WHAT YOU WILL LEARN FROM YOUR RIDING LESSONS
WESTERN LESSONS By Level
Beginner (riders will)
· Learn general safety rules for being around horses.
· Learn riding/general vocabulary
· Learn how to groom, saddle, and bridle horse.
· Learn how to halter and lead a horse and lead horse with bridle.
· Learn how to mount and dismount safely.
· Learn while mounted, how to make horse walk, stop, turn (left turn, right
turn, circle, weaving through cones, tight turns /wide turns, walk over trot poles.)
· Begin trotting on lounge line or around the arena sitting and posting.
Beginner II (Advanced Beginner)
· Continue to learn posting and sitting trot.
· Starts trotting off of the loung line around the ring.
· Increases horse/riding vocabulary.
· Begin circling at trot.
· Learn serpentines, diagonals and figure 8s at walk.
· Increase speed of serpentines, diagonals and figure 8s to trot.
Novice I (riders will)
· Learn to slow down horse to the jog for western riding.
· Use sitting trot most of the time at the jog / slow trot.
· Do all sitting trot work for all patterns at the jog.
· Learns about neck reining at the walk (if horse is able.)
· Learn 2 point position “western style” and trot over trot poles in it.
Novice II (Advanced Novice)
· Learn how to use leg to steer horse along with concepts of neck reining at walk and jog (if horse is able.)
· Turn on haunches on the rail neck reining or direct reining.
· Introduce canter on the rail two handed.
· Learn to go over small cross rails “western style” (as used in trail riding for jumping logs or in a trail class at a show)
Intermediate (riders will)
· Learn to slow the canter down and sit deep in the saddle.
· Start cantering while neck reining.
· Learn about using effective ring space while riding western.
· Learn more western patterns and tests.
Advanced (riders will)
· Ride all gaits both neck reining and two rein style.
· Perform patterns at all gaits “western style.” Circles, serpentines, figure 8s, diagonals and western patterns.
· Learn to leg yield
· Do simple lead changes
· Turn on Haunches
· Turn on the fore hand
· Keep horse slow
* Learn flying lead changes.