I rode here for one semester as an undergraduate with a college equestrian team and had a horrible experience that, four years later, I still think about all the time.
First of all, I paid for a book of lessons upfront and was ghosted by the instructor and didnt receive a handful of them.
Second, people in our group lessons were sometimes put on old overworked horses, or horses that still needed more recovery time after an injury.
Third, Jen ignored me during lessons except to make fun of me for checking my posture in the reflection of the glass window or to blame me for her horse's anxiety and bad behavior. In the latter situation, Jen had one of her interns get on the horse with a half hour left of the hour lesson, and expressed sincere shock when the intern was having the same issues as me. (She had placed the blame on me not pulling back on the reigns hard enough, when i was using all my bodyweight, and the poor pony was getting worked up). Well, I ended up standing there and watching the rest of the paid lesson without getting back on a horse. Why did I even bother showing up?? To spend money grooming and tacking a horse for someone else to ride?
Jen chose favorites on the team and also picked people out that she disliked. Generally, she loved outgoing extroverted people, and picked on introverts. There were a number of people on the team, not just me, who she wrongly blamed or gave unequal treatment to during lesson.
Jen needlessly made me spend money on specific riding gear (like tall booths and a velvet helmet) telling me they were an absolute necessity, but then a boy on the team who she liked got to wear half chaps over paddock boots and a plastIc helmet, which was my setup originally!!! Wtf!!!
Riding was always something i really really loved doing and looked forward to, but i would feel sick with anxiety on my way to lessons towards the end of my one season here. I left this place a worse rider and having spent a lot of money needlessly on accessories and lessons i never received, not to mention my confidence was crushed. It is not like me to leave reviews like this but I still think about my negative experience here all the time, years later :( read more
