| Back when I was teaching, I had this one student who was *so*
enthusiastic she drove me crazy. Too much energy zooming around out of
control. Tended to get into accidents and get the horses upset.
Didn't listen cause she was giving off too much.
Another kid that passed through our group not quickly enough was a
real head case. She struck me very strongly as being a "character
disorder" -- a classification of emotional disturbance that is somewhat
opposite of "neurotic." Neurotics and character disorders tend to come
in pairs, and her mother was as obviously neurotic (hand wringing,
guilt-complexed, verge of hysteria) as her daughter was character
disordered (sly, manipulative, creates problems then blames others).
The daughter disrupted the class and both my and the other teacher's
peace of mind. Had I been more knowledgeable in the ways of the world,
I would have steered them over to Pegasus. As it was, I suffered in
silence, till she started in on the other teacher. Her mother was
constantly pushing for her daughter to get special attention, which we
simply couldn't give in a group situation. Beside, what she
really needed was strong boundaries and maybe a swat on the butt.
Another student I had that got on my nerves was a teenager who was a
total space cadet. She really just wanted to go riding, not to
learn. Happily, when the classes got to big, the other teacher and I
split them. The other teacher was very laid back and ended up with the
students who just wanted to go riding and didn't have a horse. I ended
up with the students who wanted to get good and eventually compete. So
everyone was happy. (till they sold the farm!)
I had three absolutely *favorite* students. Two of them had incredibly
good heads -- quiet, studious types with great concentration. I worked
with the older one for a year or so -- we were able to double her
dressage scores (literally from the 30s when she was riding without
regular instruction to the 60s). I worked with the younger one for 2
summers. Her 1st summer she was with the up/downs (mostly 8-10 year old
beginners on the little ponies) and by her second summer she'd
graduated to the teenage group because she was so far ahead of the
up/down class. Wonderfully gymnastic with good concentration and the
right attitude. The ponies and horses respected her.
My third fave student was a little boy in the up/down class. Red hair,
freckles, round face, looked like he came straight out of norman rockwell
painting. When he came, he was always kind of hunched over and shy.
Over time, he learned to stretch himself tall and became just
wonderfully elegant. Then he would forget and hunch over again. I
would have liked to have kept working with him cause he was a real nice
kid.
Actually, I would have like to work with those 3 for a few years!
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LISTEN!!! LISTEN!!! LISTEN!!! (to the instructor)
Ask questions. If you still don't understand, ask for
a better explaination....
Be honest. If you *don't* really feel up to a lesson,
say so. Doing it half-heartedly will not help you or
the horse. Maybe a break *is* needed.
If you are not enjoying it, something is wrong.
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Ways to get more out of your lessons:
BE ON TIME. BE READY to ride. WARM UP the horse.
LISTEN to the instructor. Are you so busy thinking about how
embarassed you were that you didn't get a lead change that you
are not listening to the instructions for how to fix it?
SHUT UP. Of course you should tell the instructor if you don't
understand something or your leg has cramped up but they don't
need to hear about how your horse rolled in the mud and it took you
*days* to clean it off, or why you think judge Smith is an idiot
for pinning that horse first or your latest personal crisis.
Some students spend the whole lesson talking about everything in
the universe except what they are doing.
Save the socializing for after the lesson.
Ask for HOME WORK. It may not necessarily be the same thing you did
in the lesson. This doesn't mean you spend the whole time between
lessons drilling endlessly, but maybe your focus for that week is
"posture" or "transitions" or one particular exercise that will
prepare you for the next week's lesson.
WATCH. Watch other lessons. Go to shows and watch the divisions that
you aspire to. What do you like about that ride? What don't you like?
Watch other instructors' lessons. What do those students do well?
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| A favorite saying I once heard:
If the student has not learned, the teacher has not taught.
The point is, if you are having trouble understanding something, ask.
If you still can't get it try another teacher. I had lessons for four
months from an "instructor" that couldn't seem to explain things very
well. She has a college background, Medal McClay wins as a teenager,
but although she could DO very well she can't teach! The best teachers
are those with less natural talent because they know how HARD it is to
learn. The teacher with winning STUDENTS holds far more respect with
me!
Sandy
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