June 1st - June 28th Lesson Schedule (Updated June 4th)

Hey Raynham Riders!

Here is the tentative schedule for June - thank you for your patience!  This schedule will start Monday, June 1st, and run for four weeks, until Sunday, June 28th (four weeks of classes).   If you are missing from the schedule, or you at booked for a time that isn't possible, please email me ASAP and I will do my best to adjust.  We will be sending out updated invoices shortly.

We will schedule summer classes (July & August) separately, as we have done in previous years.   We still have not received any clarification from the provincial government, York Region Public Health, or King Township bylaw regarding whether or not day camps will be permitted and under what restrictions.   If we are unable to run camps this summer, we will have more space for lessons than in previous years and will be looking to offer an alternate program for our campers.  We will make a decision about camp by next week and will send out an email with our plan for lessons and summer programs.

Please read our Covid-19 policies, below, before coming to the barn.  Please let us know if you have any questions!

We look forward to seeing you back in the saddle!
Nikki

Raynham Stables COVID-19 Policies:

The safety of our clients and staff members remains our number one priority.  Due to the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), Raynham Stables is taking extra precautions, including a self-declaration of health and enhanced sanitation/disinfection procedures in accordance with Equestrian Canada and the Province of Ontario’s recommendations.

Do NOT come to the barn if you or anyone in your household:

• Has any symptoms of Covid-19 (Fever, new or worsening cough, new or worsening shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle aches, sore throat, runny nose or headache)
• Has been out of the country in the past 14 days
• Has been diagnosed with Covid-19 in the past 21 days or has been in contact with someone diagnosed with Covid-19

​

Additional Standards to Ensure the Safety of our Riders:

• All visits to the barn are by appointment only until further notice. 
• Staff will be sanitizing all commonly touched indoor surfaces and shared equipment between riders.
• ​We will be reducing lesson volume and staggering classes to ensure physical distancing.
• We are limiting the number of people to 5 per building to ensure physical distancing (max of 2 people in tack rooms)
• We will use outdoor facilities, weather permitting.
• Coaches/staff will ensure they maintain physical distance from riders.

Covid-19 Procedures:

• Please do not bring any guests/spectators to lessons. Riders under the age of 18 may have a parent stay to assist them or watch if lesson if tacking up/riding outdoors, but they are not permitted in the buildings
• Please arrive 30 min before your lesson, enter through the tack up area and immediately wash your hands and sign in.  Riders must be done untacking and out of the buildings or wash stalls no more than 30 min after their lesson to make space for the next student.
• If weather permits, please use the outdoor wash stalls for tacking up/untacking.  If the weather is poor, you will be assigned a grooming stall in the tack up area to use. We will only use each grooming stall once, and then disinfect before they are used again.
• If you have your own lead rope and grooming supplies, please use them.  If you use the barns equipment, please place brushes/lead ropes/etc. in the labeled disinfectant after use.
• Masks must be worn when indoors or if staff needs to get within 2m to assist you, but should be removed once mounted (have a pocket!)
• Please be sure to clean all tack thoroughly with soap and water after each use.
• Riders are reminded to wash/sanitize hands frequently while on the property, avoid touching their face, and cough/sneeze into their sleeve.
• Please try to avoid using the washroom. If you need to use it, please spray anything you've touched with the bottle of disinfectant.

June 1st - June 28th Schedule

I hope the times work for everyone!  It was very tricky to spread out the groups and stagger start times of lessons to ensure we do not have too many riders on the property at once. 

June Schedule Update

Hey Raynham Riders,

I'm getting tons of emails regarding the schedule for next week so I thought I should clarify the plan.

We are going to be running regular, recurring weekly lessons for June (like a normal session) which will start on Monday, June 1st.   If you submitted in the "Returning to Lessons Form" sent out two weeks ago and indicated that you would like to resume classes, I am trying to fit you in.  If you did not fill out the form, please send us an email with your availability ASAP.  Spaces are very limited.

We started with just private and semi-private lessons the past two weeks to ease the school horses back into work and to adjust to our Covid-19 safety protocols, but starting next month we will be offering small group classes again.  We will be staggering the start times of lessons so we do not have too many riders here at once to ensure physical distancing.  I am working on the schedule it as fast as I can - it is incredibly difficult trying to manage the horses' workloads, spreading out lessons, accomodating requests for alternate days/times, figuring out staffing, etc. while still also caring for the horses, and teaching lessons. Everything is more difficult during these challenging times!

As soon as I have the schedule done, it will be posted here on the blog.  Please do NOT email for your lesson time. Thank you for your patience!  We look forward to seeing more of our awesome Raynham Riders back in the saddle next week,

Nikki

Private Lesson Bookings Open for May

Hey Everyone!

We want to thank everyone for your patience as we negotiate how to run lessons in our "new world"! Our slow restart to lessons is going well and we are able to accommodate a few more private lessons for the remainder of May. You can use the online scheduler to book a time: http://www.raynhamstables.com/online-lesson-bookings.html. Please read all the instructions carefully and let us know if you have any questions.

If you have not ridden with Raynham Stables previously, please DO NOT book a time yet. We are not yet back to full staff and are unable to accommodate introductory lessons at this time. We hope to be able to accept new students by June. If you would like to be added to our waitlist, please send us an email - info@raynhamstables.com.

We are working on creating a schedule for June. If you have not yet submitted your Return to Lessons form (https://forms.gle/78DLAWvedF24n9yX9), please do so to let us know your plans!

We look forward to seeing everyone back at the barn!

Nikki

Looking for Volunteers!

Hey Raynham Riders!

We are working on adapting our program to ensure the safety of all our staff and riders. It is likely we will be tacking/untacking up horses for those that are unable to independently.

We are looking for volunteers to help with this (grooming, tacking up, tack cleaning). You must be at least 14 years old and have been riding for a minimum of one year. Volunteers will not be in close contact with anyone else and will be following strict safety protocols.

If you are interested or have any questions, please send us an email with your availability.

Nikki

Gradual Restart to Lessons

Hey Raynham Riders,


I apologize for the delay in sending out further details regarding restarting lessons.  Trying to navigate a return to classes is more complicated than anticipated.  We are not comfortable jumping back into our regular lessons so we're going to start back with an alternate schedule for the remainder of the month.  This will give us a bit more time for us and riders time to adapt to the new procedures and will allow the school horses to ease back into a higher workload as they have only been in light work while we've been closed. If things go smoothly, we hope to get back up to closer to our normal schedule by June.   We are starting offering private and semi-private lessons only and have scheduled in boarders and part-boarders first and then those that had pre-paid for the spring session (so that we can hopefully fit in 7 classes for you before summer)!  If space permits, we will then accept bookings from riders that had not pre-paid for the spring session.   I will send out an email Friday with what timeslots are remaining.

Please let me know if you have any questions!  We look forward to seeing you back at the barn soon,

Nikki

Equestrian Facilities Can Reopen!!

Hey Raynham Riders,

We are SO excited to announce that equestrian facilities are permitted to reopen in Phase One starting on Tuesday (https://www.680news.com/2020/05/14/ontario-economy-reopening-coronavirus/)!  We're still a bit uncertain about exactly what is permitted and are working to get further details, but we are looking forward to getting back to teaching!  We are also still finalizing our safety procedures, but at minimum, the following will be implemented:

• No guests, family members, or spectators permitted.  One parent/guardian for riders under 18 is allowed on the premises.
• Reduced lesson capacity to enable physical distancing
• Handwashing station at the entrance of the tack-up area
• Riders only permitted in the tack-up area to ensure physical distancing
• Grooming stalls & tack to be sanitized between each use
• Physical distancing to be maintained at all times
• Riders must wear gloves and masks are recommended for tacking up.
• Riders must have their own helmet and boots and are encouraged to purchase their own brush kits.  

We are asking that ALL STUDENTS let us know whether or not you are planning to return to classes using this form.  Please submit by Saturday, May 16th @ 6:00pm -  if a large percentage of rides wish to return, we will likely have to make fairly major changes to the schedule to spread out classes. Classes will resume on Tuesday, May 19th as per phase one of the Provincial reopening plan.

To everyone that contributed to our sponsor a schoolie program - there aren't words to express how much we appreciate your support.   I honestly do not know how we would have made it through the past two months without it.   The future still is still a bit uncertain, as we will likely be running on a reduced schedule for quite a while, and summer camp is still up in the air, but we have hope at least!

We are very much looking forward to seeing everyone back at the barn!  I hope you have been following us on social media for updates on all the horses and spring projects.  If not, please check us out on Facebook or Instagram!

Nikki, Lindsay & Caryn