LESSON DETAILS
GROUP OR PRIVATE LESSONS
Often our lessons are private due to scheduling. If we do have groups, we attempt to schedule people together with relatively similar skill levels and groups are very small.
SCHEDULING
Lessons are scheduled for half hour or full hour of riding. They will include warming up, peak work time, and cool out time.
Clients are expected to arrive at the appointed hour to catch and tack up their mounts. They have their lesson and then take the tack off, groom the horse, and put the horse away. This is all taught to beginners. So a half hour lesson often takes an hour and a half time block and an hour lesson commonly takes a two hour time block.
Normal lesson times are 9:00 am, 10:30 am, 1:00 pm, 2:30 pm, and 4:00 pm (also 5:30 pm during Daylight Savings Time).
Text 805 217 1549 to make an appointment.
SCHOOL HORSE OR OWN HORSE
Lessons on a school horse are much more expensive in order to pay for the upkeep of the horse. We strongly encourage people to partially lease or purchase a partial interest in a horse to reduce lesson expenses. Peppercorn Ranch normally has horses available for lease or syndication where people may purchase ownership shares. Syndication makes ownership more financially feasible.
PEPPERCORN RANCH LESSONS
Lessons may be purchased individually, but that is the most expensive way to buy them.
Four lessons to be taken on your own schedule may be purchased as a discounted package. This is the normal rate people would pay for weekly lessons.
Ten lessons may be purchased for a greater discount where people plan to take two lessons a week and would pay every 5 weeks.
REQUIREMENTS
REQUIREMENTS
Minimum age is 6 years old for 30 minute lead line lessons. Somewhere between 6 and 7 years old students gain enough maturity to focus for regular riding lessons. Most begin regular lessons when they are 7.
We do not have a maximum age limit except that riders need to be in good enough physical condition for strenuous athletic exercise. Sport horse riding is not passive!
Students need to be within height and weight ranges which our current lesson horses will easily handle. We recommend that students are at least 7 years old for regular lessons.
Students must wear long pants, hard soled shoes with heels, and ASTM approved helmets. We have a few helmets available to borrow. However, purchasing a helmet is the cheapest insurance you can buy!
EVERYONE COMING TO THE RANCH MUST WEAR CLOSED TOED SHOES; NO SANDALS OR BARE FEET!
RIDING LESSONS
We give lessons at our location or will travel to you.
Children and adults.
Regular lessons begin around 7 years old when hand - eye coordination and ability to focus mature.
Many students are in their golden years!
Beginning lessons cover the same things for all riding styles. Safe horse handling, grooming, tacking up, and un-tacking are included.
For people who have never been on a horse through advanced riders
Beginners focus on learning to balance on a horse in motion and how to give correct aids (signals) to the mount. Beginning lessons are the same for both English and western riding.
Riders advance to learn skills for:
Dressage
Stadium Jumping
Cross Country Jumping
Lessons in horse training are available
Students can learn training techniques for starting young horses or teaching skills for advanced competitions.
As in any sport, improvement occurs faster the more one practices
Most people find they need at least one lesson a week and some take two a week