Classical Riding Highland

08/05/2023

It has been a while since I was out teaching due to health issues. Covid has not been kind to me 😞 But I am back from June onwards!

I missed seeing my clients progress over time, and I very much look forward to being part of your journey again 😊

I havent increased my lesson prices for at least the last 10 years but due to increased insurance and fuel costs I now have to do this unfortunately. I still don't charge mileage if it is within reasonable distance and/or if there are a few lessons at the same yard or close by.

Therefore from 1st June 2023 following rates apply:

Full private lesson (45/50 minutes) £40
Half private lesson (30 minutes) £25

I don't usually do shared lessons to ensure you get the full benefit of your time with me, unless both riders and horses are on the same level. In this case I charge £25 each.

Get in touch if you would like to book a lesson with me 😊

16/04/2021

Dates for my clinics at Dark Deer for 2021 are now confirmed. If you would like to book for any of the dates below please let me know.

8th May
26th June
24th July
14th August
18th September
23rd October

😊

04/04/2021

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2391367687575363&id=205495012829319

At clinics, rarely do I get to help people with advanced work (even if they think they are ready for it) because usually the basics are “ok”. When you try to build advanced movements out of “ok” basics you end up with trouble in that movement.

Basics are hard, mostly because they can seem ok, but it’s the details that matter.

I was recently chatting with a friend who is an Olympic showjumping coach. He has competed at 3 Olympic Games and has coached his National team at 3 others.

I said to him “ you do lots of clinics around the world, do you ever run into people that can jump say, a metre, but want to jump higher, but in order to jump higher you have to take them back to the start, back to ground rails ?”

“All the time”, he said. “I rarely encounter anyone who wants to jump higher and is ready for it.”

Once you get the basics really good, the “hard” things are actually easy. It sounds completely backwards to most people, but once you get your head around it, the game changes completely.

15/03/2021

With winter finally over I will be available again for lessons in the local area. Please let me know should you be interested.

Dates for clinic dates at Dark Deer will be added once confirmed. I look forward to seeing all my clients - old and new - again :-)

22/01/2021

Horse Fitness

With the continued Lockdown, and the icy/snowy weather to boot – horses everywhere are likely enjoying an extended Christmas holiday…

When one day, we are unlocked, and the snow melts – PLEASE take it nice and easy with your horses.
Horses that have had more than a couple of weeks off, or reduced exercise, will need the same amount of time building them back up again. This means that sadly, when the arena surface defrosts after long last – we cannot jump back on board and pick up where we left off with cantering and jumping.

Building your horses’ fitness levels back up again means we can help safeguard them from injuries; whether this is sprains to tendons or ligaments, or flare ups of arthritis.

Activities to get your horse back up to previous levels of fitness:
- Hacking, around the fields, or load up and go somewhere new (following COVID guidance of course!)
- Set out an interesting pattern of poles in the arena and spend time walking through and over the poles. This will engage the horse’s core, get them to flex their joints and also adds variety for both horse and riders.

A rough rule of thumb – for every week that your horse has been off, spend the same amount of time increasing exercise gradually again.

Just like humans, horses get stiff and sore when they haven’t worked for a while – so be mindful of a good long warm up and cool down, and lots of stretching and walk work.

Remember, prevention is better than cure – take it easy now, and avoid injuries long term.

19/01/2021

Interesting opportunity 👍

26/12/2020

I hope you all had a great Christmas, even though it may have been a bit different than usual. It has been a year like no other and hopefully the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter over the next few weeks.

Unfortunately I don't have access to my inbox anymore for some reason, so if you want to send me a message please contact me via my mobile number which you can find on this page.

Look after yourselves, stay healthy, and to a better 2021!

22/11/2020

Great day teaching at Dark Deer yesterday, all have done extremely well and I look forward to see the progress made over winter when I'm back in spring 👍Keep working on your homework 😊

08/11/2020

The next opportunity for lessons at Dark Deer is Saturday 21st November. This is the last day at Dark Deer this year before my winter break. A great opportunity to pick up some homework for the winter to work on until I'm back in Spring 👍😊