Hanovarian Heaven
New User
I am not trying to get sued here but I have had some really awful lessons and instructors looking back. My experiences go from the downright dangerous as a child I was asked to stable a very large dangerous horse as he 'diddnt mind children just adults' me being a keen horsey child did as I was told! Luckily the horse was fine with me.
As an adult returning to riding from being a competitive teenage dressage rider and being a teacher myself I think I can recognise good teaching and well, just basic good manners.
Wishing to improve my basics following a long break I took lessons from a 'top local school'. As I progressed the character of the owner/teacher began to surface as I was warned by the other members of staff.... I was constantly given the reliable cob, despite riding several TB's, youngsters all with exhuberant characters for their owners. The cob was lovely but my request for a change was ignored. Their website boasted a range of top flight hanovarians and schoolmasters for advanced students, well I was in the advanced class for quite a while but this was not good enough and the reliable cob & I carried on. The final straw came when I decided to get my own horse and was told that my riding wasn't good enough to own a TB, this came on the end of a conversation as to if I was going to keep my horse at livery at their yard which I wasn't. The family are wonderful at self promotion everyone else being sub-standard their privileged child prodigy being adored by all or else! Well good luck to them, I won't deny the talent but the arrogance and rudeness I couldn't abide.
I went to another 'top school' paid extortionate prices to be treated as an inconvenience, lessons were late starting, finished early (even cut in half when it came to an hour lunge lesson which was contested by the tutor, luckily my partner was there and backed up my case, the lesson that followed again was cut short by a quarter, this we have on video.) I continued but on the next visit had my instructor get on another horse in the middle of my lesson so the vet could assess her horse, while trying to teach me at the same time. The other thing about that particular school was the fact that several lessons would happen in the same arena at the same time, very confusing and very tricky. The school was frequented by the very rich, references often made to footballers wives and the really wealthy who kept their horses on livery there. However this did not make all of them immune to public humiliation, degrading comments and nasty remarks. Again I left.
Another 'top school' was found this time I could not believe the appaling quality of the horses offered to ride. At a workshop they hosted I booked a horse to ride, I was given a 12:2hh pony!!!!!!! This is no joke, the school knew me (I'm 5ft 4'' 9st) , had ridden several times there before. My partner had turned up with a video camera, as a training aide to help me improve. Needless to say I banned all filming as we did our lateral moves and cantered about like a clown act from the circus. The school appologised and I was offered a 'much better horse' for my next lesson. This turned out to be a lovely looking but chronically arthritic ex showjumper. The teacher explained he 'took longer to warm up' than the rest and was prone to stopping without reason (pain probably) most of the lesson was taken up with 'warming the horse up', finally we started doing some more advanced work but it just felt cruel. I was praised for getting him to move better than they had seen him move for a long time - great I learn't zilch and schooled their horse for them and paid for the privilege.
For personal reasons I have had some time off from riding but rode a friends horse at the weekend and the bug is back, but now I face the dilemma of where to go for lessons?
Paying lots of money doesn't seem to guarentee you a reasonable mount, attention from the teacher, getting the time you booked or any sort of courtesy. I am not rude, demanding or deluded as to my ability nor will I stay and give money to people who have no respect for me, its laughable that these people thought I would. Has anyone else had experiences like mine - I can at least laugh about it now but really is it just me?!
As an adult returning to riding from being a competitive teenage dressage rider and being a teacher myself I think I can recognise good teaching and well, just basic good manners.
Wishing to improve my basics following a long break I took lessons from a 'top local school'. As I progressed the character of the owner/teacher began to surface as I was warned by the other members of staff.... I was constantly given the reliable cob, despite riding several TB's, youngsters all with exhuberant characters for their owners. The cob was lovely but my request for a change was ignored. Their website boasted a range of top flight hanovarians and schoolmasters for advanced students, well I was in the advanced class for quite a while but this was not good enough and the reliable cob & I carried on. The final straw came when I decided to get my own horse and was told that my riding wasn't good enough to own a TB, this came on the end of a conversation as to if I was going to keep my horse at livery at their yard which I wasn't. The family are wonderful at self promotion everyone else being sub-standard their privileged child prodigy being adored by all or else! Well good luck to them, I won't deny the talent but the arrogance and rudeness I couldn't abide.
I went to another 'top school' paid extortionate prices to be treated as an inconvenience, lessons were late starting, finished early (even cut in half when it came to an hour lunge lesson which was contested by the tutor, luckily my partner was there and backed up my case, the lesson that followed again was cut short by a quarter, this we have on video.) I continued but on the next visit had my instructor get on another horse in the middle of my lesson so the vet could assess her horse, while trying to teach me at the same time. The other thing about that particular school was the fact that several lessons would happen in the same arena at the same time, very confusing and very tricky. The school was frequented by the very rich, references often made to footballers wives and the really wealthy who kept their horses on livery there. However this did not make all of them immune to public humiliation, degrading comments and nasty remarks. Again I left.
Another 'top school' was found this time I could not believe the appaling quality of the horses offered to ride. At a workshop they hosted I booked a horse to ride, I was given a 12:2hh pony!!!!!!! This is no joke, the school knew me (I'm 5ft 4'' 9st) , had ridden several times there before. My partner had turned up with a video camera, as a training aide to help me improve. Needless to say I banned all filming as we did our lateral moves and cantered about like a clown act from the circus. The school appologised and I was offered a 'much better horse' for my next lesson. This turned out to be a lovely looking but chronically arthritic ex showjumper. The teacher explained he 'took longer to warm up' than the rest and was prone to stopping without reason (pain probably) most of the lesson was taken up with 'warming the horse up', finally we started doing some more advanced work but it just felt cruel. I was praised for getting him to move better than they had seen him move for a long time - great I learn't zilch and schooled their horse for them and paid for the privilege.
For personal reasons I have had some time off from riding but rode a friends horse at the weekend and the bug is back, but now I face the dilemma of where to go for lessons?
Paying lots of money doesn't seem to guarentee you a reasonable mount, attention from the teacher, getting the time you booked or any sort of courtesy. I am not rude, demanding or deluded as to my ability nor will I stay and give money to people who have no respect for me, its laughable that these people thought I would. Has anyone else had experiences like mine - I can at least laugh about it now but really is it just me?!
Just a groom who watches lessons, and yes would certainly hope so too, although a horse has never gotten into a lesson that shouldn't here. As devil's advocate though, I had an horse and just before I retired him I would 'feel' something was off, although even the vets said that they couldn't see anything wrong til he was scanned 
