Cost of lessons

[mika0116]

They only had adults ride on Sundays I believe… after the horses were DEAD tried Tuesday - Saturday of the Youth (18 and under) antics screenshotted above.

That was actually part of my issue with the program - felt chaotic and SLIIIGHTLY predatory in the sense of kids don’t know better from a horsemanship / safety / quality of instruction standpoint.

They KNEW bc of price that it was non-horsey parents sending their NYC NJ burbs kid there looking to not spend more than Rec Field Hockey. Because NJ is such glorious horse country with quality programs very much unlike WS…

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

Yes! I can think of two slightly shady programs off the top of my head that also had parents who were just like, “wow, my kid’s on a horse and getting ribbons (at very local schooling shows),” with zero ability to evaluate the program.

Even for me, starting out, it took me a bit to realize that having a scary or dangerous ride every time shouldn’t be the norm in a lesson program–and if it does happen, the instructor should give you the skills to have a better ride the next time. But lots of unhorsey parents are satisfied that “falling off is character-building,” until the kid really gets hurt and scared and quits.