If you’re reading this blog, you’ve probably taken dozens or
even hundreds of lessons in your lifetime.
But are you getting the full benefit of your time under
instruction? Here are ten tips to help
you get the most out of your lesson time
1. Arrive early enough to properly groom and tack your horse. Your tack should be clean and your horse should
be properly turned out for the lesson.
Make sure you give yourself enough time to catch the horse from the
pasture, groom and tack up, and get to the ring on time.
2. Be in the ring mounted and ready to begin at your assigned
lesson time. In my lesson program, if
your lesson is scheduled for 4pm, you should be in the arena mounted and ready
to go at 4pm, not just arriving at the barn or in the middle of tacking up your
horse in the crossties. Being on time
helps your trainer stay on schedule. If
you are late to your lesson your trainer either has to cut your lesson short or
start the next lesson late. Many of my
college riders take their lessons between classes and if I don’t keep the
lessons on schedule they may be late for class.
3. Be prepared with the proper tack and aides. Confirm if your horse wears any special tack
or if he needs spurs or a crop, and have everything you need when you enter the
arena. You don’t want to waste valuable
lesson time running back to the barn because you forgot the horse you are
riding wears a standing martingale or needs spurs.
4. Follow the left shoulder rule. If there are other riders in the arena during
your lesson, use the left shoulder rule when passing, which means that you pass
a rider going the opposite direction such that your left shoulders are next to
each other. Another way of thinking
about it is like driving a car; you should always pass on the right.
5. Don’t break gait. You
should always maintain the gait you are doing (walk, trot, canter, etc.) until
your trainer says otherwise. For
example, if your trainer asks you to do posting trot, you should keep doing the
posting trot until she gives you a different instruction, like playing ‘simon says.’ One of my pet peeves when teaching is when I’m
working hard to help a rider create a balanced, forward trot and the rider suddenly
breaks to the walk. If you stop trotting
abruptly you lose the quality we were working towards and have to start over to
get back where you were before you broke.
Sometimes students break gait because they can’t hear the
instructor or don’t understand something she told them to
do. I tell my students to try to keep going
while asking for clarification. It’s much
easier to fix a problem if you keep going, than stopping to ask a question,
then having to completely reestablish your gait and start again from the
beginning.
If something happens and you need to stop (you feel sick or
dizzy or another rider in the arena falls off), it is best to perform a correct
downward transition to a forward walk.
Don’t just slam on the brakes and drop the reins.
6. Remember that the walk is a gait. It’s easy to think of the walk as a time to
rest or stretch out your legs before resuming work, but the walk is a gait that
should be ridden correctly. If your trainer instructs you to walk, come down to a working walk and continue riding
with purpose, maintaining connection and forward rhythm. Your trainer may then tell you to relax and “go
to the buckle” (lengthen your reins so your horse can stretch), or she may tell
you to transition to another gait.
7. Don’t interact with people outside the arena. Other people from the barn or your parents may
be watching the lesson, and they may try to engage you in conversation. It may be tempting to talk to them, but you
should always keep your attention focused on your trainer and the lesson. You can’t get the most out of your lesson if
you are distracted.
8. Watch and learn from the other students in your lesson. I would argue that riders can learn as much by
watching as they can by their own riding.
Watch your lesson partners as they take their turn jumping and note
things they do well or not so well, then apply that knowledge when it’s your
turn.
9. Communicate. Ask
questions if you don’t understand. It’s
better to ask a question before performing an exercise than to do the exercise
wrong. Your trainer is there to help
you, but she can’t answer a question that you don’t ask. Also, let your trainer know if you are
uncomfortable performing a certain exercise or jumping a certain height. As trainers, we want to help you reach your
full potential, but we also want to work at the right pace for you.
10. Cool out your horse properly and clean and put away your
tack. Give yourself enough time to
properly cool out and groom your horse after the lesson. He worked hard and deserves a good brushing
and/or hosing off. Also take time to
clean your tack and make sure everything is put away exactly as it was before
you arrived. Clean up your crosstie
space and take one final look around to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything.
By following these ten easy steps, you can get more
accomplished in your lesson time and your trainer will thank you for being such
a teachable student!
This is FANTASTIC!! Thanks for posting :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Anna Ashwood Collins!
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