LESSONS
Experience the magic and beauty of classical riding for yourself! With patience and commitment, you can achieve your goals regardless of your riding skill or confidence level. We welcome riders of all levels, from beginner to FEI, and from all backgrounds, as classical riding is beneficial to all disciplines and breeds (including gaited horses). Lessons with our instructor can include a variety of different approaches, from a focus on horse and rider biomechanics to work in-hand to an integration of obstacles or even Rossfechten (mounted swordsmanship). Every lesson is tailored to each rider’s goals and experience level, from riders new to classical riding to those with aspirations for FEI or “haute ecole.”
Bring your horse for dedicated attention to you and your horse, or ride one of ours if you don’t have your own or need additional guidance from one of our equine professors.
Lessons over Zoom, Pivo, or other virtual platforms are also available. Contact us if you wish to take virtual lessons or theory sessions, and we can advise you how to set up for these lessons if you’ve never done them before.
For children up to 12 years of age, we offer vaulting lessons to develop the seat as well as have fun building confidence, balance, and strength. For precocious/advanced children riders, we incorporate mounted games. However, we prefer to focus on vaulting first with the little ones until they show they are confident and capable. We can accommodate exceptions in special cases, so please feel free to inquire if your child is already advanced for their age.
Theory and grooming/groundwork lessons are also available. Theory lessons may be given over Zoom or other virtual platform. Specialized packages coming soon for beginners and for riders coming back from an injury.
PRIVATE 45 MINUTE LESSON – $70.00
Semi-privatE 60 MINUTE LESSON (2-3 riders)- $60.00 each rider
GROUP 1 HOUR 15 minute LESSON (4-6 RIDERS) $50.00 EACH RIDER
RIDE OUR HORSES FOR AN EXTRA FEE
2nd/3rd LEVEL HORSE – $20.00
FEI or Specialist HORSE – $30.00
Children up to 12 years old 30 minute lesson- $50.00
Children up to 12 YEARS OLD 30 MIN Grooming lesson- $40.00
Sibling/parent-child joint vaulting lesson- $100.00
60 minute Theory/grooming lesson (up to 4 participants)- $60.00
Clinics by our instructor
You can also host our trainer for a clinic at your farm! Our trainer will provide an intensive learning experience for a group of riders and can also give theory sessions before or after the regular lessons are completed. Clinics may be booked for a single day or for up to 3 days. Contact us for availability and to book a clinic!
Clinic Rate: $600/day (up to 8 rides)
*Host must pay for clinician meals, transportation, and lodging. Alternatively, clinics can be given virtually over Zoom or other virtual platform.
What to Expect in our lessons
Riding Lessons
Regular riding lessons can take on several different focuses. We use a number of patterns to help horse and rider find how they should use their bodies on their own. Many of these patterns are meant to challenge horse and rider mentally, but the result is that the pair does more than they thought they were capable of. However, within these patterns comes some extra guidance to help the rider be more effective in their seat to get the best results from the horse. Riding lessons may incorporate cones, ground poles, low cross-rails or jumps, and other teaching tools to maximize the learning experience. Note-taking is encouraged after the lesson. Lessons are scheduled for 45 minutes but may take more or less time to accomplish the day’s goals, if the schedule allows.
Longe Lessons
Longe lessons give the rider the chance to focus just on their seat. Usually, these are given on our own horses, as longe horses can be difficult to find. These use a combination of gymnastic exercises and “feel” exercises so that the rider can work on developing their feel and refine their aids while the trainer guides from the ground. In many cases, we use a hybrid approach, starting the lesson on the longe and moving to off-longe so that the rider has a chance to connect the feel from one into the other. We start all beginners, regardless of age, on the longe for their safety and to develop a solid foundation. These lessons are often closer to 30 minutes due to the strenuous nature of the work.
Mounted Weapons Lessons
We use mounted martial arts, focusing on mounted fencing and garrocha, both for riders interested in these art expressions and for riders who are struggling with independence in the seat. These lessons utilize dressage patterns but incorporate the “weapons” either as tools to improve the use of the seat or simply for the practice. We have foam, plastic, and nylon swords available for use, and we are happy to work with sparring pairs.
Work in-hand Lessons
Work in-hand lessons focus on developing the connection to the horse on the ground, using all the benefits work in-hand has to offer. We use both basic styles of work in-hand: the Viennese using the cavesson and the Iberian using only the bridle. Lessons can also focus on ground-driving as well as artistic long-reining. We have horses and equipment available for use in these lessons, and often these lessons are hybridized with regular riding lessons.
Group/Semi-private lessons
These are a fun way to develop camaraderie and confidence with other riders sharing the arena and leading or following in a pattern. These lessons take two different forms: working on a common challenge the horses and riders are working on or working on group riding, such as for quadrille or pas de deux. In cases with mounted martial arts, the lessons tend to focus on sparring.
Children’s Vaulting
These lessons focus on developing the child’s balance and confidence. Generally, they ride without a saddle but with a surcingle that offers handles and a padded seat. These lessons use gymnastic exercises, such as circling arms, swinging legs, and even “around the world” to develop balance, confidence, and coordination. These lessons are fun and upbeat but shorter in order to accommodate the child’s attention span. The lesson horse fee is included in this price. Once a child reaches a certain level of proficiency, they will learn to ride independently and learn basic arena figures, basic cavaletti/low jumps, and mounted games for a well-rounded foundation.
Theory and Grooming
For those looking to bolster their knowledge on grooming and theory, theory and grooming sessions are also available. For theory, these can focus on biomechanics, stable management, training principles, and more. For grooming, the education can focus on general grooming or specialized grooming, such as braiding and clipping. Up to four participants welcome at the base fee, additional participants $10 per person.
Student Expectations
What to Bring
New students often wonder what they should wear or bring to lessons here. If you are an existing rider, we appreciate appropriate lesson attire, which includes riding boots with a heel, riding breeches (full seat or knee patch are fine), a collared shirt, an ATSM-certified helmet, and appropriate riding gloves. Fun colors are more than welcome, and if it is particularly hot outside, tank tops or sleeveless polos are fine. If you are new to riding, yoga pants, boots with a 1″ heel, and a helmet are required. If you do not have a helmet, we often have extras available for use and can recommend makes and models that fit your budget. If you do not have appropriate boots, be advised that you will probably spend your lesson without stirrups. For the beginner, this is usually not a problem as we start on the longe. For current or aspiring riders who need riding equipment, check out The Rider’s Closet, a nonprofit that provides show and lesson apparel to riders who need financial assistance. Conversely, if you are a rider with used boots that you don’t use anymore, consider donating them to the Rider’s Closet through the Der Dau Trade-In Program.
For riders bringing their horse, any style of tack is welcome. Snaffle bits are preferred in the beginning, though if you are looking to improve your work on the double bridle specifically, please bring that as well. Whatever you use, it is best to bring the things that fit your horse the best, so if you’re debating whether to bring an all-purpose saddle that your horse likes or a dressage saddle that’s not as well-fitting, bring the all-purpose.
Most of all, bring an open mind and willing attitude. We do not judge you for where you are in your riding journey as long as you are eager to learn and willing to listen.
Time and Cancellation Policies
We ask that students arrive early enough to groom and tack up their horse before their lesson time so that the lesson can begin promptly at their scheduled time. This helps us with our scheduling so that we can provide our best services to all our clients. Be prepared to groom your assigned horse if you are riding one of our horses. We will show you their tack and grooming equipment in the beginning, but once you are established as a student with us, we ask that you perform these tasks. For beginners, some of the lesson time will be taken with learning to groom and tack up the horse. We feel this is a valuable skill for all horsemen/women to develop and hone, as you learn much about the horse through grooming and tacking up. Grooming services for your lesson may be provided in the future for an additional fee.
Please schedule and/or cancel lessons at least 24 hours before time. If you have to cancel your lesson after this time, we ask that you donate your lesson fee, as we usually cannot fill your lesson spot on short notice. We reserve the right to cancel lessons in case of severe weather, such as thunderstorms, excessive heat, winter storms, etc. Riding lessons can be traded for a theory session or one of our Anima Renova PEMF or Meadow Meditation sessions without penalty.
Payment is expected at the time of the lesson. We accept cash, personal check, Zelle, or PayPal. Make checks payable to Tempus Renatus, and send PayPal to @TempusRenatus.