Have you ever wondered why parents support kids so strongly in sports like volleyball, yet are willing to cancel their weekly riding lesson? Volleyball at Lower Grades Volleyball, like other team sports such as soccer, is introduced on the community level, often Parks and Rec, at a young age. Sometimes the kids don’t even know […]
We all have “go to” sources where we read about horses. It could be a book, website or periodical and each type of riding has it’s own selection. Research I love research, and when I write lesson plans or blog posts about theory or riding basics, I pull out multiple books and read the instructions […]
4th of July The 4th of July is America’s most significant holiday. It commemorates the adoption of our Declaration of Independence and undergirds who we are. Americans have battled for our liberty and the freedom of others, both on American soil and on foreign lands and Americans have built a strong, prosperous nation. Personally, I’m […]
Ong Wan Ming is a riding instructor who lives in Malaysia and teaches mainly in Kuala Limpur/ Selangor. Wan Ming teaches a full spectrum of horsemanship, including dressage, jumping, eventing, driving and horse management to beginners through competitive riders. She also does coach training for trainee coaches. R.I.: It sounds like you have a busy […]
A simple game can give your students the opportunity to practice skills while having fun in their riding lesson. The Bandana Game can be played with all ages and skill levels. I’ve included the basics in this post but there are lots of ways to use this game. Play is only limited by your imagination. […]
It’s winter. It’s cold. What better way to warm up your lessons than by including bareback riding? Pull saddles off and give your students a leg up on those nice furry backs. Bareback naysayers will tell you: It feels weird: Bareback riding is a very different sensation from riding in a saddle. Riders who are […]
James Wofford’s Book, “Training the Three-Day Event Horse and Rider” was first printed 20 years ago and it remains on my recommended reading list for students. It is one of my favorite books on good riding technique. Few horsemen in the United States combine the rich heritage of the Cavalry School at Ft. Riley, a family […]
A habit is defined as an automatic response to something. Developing the right habits in our students is one of the goals of good riding instructors. Even though repetition can be boring, riding instructors should embrace repetition because correct repetition develops good habits. According to Ann M. Graybiel in this MIT News article http://news.mit.edu/1999/habits “. . […]
I ask new students a lot of questions and since I love foundation teaching, I usually start my inquisition with the leg. Almost 100% of the time, a new student will answer with, “a straight line from the heel to the hip. . . “ etc. and they stop. I wait. After a few beats, I’ll say,“How […]
If you jump horses then you have a connection to Federico Caprilli. If you learned the American method of jumping, you probably have a connection to Col. Harry Chamberlin. Prior to Italian Cavalry officer, Federico Caprilli introducing his forward system to the horse world, riders leaned backwards when they jumped horses. In 1904 Capt. Caprilli […]
