkye said:
I have a rather specific list:

1) The ability to accurately read the horse and rider and teach accordingly
2) Someone who is invested in the whole story . . . so is aware of and cares about the overall management of the horse/rider (feed, turnout, routine, competition diary, etc.)
3) Someone who is adaptable and thinks on their feet when teaching rather than coming in with a particular plan . . . i.e., teaches the combination in front of them "on the day" . . . but keeps the overall plan in mind

I love our coach/trainer . . . she is very invested in us as a team and is very much part of our team (along with our jump trainer). If she can, she will come to competitions with us to help us work in (and not charge us), she is always at the end of the phone for a discussion about a particular management issue and is always waiting with baited breath for a call or a text when we are out competing. Lastly, she is a good friend . . . which is even more lovely :).

P
Click to expand...

That sounds so good, this is what I want people to say about me :)
 
Lots of good points so far

I would add that I want to see improvements in my horse and myself.

Weeks and weeks of doing the same thing and getting nowhere would soon make me lose interest
 
Wheels said:
Lots of good points so far

I would add that I want to see improvements in my horse and myself.

Weeks and weeks of doing the same thing and getting nowhere would soon make me lose interest
Click to expand...

I agree . . . and I also agree with whoever said above that while it's nice to be told that you're doing something right, it's far more constructive to be told what you can improve - and how.

When we started with our trainer/coach, our dressage scores improved by 17% in just five weeks.

P
 
All of the above plus pointing out where progress is made. My instructor quite often says 'you struggled with ....... 3 months ago'. Its very easy to concentrate on what you can't do yet and a reminder of the progress made is encouraging :)
 
Emmac82 said:
All of the above plus pointing out where progress is made. My instructor quite often says 'you struggled with ....... 3 months ago'. Its very easy to concentrate on what you can't do yet and a reminder of the progress made is encouraging :)
Click to expand...

Great point . . . videos every two months or so (depending on the frequency of your lessons) is a great help here.

P
 
My trainer is all of these things, he'll also get on my horse to feel exactly what I'm feeling and will school my horse from time to time to help me with particular issues or to help embed something new.
PolarSkye said:
I have a rather specific list:

1) The ability to accurately read the horse and rider and teach accordingly
2) Someone who is invested in the whole story . . . so is aware of and cares about the overall management of the horse/rider (feed, turnout, routine, competition diary, etc.)
3) Someone who is adaptable and thinks on their feet when teaching rather than coming in with a particular plan . . . i.e., teaches the combination in front of them "on the day" . . . but keeps the overall plan in mind

I love our coach/trainer . . . she is very invested in us as a team and is very much part of our team (along with our jump trainer). If she can, she will come to competitions with us to help us work in (and not charge us), she is always at the end of the phone for a discussion about a particular management issue and is always waiting with baited breath for a call or a text when we are out competing. Lastly, she is a good friend . . . which is even more lovely :).

P
Click to expand...
 
Someone who understands me and understands I need different things at different times. Competition doesn't bother me, trying new things doesn't bother me and in general life I'm assertive so to many I come across as confident but I'm not with everything. The one thing that scares me (obviously) is falling off and hurting myself. I'm 99% happy this won't happen with flatwork so I'm happy to be pushed as far as possible with this - in fact I need this or would pootle round doing prelim for the rest of my life!

But for show jumping, I need to start slowly and build, I can't go in and jump big (for me that's 1m!) straight off and I can't have anyone too hard on me or it really puts me off. I need the softly softly approach and to be pushed gently without being scared. For XC I need someone who comes with a sick bucket and some valium and again who will see past my self-depricating assessment of my riding and push me gently. I've got to the end of so many XC sessions with new or one-off instructors (at camp etc) and wished I'd been a bit more gung-ho in my chat at the beginning as everything I've done has been easy and I've not felt like I've acheived anything, but I'm sure the fact my face is as green as the grass we're on doesn't make them keen to push me. I know that's my fault but someone who can see past my nerves talking is great. Yes I want you to listen, but I also want you to say "you can do more than this" if you think I can and not to pander to me.
 
Last edited:
Experienced
Happy to jump on and show me what i'm meant to do (but again not spend the whole time on horse)
Who isn't afraid of making me do stuff (but not over pushy!)

Friendly and can have a laugh
 
I've always liked instructors who will ride my horse, I think it's much easier for them to understand her and my riding if they've got on themselves.

I also like someone who will listen and who really wants me to do my best and is proud when I do. So many instructors I've had over the years have been very highly rated locally but just felt like they didn't give a damn. A few have been totally disinterested in teaching me as I don't go out and win regularly at 1.20 etc. I think it's fine if they refuse to teach people below a certain level but I've had plenty who will happily take my money but just don't care (one very highly rated instructor even told me that I never win so she didn't really care about me and could I move my lesson slot so a more successful person could have it!)

I also absolutely hate patronising instructors. I like someone who tells it straight and isn't afraid to be quite firm.

Another thing is the ability to explain things well. A lot of instructors just say 'get her rounder' or 'more impulsiveness from behind' but give no clue as to how to actually achieve these things.
 
Paying attention.

There is nothing I hate more than paying a big lump of money to someone and they spend half of the lesson not talking and playing with their phone (I'm currently in between horses so use a local reputuable riding school, but thinking of travelling further to one I know is excellent teaching wise). I pay for their teaching, not just for them to sit and half watch.

Someone prepared to say what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. And then explain how to do it right. There is not much more annoying than saying "you're doing that wrong" and then have them not say how to do it right.

I recently got asked in a lesson I was teaching how to half halt, and I was so glad they had asked, I explained the type of half halt I wanted her to use and she did it and the horse listened and she seemed pleased to have learned it. Always check people understand what you are asking. If you think they don't then either ask or explain it anyway. If they do know it then the explaining reinforces it.

Someone that uses other experiences to help - it is nice to know that you are not the only one who might tip in on circles one way or who has a dodgy knee or a horse that naps. Someone willing to chat before and after the lesson about the horse.

I have a new client who wants more confidence jumping and we spent a little bit on it and all the time I was talking to her getting her to do things so that she sort of forgot about the jumping and she was so pleased with how she had done at the end. Someone else just needs telling "come on! It's easy, one two and jump! Well done!" - so realising that different people need different methods.

I too teach basic position and always explain it so people don't feel stupid or bad about bad habits. I tell them bad habits I have/had (have a bad knee and it tends to grip when I concentrate, I sometimes tip my head when concentrating) :)

You are asking questions which means you care, and caring is important :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top