Can you tell me what you liked most about your jumping instructor and why you chose him or her.  We are looking for someone new for my 13 year old daughter.  She is stuck in a class, not progressing.  The instructor has her friend hanging out with her in class and too many students in a lesson, I would say 6 to 7.  Not a lot of progress for my 13 year old who can ride but wants to jump hunter/jumper.  I would like to hear from you riders how you found your instructor and why you chose them. 

Well Its been a wile sence i have had lessons but the instructor that i use to ride with was very noligable in every disapline but her specialty was hunter. She was kind of a perfectionist and i say that because i liked that in her. She wouldn't start jumping untill the riding has the right pisition and if that means a lot of walk trot work with no stirups then thats what she did. She felt that jumping is a privlidge and that her students had to prove to her that they knew there stuff and had the ride pisition. When she no longer has to remind you on how to cerry your hands or to put your heal down or any other bad habits riders may have thats when she would start working on small jumps that way she can concitrate on the jumping and not were your hands and heals are. But thats what i liked about her it was a challendge.

I would have to say my favorite thing about my instructor is how patient she is. She never gets frustrated or raises her voice. Every lesson you may work on something that you worked on last week but only for a little while, she tries to change up your lesson that way you never get bored and are always learning. Also she never does group lesson. Well I take that back she may put 2 people in one lesson but only if the 2 people agree to it. I love that because you learn so much more when its just you in the ring.

I'm going to answer for my daughter b/c it has been a loooong time since I have had an instructor and that was as a beginning older rider.  When Steph moved to St Louis about 10 yrs ago it took her awhile to get back into horses.  When she did she didn't have her own horse and sort of wandered through several barns due to safety issues, cliquism (new word), not the high quality of training she was looking for, less than adequate facilities and so on and so forth.

She found her trainer by asking the instructor she highly respected at a riding clinic, who gave her the name of someone she knew in St Louis who was very happy with her trainer.  They clicked and have been together since.

Alix is demanding, but very patient, very outgoing, laid back (this IS the eventing world we're talking about), knowledgeable about how to fix things with horse and rider and the communication between the two.

Finding the right trainer is a very personal decision.  What works for one won't for another, but asking around at clinics and other riders is the way to go.  And I second the value of private lessons.  In most cases you don't pay too much more and the personal attention is so worth the extra $$$.

 I totally agree with the last poster, private lessons are the way to go.  The entire lesson is for you so it may cost more but you get your money's worth.  Group lessons are good to get your horse or the rider used to riding in a "group" like just before a show or if the horse is young, etc.  Sometimes they are just plain fun! But, you don't progress as quickly so both lesson types have their place.  Linda O

I found my instructors through a newspaper ad and found it to be one of the best things I've ever done.

What I love most about my trainers is that they are very knowledgeable and are willing to answer all the questions I have about horses and riding. Even during a course of jumps they are right there encouraging me with what I am doing and reminding me of what I need to be looking for and just basically helping me with every step. With them, I have been able to progress very fast throughout just one year of riding english and jumping. I am now able to jump 2' and 2'6" when just a year ago I could barely keep up to a posting trot and trying to stay secure in an english saddle. They are both very kind to me and have never yelled at me before. I mostly take private lessons, well, last summer I took lessons with another girl who was at the same level as me but it wasn't a bad thing. Instead of loosing attention, I was able to learn a lot by watching another rider who was at my level and then applying what I noticed the other rider was doing wrong but doing them correctly with myself.

If you can find a very knowledgeable trainer to work with your daughter, it'll be worth it for you to know that she is progressing every day and it will even be more worth it when your daughter can feel herself improving, too! Try getting her private lessons. She may improve more if she has a one on one lesson with her trainer.