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.