This article hopes to prepare the novice or inexperienced horse rider for some of the peculiarities involved with making an initial contact with a chosen riding school.
They May Not Answer
Something people used to dealing with more standard service providers are often surprised at is the frequent difficulty of getting a person at the end of the phone. Considering the nature of the business this is to be expected, with the intensive labour involved in caring for a large number of horses forcing the yard staff to spend much of their time out of any office and in action out of doors, working. Calling a potential school may involve many repeated tries, and the more popular and busier the school, the harder it may be to get an answer. Most Riding schools have answering machines, so be prepared to use them. Speak clearly, explain your interest in booking a lesson, and leave a number. If you are referred to a mobile, call it, it’s often your best chance of reaching busy people.
You may need to join a waiting list
Having got through to make your booking, sometimes you may find that it is necessary to join a waiting list. This also makes sense if you think about what’s involved for the riding school. Every school can only maintain so many horses and ponies of certain sizes and temperaments and as every animal can only cope with a certain amount of work, there may be times when they simply cannot accommodate a new client. Popular schools located a convenient travelling distance from large towns tend to be most prone to this problem. Don’t be put off, provide your details and ask to be called if a place becomes free. Call the Riding School at regular intervals in the future to see if anything has changed and to confirm that your interest is still current.
If contact is followed by arranging a lesson, a good riding school will be interested in the following information, and if you don’t volunteer it, they are likely to ask for it:
Do You Have Your Own Riding Hat?
Most reputable schools will explain that they offer safety equipment, or will confirm that you can bring your own. Safety standards for riding hats or helmets change over the years and it may be that your own helmet is no longer to the current standard. In such cases expect to be asked to wear an up to date helmet provided by the school for their insurance purposes. The vast majority of riding schools will supply clients with safe riding helmets.
What Height and Weight are You?
Riding schools will always be interested in your height and weight. It’s not overly personal in any way; they need these facts to correctly match you to one of their horses. A match is made based on your size and your experience. Many schools will have a weight limit, often around 14 stone in the UK. This is often to prevent their horses, who will work hard in fairly intense sessions anyway, from suffering undue wear and tear. If you are concerned about whether you may exceed a school’s weight limit, call them initially to make a general enquiry and check what that limit is before calling with the express purpose of trying to book a lesson.
What is Your Riding Experience?
As stated riders are assigned horses based on their size and their ability. Most schools have safe solid horses for beginners and some more excitable horses for more advanced riders. The school will want to confirm what level you have been riding at. It is always advisable to underplay rather than overplay your experience initially, as people’s definitions of ‘a difficult ride’ will vary greatly. Far better to have the instructor state after the lesson that you may be suited to a trickier mount that find your assigned horse puts you at serious risk of injury. Be as honest as possible, state any anxieties or aspects of riding that have yet to be tried e.g. jumping, and if relevant, mention particular faults or disciplines you are interested in working at. Most schools will try to accommodate you, especially in private lessons.
 |
