Ideas For a Pre-Jumping or No Jumping Ride

Most people, particularly beginners and intermediate riders, think of a jump course as a series of jumps. When they enter the arena their mind is focused on the

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Try a Simple Beginner Trot Pole Jumping Lesson for Students or Horses

Using trot poles for beginning jumping can work well for students or for a green horse. The beginning student should be mounted on a seasoned horse that knows

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A Holiday Obstacle Course Idea From Meadowsweet Ranch

Thank you, Kathy Boettcher of Meadowsweet Ranch in Spring Grove, Illinois for sharing this great Holiday Obstacle Course idea with The Riding Instructor's readers. From Kathy "Something that

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4 Ways to Teach Horsemanship to Students of all Ages

In my book, anytime we teach horsemanship it’s a good way. In this post I talk about 4 different ways to include horsemanship in your teaching program. All

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No Stirrup November- Have Fun with Your Students

The annual ritual, No Stirrup November, is almost upon us. Say you YAY! Or Nay? As an instructor I love this opportunity to be creative and to help

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8 Steps Toward Better Reflexes in Equestrian Students

Good riding is as much the result of conditioning the rider’s thought processes and reflexes, as it is conditioning the body and learning skills. What a rider does

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Base of Support is the First Layer of Foundation

A solid and correct base of support is one of the best gifts we can give to students because it’s the foundation of good riding and balance. Definition

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Why You Should Teach Two-Point Without Hands

Writing about two-point was supposed to be easy.  After all, two-point is the mainstay position for the hunter-jumper world. Definition I planned to start out with the definition

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Teach a Simple Riding Exercise

The following simple exercise can be used for all levels of independent riders in a variety of settings and seats ranging from a pole on the ground to

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Rate the Gait-A Lesson Plan For Horse Control

Why Rate the Gait? Before your students learn lengthenings, rebalancing, corner adustments or even takes a ride in the pasture they need to learn to rate the gait.

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