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.
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
