I’m struggling with teaching a riding a student of mine lately. I’ve been teaching a young (8-12 age group) student that has a bit of horsemanship and riding experience. She can confidently ride off-lead at the walk, trot and canter and has popped over a few cross rails. However, this student isn’t showing an interest in choosing a discipline to focus on and hasn’t mentioned any long-term goals for her riding, and it’s getting difficult to plan activities for her lessons. Recently we’ve been working on riding different patterns, including weaving and over poles etc. Does anyone have recommendations for teaching a student who seems to have a low level of interest in progression or who doesn’t have many goals? I personally love the laid back riders that would rather spend time on bonding and getting to know their horses, but I feel I should be teaching more in these lessons. Any suggestions for more drills or fun and games would be appreciated!
The old classics.
Flag poles for riding one handed.
Bending poles for flying changes.
Barrels for changes of direction.
Bounce pony ”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹for jumping.
Sometimes kids just want to ride…not constantly have goals and a focus. That’s ok! I engage them in other ways and sometimes ride with them to show them some new stuff!
I don’t understand how not choosing a discipline would prevent lesson planning. What difference does it make - for the most part, riding effectively is the same.
If you’re even mentioning that the student can ride “off lead” - they must still have a ways to go before they are competent at any gait. I would start expecting more - correct form, good transitions from gait to gait, rounder circles, lengthening and shortening at each gait, obtaining a bit of collection, etc
Personally, I hate lessons that focus on discipline specific equitation instead of effective riding. Simply riding with “heels down” all the time does not make someone a better rider even if it looks correct in an equitation class.
Does the student even know enough about different disciplines at that age to make a decision? What about introducing different elements in the lessons. Have her practice and perform a dressage test. Do different types of courses at whatever level she’s comfortable (poles, crossrails, a mix, whatever) concentrating on skills from hunters, jumpers, or both. Get out of the ring if possible and trail ride or ride over terrain. And yes, keep in mind that some people just want to pay and get an hour or whatever in the saddle each week. While most people do want to improve their riding, not everyone is bent on choosing one discipline and working toward showing.
If you can get out of the arena and trail ride, do it. You can practice all the aspects of control of speed and direction, and going around obstacles, outside. It’s a great confidence booster and it will also point to any holes in the riders skill set.
This^^^^^
Not to mention nothing beats a quiet ride in the real world for mental R&R for both horse and rider.
I have seen more than one child prefer trail riding over formal riding in an arena. Sometimes know matter how hard you try, you can’t fit a square peg in a round hole. If this particular student is a lot happier outside and that is not your bailiwick, then do the right thing and find her a trainer who will teach the child the outdoor basics:)
I third the trail ride idea ! Get out of the arena.
Check out the book Creative Riding With Obstacles. They can all be done over poles or making them small jumps. So many great ideas in there. Patterns to help work on using your aids correctly.
just wondering if you have talked to the child to ask them why they are taking riding lessons? All the eight and older kids I have know actually have some idea as to what they desire.
If the the child is taking riding lessons to appease a parent’s dream of a missed childhood activity they always desired then anything is OK
When my daughter had her riding program, many of the kids were taking lessons only for the opportunity to be the only focus of the parent’s attention. Those kids often were shortchanged in the family activities and for once wanted to be the center of attention. For others riding lessons was just all about the activity, going to it, see me do it, then off to lunch then then next activity Some were out to prove a point that they Could do It, then a few actually had a plan…even from a very young age
But overall Riding is not the end result, of the few hundred kids that went through our daughter’s program maybe three are actually involved with horses this day. Others learned to plan for their future, at least one who was the most shy and I considered the least likely to survive… that girl learned she Could Do what was considered impossible. After high school she entered the Marine Crops and to this day is still on active duty
Look into Western trail horse classes. Not the big ones where they go up man=made mountains and thru streams, etc., but basics, back the horse thru an “L”, open gate, ride thru, close gate. Stuff like that. I used to get a magazine Horse&Rider which was the western version of practical horseman. Lots of good ideas in there.
Might be worth a conversation with kid and/or parents about goals. Otherwise… trails, try a dressage test, do some more jumping, etc. If she’s riding english, then she should have good, solid, secure, equitation moving forward regardless of what discipline she pursues.
While trail/obstacle courses can be fun, do bear in mind that they’re very time consuming to set up/take down. They’re costly, from an instructor time and arena use perspective. When I was teaching TR, I made sure that all of my lesson plans for that day would make use of the same course. Anyway, just a caution not to chase ever-more complex arena setups to capture the interest of one student.
Agree with others saying that she doesn’t NEED to move up through the ranks of a given discipline, but on the other hand you can also pick one for her. What is your school horse best at. Or, just go by what’s dominant locally–if there’s a strong H/J or team penning or whatever scene in your area, go that direction.
Does this kid want to ride or is it someone else’s idea?
If she’s interested in riding ask her what she enjoys the most or if there is something that she would like to try.
Maybe spending some time watching videos of different types of riding.
Perhaps this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knRpvurKuqU&pbjreload=101
or
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MzxXvUjHr0
”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹
I could be that the child is afraid/uncomfortable voicing goals rather than actually not having them. I bet what you are really picking up on and is bothering you is a level of insecurity. It is possible that they have a family structure that has shamed them for dreaming/having goals, or that belittles them in general.
Do you ever share your own experiences with them? Goals/dreams you had as a child, or have now? (for example, “when I was young I wanted to ride in the Kentucky Derby! I grew too tall, so I then switched to jumping. Now I want to compete in the (enter show goal here)”)
Plan theme days: today we will play gymkhana, or trail, or jumping, or? After each lesson, give them realistic targets for their next time or set benchmarks: for example time their pole bending round so they have a bench mark time to beat, or give them a score for a hunter round or intro dressage test to improve on. This will help them see they are being successful. NEVER make fun of them or shame them. This is easy to do without realizing it Ex: “Don’t be silly, you can jump that cross pole!”: is shaming. Instead say things like “You have shown me you have the skills to jumps this cross pole, so I believe you can do it. Let’s review those skills and then see if you want to give it a try”.
Also do not push goals on this kid that don’t come from feedback the kids gives you.
Good luck. I was this kid.
Also if she can go on a trail ride(s), I think that would be awesome. Staying in the arena all the time can get pretty boring. Also how about some games on horse back with other riders? Make it fun!!!
Agree it’s easy to go overbard, but it’s not complexity or number of obstacles that matters to reap the benefits of working obstacles and patterns. Among them are accuracy, focus, and control. Doesn’t have to be a fancy or difficult obstacle to do this. Could be as simple as a single pole on the ground or two jump standards set across the arena from each other (especially at that age and level). The instructors role in turning that into something more than “just a pole” or whatever is to have a clear goal for the exercise and for this student.
@ridingforcare I encourage you to look at this riders goals in a slightly different way than “choosing a discipline” and “long-term goals” or even improving hard skills. Rather, try to look at what she likes about riding, and what limits her riding advancement. So for example, at that age, I loved being around horses but lacked a lot of confidence. Speed was a deterrent, but I loved things that made me feel in control (thus, western trail actually became my favorite thing to do as a teen, thanks to the slow pace with lots of precision). Other girls I rode with were game for speed or thrill (but would have trouble with the more nitpicky aspects) … one loved figuring our her horses as much as riding, so might look a little directionless (yet happy!) under saddle. You can both ask her questions to figure this out, and also read it by her riding, and reaction to things such as horse assignments and exercises.
Then, design the exercises to both cater to what she likes and push the boundaries of what is challenging. You didn’t say whether this rider is in private or group lessons, but in any case, the exercises are often similar, or even the same, just with a different framing for each student. For example, lay down a simple, single pole. Tell them they can cross it any gait/speed they want, as long as they cross right at the painted spot in the middle. If the kid is a speed demon, it may lead to a discussion on planning turns and balance. If the kid is super timid, it might be a way to explain enough momentum not to wobble like a bike you aren’t pedalling. If the kid is in fairyland, it might be a time to explain how looking where they want to go is important. Etc, etc. Of course, if you know the kid wants to jump etc, it’s easy to lead from there into “we want to go over the middle of the pole because we want to go over the middle of the jump because…”, but you can also try saying, “Can you think of a time it might be important to aim right in the middle of something when we are riding?” and see what comes up :sadsmile: Might even give you some clues on what to teach next.
And then there is always learning about the horse and all the non-riding aspects involved in their care.
I don’t know. Honestly, at that age, I didn’t have any riding goals. I just loved being on a horse, and the thrill of walking into the barn to see what horse I was assigned, then doing the best riding job I could, whatever we may have been doing for that lesson. Back then, I didn’t know what h/j or dressage even was. I rode in a western saddle and just loved being on a horse. Also, I was a reserved kid, so maybe to adults it would have looked like I didn’t care, when I truly did care about riding, just didn’t know that there was something down the line to focus on. I thought riding was riding.
I’ve been boarding at large facility for 20 years and seen hundreds of kids in that age group, teenagers, experienced adults of varying ages, adult beginners, adult re-riders, riders of all ages with a wide range of disabilities. I’m the oldest owner and oldest rider at our barn at 72 with several others not too far behind. We are now referred to as the queen-agers. My discipline is “enjoy walk/trot in a dressage saddle,” also referred to as “English pleasure.”
Riding is riding. Classical riding. Seat, balance, aids, horsemanship, horse care. If you don’t build a good riding foundation, the holes in your training will follow you and won’t be discipline-specific. Horses don’t care about “disciplines.” Nobody has posted anything yet about her horse sharing his thoughts that he would rather be chasing cows while warming up in a dressage arena before a test.
Kids 8-12 (roughly grades 3-6) have no need or motivation to “choose” a riding discipline at that age. Same as career choices: what do you want to be when you grow up? Fireman, cowboy, doctor… If they keep riding a preference will start to emerge as they get older and their riding develops. They start to express preferences, make choices. I’ve had conversations with a few teenagers who are embarrassed because they aren’t interested in learning to jump like their peers. Nothing wrong with riding on the flat. The biggest challenge now is owning a horse who loves to jump when I’m riding in a ring with cross rails set up. I gave it up in 1959 while working on my Girl Scout Horsewoman badge. I’m still happy with that decision.
One of the neat things here in Maine is hearing so many women reminisce about riding when they were kids, bombing around miles of fields and jumping over stone walls and stuff on the family horses. Not much tack, no helmets… The BO renewed a friendship from that era with a woman who has severe MS. She lost her mobility 10 years ago, is catheterized and lives in a nursing home. Her first ride in 10 years was on my horse who is terrific at therapeutic lessons. She said she felt like she was in her own body. The joy in her eyes, the hugs she gave my horse, I get teary-eyed. I asked her about a “discipline.” Nope, she said, I just love horses. She just rode, didn’t care about showing. She just rode. Now she is trapped in the nursing home. If she leaves to ride she can’t go back. I get teary-eyed. The most important “discipline”? Nothing fancy. A solid set of skills that you can adapt and it sticks with you, even if you need a brush-up from time to time for advancing age.
