Winter Riding Tips!

Hey Raynham Riders,

We have had quite a mild (and wet!) fall so far, but it looks like the temperatures are going to return to seasonal starting next week.  I thought it was time for our annual "tips on how to dress for winter riding" post!

• Dress in layers and make sure your base layers are moisture-wicking. Thermal long underwear designed for skiing is ideal! Once you are riding you will warm up quickly, so be sure your top layers have zippers so they can easily be removed when mounted.
• Head, hands, and feet lose body heat quickly. Wear winter boots with ski socks, warm gloves or mittens, and a hat when tacking up. Snow pants or sweatpants over your breeches are a good idea for chilly days. You can remove the extra layers and switch to riding boots and gloves right before you get on.
• When riding, a headband can fit under a helmet or a cozy helmet cover is also a great option. 
• Winter riding boots (some options include: Greenhawk or Pleasant Ridge) and gloves are awesome for staying comfortable during the winter months.  
• If you can’t purchase riding-specific gear, your regular winter boots may be fine. They need to have a ½” – 1 ½“ heel, not too chunky treads and the foot needs to be narrow enough to fit into the stirrup. Ask your instructor to check if you are unsure. 
• For those really cold days, hot packs (www.littlehottieswarmers.com, sold at Costco, Marks Work Warehouse, Canadian Tire, and many other places!) in gloves and boots are a great way to stay warm

Horseback riding is a year-round sport, but we do live in Canada so please remember to dress appropriately so you can enjoy riding throughout the winter! 

See you in the barn!

Nikki  

Happy Thanksgiving, Riding School Curriculum Update & More!

    

Hey Raynham Riders,

 

We are just over a month into our fall session and it’s been great to see everyone back at the barn! Just a reminder that we are closed this Sunday, October 10th for Thanksgiving.  As this date was not included in the session, no make-up lessons are required.  We ARE running classes on Monday.  

This time of year, we like to reflect on all the things we have to be thankful for.  Despite it being a very challenging past 19 months, we’re still here, we have a fantastic team of staff, have had a fantastic, successful competition season, and a busy riding school with wonderful students.  We’re so happy to have you riding here at Raynham and hope you have been LOVING your lessons so far this fall.   We are constantly working to improve our services and facilities. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please let us know!

 

As usual, there’s quite a bit of info in this email blast, please take a few minutes to review!

 

Nikki, Lindsay, Caryn & the Raynham Team

 

IN THIS EMAIL:

1. Rider Levels Unveiled!

2. IMPORTANT - Rain Rot 

3. Bathroom Out of Order

4. Hallowing Schooling Show Update

5. Show Season 2022!

Rider Levels Unveiled!

We are very excited to finally unveil our new rider level program!  We are confident this will help our riders create goals for their riding, and better gauge their progress.  We are using software that allows instructors to check off skills as riders complete them which can be viewed by all staff.  This will help instructors when filling in or when riders switch instructors as they will have a detailed history of each rider.  You can view the rider skills checklists HERE.  We are still working to get the horsemanship (unmounted) skills checklists entered, stay tuned!  We are also creating a printable booklet that you can bring to your lessons so you can track your progress as well! to be sent out shortly.  To celebrate riders' progress, we have certificates to present when they complete a level!  We look forward to hearing your feedback on the new program.

 

IMPORTANT - Rain Rot :( 

Unfortunately, with the wet weather and thicker coats, comes rain rot.  We have a few school horses that are infected currently, and it’s highly contagious between horses so we ask that all students use the riding school brushes (disinfecting when finished) and the horses’ assigned saddle pad to help stop the spread.  If you are interested in further details, here’s a helpful article:  https://vetericyn.com/blog/how-to-treat-rain-rot-on-horses-a-helpful-guide/

 

Bathroom Out of Order

Unfortunately, the barn septic system is out of order.  While we wait for it to be repaired, there is a porta-potty located beside the office trailer in the parking lot.  Thank you for your understanding.

 

No Halloween Schooling Show – Halloween Week Instead!

Unfortunately, we are not going to run the Halloween Schooling Show again this year.  Between the issues we are having with the septic, Lindsay being away in Virginia for a competition, and unclear regulations surrounding vaccine passports, it just feels a bit too complicated.   As that date was not included in the session fees, we will be closed that day instead (no lessons).

 

We are going to have Halloween Week, Oct 23th - Oct 31st instead!  We’ll play Halloween-themed games, jump pumpkins, and we’ll have loot bags for anyone that wears a costume to their lesson!  We can’t wait to see everyone’s costumes!

 

Show Season 2022 Info Session – Nov 7th @ 4:00pm

There has been a lot of interest in competing next year! Since there is a TON of information to relay to new show riders, we are going to do a zoom meeting where we cover the basics so that you can make an informed decision if competing in 2022 is right for you! Mark your calendar - Sunday, November 7th at 4:00 pm.   If you can’t make the meeting, let us know.  We will record the meeting and send you the link.  This is just for potential new show riders, those that have competed before do not need to attend.  Here is the meeting link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81293485266?pwd=ZnZDOU4vRllXWmlNNFVVay9YUDZLdz09

TENTATIVE 2021/2022 Lesson Schedule

Hey Raynham Riders,

Thank you for your patience in waiting for the schedule to be posted. The tentative schedule was sent out via email yesterday afternoon to those that filled out the form for returning students, if you did not receive it please let us know. If you were on the waiting list, unfortunately, we were not able to accommodate any new students as we are completely full with returning riders, and sadly were not even able to fit in all of those. If you are a returning rider and did not get a spot, if someone is unable to take their offered time, you are top of the list to be offered those times.

We look forward to lessons resuming next week! The fall session begins on Tuesday, September 7th. Have a safe and fun long weekend everyone!

Nikki, Lindsay, Caryn & the Raynham Team

2021/2022 Lesson Registration!

Hey Raynham Riders!

It's hard to believe, but September is just around the corner! If you are a current student or rode with us during the past school year, you should have received an email with the password for the form to register for the upcoming school year. If you did not, please let us know! https://www.raynhamstables.com/20212022-lesson-registration.html

If you are not currently riding with us, and have not yet filled out our waiting list form, here is the link: https://forms.gle/ZqojeZSug1hyZefo7. Once we have scheduled in our current clients, we will be in touch to let you know what spaces are still available.

Please let us know if you have any questions! We look forward to seeing everyone back at the barn!

Nikki

SUMMER REGISTRATION COMING SOON!

Hey Raynham Riders,

I'm so glad everyone is excited about summer lessons and the Summer Saddle Up program. We're working on the schedule and getting registration set up as fast as possible. Please do not call or email to find out when it will be up, it will be up as soon as I can get it done :) It doesn't look like I'm going to finish it today before I start teaching and I don't have any time in the office tomorrow so it will likely not be until Friday at the earliest at this point.

Thank you for your patience,

Nikki

Lessons resume Monday, May 24th!

Hey Raynham Riders!

Exciting news - with the update to the stay-at-home order, lessons are permitted to resume!  We need the weekend to get organized so classes will start again on Monday.  We will continue with the Spring schedule, so your lesson time will be the same as it was prior to the lockdown.

As for billing - all days of the week received 4 classes prior to the lockdown.  We now have 5 weeks remaining in the spring session, Monday, May 24th - Sunday, June 27th, for 9 classes total for all days of the week.  We will start adjusting invoices now with the correct balance owing.  If you had paid the full amount for the spring session, I will be in touch directly to discuss options.

PLEASE NOTE!  We were completely full prior to the lockdown, so there will not be space for any new students until July at the earliest.

We are going to need a few days to get the lesson restart sorted, and then we will send out details regarding booking summer lessons and our Summer Saddle Up program.

We can't wait to see everyone back at the barn!  Enjoy your long weekend everyone!

Nikki & the Raynham Team

RAYNHAM STABLES SPRING FUNDRAISER!

This year, the Show Team is hoping to raise money to purchase lights for the outdoor rings. This addition will benefit not only Show Team riders, but all Raynham students, as we will all be able to enjoy riding outdoors longer on warm summer nights and through the fall, as the days grow shorter.

Sticking with a successful tradition, we are once again fundraising through North Country Meat and Seafood Ltd. You can look forward to being able to choose from a delicious selection of top-quality meat products.

We hope everyone will be eager to participate. BBQ season is beginning, and Mother’s Day is right around the corner. What better time to stock up! I know my freezer is empty and I am looking forward to filling it up again!

TIMELINE:

Email raynham.fundraising@gmail.com to receive product info and order forms!

Place your orders by Friday April 30th. (Please do not leave ordering until the last minute!)

Send completed order forms to raynham.fundraising@gmail.com. Please do not send payment to this address.

Send payment via e-transfer to Raynham Stables at info@raynhamstables.com, just as you would do for lesson payments. If you absolutely cannot pay by e-transfer, please contact Louise and Helen at raynham.fundraising@gmail.com so we can arrange for you to pay by cash or cheque.

Order pick-up will be Friday, May 7th around 5:30 pm. As the food is frozen and we have no means of storing it long-term, it is imperative that you be available to pick-up that evening. (Details on pick-up procedures to follow at a later date, based on COVID-19 restrictions.)

If you have any questions, please feel free to drop us a line at raynham.fundraising@gmail.com. We’ll be happy to help.

Louise and Helen

 

Ontario Shut Down Order Update

Hey Raynham Riders,

We have read through all of the available information on the new “Shut Down” restrictions and it’s very unclear and full of contractions. Unfortunately, Public Health and Bylaw are closed today as it is a holiday, so we were unable to get further clarification.

We feel the best course of action to ensure everyone’s safety, is to close the barn for the next two weeks. Thankfully we already had planned closures this Sunday for Easter and April 12-18 for spring break, which means riders will only be missing one week of classes (and two on Saturdays). Our hope is that over the next two weeks we can get clear permission from Public Health and Bylaw to reopen. We will use this time to get our outdoor rings fully operational and set up the outside grooming stalls again. Then, ideally, we can resume classes outdoors after the April break, which appears to be permissible under the new guidelines.

Once we have a clear reopening date, we will figure out a plan to deal with the missed classes. We will either extend the spring session and/or a credit so riders will receive ALL classes they have paid for.

Stay safe and healthy! We hope to see everyone back at the barn shortly,

Nikki

Ontario Shut Down Order

Hey Raynham Riders,

I know you are all anxiously awaiting an update on the impact of the new "Shut Down" order on our lesson program. The published information is unclear and has conflicting information so we are just trying to get some clarification before we announce our plan.

We will post here, on Facebook and send out an email blast as soon as we have further details,

Nikki  

UPDATED Spring Lesson Schedule

Hey Raynham Riders,

Thank you for your patience while we update the schedule, we did our very best to accommodate the requested changes.  We spent hours and hours juggling riders, checking horse assignments to ensure there are suitable horses for each rider each day, and tried to be as creative as possible to fit people in.  A huge thank you to Gabby, Lindsay, Alex & Rachel for your help.  Please be sure to double-check your time - we didn't make too many major changes to the schedule as it's just jam-packed so full, but there have been some adjustments.

We intentionally have very few groups of 5, to ensure the school horses are not overbooked as they have not been in heavy work since mid-December.  Once we see how the horses are adjusting to the increased workload, we may be able to add more riders from the waiting list to the schedule.   

We will start sending out invoices tomorrow.  To be fair to those on the waitlist, if invoices are unpaid by the second class of the session, riders will lose their spot and we will offer the time to someone on the waiting list.  If you need to make payment arrangements, please just let us know.

The session starts this Saturday, March 13th.  We are VERY much looking forward to having everyone back at the barn!

Nikki & the Raynham Team

TENTATIVE Spring Lesson Schedule

Hey Raynham Riders,

I apologize for the delay in getting the schedule posted. I know I always say the schedule is a challenge (and it is!) but this one really was a doozy.   We simply do not enough hours in the day or horses in the barn to accommodate the demand from our regular students, never mind the extensive waiting list.  I hate disappointing people and always try to fit everyone in, but it simply was not possible this time.  Below is the tentative schedule.  I had to give quite a few riders times that were slightly outside of their provided availability.   If your time does not work, please let me know ASAP.  I will do my best to adjust, but if there isn't another suitable spot, I will start offering those times to the riders that did not get a spot in this draft of the schedule.

Please send us an email with any conflicts by 4pm on Tuesday.  I will work through the required changes Tuesday & Wednesday and will post a revised schedule on Wednesday afternoon.  This schedule begins on Saturday, March 13th.  

Thank you for your support,

Nikki & the Raynham Team

How do Private Lessons Work?

Hey Raynham Riders,

We’ve had a few students asking how private lessons work at Raynham! Here is an overview of how our program works. 

New Rider & Beginner Private Lessons

New and beginner riders must start with private lessons (or a Saddle Up program, if we are currently running one), as they need one-on-one attention for safety.  These private lessons are 1½ hours long, below is a breakdown of how the time is spent. As we book the time with the instructor in our scheduling program, you should arrive 30 minutes BEFORE the time in your reminder email and plan to stay 30 min after the mounted portion.

Advanced Beginner to Advanced Private Lessons 

Our more advanced riders can do either group or private lessons. Private lessons can be especially beneficial if they have certain skills or positional issues they need to focus on, as the lesson can be tailored specifically to the individual. 

Once riders are able to groom, tack-up, and mount independently, their coach & tack-up help will approve them to head to the ring 15 min before the start of their lesson time to mount and lightly warm up at the walk and trot before their instructional time begins. Then, riders will work for the full 30 minutes with their instructor and cool out their horse after the lesson ends. This means that riders are still in the saddle for 50 min in the saddle with a private lesson, which is the same duration as our group classes. NOTE: Riders MUST first be approved by their coach and tack-up help by demonstrating they can tack up, mount, and safely warm up independently (without interfering with the lesson still running). 

As always, please let us know if you have any questions or concerns! 

Nikki & the Raynham Team

York Region Reopened - Lessons Resuming!

 Hey Raynham Riders!

As I’m sure you have heard, York Region has moved back into red zone as of today, so we are permitted to resume classes.  We are VERY excited to be able to get our riding school students back to the barn.  In order to ease the school horses back into work, we are going to start with pay-as-you go lessons for the remainder of the winter session, details below.   

We have also starting to work on the schedule for the Spring Session. As March Break has been postponed, we are going to shift the start date of our Spring Session to Saturday, March 13th (and will close for the April break instead, April 12 - 18). If you have not yet done so, we are asking ALL students to please submit the Spring Session Availability form by SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28^th, even if you filled out a form for the winter session, so we have everyone's updated availability.  Ideally, we will have a tentative schedule posted by Fri. March 5^th so that we can work through any requested changes before the start of the session.

Pay-As-You-Go Classes: Feb 23 – March 12

• We are offering pay-as-you-go lessons through the online scheduler for the remainder of the winter session.  
• Spaces will be limited to ease the school horses back into full work.
• WEEKDAY classes will NOT have tack-up help - these times are only for riders that can catch their horse, tack up and untack WITHOUT ANY ASSISTANCE (or help from a parent that is riding at the same time). This will be riders 11 years old+, riding for at least a year, and be a strong advanced beginner or higher level.  If you think you are able to tack up independently but don't meet these requirements, please send an email to see if we're able to make an exception. 
• WEEKEND classes will have assistance, so they are open to all levels of riders. 
• These classes are ONLY open to riders that were enrolled in the fall session.  As spaces are limited, we are not accepting new students for these classes.  If you would like to join our waiting list for the spring session, please submit this form

If you have any questions, please let us know!  We look forward to seeing everyone back at the barn!

Nikki & the Raynham Team

Clarification of Reopening Plan

Hey Raynham Riders,

I was happy to hear so many of you are keen to get back in the saddle, I've already received dozens of emails in reply to my email blast last Thursday.  There were many questions that were the same, so I thought I'd just send another email blast to clarify, rather than answer the same questions individually. 

The past year has been incredibly challenging, with the constantly changing and evolving rules and regulations.  We have greatly appreciated everyone's patience and support while we "shift gears" once again.

The following details are all the information I have to give at this time.  I will continue to send out updates as I have further details,

We are VERY excited to have our riding school open again soon!

Nikki & the Raynham Team


Pay-As-You-Go Lessons for the Remainder of the Winter Session

• Tentatively, the plan is to offer pay-as-you-go lessons through the online scheduler for the remainder of the winter session, once we get official notice we are permitted to reopen.  The province has not confirmed a date yet, but it may be as soon as Mon. Feb 22nd. 
• You will have to book and pay for the classes using the online scheduler, you will not automatically have the same time as you did in the fall session. 
• Spaces will be limited to ease the school horses back into full work and we will only be allowing bookings from riders that can tack up and untack independently (or with assistance from a parent that is also riding in a lesson at the same time). 
• We cannot accept new students for the pay-as-you-go lessons as there will not be tack-up help during these weeks. This means there will not be staff available to assist new riders not familiar with our horses/program.
• The scheduler is not open for bookings yet, as we still do not know when we will be permitted to open.  I will send out another email with further details once we get an official opening date.

Spring Lesson Session: NEW Start Date - Saturday, March 13th

• As March Break has been postponed, we are going to shift the start date of our Spring Session to Saturday, March 13th (and will close for the April break instead, April 12 - 18).
• We are asking ALL students to please submit the Spring Session Availability form, even if you filled out a form for the winter session, so we have everyone's updated availability.
• We are going to be cautious as we reopen and will start with accepting a limited number of riders.  If pandemic restrictions and conditions continue to improve, we will consider adding more riders mid-session.  The more availability you are able to provide, the more likely you are to get a spot. Priority for spaces will go to boarders, part-boarders, and those that were enrolled in classes during the fall.
• Please do not send an email to register for the spring session, I can no longer keep track of requests through email.  All riders need to submit the Spring Availability form.  

PAY AS YOU GO DETAILS AND SPRING AVAILABILITY FORM HERE

Virtual Lesson Reminder - Tonight @ 5:00pm!

Hey Raynham Riders!

In case you missed my last email, we are going to do a SECOND virtual lesson this evening!  We received tons of great feedback on the first lesson, you can view the videos from the first lesson here.  

To participate in the lesson this evening, please register here.

I hope to see many of your faces through Zoom tonight!

Nikki

LOCKDOWN UPDATE

Hey Raynham Riders,

We hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing holiday and a Happy New Year. I apologize for the delay in updating everyone about the plan for the next session. We have created a tentative schedule for the winter session, but I am hesitant to post it until we know when we’ll be allowed to resume classes and what the regulations will look like going forward. We are closely monitoring the updates from the province and our local public health office. As of right now, the provincial wide lockdown is due to expire on Saturday, January 23rd, which means tentatively, classes could resume that day. We aren’t sure if the lockdown is going to be extended or if there will be new indoor gathering limits, so we are waiting for further details before posting a schedule.

We know everyone is missing being at the barn, so we are excited to announce we are going to do a SECOND virtual lesson on Friday, January 15th @ 5:00pm! Thank you to everyone that participated in our first virtual lesson before the break. We received lots of terrific feedback and it was a ton of fun! I have posted all the videos from the first lesson on our YouTube page. There are listed privately for now, here is the link. If you would like to participate in our second lesson, please register here!

We hope you are all staying safe and healthy and look forward to having everyone back at the barn soon!

Nikki & the Raynham Team