At Partridge Horse Hill we offer a wide range of lesson options for all ages and levels – from groundwork and liberty to riding in English or Western over obstacles and jumps.
COVID -19 GUIDELINES:
We are booking lessons based on the government guidelines of being allowed to operate and respecting the maximum people allowed. Please note you must keep 6ft away from all people while at the farm and do not bring extra people with you to lessons or activities at the farm. Wash your hands regularly, use hand sanitizer when you arrive (located in the outhouse), and wear gloves while riding and handling the horses/horse equipment (wear riding gloves). Guidelines are subject to change based on the updating from government guidelines.
The March Moose Memorial Horseback Riding Scholarship
During the month of March, applications are open for this scholarship of 4 lessons. Please click here for more information about the March Moose Memorial Horseback Riding Scholarship.
About Horseback Riding and Ground Work Lessons
- Lessons at Partridge Horse Hill are focused on your goals – if you want to do a lesson on ground work, western games, jumping, or trail tasks we can tailor the activities to suit your needs.
- We have a variety of well trained lesson horses – some of them are international champions and movie stars!
- We have an indoor arena with dust free footing, a heated viewing room for parents to watch, a variety of coaches, and lots of jumps, obstacles, and fun equipment to use to keep lessons interesting and fun. Please note the riding arena is not heated in the winter where you ride/tack up so please dress for the weather.
- Students have lots of opportunities – to help at the farm, attend shows, come to social events (Christmas parties, movie nights, etc), take part in clinics from world renowned clinicians, and more.
- We promote bonding and connecting with horses – we try our best to keep you with the same horse, and you are welcome to come early and stay late to spend extra time with ‘your horse’ to groom and get to know each other.
- All lessons start with at least one ground exercise so we can make sure the horses are safe and ready to ride.
- Tasks are suited to your level. For example if you want to work on jumping but are new to jumping then you might be going over poles, practicing steering patterns and learning the jumping position (two point). As you progress we can raise the jumps.
- Lessons can be booked for any age level, but parents of young/small children (under 7 years) should be available during the lesson to assist with the lesson (for supervising, spotting the child on the horse, etc) as needed for safety.
- Part of the lesson is getting the horse tacked up, groomed and ready to ride. This includes getting the horse from the field and getting equipment out. Once you have learnt how to do this, you can come before the lesson to get the horse ready.
- We specialize in jumpers, extreme cowboy/obstacle challenges, liberty, bridleless, and pleasure riding. We offer showing opportunities to students for jumpers and extreme cowboy.
- If you are booking a group or semi private lesson, you need to have your group member(s) already arranged. When booking please let us know the member(s) of your group.
- A semi private lesson means 2 people/horses, private means 1, and a group means 3 or more people/horses.
- All clients who pay for services accept our liability and media policy.
How it works
- Only lessons/events that are paid for can be scheduled.
- Booking: You can reply to the payment confirmation email that you get with your preferred date/time/coach for you lesson, or email phhschedule@gmail.com, you are also welcome to email us before purchasing to confirm availability.
- You can view available time slots and booked services by viewing our online calendar. You can request lesson dates/times outside of the available slots, but allow at least a week’s notice for scheduling.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- How long are lessons? Lessons are booked hourly. We recommend booking 2hrs for a first lesson.
- Do we need our own helmet? No – we have a selection of helmets available but we recommend having your own so you can ensure a good fit.
- What should I wear? Long pants, boots with a heel (cowboy boots, English paddock boots or hiking boots), we recommend gloves, and dressing for the weather. Even though we have an indoor riding ring it is not heated, so in the winter you might want to dress as if you are going skiing. We do have a heated education room to warm up in if you get cold, but dress for the weather.
- What do the different colours mean on the online calendar? Each coach has their own colour – If you scroll to the bottom of the calendar it shows you a legend of what the colours mean.
- Will a coach come to our farm to teach there? No we do not offer this service. Lindsey can be booked for half day or full day workshops. You can learn more about booking Lindsey for a clinic/workshop here. You can also visit www.HarmonyHorsemanship.ca to find a certified instructor near you that might travel to your location.
- Can I bring my horse to your farm for lessons? You can trailer in for lessons, and we do allow short boarding stays so you can attend multiple lessons. Email us to check availability.
- Meet our horses and ponies here
- I have my own horse, can I get lessons? Yes – you can either board at our farm and take lessons with your horse, or you can trailer into the farm and bring your own horse for lessons.
- Do you get a discount if you have your own horse? If you use your own horse and are boarded at PHH then you get a discount. You will be given a coupon code that you can use on checkout. If you forget and do not use your coupon code, then you will not receive your discount on purchased lessons.
Refunds and Rescheduling
- Once a service is paid for it is nonrefundable. However you can transfer it to another person. For example if you book a private lesson and decide you no longer want to use it, you can give it to a friend. Simply connect us via email and have them book the service. Exception – if booking group/semi private lessons, then the person joining the lesson needs to be safe for the group. For example if Sally rides in a group jumping lesson and she cancels and wants to give her lesson to Emily who does not know how to jump, then this is not a safe substitute and is not allowed.
- Once a service is booked, it can only be rescheduled one time, provided 1 week (7 days) notice is given. After the service is rebooked, it cannot be rescheduled again. Exceptions given for bad weather or emergency situations (such as an illness that receives medical care).
- All services must be used within 3 months or they are forfeited.
- Cancellations due to bad weather: In the event school buses are cancelled in Durham Region north of hwy 7 region (sometimes all of Durham Region cancels and sometimes only north of hwy 7 because this is the snow belt area), lessons will be cancelled and no lessons will run – even if the weather appears to have cleared later in the day, if school buses did not run, neither will PHH lessons that day (NOTE we do not base cancellations on Kawartha lakes buses because often buses are cancelled in Kawartha Lakes from snow around the lakes which is further north than we are – we are very close to Durham Region and that is a better judge of the roads near us. So if Kawartha Lakes buses are canceled but Durham Region buses are all running then PHH lessons are all still running). Please listen to your radio or contact us to check if you are unsure. If school buses are running but a storm appears later in the day, we will determine on a case by case basis if we need to cancel lessons. If it is a weekend and thus no school buses, we will base this decision on a case by case basis and will notify students via email as timely as possible if lessons are canceled due to weather. We will notify of cancellations by means of a post to Facebook on the Partridge Horse Hill page and group. You can also check by emailing us. Cancelled horse friends sessions due to weather will be rescheduled.
- In the event a coach needs to cancel a session, a substitute coach will be provided. In the event no substitute coach is available, we will reschedule the session.
Who you ride
- Can I bring my horse to your farm for lessons? You can trailer in for lessons, and we do allow short boarding stays so you can attend multiple lessons. Email us to check availability.
- Can I ride the same horse every week? If you want to guarantee the same horse every week for lessons, you can do a “horse claim.” This is a monthly fee that guarantees your horse for lessons, gives you a locker at the farm, and gives you priority for your horse for other activities like shows or camps.
Your first lesson in the series and beyond
- What do we do in the lessons? Typically lessons spend 10-25% of the time on the ground learning something (tack check, lunging, leading, stretching, ground games, etc), the remaining 90-75% is riding. However, the first lesson of the series typically includes instruction on how we tack up horses, and put away the horse and equipment after the lesson. Then for the next lessons if you are comfortable getting your horse ready before the lesson and/or putting your horse away after the lesson you can do that – this means your lesson is spent in the arena with more riding time.
- If there are students of different levels in the same group, the coach will adjust for each student. For example jump heights can be adjusted. However if students riding levels are too different than PHH may offer for a rider to switch sessions.
- At your first lesson, your coach will ask you about your goals and lessons will be geared towards everyone’s goals. You can ask to try jumping, obstacles, English, Western, bareback, learn posting trot, canter, compete etc.
Parents with children that need extra help (young, short, nervous, etc)
- Part of horseback riding at PHH is getting your horse from the field, tacking them up (getting them ready to ride), and putting the horse and equipment away after the ride.
- Children that need help benefit from their parent/guardian support. We recommend parents learn about tacking up and catching horses from the field during the lessons. If parents help their children get their horse ready before the lesson, it means the lesson will have more riding because the horses will already be in and tacked up for when the lessons start.
- If your child needs to be led or have a spotter, then a parent/guardian will need to stay for the lesson. The coach needs to support everyone in the group and cannot stay with a child that needs to be led around the whole time as it takes away support from the other students. Our horses are super quiet, but sometimes children that are nervous, small, have special learning needs, etc may need their parent/guardian to stay with them during the lesson. Toddlers always need their parent/guardian to stay with them during lessons.
- If parents/guardians aren’t comfortable assisting their children with tacking up their horse, then please let the coach know – your child may be able to buddy with another student/parent, or may benefit from taking private lessons, or the beginner group that is limited to 2 students.
Timing
- Do we come early? Yes if you are able to come early to get your equipment out, and/or get your horse ready to ride then you will have more time of your lesson spent riding in the arena. The exception is your first lesson, you can arrive on time and the lesson will start with explaining how to get a horse ready to ride.
- What happens if we come late? Lessons will shift to a maximum of 10minutes behind schedule to accommodate late students. This means if your lesson is supposed to be at 7pm and you arrive at 730pm, the lesson can still happen but will end at 810pm if it was scheduled as a 1hr lesson.
- Please note that if you/your child needs assistance getting the horse from the field/tacked up, you need to arrive within 10 minutes of your lesson start time. After that time the students are likely in the arena and getting ready to ride. It is unsafe for the coach to leave the ring to help you, and it is not fair to the other students to delay riding. If you arrive after 10 minutes into the lesson and the students are already heading into the ring, then you may not be able to get your own horse for the lesson. The coach will do their best to accommodate you/your child into the lesson such as learning from the ground, or learning how to set up poles/jumps safely.
- If you arrive later than 10 minutes and are able to get your horse tacked up, then you can still get your horse and get into the ring. The coach will do a tack check before you mount.
- Do lessons normally run on time or late? We try our best to stay on time, and will fluctuate up to 10 minutes behind to accommodate students arriving late, or help make sure students and horses finish on a good note. If we are running more than 20 minutes behind schedule we may offer you to continue with your lesson, to reschedule or be refunded for the session.
We thank you for being a part of PHH – we hope you enjoy your time with us. If there is anything we can do to make your experience more enjoyable please let us know.
Sincerely your PHH team
phhschedule@gmail.com