I just bought a Pivo (not yet arrived) and am thinking about taking a virtual lesson after reading a few articles on the topic. If you’ve taken a virtual lesson, what has your experience been? Would you do it again?
Also, are there any sites where one can upload footage of their riding for critique? I truly can’t believe I just wrote that, but more so that I’m not deleting it. Just what everyone needs in their life… amateur judgement!
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Seriously. What’s the saying? Ask two horse people a question and you’ll get three opinions. Something like that…
I have done virtual lessons since March with an instructor/trainer Kirstin Kelly in NZ (I’m in USA). For me it was a highly successful experience --more so than any lessons I’ve taken in the last 10 years —no hauling either. In March, my horse (cutting background) was not jumping well. I’d fallen twice on the hunt field when he mangled jumping --rushing, crashing into fences, etc. I was set to take lessons here, but of course that didn’t happen.
Found Kelly on YouTube, asked for lessons --she was shut down too and said sure. I had my husband take video, sent it, with in 24 hours she would send back a voice over with a critique and suggestions for a new practice. Sometimes I sent 3-4 a week; other times only one or two.
Biggest benefit for me was I could SEE what she was seeing. She was always positive --even when I was sure I’d made a mess of things. She always found something good to say about me and my horse.
Most recently, my horse has been doing a very smooth 2’ course --not huge you say, but at my age --that will do for now.
Cost was $20 a month. https://kirstinkellyequestrian.com/
Fantastic! Thank you. Your point about being able to see what the trainer sees is such a good callout. I know that half the time I can’t even hear what they’re saying!
OP --being able to see what the instructor saw was great for me! Kelly would use dots on the screen to show me what my position should be. I thought I was keeping heels down and chin up --well, maybe at the start but not always! She gave me exercises to do off the horse for strength and balance and keeping the heels down.
I also like that there was no time constraint. I could work on what she’d sent for me to do over and over, and when I thought I had it right, send off a video --or send one of me not doing it right and see where I was going wrong.
Amazingly, she almost immediately, first video, said she thought my saddle was too small for me and did not fit the horse well. That very day, my vet was out and said the saddle was making the withers sore —so off I went (illegally, too because taking Will to the saddle store and having the saddle fitter work on something for him was not allowed at that time) but we did social distance! After that, Will and I both improved. Oh, and Kelly had me pull my leathers up FIVE holes —that was a big difference too.
Frankly disappointed that none of the two trainers /instructors I’d worked with here saw that.
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