Riding Lessons
Riding is a lifelong skill, an exciting pursuit, and a natural therapy.
Plus, it’s pure fun. Let’s get you started!
Riding Lesson Basics
Horse N’ Soul offers riding lessons for children and adults, from age 5 on up. Here’s our lesson info at a glance.
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60-Minute Private Evaluation Lesson $60
We start every new rider with an evaluation. This enables us to learn your goals, choose the best-fit horse, and demonstrate grooming and tacking (outfitting the horse with a saddle and bridle).
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30-Minute Private Lesson $50 per week
After the initial evaluation lesson, most riders transition to a 30-minute private lesson once per week. We offer lessons across a range of riding styles and levels described a bit further down on this page.
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60-Minute Semi-Private Lesson $50 per rider
For everyone’s safety and enjoyment, we limit semi-privates to three students who have about the same level of riding experience.
Lesson Package Discount
Buy 10 lessons up front and receive one lesson (a $50 value) free!
Lesson Days, Times and Location
Most riding lessons take place in our outdoor and indoor arenas. We maintain both so that you can learn to ride all year round, in any kind of weather.
Tuesday and Thursday, 4 – 8 p.m.
Saturday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Monday through Thursday, 3 – 8 p.m.
Friday, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.; 3 – 8 p.m.
Saturday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
20,000 square feet
A surface of river sand
Many different types of jumps and obstacles for training and shows
Viewing area for many people
6,000 Square Feet
A surface of sand/soil mixture
Many different types of jumps and obstacles for training and shows
Viewing area for five people
Types of Riding Lessons
You’ll ride in style at Horse ’N Soul. We teach them all.
English Riding Lessons
We start all new riders in the English style because it focuses on developing correct posture, a strong core, balance in the seat, and precise technique.
The English discipline promotes stability, control, and good communication with the horse. It sets you up well for jumping and dressage.
Western Riding Lessons
In the Western style, you use a more relaxed position, one-rein control, and a saddle with a prominent horn in front.
The Western discipline was developed for working ranches, herding cattle, and riding trails. It focuses on practical horsemanship skills and comfort for long hours in the saddle. It also includes a ton of fun games with names like Barrel Race, Turtle Trot, and Thread the Needle.
Dressage Lessons
Dressage is the art of working in harmony with the horse to execute precise movements like circles, diagonals, serpentines, and changes in direction or gait.
In dressage, you’ll learn how to use your reins, legs, and weight in subtle ways to encourage your horse to move with elegance and control.
Hunter/Jumper Training
This training prepares you and your horse for competing in shows. Both the hunter and jumper disciplines focus on jumping technique via gymnastics and coursework. Hunter emphasizes style, form, and grace. Jumper emphasizes speed, accuracy, and athleticism.
In this training, you’ll also learn how to groom and present your horse for the shows you enter.
Trail Riding Lessons
We offer trail riding lessons to students when they express interest and have some riding experience under their belts.
In a trail lesson, we teach a relaxed and balanced position for navigating terrain and obstacles. We also teach trail awareness for following markers and signs.
Grooming and Tacking Instruction
Grooming is brushing and combing the horse; cleaning his face, eyes, ears, hooves, and posterior; and tending to any cuts and scrapes.
Tacking is outfitting the horse with a saddle pad, saddle, girth, and bridle.
Every single lesson and exercise session with your horse requires these tasks. We teach them to all new riders. We also offer lessons that focus on horse care alone.
Riding Levels We Teach
From beginner to advanced, we’re here for you.
Whether you’re just getting started with riding or you want to level up, we’ll guide you, challenge you, and encourage you all the way.
Following are the core sets of riding skills we teach at each level, but we personalize each lesson to each rider. We also match each rider with a horse best-suited to their goals.
Beginner Riding Lessons
- Mounting and dismounting.
- The basic seating position and balance.
- Using reins and legs for communication with the horse.
- Walking and halting.
- Steering and turning.
- Horse care, safety, and stable best practices.
Beginner-Advanced Riding Lessons
- Refinement of position, balance, and control.
- Trotting and cantering, or jogging in the Western style.
- Introduction to jumping with poles on the ground.
- Basic jumping positions for balance and security.
- Gradual progression to jumping over small cross-rails.
- Basic lateral and diagonal movements.
Intermediate Riding Lessons
- Strengthening of position and balance.
- Development of an independent seat, wherein the rider and horse maintain a smooth partnership in real-time.
- Controlled transitions between gaits.
- Introduction to jumping courses, with an emphasis on pacing and navigation.
- Introduction to dressage movements.
Intermediate-Advanced Riding Lessons
- Refined control and communication.
- Advanced jumping techniques and combinations, including curved lines and tighter turns.
- Advanced dressage movements such as leg yield, shoulder-in, haunches-in, and flying lead changes.
- Introduction to cross-country riding: navigating obstacles in a natural environment at varying speeds.
Advanced Riding Lessons
- Mastery of control, balance, and finesse.
- Jumping technical courses with complex combinations, difficult turns, and increased fence heights.
- Advanced dressage movements such as collection, extension, half-pass, and pirouettes.
- Advanced competition preparation.
Learning to Ride Doesn’t Get Better Than This.
The Very Best Instruction
Our riding instructors and horse trainers are expert equestrians, lifelong horse lovers, and patient teachers. You’re in great hands with them.
A Happy Herd
We adore our horses, and so will you. We have one for every kind of rider: beginner or expert, young or young-at-heart, strong or delicate; introvert or extrovert.
More Than Riding
When you build equestrian skills with us, you gain so much more.
Riding delivers all the ingredients for tackling life with autonomy: physical, social, and leadership skills; a sense of responsibility; and confidence in what you can accomplish.
At Horse ’N Soul, you can put away your struggles for a while. The rest of the world fades away as you immerse yourself in nature and in the work you’re doing with your horse.
There’s something about moving forward on a horse that makes you want to move forward in life. When you experience the power of riding, you recognize that you can do powerful things. Sitting on the couch loses its appeal.
Horses deliver safety, calm, and acceptance. This is because they have no predatory instincts, require predictability and consistency from you, and respond to exactly who you are in the moment. They ease your anxiety and increase your joy.
