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NOVICE LESSONS - GENERAL CONTENT

Riders progress to Novice Level from Beginner Level, based on their experience, development, and personal confidence, and the opinion of the Instructor. This level therefore will include riders who have just moved up from Beginner, through to those ready to move to Intermediate.

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Each Instructor can follow their own approach/lesson plan, for a group or individual riders, but Novice lessons generally include some elements of the following:

 

  • Manoeuvres (circles, serpentine, rein changes, trot poles) as a ride

  • Learning to use seat and core to influence speed, rhythm

  • Learning to use leg aids etc to influence direction changes and reducing excessive use of reins .

  • Working on independent seat and sympathetic hands

  • Learning to lengthen and shorten (ie going from trot poles to canter width poles in trot)

  • Accuracy in transitions and keeping horses going forward especially in canter

  • Using full space in school ie riding into corners,  maintaining spacing between horses (ie wider lines if too close, shorter lines if too far from horse in front rather than rushing to catch up) riding independent lines not simply following horse in front, Accuracy in rein changes

  • Being able to ride exercises away from main ride and be able to ride past the waiting ride ( ie a course of poles then cantering to rear, or cantering past the ride)

  • Riding raised trot poles

  • Small jumps (cross poles,  straight bars 40 to 50 cm) working on lines/presentation to jump and rhythm to the jump, small course 2 to 3 jumps (depending on riders and horses used)

  • Sitting trot , riding without Stirrups (walking, trotting) novice plus may canter

  • Being able to go lead file 

  • Cantering over poles (Novices bordering on transition to intermediate )

  • Able to ride on correct diagonal and change when changing rein

  • Learn to identify if on wrong canter lead and correct 

  • Learn appropriate use of whip and timing of use

  • Looking ahead, around circles,  on turns etc to minimise rein usage and to improve balance and quality of turns etc

  • Learning forward seat

  • Be able to regulate speed effectively 

  • Novice plus may canter as a ride depending on horses used

CK 08/26

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