- Breeding
- Equine Experts Send Us Your Best Tip - Win $750 Worth of KAM’s Healthy Horse Products and More
- Horse Breeding, Part 3: Birth and Care of a Foal
- Horse Breeding: Covering a Mare
- Buying a Horse
- How to Buy a Horse
- When Good Gaits Deteriorate
- How to Buy Horses: A Step by Step Process
- General Horse Articles
- How the Recession Is Affecting Equine Employment
- First Rides: Evaluating a Horse’s Vocabulary
- How to Prepare for Your First Equestrian Competition
- Horse Feeding
- The Truth Behind Bran Mash - Its Uses & Disadvantages
- What Makes Good Hay
- An Equine Electrolyte for All Seasons - Electro-Ryte™
- Horse Grooming
- Relive Southern Eighths/Nikon Three-Day on YouTube
- OmegaTri & the Equine - Reducing Inflammation, Restoring Balance
- Equine Experts Send Us Your Best Tip - Win $750 Worth of KAM’s Healthy Horse Products and More
- Horse Health Issues
- You’ve Got the Right Feed, Now What?: Proper Feeding Practices
- Let Sleeping Horses Lie: A Look at Horse Sleep Patterns
- Essential Fatty Acids – The Functions and Benefits in Horses
- Horse Training
- Training Mythunderstandings: Green Horse Lessons: Adding the Lead Rope
- Help Your Stiff Horse Bend
- Training Mythunderstandings: Applied Heeding: Backing
- Horses & History
- Horsing around the Sierra Madre - 1974 Style.
- Equine Experts Send Us Your Best Tip - Win $750 Worth of KAM’s Healthy Horse Products and More
- A Brief History of Draft Horses
- Horses & Sports
- Cookies With a Clue For Your Horse
- ELITE DINING AND HOSPITALITY CLUB TO DEBUT AT 53rd WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL HORSE SHOW
- Submit Your Grant Proposal To USA Equestrian Trust
How to Find the Best Riding Schools in Your Area
03/23/2009
We’re talking about what the search for good riding schools will cost you in time, effort, and attention. So, to simplify matters, we’ve compiled some tips on how you can find the best riding schools in your area.
If you’ve ever looked for a good daycare or private school, you’ll know how challenging the search for good riding schools can be. Good education and good care come at a price, and riding schools are no exception. We’re not speaking of monetary price, necessarily—good riding schools come at a variety of different prices. We’re talking about what the search for good riding schools will cost you in time, effort, and attention. So, to simplify matters, we’ve compiled some tips on how you can find the best riding schools in your area:
Word of Mouth
Often the best way is the simple way. Personal recommendations are usually a great start to find riding schools in your area. At your local supply shop, or at an equestrian clothing store, you can ask any of the workers what riding schools they recommend. You will get the inside scoop on what riding schools are over-hyped, which riding schools are dangerous, and which riding schools are the best. Everyone who is in the business of horses—in any form—usually knows a thing or two about local riding schools, so don’t be afraid to ask. We’ve even had a good experience getting recommendations from a farmer pulling a horse trailer!
Online Resources
Riding schools are just now beginning to enter the twenty-first century. There are several internet portals such as GoEquine or InfoHorse which list all of the available riding schools in your area. Many riding schools have set up their own websites, which can be found with a quick Google search. At these websites, you can see pictures of the horses and facilities, read up on the riding schools’ credentials, and check out the instructors’ biographies. While we don’t advise choosing a riding school without visiting it, the internet is a good way to assemble a short list of possible riding school candidates.
Keep Your Eyes Open
Once you’ve narrowed down your choice in riding schools, you should take a moment to visit each of the riding schools personally. Talk a look around the stalls, and see if the riding schools keeps everything clean. Are the horses at the riding schoos healthy? Is the atmosphere one that seems orderly? Good riders must be detail-oriented, so good riding schools must stay on top of the details too. In the office area of the riding schools, keep your eyes open for certificates of quality. Good riding schools will have qualifications from either the BHS (British Horse Society) or ARIA (American Riding Instructors Association). If you are a true beginner, we recommend you avoid any riding schools’ instructor who is not ARIA certified. If these certifications are not visible, ask the riding schools’ instructor to show them to you. If the instructor declines, or evades the subject, then that is not the riding school for you.
Colleges and Universities
Believe it or not, local universities are a great resource when it comes to finding local riding schools. Agricultural colleges often have close ties with veterinarians and riding schools. Professors that teach at an agricultural college may teach (or know other teachers who work) at the local riding schools. Even if they aren’t affiliated with an agricultural college, local universities often have riding programs, polo teams, or other horse-centered activities which utilize local riding schools. Be sure to ask around!
