OK, I've found my riding lesson place
Feb. 2nd, 2007 04:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quietannIt's Windrush Farm, hands down.
They are in Boxford; the horses, barns, outdoor ring, and the founder's house are on one side of a little country road, and the office and indoor ring are on the other. They mostly do therapeutic riding, but use the recreational lessons to supplement their income and keep the horses being worked by riders who don't have challenges. (The cost is $50 for a one-hour group lesson, which is still a good deal.)
I rode Clifford (The Big Red... Horse). He's huge (16.3 hands at least); the instructor misread my application and thought I was 5'11"!!! I said I'd see how it went with him. He's a little bit of a slowpoke, and he's trained Western so he wants to put his head down on the ground. But he's responsive and generally well-mannered.
I am in a class with three other women, all slightly older than me. All but one are returnees to riding, and we're all at approximately the same level (although the instructor thinks I may be a little bit ahead of them.) The instructor is Susan, and she's wonderful. She gives a lot of feedback and explains how and why to do things very well, and intersperses lessons about horse psychology. We ran over our hour a little bit because she wanted to be sure that everyone had a chance to canter. I've had problems with supposedly "30 minute" lessons being shorter because of tight scheduling or other issues. That won't happen here.
And... at the end of the lesson, she actually asked me if I wanted to stay with Clifford or try a different horse. No "this is the horse you ride and don't ask questions." She asked me to tell her a bit about Minnie, since she'd picked up that Minnie is a horse I like riding. And right away said, "OK, we can find a horse with more 'go' for you." So next week she'll try me on either Mac or Bearito (I am hoping for Bearito because he's an adorable large pony.) My argument that I need a horse that moves out freely so I can focus on improving my own skills made sense to her.
So, it looks like this is a win!
They are in Boxford; the horses, barns, outdoor ring, and the founder's house are on one side of a little country road, and the office and indoor ring are on the other. They mostly do therapeutic riding, but use the recreational lessons to supplement their income and keep the horses being worked by riders who don't have challenges. (The cost is $50 for a one-hour group lesson, which is still a good deal.)
I rode Clifford (The Big Red... Horse). He's huge (16.3 hands at least); the instructor misread my application and thought I was 5'11"!!! I said I'd see how it went with him. He's a little bit of a slowpoke, and he's trained Western so he wants to put his head down on the ground. But he's responsive and generally well-mannered.
I am in a class with three other women, all slightly older than me. All but one are returnees to riding, and we're all at approximately the same level (although the instructor thinks I may be a little bit ahead of them.) The instructor is Susan, and she's wonderful. She gives a lot of feedback and explains how and why to do things very well, and intersperses lessons about horse psychology. We ran over our hour a little bit because she wanted to be sure that everyone had a chance to canter. I've had problems with supposedly "30 minute" lessons being shorter because of tight scheduling or other issues. That won't happen here.
And... at the end of the lesson, she actually asked me if I wanted to stay with Clifford or try a different horse. No "this is the horse you ride and don't ask questions." She asked me to tell her a bit about Minnie, since she'd picked up that Minnie is a horse I like riding. And right away said, "OK, we can find a horse with more 'go' for you." So next week she'll try me on either Mac or Bearito (I am hoping for Bearito because he's an adorable large pony.) My argument that I need a horse that moves out freely so I can focus on improving my own skills made sense to her.
So, it looks like this is a win!
