Hi, I’m new here so I will apologize in advance for any faux pas I may commit. I am a riding instructor of 15 years and barn owner for nearly 10. I am looking for some thoughts and ideas. If allowed, I’d like to post this on the jumping page to get some more ideas. I teach mainly beginner adult ladies. Some on their own horses, some on mine. I am formally trained in Classical Dressage and show as well. But most of my students are uninterested in showing and more accurately pleasure riders. I am somewhat out in the boonies (45 mins) from a major city. I have built a solid business with adult pleasure riders. The issue I’m having is that I’m really having trouble motivating them to advance. My school horse riders stay school horse riders forever and seems like I am giving the same lesson to many of them for years. I have found that the few that do buy their own horse make tons more progress and I don’t think its only because they ride more, I think it is the responsibility factor that isn’t there with a school horse. The trouble is, how do I motivate more students to buy a horse? It may be that I am simply attracting a cliental who can’t afford it. So how do I change that? Up rates? I’ve thought of not doing beginner lessons but truly can’t afford to. I’ve heard in some jumping barns that to go over a particular height it is required to buy or lease a horse, thus ensuring a higher level of commitment and motivating riders to improve or at least weeding thru the riders who don’t intend to ever move up. But I don’t know how that would work in my program. I also would like if more of my riders would show, again to motivate progress but most are to chicken or unwilling to work that hard. I’m just kind of in a stuck/ bored sort of place. Most of my riders aren’t even willing to canter, so endless walk/trot lessons are mind-numbing. Really appreciate the feedback!
I totally understand your frustration, but remember the adage about leading a horse to water. If your clients aren’t interested in showing or advancing, that’s their choice. I personally don’t get it, but we’re all individuals.
What attracted me, a highly motivated, type A personality to my trainer is that she’s the same way. I was looking for that type of trainer.
I think it’s going to depend a great deal on your area. Are there any other barns that seem to have the types of clients you desire? If not, it may be that there just isn’t a market.
If there is a market, you can attract more competitively minded clients by showing successfully, hosting clinics, being involved with your GMO, and getting out there where those types of potential clients are.
Good Luck.
Look for opportunities that will attract your riders. Maybe its not shows, and that’s fine.
A group trail ride, hunter pace, gymkhana day, competitive trail riding clinic?
I agree with atlati.
It depends on the area.
If you are not out showing at FEI levels, then you may be not getting the more motivated clients who chose to go with the UL riders. It is a fact of life, and frustrating as all get out, that so many LL riders are enthralled with big names and pass over trainers who may be far more attentive and involved but who are not out riding FEI.
If your area is not “horsey,” then ironically you may get those who are motivated to show.
If I were you, I would continue teaching the beginners. For 90% + of instructors, these are the bulk of students.
I would try to find indirect ways to motivate them. Invite them to go to shows and watch/spectate and then meet later to discuss what they saw. Get them involved in volunteering at shows.
Have them school actual dressage tests. Video them. Start informally scoring them and giving feedback. Tell them what level they would be showing.
If you show yourself, invite them along.
Provide a “scholarship,” for showing. Such as enter a show and get training or coaching at a reduced rate.
Have a get together at your house and watch videos of shows on a bigger screen and include videos of intro and training level. You could work up to watching and discussing videos of riders as well.
Have your own little show. Find a judge and scribe etc…
Just a few ideas.
Have you asked why they don’t want to show? Are they more interested in just being around horses for fun? I’ve never been interested in anything other than the small local shows, but I’ve always loved learning as much as possible about horses.
Do you have any group activities? Unmounted lessons, going out on farm tours, backstretch tours at a racetrack or a group outing to a tack shop? Sort of like 4-h or pony club.
If you and some students are going to a show, see if you can get a group of the ones not showing to come out for support and try to encourage a fun party or tailgate like atmosphere. Maybe if they actually see showing as a fun group activity instead of an individual test, they’d be more willing to try a class or two.
It’s a bit of a catch 22, but I find that more serious, competitive riders with nice horses are generally totally uninterested in participating in a program that also teaches beginners.
It can be hard to find time to ride when you are always dodging kids, their parents, and people who can’t steer in the ring. I get that it pays the bills, but it is just antithetical to your goal of serious competitive clients.
If you want the challenge of a student more interested in advancing than the ones you have… how about taking on a Working Student?
But all in all… good clients, who pay on time and have nice [ie safe/sane] horses are to be appreciated, even if their goals seem not terribly lofty to you.
You have gotten some really good ideas here, especially the working student one. Many young girls want to show and advance.
Also you work on you as well (not saying that you don’t, I just don’t know) if you are attending educational events, your local GMO meetings and clinic it will show that you are always learning and you will rub shoulders with more people.
Also show as much as you can.
A huge factor in me picking a trainer was watching there scores and there students scores as well. It was important to me to have a trainer that knows what it takes to score well and move up the levels. I imagine that is important to a lot of riders that want to compete.
I think you nailed it when you identified that you need to somehow figure out how to attract the type of client you want.
I think MOST riders aren’t highly motivated. Most do this because they love horses and want to relax and have fun, not because they want to work really hard and spent lots of money for progress.
The best thing you can do is create the image you want your student to follow in yourself, and possibly find a highly motivated working student you can partially subsidize to help get her/him going well as well. Locally, there are two trainers who you see at all the dressage shows, and their clients typically have fancy horses (even if not warmbloods) and are moving up the levels and winning. That’s what the trainers did themselves, and so they attracted the students who wanted to do the same. They push and prod and set goals toward progress for showing.
My trainer barely shows just to keep in touch with what’s going and because he’s working toward his gold medal - plus he has horses he has bred who need to get in the show ring, and he shows client horses sometimes. I had already accepted I may never show my TB again when I went to him, but I still wanted to get to Grand Prix or as far as possible while building the relationship with him. My trainer has a horse he has owned since he was a foal and he is working toward GP with that horse, who really does not have ideal conformation. However, he really values that relationship over winning in the show ring, and therefore he attracts clients who want to build relationships with their horses while moving up the levels, and not many of us show a lot.
The local trainer who judges spends a lot of time away at shows judging, and I get the impression most of her clients are comfortable training their own horses but want eyes on the ground who can help them polish things up from a judge’s perspective.
Besides the image you create of yourself, really honestly ask yourself what holes your students have in their educations. Are you responsible for that? Unmotivated students don’t tend to learn a lot, but even then they should have basics to help motivate them. Cantering is not a big deal for someone who hasn’t had some type of bad experience - are they so insecure in their seats that it is now? Or do you happen to have a lot of clients who have had bad experiences, and you’re the safe trainer who makes them feel secure enough to ride at all? If the first, you may want to take some lessons yourself to learn, and if the second I hope you realize how important that role is for many people, and even if it’s unexciting for you, you are providing a huge service to many people.
A few randomish thoughts -
With regard to your adult “pleasure riders” - don’t underestimate how challenging it is for adults who were never solid riders at a younger age to develop and put together all the physical skills they need to successfully progress. I wouldn’t totally attribute the “responsibility” factor to the greater progress made by students who acquire their own horses - saddle time really does matter - plus it is probably the more motivated riders who are acquiring their own horses - so a chicken+egg type situation.
Second, are you individually encouraging the students to set goals and progress? I’m not talking goals like going to shows or moving up levels - I’m talking goals like canter a complete 20m circle on each rein. Or getting the correct posting diagonal every time they transition to a trot. Work up to putting together a sequence of movements from a test. Have a specific goal in mind for each lesson and maybe talk for a few minutes at the beginning and end of the lesson about the goal and whether there was progress toward the goal.
Third, these ladies must be happy with you and their once a week sessions even without real progress - or they wouldn’t keep coming back. You can make it part of your efforts as coach/teacher/mentor to try to nudge them out of their comfort zones, but it’s ultimately up to them.
G&T
Duplicate - sorry!
The best way to attract clients that want to show is to be an example. Go to shows, your clients will become interested and you will attract new clients that also like to show.
[QUOTE=soloudinhere;8717517]
It’s a bit of a catch 22, but I find that more serious, competitive riders with nice horses are generally totally uninterested in participating in a program that also teaches beginners.
It can be hard to find time to ride when you are always dodging kids, their parents, and people who can’t steer in the ring. I get that it pays the bills, but it is just antithetical to your goal of serious competitive clients.[/QUOTE]
I think this is a very good point.
Riders who are competitive and show-minded tend to look for programs where the other clients are out there competing and doing well, and where the focus of the program tends to be show oriented.
Let’s face it, the atmosphere in those barns tends to be different than in those which cater to recreational riders. I make no judgments about one being better than the other, just that they tend to be very different and to attract different types of clients.
Recreational riders tend to think of show riders as perhaps kind of snobby, and overly concerned with “fancy” stuff - from horses to tack to apparel. The show riders sometimes tend to think of the recreational riders as perhaps a bit sloppy and overly casual in the same fashion.
Neither of these presumptions may be true, in reality. But those riders tend to be at different ends of a very broad spectrum when it comes to expectations about barn amenities, costs, and so on. I think it’s quite hard to create a facility and program that would attract and serve both types of clients equally well.
H/J programs do often manage by having a “lesson program” (frequently run by an assistant trainer) that offers basic instruction for beginners, up through a certain level of proficiency, and probably with some availability of school horses. Once a student gets to a certain point (jumping X’, or whatever) they are told that to continue progressing - jumping higher, showing etc - they will have to lease or buy a horse of their own. I would think the dressage barn equivalent of this might be offering school horses that can be used up to X level… if you want to go ride 2nd, 3rd level or whatever, you’d have to lease or buy a horse.
That probably won’t solve the OP’s dilemma since it sounds like most of the existing clients are perfectly happy to putter around at the beginner level, and perhaps don’t have the desire (finances?) to do more. There is unfortunately no magic formula to make that kind of rider suddenly want to work harder, take more lessons, and start competing.
If the OP has the credentials/show record to attract more competitive clients, the reality is that they may have to sacrifice their current clients to that effort, at least over time. If the OP does not currently have a personal show record like that (plus ideally a track record of bringing clients along through the levels at some prior program) it may be best to stick with the current group, and perhaps start introducing minimum lesson packages (ie, you can’t just board and take a lesson a week; you have to take 2-3-X lessons or training rides) - assuming the market/clientele will accept that.
I have a somewhat different perspective than the replies I’ve read. OP, the question is not what’s wrong with your students, the question is why haven’t they progressed after years of lessons? I also specialize in adult beginners. I have plenty of advanced riders who own their own horses, but my beginners advance and if they can’t afford to buy their own horses after a year or so, they end up leasing a school horse. I would never give someone w/t lessons for years! Once they’ve established a fairly balanced seat, it’s time to start cantering. That’s just part of the lesson. They should be starting lateral work (LY for starters) once they can post the trot comfortably. I don’t mean to be harsh, but really I get a lot of my students who come from programs such as yours. They don’t ever advance and instead of telling the instructor how they feel, they move on to a trainer who will challenge them a bit. I do think there is a lot to the point that you are attracting these types of students. Advanced riders want to work with a trainer who is out there showing and training horses and going places. If you are competing, recruit some of your beginners to come and be your grooms at the next show. They’ll learn the ropes, see the excitement and get some long terms goals to aspire to. Good luck!
I can understand the part about students not advancing and I think you’ve received a lot of good advice for that. As far as showing, I don’t see anything wrong with riders not wanting to show, especially recognized shows. It’s expensive, no way around it. I am a very motivated rider but have very little desire to show since I’d rather put my money into lessons and clinics so I improve as a rider. I think if you figure out why your students are not advancing that you will have your answer.
If however, you wish to be a show barn, then as others have mentioned, that’s a different kettle of fish. You need to go out and be what you want others to see.
[QUOTE]Most of my riders aren’t even willing to canter, so endless walk/trot lessons are mind-numbing.[QUOTE]
I missed this when I read the post the first time.
This is a huge issue and would suggest that the OP is missing something in her training program. It is not normal to teach people for years and have “many” students not progress to cantering - and doing so in relatively short order.
Most of my riders aren’t even willing to canter, so endless walk/trot lessons are mind-numbing.
I missed this when I read the post the first time.
This is a huge issue and would suggest that the OP is missing something in her training program. It is not normal to teach people for years and have “many” students not progress to cantering - and doing so in relatively short order.
When I was an instructor every year I had a meeting with my students and they had to come with three goals to the meeting. I came with three as well. These were never show related (though showing might help!). Those goals helped me shape their lessons, and gave them ownership in their learning progress. One goals might be, ability to put together 8 jumps first time out (like if you went to a show and didn’t get to practice first). Or another was canter down a hill. And still another was braid a mane. All those things helped me and them progress!! Not all my students showed, but all of them were required to move forward and not just stagnate. I don’t teach anymore but I look for instructors now who do the same thing with me.
Another long-time trainer here.
If your students are not cantering after such a significant number of lessons, it’s time to overhaul your program. You either have the wrong school horses, or the wrong teaching approach.
For adult beginners, you need an ex-western horse (or two) with a lope, who longes very well. Get these folks on the longe line for three months solid in the beginning, doing leg swings, arm circles, body twists…W/T and by the end of the third month, C. first with the grab strap and then without. Without stirrups. In other words, get a seat on these people.
Get the Suzanne Von Dietze books and learn how to teach her seat work. It makes a HUGE difference.
Then start incorporating one lesson per month as a “ride-a-test” lesson. At whatever level the student can do. In between those lessons, practice parts of the test as a segment of EVERY lesson. Make them do correct geometry.
Step up your teaching game and they will step up their riding 
Have a schooling show at your facilty. Let them see how much fun showing can be and what they can work towards.
