The Value Of Group Lessons

Group lessons used to be the most common form of riding lessons. I don't know percentages but it appears that private lessons, or semi private lessons (2 in a class) are more common these days, particularly with adults.

I love to teach group lessons and I believe they have tremendous value, causing beginner and intermediate riders, in particular to advance more quickly. I like my group lessons to be more than 4 riders but not more than 8, although I have taught twice that many riders at once.

Length of Lesson
Group lesson can be longer because there are periods when the instructor's focus is not pin pointed on the rider's every move. This gives a little bit of down time. The more time students spend on horse back, the more quickly they can progress. Teaching group lessons is a good use of time for students, parents and the instructor.

Group Lesson Students Can Carpool
Let's face it. Travel time and cost are a big deal to everyone these days. It's a bonus anytime moms can take turns bringing kids any place is a bonus, and riding lessons are no exception.

Group Lessons Cost the Student Less But Make You More Money
Do the math. The going rate in my area for private lessons is between $50 and $65 per lesson. But you can charge $35 for a group lesson and five students will bring in $175 for the same time period. And the bonus is that at $35 per lesson your student has a better chance of taking more than one lesson each week.

Social Horse Lovers
One of the reasons soccer is so popular among kids is because it involves so many other kids. Just drive past a soccer field with a 7 year old kid in your car. You'll notice that their eyes don't leave the hoard of kids who are having a great time on the soccer field. Kids are social creatures. They want to be with other kids. Adults may not be as exuberant but they are not that different either. Adults look for a group to fit in to, just like they did when they were kids. Let's face it. Riding is a social experience. People that take lessons and ride want to connect with other people that take lessons and ride. Group lessons are one way to feed the social need of the horse lover. Even adults look forward to riding together.

The Element of Fun
Games are an excellent way for riders to put their skills to practical use. There is an endless number of games that an instructor can use; from dropping rocks in a pail to relays over fences. These games can all be used in private lessons as exercises but they are so much more fun when you can form teams.

Less Intense
Group lessons are less intense but they can deliver the same quality of instruction as a private lesson. Group lessons are less intense because the instructor's focus moves from student to student. This gives each student some minutes that the lesson pressure is a little bit less. It also gives the student a small sense of independence in a very controlled situation. For instance, they can adjust their own position before they are told to correct it, giving that little window to develop thinking skills on horseback. A smart instructor will allow varying lengths for these times and will use it for observation. And group lessons take the pressure off. In a group lessons everyone will have times that they shine and no one will have to shine all the time.

The Visual Learning Tool
For some people, riding snaps into place much faster when they can see what they are trying to achieve. Group lessons provide the instructors with demo riders. Take teaching diagonals as an example. Instead of exhausting the "rise and fall with the one on the wall" ditty and instead of having your students struggle looking at their horse's shoulder to try to coordinate it with their posting, you can let them watch each other. The first part of learning diagonals is seeing the relationship between the horse's shoulders and the rider's posting. I'll have one rider watch the group and I say, "Tell me which shoulder comes back as this rider sits into the saddle." It works every time because it's that old "a picture is worth a thousand words" theory. The visual tool works at all levels, over and over again. The bonus is that when they see that one of their peers can achieve something, they know they can too. So I guess I have to add that group lessons give students confidence.

The Challenge
In the same sense the at group lessons give students confidence, group lessons also add the challenge factor. When peers ride together and they see one another achieve, that nudge to do it better seems to find its way in.

The Drills
School commands are not used so much today because most instructors are not taught with them.

One of the most delightful lessons I have ever witnessed was with Molly Sivewright. Mrs. Sivewright is the author of both "Thinking Riding " books, as well as a book on lunging. She is the founder of Talland School of Equitation in England and is a Fellow of the British Horse Society. I met Mrs. Sivewright at a dressage clinic in Kansas. In a matter of minutes, through the use of school commands, Mrs. Sivewright had 8 dressage riders divided into two circles, going the opposite direction and changing circles smoothly on command. Believe me when I say, that this didn't start out pretty! These horses and riders were used to riding alone. But after a few minutes, this group could have rivaled any drill team. (Except may the Metropolitan Mounted Police at Olympia) I'll bet those riders will never forget Ms. Sivewright's lesson.

Working in a line and trying to keep the correct distance from the horse in front of you is challenging for students. Adding changes of rein, circles,and transitions on command gives students a new way to work on their skills. I call this "learning through necessity"!

One year for Pony Club camp, I hired a man who'd ridden with an exhibition drill ride of Andalusians. I had my doubts that the older, higher rated members would be comfortable using their hot thoroughbreds for drill riding. I was wrong. This instructor's classes were the thrill of camp for all levels that year.

Keep Your Students Coming Back
Group lessons are an important part of an instruction program. It takes work to become proficient at teaching group lessons and requires the ability to "multi task" as well as "eyes in the back of your head", but it's worth it. Group lessons have benefits that range from progress, to social, to use of time, to finances, to fun. In the long run its the progress and fun that will keep your students coming back for more.

Barbara Fox
US Horsemanship Web
US Horsemanship Blog