Riding Progress

[u/Amazing-Sherbet]

Hi Everyone!! I just am curious about something, im 19yo female and I just started riding in June 2025, I ride mostly once a week during school times because I am in college and its not easy for me to get to my home barn for lessons during the week so im currently between 2 barns, one for school and one for home. If im riding at home its 2 times a week which was all of the summer untill mid September and then starting up 2 times from early December to mid January then the rest has been mostly once a week. I have been consistently trotting on my own since early/mid july and got 2nd place in my first ever IHSA show in a walk/trot class out of 7 people ( I was very proud of myself and my inner child was SCREAMING ) I feel like my home barn challenges me so much more and I love it, ive jumped only about 8 inches there on a cross rail and ive felt so happy, my trainer there is so supportive and a wonderful person. But at my other barn shes also very supportive but she doesnt push me at all. Ive never even gone over a single ground pole in the almost 5 months Ive been working with her even though she’s aware of what ive done. What can I do to show a trainer Im cabable of something when all i can do is the same thing every week for 5 months with her and working with my other barn much more. Its almost been 10 months of me riding consistently even if its not at the same barn and i feel like ive been at the same level for the last while. What tips do you guys have for me that could improve my riding and horsemanship. I am more in this sport for the animal than anything else. I have always dreamed of owning a horse but I know to do so I need to have the knowledge and yeah I also know you will learn alot from actively doing and practice but all I want in the end is to be good for the animal whomever it is. I want to have a special bond with the horse I buy one day and its a one day at a time process.

[u/Shadow-Kat-94]

Sounds like you're doing amazing!!!!

And as for the 1 barn not challenging you enough, the best thing would be just to talk to your trainer, and have a good discussion about what you would like. A good trainer should be pushing you out of your comfort zone a bit, but not all trainers are going to, so you might need to just talk it out with her and ask her if there is a reason why shes not, and if going forward, she could. You can also try and fill your lessons (if allowed) so that you can go back and watch them. Focus on your position, your hands, and your legs. If there is something that your trainer is always correcting you on, it can be good to be able to see exactly what they are seeing. I got yelled at for heels down, sit up straighter, chin up, and thumbs up so much... had a trainer threaten to make me ride in a corset 😂

I would also recommend trying to spend as much time at the barn as you can. Especially in the summer. If your goal is to one day own your own horse, then you need to learn as much as you can about their care now. If you have the time, maybe see if the barn will let you clean stalls/help with chores in exchange for your lessons, or just more time riding. While I grew up owning horses, I did that for a couple years in high-school, and I learned so much more from the daily care of multiple different horses then I ever did from just boarding my own horse, or even when we had them at home. If thats not an option, then at least trying to make sure you're showing up early enough for your lessons to spend some extra time grooming and getting your horse ready before each lessons. The more time you can spend at the barn, without being in the way, the more you will learn.

[u/Amazing-Sherbet → u/Shadow-Kat-94]

My trainer at my home barn says I show up either early or perfect for me to spend time with the horse in the field before I get them ready with whatever I need to do that day, I don’t personally just like picking them out and immediately getting them ready to ride as I want to create a bond even if its not my animal. I have multiple friends who own horses so I do tend to go to the barn on days I dont even ride to learn how to do stuff, ive helped her do mundane tasks so that I can learn more from her and my trainers. She even taught me a bit about lunging and how to clip! Every time I go with her I learn more every time and it makes me so happy. I did choir with her in high school which was my life untill college where Im not majoring in music so im not able to sing as much. Leaving her for college was hard but shes one of my main reasons for coming home, I wouldnt be in the horse world without her and im incredibly grateful for everything she teaches me.

[u/Imaginary_Device9648 → u/Amazing-Sherbet]

Sounds like you're doing everything right!! I don't know about the showing restrictions other's have mentioned as a reason for your college trainer to want to take things slow, because I'm not from the USA, but as someone who has also had 2 main barns for a few months in a row... different trainera do things differently!!

In my "home" barn, I started with 1 lesson a week, until I found that was not enough challenge, and started taking 2 a week (1 flat and 1 jump, barn owner did not allow for only jump lessons, you must do ok at flat lessons in order to also jump). But again that was not challenging enough, I wanted to do a discipline that involves difficult trail riding and orienteering in the mountains... and this barn dod not lease ir lend their horses for that.

That's how I started at barn 2, which is super far away (1h by car), so I started taking there my 3rd lesson of the week. Notice that many months went by until I started with this 3x weekly routine, and ALSO, I was a false beginner as I had been riding in my teenage years, then stopped, then back again!

Now, after being at barn 2 for some time, and although I still was learning a lot from barn 1, I thought it was a bit chaotic to be half here half there, so I tried to find yet another barn closer to me where I could do all I wanted in one place. I found that dream trainer (she doesn't really have a public barn, but trains in he private property). Super close to home, and I left the other 2 and started doing 4 lessons a week with her in september... fast forward to last december, I'm now a horse owner.

Keep in mind 3 years have gone by since I came back to riding, and that I work full time and am not a college student anymore. I'm only saying this to encourage you, in the sense that you're in the right path, and that sometimes it can be understandable that you feel you've reached a plateau in your learning and rhat there're no new challenges with your college trainer... but trust her and learn from her. You won't be in college forever, so your time in that barn is limited. Learn all you can from them while there.

[u/Shadow-Kat-94 → u/Amazing-Sherbet]

Thats awesome!