Geoff Teall on Riding Hunters, Jumpers and Equitation. Geoff Teall
you had as an instructor? As a rider?
6 What is your showing experience?
7 Who were your instructors?
8 What books do you recommend?
9 What horse shows do you like and why?
10 What do you think is important/unimportant about riding, equitation, and competition?
Private Lessons versus Group Instruction
Lessons can be private, one-on-one learning situations or interactive group classes. What is best for the rider generally depends on the level of riding experience.
Riding Alone
When you start riding—when you are actually learning how to ride—I believe it is critical that you begin with private lessons.
I always start beginning riders on the lead line, with the student on one horse and myself on another horse. The student’s horse is attached to a lead line that I hold throughout the lesson.
Ponying a beginner on another horse is becoming a lost art, but I feel it is the best way to start a rider. The student can ride on the trail right away. The instructor can be right next to the student and hold onto him if necessary. Ponying the beginner puts the instructor in a situation where he can control and manage the whole learning process.
Once you know the basics of riding, however, private lessons are often a disadvantage. One of the main reasons for this is because you lose the ability to learn from others.
Still, sometimes even advanced riders need private lessons. Occasionally, people can get so emotional that they don’t work as well in a group as they do by themselves. If you are scared, or if something is seriously troubling you or the horse, it may help to have some private time with your instructor to work through the problem.
Similarly, if you are getting ready for a special event and there is a particular piece of the ride that is bothering you, a private lesson or two might be necessary.
Riding in Groups
The biggest advantage in taking group lessons is the ability to learn by example. You watch other students doing exactly the same exercise on the same day as you. You learn from their horses, their perspectives, and their different backgrounds. After watching others, you can try the exercise. You can quickly get a feel for what you do understand and identify what you don’t understand.
Riding in a group gives you a huge increase in exposure to a single lesson. You have several opportunities to try a given exercise. You can also watch each of the other riders try the same exercise several times. Most beneficial of all, your horse gets a break while you continue learning.
In a group situation, you have a mini audience of your peers and your competition (fig. 3.4). Competition in lessons can become fierce. In other words, if two students are struggling with the same exercise, there is a certain amount of natural competitiveness that will encourage both riders to improve more quickly.
Another benefit of group lessons is that they require you to perform an exercise at a particular moment. The moment arrives, you know what you have to do, you have to do it now, and you have to do it in front of people. Learning to perform on command is a great skill booster.
3.4 Every time you are in a group, you have a chance to practice riding in front of an audience, as you would at a horse show.
The Student’s Perspective
Safety is the number one reason for getting qualified riding instruction. You have to learn how to ride, how to be around horses, and how to compete successfully and safely. Rarely can that happen to any significant degree if you only work by yourself in your backyard.
As a student, I want to learn the skills that will make me a more effective rider. I don’t want to spend time with a teacher who just tells me what to do every step of the way. Instead, I want a teacher who instills confidence and security.
The Disciplined Rider
Discipline gets you what you want. Everybody wants success. Discipline makes that possible. The more disciplined you are, the more progress you will make.
In other words, if you have an opportunity to work with somebody, you need to be disciplined enough to be sure that you, above all else, show up on time (preferably early). Arrive organized, ready to go, well turned-out, and interested enough to pay 100 percent attention to whoever is trying to help you.
A lot of people think they would like to ride without much discipline, but they are the ones who, in the end, won’t do what it takes to be successful. They don’t have the drive to stick with their riding and meet their goals. Then, they are disappointed and move on.
If you don’t discipline yourself, you won’t make steady improvement. You will get sloppy and lazy. Then you will probably quit riding, or change instructors, because you haven’t met with success. The whole time, however, your lack of discipline works against you.
Building and Strengthening the Student/Instructor Relationship
Your instructor is not responsible for instilling you with the drive to ride well. He shouldn’t have to tell you, “Try harder. Work harder. Practice more. Get the job done. Push yourself a little bit more.”
That is tiring. And, it is not his job.
The students I really enjoy teaching are the ones who push themselves and try hard. I want to be the one saying, “Settle down. You are doing fine. You are working too hard. Easy does it.”
My favorite student never talks during a lesson, unless it is to ask an intelligent, pertinent question. He tries too hard. He is always early. He never complains about his bills or his duties. He is the kind of person I will stand on my head to help.
I want to help the student who is helping himself. I don’t want to help the student who just sits in the ring waiting for me, and who gives the entire responsibility of his ride over to me.
Your instructor wants to help you learn. He wants to help you teach yourself how to ride. He wants to give you information and help you understand it. The best way to get the most from your lessons is to keep the door of communication wide open.
Pass It On
As a student, I want somebody to teach me in such a way that I learn the information and assimilate it. After the instruction is over, I want to be able to continue to teach myself.
Most students will say they want to study with instructors who will help them win and bring them success—but I go one more than that. I want to be taught things that I can use to progress on my own.
As your skills and knowledge increase, you shouldn’t always need someone to help you choose the right bit or to tell you when to pull on the reins. Your trainer should teach you how to make a horse light, how to gauge distances, or how to engage the hindquarters. Then, when you can understand the theory and the process, you can use that knowledge again down the road on another horse, or in another situation.
A good teacher will teach his students how to teach. Sometimes that means