News

Hylee Training News – July 2020

Hey Everyone, 


I hope everyone is staying dry in this wet weather we have been having:) I know we have been working hard at keeping everything here dry. We do have a bit of news here to share with you this month.


Hunter Show

While we just couldn’t get the numbers for over fences show and the flat show was too wet . Assuming its going to dry out a little bit for August – we have decided to go ahead and schedule a schooling show for Aug 2nd which is a Sunday.

Aug 2, 2020 Schooling Show Details


The schooling show is really meant as an entry show. It’s specifically designed for those who are new to showing or getting back into showing .There is also a division for walk/trot and walk/jog for both kids and adults. We have hired a Learner Judge who will be coming with her mentor. This will be an educational opportunity for everyone. You can find the class list here. The entry fee is $20 per division. Lesson students who need a lesson horse will be charged $25 horse rental fee.

Lesson Horses

Obviously, we have limited lesson horses, therefore, the sooner you sign up the better. As a result, of our entries being limited to 30 maximum early sign up is best. Sign up can be made by messaging the page, Alicia, or letting us during your regular lesson time.

Dress Requirements

English riders will be required to wear a helmet, paddock boots, half chaps and breeches. No jackets are required. For Western riders, you will need jeans/chaps, western style boots and either a helmet or a cowboy hat.  In other words, workmanlike attire is preferred and full show attire not required.

Riding Level
For my current lesson students, riders should be consistently walk and trotting or jogging independently off the lunge line to participate. Therefore, riders will be spending the next few weeks preparing for the classes for the show in their lesons. Do not be discouraged if you do not know what all the classes mean:)


Besides the show, at this time we will not be putting on any camps this summer, However, our cow days will be resuming soon. We’ve got the hydro pole and and all the materials to get the power to the barn (and a massive heater) so this winter we should be toasty.


Look forward to seeing you all this month.

Alicia Harper / Hylee Training
9550 Patterson RD E, 
Prince George, BC
604-785-9953

alicia@hyleetraining.com
www.hyleetraining.com

what do i do if I cant afford lessons
Article, Coaching, Horse Training Tips

When a trainer isn’t an option

As a rider, sometimes having a weekly lesson or a boarding at the trainer’s barn is not always an option. In this article, we are going to discuss what other avenues are out there to help continue your learning and keep your horse education moving forward. I must admit. I don’t have time to ride in a weekly lesson. I have a regular trainer who doesn’t even do jumping, coach me whenever she isn’t gallivanting around North America judging horse shows. If we are lucky I see her once a month. I believe education –simply said you should constantly be learning and challenging yourself if you plan on continuing to improve.

#1 Take a clinic

Clinicians have a way of pushing you because their job is to get results within the span of the clinic. They don’t generally get to know you enough to chit chat at the beginning of your lesson or consider some of your downfalls. They just get it done.

Recently, I was lucky to be able to attend the Lucinda Greene clinic here in Maple Ridge. I was riding horse who I had ridden once before the clinic and wasn’t exactly what I would say experienced over fences but was talented. Lucinda wasn’t gentle about what our downfalls were but her great ability to tell us when we sucked without saying it. She also had us do ditches, angles I had never done again, in Hunterland and she challenged us riders. She gave me information, exercises, and the guts to get my students to also do those things. I had material for 3 weeks for our more advanced riders in our program to keep challenging them.

 

#2 Try a new discipline

If you are in a remote area or don’t have time for weekly lessons trying signing up for a clinic even if its in a different discipline, then you are currently participating in. Different disciplines have a way of making changes in yourself and your horse by pushing you out of your comfort zone. A few months ago I wasn’t really sure where I wanted to go with my riding so I tried a few different disciplines. One of them was cattle penning. Yep me the hunter rider in a western saddle and the only one with a helmet on. I was very awkward in that group to say the least. But funny enough, I learned a different way to teach and explain the spin. Although we certainly aren’t teaching our horses to spin on the haunches in Hunterland we do need to control the shoulders and I found when I used this exercise the horses and riders seemed to understand it better than the method we had used in the past. I also learned that chasing a cow around was quite fun! And gave my students a break from jumping and for the next couple of weeks we spent our lessons sharping our skills while chasing cows (FYI I lost about 20 lbs being a pretend cow!)

#3 Go to a show without your horse

Yep head to the show! Watch riders in the warm up ring – with their trainers – listen and watch to see what they have them do in the warm up ring to prepare for their class. Watch riders at your own level and see what they are doing and what their coaches are saying to them. Then head to a higher level and see what those riders are doing. Park yourself where you can hear what the coaches are saying. Just last week I was out a local schooling show and I was warming my students up and one of coaches said something that just resonated with me to explain to my students or a different way to think about it.  I heard once a show someone say the difference between a good rider and a great rider is reaction time. The rider’s reaction to the horse’s movement. It could also me whether the rider gets over the fence or not. It’s not like I did realize that yes riders get better reaction time with practice but rather better results are achieved as the riders get quicker. It was mainly just a different way to think about and outlay it to my students.

 

The truth is I have 20 years of horse experience. I’ve broke hundreds of horses, ridden hundreds of horses and owned probably close to a hundred horses and every day in my life I am learning something new whether that is just talking to other horse professionals, auditing a clinic, watching a YouTube video, lunging a horse or listening to another coach. I am always looking for learning opportunities and they are everywhere so if I can keep finding them, then so can you.

riding lessons jumping for kids and amateurs
Article

The True Cost of Riding Lessons

Ever wonder why riding lessons are expensive? Here’s why.

For this article, we will assume that you are taking lessons in B.C. at a facility with lesson horses, an indoor riding arena and a coach with some level of certification.

The rent for the facility of course is a major expense. The cost can average from 1000 a month to 3000 a month depending on size, location and the number of stalls. Those lesson horses need to be fed at least twice a day, labour is approximate $12 per hour at our facility it takes about 4 hours to do chores. They need farrier which averages about $300 per month for 10 lesson horses, $50 per month for worming, and $200 per month on the vet. The facility will always need maintenance which could include mending fences, replacing mats, re-footing the arena and basically everything a horse could destroy. The tack you use for your lesson horse needs to be maintained. We average approx. $100 per month on tack and $500 on maintenance.
We are now at approx. $4500

There are now administration fees which will include power (hydro), phone, booking systems, websites etc, which will probably end up around $250 per month. Add on top of that insurance which will range from $250 – $400 a month depending on the level of coverage.
And we haven’t even paid the coach yet.

With approx. $5000 a month in overhead in monthly operating expenses, now must find money to purchase lesson horses because they do get old, broken or tired from being a lesson horse.

One coach coaching full time could coach 40 hours a week on average. Let’s assume that coach has 40 students riding in private lessons and the lessons are $60 each. 4 weeks in a month X 40 X 60, that’s 9600. You are probably thinking – that’s lots of money right, we`ve only spent $5,000.

So, that coach brought in $9600 but most of the people paid with a credit card – 3% goes back to the credit card company. That is $300. Now we are down to $9300 and we have $5000 in operating costs, which leaves us with $4300 to feed the horses, shoot – we haven’t done that yet. Each non-working horse eats an average bale of a hay every three days. That’s 10 bales a month and with the current hay prices of quality local hay (we are talking best of the best here since our horses are working horses) $15 per bale. Each horse is going to cost us $150 a month to feed hay to. That’s $1500 for all ten. But they haven’t gotten any grain which will be $200 a month. This number is low with $1700 to feed the 10 lesson horses.

That coach needs to maintain certification which means upgrading attending clinics and continuing their education and trust me you want a coach who does! Let’s give that coach approx. $100 a month to do that. Now we have $2500 left.

Now most coaches will have a truck and trailer which they need to insure. A good guess would be approx. $200 a month to insure, perhaps another $300 in fuel. Now we are down to $2000.

$2000 per month for working 40 hours a week teaching, probably a few feeding horses, fixing fences, and booking appointments and scheduling. Just to give an estimate I spend on average 15 hours per week – booking, fixing, cleaning and I don’t even clean stalls! If I were the average coach I would be making $10 an hour. That is less than minimum wage.

Now this article`s purpose wasn’t meant to tell you how poor your coach is, however to show people that coach`s mostly do this job for the love of it. Not for the money – people at McDonalds are making more money! Also, take note – there are coaches out there making a pretty penny but also coaches who must take another job just to afford to be a coach. No matter where your coach falls in between. Thank him or her – they are doing it for the love it!