One of my first students when I started teaching professionally on my own was a 9 year old girl who had developed severe fear issues related to horses because her previous instructor, who they went to based on the low price, was careless. In her first 6 lessons with her previous instructor, she had fallen 5 times, the last of which she was caught in a stirrup and dragged down the arena fence. This fall left bruises down her side and even worse, a fear of doing what she had always dreamed of; riding horses. Her first experiences with riding were horrific and should have never happened. They left her wanting to quit and if not for her mother's determination to make her daughter's dream of riding horses come true, despite her own fear of horses, this young girl would have never gotten back on a horse and her dreams of riding would have been tossed aside. I was recommended to her by a mother of another student and 2 years later her daughter was a confident and proud rider who had reached her goal and got to go over her first cross rail. Helping her get there was also one of my proudest moments.
In the State of Maine there is no licensing and no certification requirements. This means that anyone with access to a horse can call themselves a riding instructor and teach riding lessons. When looking for an instructor to teach your child, you want to look not so much at the price of lessons, but at the quality of the instructor you are paying and what exactly you are paying for. The saying "you get what you pay for" applies just as much in riding lessons as it does in most other cases. First of all you want to find a qualified instructor and then you want to look at what the cost of lessons actually covers for you child.
What is a "qualified" riding instructor?
Webster dictionary defines "qualified" as "fitted (as by training or experience) for a specific purpose"; competent."
My opinion is that a qualified instructor is someone who has the experience, knowledge, and understanding of the principles of riding and can effectively teach this to their students. A qualified instructor in my opinion has trained with various knowledgeable instructors, has extensive experience in what they are teaching (not necessarily showing), and preferably has taught previously under the supervision of an older, more experienced instructor.
I don't believe a qualified instructor has to be certified and I don't believe all certified instructors are qualified to teach riding; in fact there are several certifications that aren't geared towards riding instruction, but they are easier to obtain so instructors will get them and state they are certified instructors.
I also believe that there is a difference between a qualified instructor and a good qualified instructor. I have met many people who could ride beautifully and understood what they were doing and why, but couldn't relay it effectively to their students. A good qualified instructor can work with a variety of riders and horses and adapt their teaching methods to accommodate who they are working with. They help their students to understand what they should be doing and why. I have also met a number of poor riders, who knew what they should be doing and why and could effectively teach it, just couldn't do it themselves.
I'd also like to talk about responsibility because I believe it also comes into play when you are looking for a qualified instructor. A responsible instructor ideally has an insured program, safety stirrups, and requires helmets and appropriate foot wear. A responsible instructor should maintain a safe riding facility that fits it's purpose, and maintain their lesson horses in a safe condition for what they are doing. For example; a 20' round pen is not an ideal set-up for teaching a student to jump. You also don't want an over-weight, under conditioned horse out jumping with a student or a horse who hasn't had their feet done in four months out trotting around on long toes. Why? Because having a horse that is not in the condition to do what they are doing or not having the appropriate set-up for what you are doing, can get the rider hurt.
The insurance and the maintenance costs for the facility and horses alone will cause an instructor to have to charge a higher price.
When you pay $25-$40 for a responsible, qualified instructor, you are not necessarily paying for the higher quality of teaching (which you will receive with a qualified instructor), you are in most cases paying for the safety precautions that instructor takes to protect your child that the other lower priced instructor does not take. In most cases the responsible, qualified instructor is not even breaking even on teaching at that higher price because of the costs related to teaching riding safely.
Before you settle on an instructor based on price, please consider what you are paying for and consider the consequences of settling for a less safe and less qualified instructor for your child. Even if your child is not physically hurt in a bad riding experience, a bad riding experience caused by poor choice in an instructor can cause confidence and self-esteem to drop and cause them to give up a dream. A good riding experience can enhance a child's self-esteem and confidence, help them to become more outgoing, and help them to remain active and healthy. How much is a good, safe riding experience worth to you as a parent?
~Melissa
