NEVER RIDDEN/ NO EXPERIENCE – Total beginners. May have been on a pony lead but have never ridden independently.
WALK- Little experience with horses. This rider knows how to ask the horse to move forward, turn and stop and can mount and walk off unassisted.
LEARNING TO TROT – Basic experience with horses. The rider is starting to learn to rise trot but may not have the rhythm yet.
TROTTING WELL – The rider can ride with great central a at trot. This ride may be eager to learn to canter.
LEARNING TO CANTER – The rider is rise trotting well with great control and has started learning to canter but needs to continue to work on mastering the canter.
CANTERING WELL- The rider is competently cantering with great control and a good seat.
ADVANCED – Advanced riders can naturally work a horse through all paces having several years of experience riding behind them. They may ride as a part of their working life, compete or train horses.
- Parents responsible for providing accurate information about their child’s riding ability.
- When in doubt it is safer to say your child is of lesser ability rather than a greater ability.
- We can always find a more advanced horse but it is harder to have a spare beginner horse.
- Please understand that your child’s ‘riding ability’ is what you child can currently do, not what they want to achieve. For example if your child wants to canter but can currently only trot, please select trotting not cantering.
- Remember ALL horses can walk, trot, canter and gallop, it’s simply that they are educated to work at a particular pace to carry a certain riding ability.