Next week I’m going to talk a lot about how to improve the efficiency and results of your riding lessons, so I thought I’d kick off that series with a couple of more frivolous posts. While your job as a riding instructor is to impart knowledge, there is no reason why it can’t be fun.
It’s extremely boring to watch a group of kids ride their horses ’round and ’round in circles. And if it’s boring for you, the instructor, imagine how dull it must be for them, your students.
If you want to spice up your riding lessons and make them more fun for your students, there are several ways to do it.
1- Ask for Suggestions
If you’re having trouble thinking of things to do from one riding lesson to the next, turn to your greatest source of inspiration. Your students have fresh minds, and they might be able to clue you in to a great new idea that will make riding lessons more fun.
2- Play a Game
From Mother May I to Red Light, Green Light, there are plenty of childhood games that can make riding lessons entertaining. Not only do horseback riding games inspire competition, but they show your students how to use the skills they’ve learned in previous classes.
3- Throw a Party
My very first riding instructor implemented a rule about wrecks. If you fall of your horse, you have to bring a pizza to the next class for a party. This is a nice change of pace for riding lessons and it helps students feel better about a negative experience.
4- Switch Horses
Halfway through a riding lesson, have all your students dismount and trade horses. You should only do this if all students are capable of riding every horse in the class, but it’s a great way to shake things up. It’s sort of like musical chairs, but with horses.
5- Play Some Tunes
Speaking of music, you can make riding lessons much more fun by playing some tunes during class. As long as the music doesn’t overpower your voice or detract from the learning process, a jam will enliven your students’ spirits—even the horses seem to like it.
6- Think Outside the Box
Arenas are powerful tools for riding instructors, but so are wide open spaces. If your lessons are feeling a bit dull, take your students out of the arena for a bit to explore the world outside the box. You can go on trails if your facility has them or ride in a large pasture or field.
7- Test Their Knowledge
At the end of every riding lesson, plan a trivia question. The first rider who knows the answer gets a prize—it could be as simple as a candy bar or as extravagant as a free lesson. Let the reward fit the difficulty of the question.
8- Meet the Parents
Rather than just inviting parents to see their kids in riding lessons, invite them to join! Have a mother-daughter riding lesson, or father-son, or father-daughter, or whatever combination works. You’ll need enough lesson horses to cover all riders, but if you have the space and the horses this is a great way to make riding lessons more fun.
9- Play Pretend
This suggestion is great for students who are preparing for a horse show. To get them ready and inspire competition, hold a mock horse show during class. Give out inexpensive ribbons or other prizes to the winners.
10- Ride Together
Lastly, and this works well with some classes and not so well with others, you might consider riding with your students. Hop on one of your horses in training or even one of the lesson horses and join the class. You might even give your students a chance to teach you for once—if you can take the heat, that is.
Do you know of ways to make riding lessons more fun? How do you keep your students engaged? Leave your suggestions in the comments section.
You might also like:
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Private Riding Lessons - Should Riding Instructors Let Students Ride Outside Lessons?
- What Do Your Students
Wear to Riding Lessons? - Should Students Prepare Their Own Horses for Riding Lessons?
- The Number One Way to Make
Students Happy in Riding Lessons
About the Author: Laura Jane Thompson is the Chief Equestrian Officer of Riding Instructor University and the Feature writer for the horses section at Suite101. She believes that any horse business can succeed provided its owner practices smart strategy.
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