Love your trainer but feel assistant trainer is under qualified??

[wood_snake]

I understand how frustrated you must feel.

However I wanted to relay another possible side to this.

When we are out of town the assistants are under very strict orders NOT to jump anyone up above 3’. Nonnegotiable.

The clients are told this and we are never gone more then 2/3 weeks.

This rule would be especially stressed to a client trying to move up. Moving up can be filled with pit falls without proper guidance.

Our assistant instructors are solid and great at teaching the lower levels. When we are gone the lesson plans are discussed and focus on basics and building strength.

Could this be your trainers plan but he failed to communicate well?

I don’t know what we would do if we left clients home alone for months.

Good luck, I hope you find a happy solution to your frustration.

[Lucassb]

[QUOTE=wood snake;7980481]
I understand how frustrated you must feel.

However I wanted to relay another possible side to this.

When we are out of town the assistants are under very strict orders NOT to jump anyone up above 3’. Nonnegotiable.

The clients are told this and we are never gone more then 2/3 weeks.

This rule would be especially stressed to a client trying to move up. Moving up can be filled with pit falls without proper guidance.

Our assistant instructors are solid and great at teaching the lower levels. When we are gone the lesson plans are discussed and focus on basics and building strength.

Could this be your trainers plan but he failed to communicate well?

I don’t know what we would do if we left clients home alone for months.

Good luck, I hope you find a happy solution to your frustration.[/QUOTE]

There is a big difference between the situation you describe and what the OP is facing. Would you feel comfortable charging your clients for full training and then leaving them with an assistant for 3 or 4 months… while still expecting those clients to keep paying the $3-4 grand a month ?? That is somewhere north of TEN GRAND to not be progressing in their training, and to be at a BIG disadvantage come spring when the rest of the barn comes back from FL all tuned up and ready to go out and win at the spring shows.

[SnicklefritzG]

For $3-4k per month I’d expect a damn good assistant. If they didn’t have one, I’d talk with the head trainer and figure out a solution for the month remaining until they get back from WEF

[paw]

I’ve got to agree - while it’s reasonable for a trainer who leaves for a week or two to tell the assistant to keep the fences small during that time, it’s a whole different thing when the trainer is gone for months at a time and the upwardly-mobile client is stuck with non-challenging lessons.

I might be inclined to be more insistent, and/or look around at other trainers in the area if your needs aren’t being met.

[wood_snake]

You are completely correct lucassb. The OP’s situation is very different and difficult.

It is possible that her trainer has our mindset but is not taking into account how long he is gone and how frustrating/unfair the situation is for the clients left at home.

He may just not care that much.

Unfortunately some trainers just can not be bothered by the ‘small fry’ that don’t play the game on a bigger scale. I’m not saying that is for sure the case here but it sounds possible.

This might be a case of this is not the right barn for the OP. If their business model demands 3 months in Fla. that is what it is.

Being frustrated that the barn doesn’t fit with your needs is a problem. But don’t expect the BARN to change.

This situation IS unfair to the OP but I wouldn’t hold my breath on any big changes in her favour.

[findeight]

It really sounds like this assistant is under qualified and in over her head as far as keeping stay at home clients on track…meaning you all probably know more then she does.

There’s well known and very traditional methods out there, more advanced, correct flatwork for straightness and controlling stride for one thing. At least 101 exercises over poles(;)) and low fences including the humbling wheel of death. Gymnastics and grids etc. A good assistant could make a demanding but fun winter program out of these that would be plenty challenging at 2’6" to 3" with honest spreads and square oxers.

Unfortunately far to many assistants never learned them and are bereft of any knowledge of theory and/or ability to present the theory via exercises that are interesting while building the foundation skills for jumping. Nope, if it’s not 2’6" with skimpy fences set outside diagonal they are too lazy to move or raise? They have no ability to teach anything. Just sit on the fence or by the viewing area and watch you go around. Most couldn’t do a leg yield if their lives depended on it let alone teach it and shoukder/haunch/in/out.

Ask me what I really think…and I could do the poles and the flatwork on my own without paying for AA training skills because of that a la carte pricing at the barn I selected. I would pretty much have hit the roof at the 3-4k price for substandard instruction and pro riding.

But just remember, if an under qualified assistant gets the boot, 50/50 the next one will be worse. This seems to be getting more common. When I started Hunters back in 93 though about 2005, all but a few assistants were pretty darn good. Since then…not so much.

[Marshfield]

[QUOTE=Atlas Shrugged;7980206]
This is always an issue in the East during FL Circuit - The head trainer has to follow the $$ and who can blame them? The assistants at home can set jumps if you tell them what you want and can assist at winter shows at least. And you might want to fly to FL to have a lesson now and then with the BNT on another horse- or lease a horse for a week. That’s just the way it is.[/QUOTE]

It’s one thing to follow the money. It’s another to ** over the folks left behind. I’d say money talks and it’s either time to change barns or pay board only until there’s a useful assistant trainer in place. It’s not appropriate for you to be paying full freight in this situation

[TSWJB]

What a very frustrating situation! No easy answers. Many of the top trainers do go to Florida and it can be hard to find someone good to keep your training going.
You do have to understand though, that priority will always go to the top customers. You cant be offended. It’s the bread and butter. You have to try to figure a plan to be able to stay in this program and feel satisfaction.
I am very lucky that my trainer is the assistant and she is fantastic! She is the trainer I have been looking for for so many years! If I had been training with her, I wouldn’t have acquired so many bad habits that I struggle to fix. At least I recognize what the problems are now. Before I was clueless. So yes it really matters who is training you! Untalented assistants can at best be boring and a waste of time, to actually dangerous. Because they are not correcting things that could cause problems like stopping down the line.
I used to board at a place that lessons were required. And when the trainer was away we had fill ins. I always hated the fill ins. They were boring and I felt like I was wasting my money.
I would definitely call the head trainer and talk to him. He promised to get that person in for you. Make it happen. If not I would ask him if it was okay if you found someone to fill in for you while he is gone. Be frank with him. Joe blow beginner trainer is not cutting it.
If necessary, maybe you have to trailer out to get some better services. Maybe that other 3ft kid could share the expense of hiring a trailer. It sure beats wasting your money on useless lesson. I do understand that. It would annoy me very much when I took a lesson and learned nothing.
The place I train at now has had an excellent assistant for almost 4 years. But before that I would drive buy wishing that I could train there, but knowing that I would not be satisfied because the head trainer was gone for 4 months in the winter and he is at HITS all summer long. I just cant follow that program. I had called him about a couple years before I started training there, and he said he would try to train me on Mondays when they were home, but I knew it wouldn’t be satisfying for me.
Then I ran into a problem with my horse and realized I needed highly qualified training and ended up at that place. In the beginning I would get fantastic training and pro rides and then wouldn’t get anything for 3 weeks. I switched to the assistant and now I am completely happy!
Good luck! Be Pro active. You might have to be creative in order to get what you want. Example trailer out to other barns, or call someone to come in with your trainers blessing.