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