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Post by Ziggy on Sept 27, 2015 15:58:06 GMT
My daughter rides a friends pony two times a week and has just had the chance to hack out another pony once a week. To improve her riding and build her confidence i am looking to get lessons once/twice a month at riding school that she has been to previously and she loves it there. We don't have a pony so these are our only options. I maybe biased but from a year or two ago her riding has come on in leaps and bounds. She looks amazing on a pony , has a natural seat and is a quiet, sympathetic rider. Most of what she has learnt has been from me, so her style is very much that of a show rider as that's mostly what I know from showing when I was younger. I hope that next year somebody will offer her a ride as I know she wont let them down. Someone said to me today I would be mad to send her to a riding school as it will only give her bad habits and not help her riding. now i am open minded as i know there is good and bad. Suggestions?? We have had a rocky road to get her to where she is now, don't want her to lose her confidence.
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Post by sjw87 on Sept 27, 2015 18:20:59 GMT
I think it very much depends on the riding school. Some have well schooled horses/ponies and good quality instruction. Others have the kick and pull, fed up of life equines and use anyone they can find to teach children and beginners.
It sounds as though your daughter is developing into a lovely rider. Did she enjoy the riding school because of the place and variety of ponies or was it tbe fact that she was with other children in her lessons? If it's the latter, is there a possibility of taking the pony she is riding to pony club? Generally, the level of instruction is better and she'd be on a pony you know and trust so less likely to have a confidence knock.
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Post by emilyequi on Sept 27, 2015 20:27:54 GMT
Can you not find her a pony to loan/share? and maybe then she could have a lesson on a consistent pony with a freelance instructor?
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Post by Louise Dixon on Sept 28, 2015 13:18:28 GMT
Vet your choice of riding school carefully, there are excellent ones and not so excellent. Ask to observe lessons - if they don't want you to, you don't want to send her there.
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Post by orangetails on Oct 8, 2015 21:01:12 GMT
I would say it depends on the age and confidence of your daughter, and what you want to get out of her riding currently. I am firmly of the opinion that riding for kids should be fun and safe. I've seen so many lose interest or confidence (or both!) if riding in a very 'serious' set up. They need to be amongst kids, doing kid things. For many, a riding school (with pony days, group lessons, helping out on the yard with their friends) is the best way to get this. For others, a share/loan pony and lessons at home (hopefully with other kids at least occasionally) and maybe pony club if an option is better. Nervous riders tend to do better on a pony they can ride consistently, rather than being constantly swapped about, I have seen this backfire too though, and there are definitely pros to learning to ride on a variety of different ponies such as at a riding school, rather than only riding the same pony all the time.
As posters above have said though, I would choose your riding school carefully to make sure it is one with suitable ponies and instructors, where your daughter can have fun safely, but not be encouraged to become a 'kick pull' type of rider. But if she's had a rocky road so far, there are worse things than sacrificing a LITTLE of the quality of her riding, in order for her to have fun and confidence. I think it is unlikely she will forget her good seat and grounding from you even if the riding taught at a school is less than ideal, and confidence is far far harder to regain if lost.
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