I think the biggest issue here are the two sentences I picked out. It really isn’t whether or not Meredith Manor is any good or worth the money (and the knowledgeable people at COTH have already indicated that it isn’t) but rather your expectations.
Horseback riding is a not a sprint, it’s a marathon. You CANNOT become a competent trainer or advanced rider in 3 months. Even a professional athlete needs more time than that to develop muscle memory and skill set for a sport as complex as riding. Even a savant would need longer than that to learn, absorb and apply the literally millions of complex theories and opinions revolving around riding and horse care.
I also am concerned by your general lack of interest (seemingly) in horse care and stable management. If you want to have horses on your own land and be a competent trainer, it is imperative that you understand at least the basics of horse nutrition, exercise and management to keep your horses healthy and happy in work. Not to mention basic medical skills so you can administer medications, care for small injuries, and know when to call the vet for help. Horses are NOT just for riding, unless you intend to always board and never have any say in their daily care, which you do not plan to do. The fact that you seem to only care about the riding aspect concerns me. This industry needs more horse people, not more riders, in my opinion.
I have been riding for 21 years (yikes, that makes me feel old). During that time I have been a once-a-week up/down beginner, to a rider who part-leased a horse in the summer to get more saddle time, to a university student taking club lessons and begging for rides where I could, to finally getting my own horse. And wow, was the learning curve HUGE when I finally had a quality horse to ride and could seek out quality coaching (not that I didn’t get wonderful opportunities before my horse, but I never had a huge option in the coaches I rode with). Just the sheer amount of things I did not know about RIDING (never mind horses in general) was revealed to me when I got my own horse, and I had been riding for 13 years at that point, and taking lessons basically the entire time prior to getting my mare. I have worked in other people’s barns doing everything from mucking to breeding, foaling, handling young stock, handling performance horses, injury management, etc and I still learn new things EVERY SINGLE DAY. That is why I come on COTH, to learn from people who have knowledge that I do not have.
You cannot learn everything about horses and riding in a lifetime, let alone 3 months. And you learn by doing, over time, with a lot of sweat and effort. I know it isn’t the answer you want, but I firmly believe NO program, anywhere, is going to get you what you want in 12 weeks. This is a lifetime sport and hobby, and you are going to have to dedicate yourself to constant learning if you want to succeed.
