A 'train the rider' day

eml

eml

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Apr 29, 2002
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I am trying to do something different for my longsuffering RS and private horse owner riders!

I was thinking in terms of a one day course

Hiring a simulator ( and instructor if this is possible)
Having a Pilates or similar trainer give ideas on off horse exercises
A lecture/practical demonstration of Alexander Technique ideally related to riding
A wiifit balance assessment and game ( I have found this bizzarrely helpful!!)
Sidesaddle have a go

????ideas please

You get the idea, things they can do that are a bit different, we do lots of weekly riding, occasional dressage days, annual 'so you maybe want to own a horse' courses. Basic care sessions (groom/tack up/untack) .

Just looking for something totally different!

Ideas from horse owners and RS riders (can you say which you are to help me assess numbers!)
 
I wish I was nearer - all sounds great stuff to me but sadly too far for me and my horse.

And I love gymkhanas - I actually have a rather swish looking shield as the overall gymkhana winner in the adult class - I believe I was in my fortys then.:biggrin:
 
We do those at Christmas and Easter, adults are far more fun than modern kids who don't know how to compete!

I do tend to attract several fairly serious people though who don't do 'let hair down' as well as the others who discover it is fun. Two ladies who professed a hatred of jumping after my jump based gymkhana games asked for and loved a jumping lesson!!
 
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Pilates! I'm really excited to start, it's being run at a local EC, £7 per session:
http://www.equipilates.com/

I would LOVE a simulator lesson too but I have a feeling they £££'s to hire as I was going to suggest it to tb1 but I think I worked out you'd need to charge a small fortune per rider.

Another thing I would also LOVE to see is a 'Horse's Inside Out' style presentation as it's fascinating!
 
I think that this is a brilliant idea, but potentially quite marginal, depending on how much your visiting speakers/instructors will charge so you will need to be assured of a respectable volume. But equally great for goodwill / variety so depends what your overall aim is.

It could also be difficult to remember everything you've learnt/been taught afterwards as there's loads going on. (says "handouts" in a very small voice)

Mounted AT clinics at Verity Saul's yard are £75/head (£10 extra using a school horse) for 3 hours - not that I've been on one, just spotted them on t'interweb - but your program sounds
(a) more interesting/varied and
(b) probably more expensive? though
(c) largely unmounted so targetted slightly differently
(d) unique! (always good to have a USP)

The canter simulator down the road from me is for sale btw, but having seen that one and the EE one the weight of them must be enormous so I would suspect hiring one might have to be an "away match" so to speak...unless someone - manufacturer or owner could be prevailed upon.

I have read that through and it sounds a bit negative when it was meant to sound practical. I really do think it would be a great and very worthwhile training experience and I want to come along! :biggrin:
 
I have heard mixed revues of the mounted AT day!

I had in mind more a 'introduction to' day with a series of short sessions so people can decide if they would like to explore anything further..and yes I am handout mad. Objective is customer goodwill rather than profit so will just be looking to cover costs. I can call on several favours as well so hopefully not too expensive if I can drum up enough interest

At the moment the simulator is proving the hardest to locate, I was hopeful they could be transported easily in a trailer or horsebox but they seen harder to travel than the real thing!!
 
The HM sprung ones are not too bad to move. The problem would be that all the instructors that have one are miles away from you.

If you pm me what you are after, with a phone number or email address I can post it on the teachers only page on EE and see if anyone would be interested...
 
Sounds fab!

What about (and I'm not too sure how you would do this) having a go on a school master? The idea being that people who are mainly into jumping could have a go on a fancy dressage horse and see what it feels like, or vice versa.

You could have something to do with the Olympics? Maybe a talk on how the team will be preparing for the Olympics in their various disciplines.

Maybe a talk and demonstration on showing? To encourage people to maybe try doing some local competitions. I for one would love to know all the rules about what you wear to certain classes, and what you are actually meant to do in the ring and why!

Demo's on plaiting up and getting a horse ready for a competition.

Hmmmm, I'll have a think.

I'm a sharer by the way, and was an RS rider up till last year.
 
One thing i loved at my riding school as a kid was their 'tretathalon' day. we did xc riding, swimming and shooting. Bit different as proabably a days event in itself but we did love it!

Other things I would like my children to be able to do would be things like mounted games/handy pony. Ride & Run type things, learning points of the horse and colours etc including going out and naming colours of random ponies on the yard. oh and a papertrail hack!


How about a mini olympic games! including plastic box podium and medals!
 
After an incident today where I wished I knew more, I thought of this thread. Maybe a quick first aid practical on common riding injuries and how to cope/what to do when you are in the middle of nowhere. Not so fun, but definately useful.
 
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