Riding Lessons

Hello all!

I'm starting riding lessons on Tuesdays. I've had the occasional lesson here and there but I haven't had any long term lessons or instructors. This will be my first time. It sounds as if I will also be riding with one other person as well. I've been out of the saddle for about 3/4 of a year now (and even then I was only in the saddle here and there), except for my fall two weeks ago. I think I'm going to start out riding western to get in shape and comfortable again as that is what I am most familiar with. Then I think I'll be changing to English to see if I like it. I'm really interested in doing Dressage but have a looooooooooong way to go before I get there.

Does anyone else take lessons? I'm curious to hear the good and the bad. I know I've had some bad instructors and some good in the past. I'm also curious how everyone manages to get in shape/stay in shape. I've lost about `10-15lbs just doing stalls over the last couple of months, but I still have a long way to go. I think I might start trying to work on doing some exercises and stretches to work my core since I know that's going to be a big thing to work on.

I take Western lessons currently, every Friday. I'm supposed to have three other girls in my lesson group, but two stopped showing up, and I'm sure the last girl is gonna quit because of frustration issues.

Last year, I lived in Cali, and had an internship at a tiny riding barn. It was too expensive to buy lessons for me. I cleaned stalls for lessons, but honestly, the lessons weren't formal. It was kind of clear that I wasn't much of a priority either. Sometimes my boss would just hand me over to her favorite rider who came by very often. My lesson horse was the girl's horse too, but he wasn't very well mannered. It wasn't bad, but it was clear that I wasn't getting anywhere.

Finally, we moved because of military family purposes, and I had found a cheap barn 40 minutes away. The people are soo nice, and it's clear that their horses are very well mannered. My lesson horse is stubborn but besides that its all well. Unlike my last barn, my new trainer came up to me after seeing me ride, and asked me what exactly I wanted to do. No one has ever asked me that, and honestly, that really felt nice. She asked about my career path with horses, my goals, and her future with me. I could tell she was serious about making me her little project.
I'm always excited for Fridays. :)

Just last week, the barn manager had me standing in the stirrups, and then tucking my feet under them afterwards while twisting my legs and sitting down to build up leg muscles. I may have to start going to the gym, and get fit, because my trainers started encouraging me to get more active. I'm glad they are just as serious about my goals in life as I am.

I used to ride five days a week. I used to have a training lesson on my trainer's green horse who was a sassy thing, then a dressage lesson on a grey monster who hated just about everything. Then Mondays, my sister would have a lesson, so I would go up to ride. I'm friends with the girl is staff on Tuesdays and I used to go up to work and ride with her trainees. Thursdays is my shift and every second and last Friday of the month I'd ride. Too bad my grades have dropped below my parents' expectations and my trainers are moving barns about 40 minutes away from my house.

I used to ride five days a week. I used to have a training lesson on my trainer's green horse who was a sassy thing, then a dressage lesson on a grey monster who hated just about everything. Then Mondays, my sister would have a lesson, so I would go up to ride. I'm friends with the girl is staff on Tuesdays and I used to go up to work and ride with her trainees. Thursdays is my shift and every second and last Friday of the month I'd ride. Too bad my grades have dropped below my parents' expectations and my trainers are moving barns about 40 minutes away from my house.

Hey.

I ride dressage, or at least I attempt to. I have sessions with my coach 3 or 4 times a week on my older horse and once a fortnight on my green-broke youngster. I ride up to 7 days a week between my 2 boys.
I really enjoy my time with my coach especially as I have 2 horses at such different stages - it really breaks it up and keeps me from becoming complacent.

 Expect to plateau in your riding and spend a lot of time in the plateau. The less frequently you ride, the longer your plateau will be. I regularly hit speed bumps and I ride more than most people.  It's frustrating but don't be downhearted when it happens - generally it's followed by lots of progress =)

I do pilates about 4 times a week and have found it really helps with the core. I would super recommend it.

Good luck and enjoy your riding =)

I use to take lessons not too long ago. But withing the last six months I've had both my instructors moveee. So that's a bit annoying. I'm not sure if I'll just ride my horses now (which I've been doing for awhile) without taking lessons, or if it's worth it to find another one. I'm leaning towards getting another trainer because my GV is being stubborn and I'm getting a bit annoyed with her. I loved both my last instructors, didn't really have any complaints. Both were nice & very helpful. But then again I'm not a pro rider so I'm sure it varies when you become a lot more skilled & need your instructor to be as close to perfect as need be. Also for staying in shape, I just run lol. But I've been running for awhile so I dunno I don't do much above riding & running for physical activity other than playing sports with friends sometimes. I do however need to do more stretches, I think that would help.

I've had both good and bad instructors. Try to find an encouraging instructor that will make you feel comfortable and happy. The best advice I can give is that if you have a horrid instructor, get out as fast as possible. It will only knock your confidence. As for keeping fit, I use the gym sometimes. I do sit-ups, squats, lunges, reps and lots of other machines. I tend to do ten sit-ups (I'm terrible at them haha), 100 squats, 50 lunges, ten reps on each machine and around three minutes on the cardio machines. I also stretch a lot before riding. I've heard some people suggest yoga, though I've never done it before.