Riding Stables I've Ridden At
I'm trying to find a place within a reasonable distance to take western riding lessons this summer. I've been wanting to do that for a while now. I'm ready to try something different. My standard under English tack hasn't improved in years and after three major injuries in as many years, an off and on lesson schedule, no car and little money, it probably never will.
Riding horses is not like riding a bike. You will lose skill, and lots of it, if you don't keep it up. So I want to try western. Alas, I can't seem to find anything in distance of the house. I'll keep looking, but I'll probably end up at Tamarack Stables again, which at least were quite good.
I tried to run down all the previous stables I'd ridden at in the area. I actually couldn't remember what all the names were, so I had to look it up. There have been quite a few: Reddemeade, Loftmar, Woodlawn, Rock Creek. I used to ride a mare for one of the vet techs at Old Dominion, but I can't remember a single thing about what the facility was called or how to get there. Oh well.
They were all good, very good actually, except for Woodlawn. Woodlawn Stables was a terrible place, easily the worst lesson facility I've ever been at. The instructors were pleasant but incompentent - the only place in the entire world where I've actually been advised to not go forward to jumps - but the mother/daughter combo who ran the place were horribly rude. They had the most ridiculous rules. You were not allowed to tack up or interact with the horses at all before riding. I was once thrown out of the stall of my lesson horse because I wasn't supposed to be in there before the lesson. I was also once reprimanded for not cooling out my horse by walking along the wall of the indoor arena; I was walking him on the inner track because there were too many horses along the wall. A snotty notice up in the stables informed everyone treats were not allowed because not everyone could follow the rules. You had to cool out under supervision and have the horse checked before he went back in his stall. The horses had to line up exactly one way when mounting and exactly one way when dismounting. It was the most unpleasant lesson experience I'd ever had. The lessons were a set hour, but you were not allowed to actually start the lesson on the hour. You were leading the horses down to the indoor ring, then getting on, then being led down to outdoor rings in summer, THEN starting the lesson. The process easily knocked 15 to 20 minutes off your actual lesson time, which is a neat rip-ff. Anyway, it was a terrible place; if you want to be treated like a moron and taught incorrectly, go to it. I once met a mother in a tack shop and we were chatting about stables and she knew exactly what I was talking about with the rude owners.
Riding horses is not like riding a bike. You will lose skill, and lots of it, if you don't keep it up. So I want to try western. Alas, I can't seem to find anything in distance of the house. I'll keep looking, but I'll probably end up at Tamarack Stables again, which at least were quite good.
I tried to run down all the previous stables I'd ridden at in the area. I actually couldn't remember what all the names were, so I had to look it up. There have been quite a few: Reddemeade, Loftmar, Woodlawn, Rock Creek. I used to ride a mare for one of the vet techs at Old Dominion, but I can't remember a single thing about what the facility was called or how to get there. Oh well.
They were all good, very good actually, except for Woodlawn. Woodlawn Stables was a terrible place, easily the worst lesson facility I've ever been at. The instructors were pleasant but incompentent - the only place in the entire world where I've actually been advised to not go forward to jumps - but the mother/daughter combo who ran the place were horribly rude. They had the most ridiculous rules. You were not allowed to tack up or interact with the horses at all before riding. I was once thrown out of the stall of my lesson horse because I wasn't supposed to be in there before the lesson. I was also once reprimanded for not cooling out my horse by walking along the wall of the indoor arena; I was walking him on the inner track because there were too many horses along the wall. A snotty notice up in the stables informed everyone treats were not allowed because not everyone could follow the rules. You had to cool out under supervision and have the horse checked before he went back in his stall. The horses had to line up exactly one way when mounting and exactly one way when dismounting. It was the most unpleasant lesson experience I'd ever had. The lessons were a set hour, but you were not allowed to actually start the lesson on the hour. You were leading the horses down to the indoor ring, then getting on, then being led down to outdoor rings in summer, THEN starting the lesson. The process easily knocked 15 to 20 minutes off your actual lesson time, which is a neat rip-ff. Anyway, it was a terrible place; if you want to be treated like a moron and taught incorrectly, go to it. I once met a mother in a tack shop and we were chatting about stables and she knew exactly what I was talking about with the rude owners.