some suggestions for HSS

[lovemyber135]

i was just thinking about how excited i am for hss to come around again that i was like well what if this happeded maybe it would be better or this....so here it goes...For the jumping classes or w.e you want call it...i think they should be more appropiatly grouped...like in the jumping class that i was in we hadd people jumping 18" and people jumping 2'6 oxers i mean we only had so much time...like maybe there should be a choice of what level jumping you are doing...and i was also thinking what if you offered like jumpers and hunters as two different options...i mean they are both so different...jumpers you go fast and hunters is slow and steady...i think that would be fun!...thats my suggestion just thought you could hear me out...

thanx for reading
nikki

[Sadielady]

Originally Posted by lovemyber135

i was just thinking about how excited i am for hss to come around again that i was like well what if this happeded maybe it would be better or this....so here it goes...For the jumping classes or w.e you want call it...i think they should be more appropiatly grouped...like in the jumping class that i was in we hadd people jumping 18" and people jumping 2'6 oxers i mean we only had so much time...like maybe there should be a choice of what level jumping you are doing...and i was also thinking what if you offered like jumpers and hunters as two different options...i mean they are both so different...jumpers you go fast and hunters is slow and steady...i think that would be fun!...thats my suggestion just thought you could hear me out...

thanx for reading
nikki

Where did you jump 18 in and 2'6 in the same division?

[lovemyber135]

well we had like young girl in our class she just wasnt experienced and it waisted time...it wasnt i divison it was like a clinic for 4 days

[CountryLady]

Originally Posted by lovemyber135

well we had like young girl in our class she just wasnt experienced and it waisted time...it wasnt i divison it was like a clinic for 4 days

I think there was also a situation where the kid was experienced and the horses weren't, right.

I think they are looking at this issue.

What is REALLY needed is more volunteers!
They had an excellent jumping instructor. But it is difficult to go back and forth between 10 or so kids teaching basics to some and more advanced skills to others.

They should probably split up the groups a little better.

Here are some ideas I had:

#1 What do you think about a rider evaluation prior to hss?
(like maybe at Oakridge) so that kids and horses could be place properly in the classes.

I kinda think the evaluations on paper are really difficult to place kids properly.
It is basically a self evaluation or parent evaluation.


#2 If the Instructor had an assistant that could work with the beginners on the basics at one end of the ring. While the instructor worked with the kids that that were a little more advanced at the other.

I think that could be done in such a way where fewer kids are just sitting around waiting in line for their turn.

All the kids could benefit from the instructors knowledge. For instance the instructor could direct the assistant to work on specific skills (basics) with the beginners, then let the assistant supervise beginners (half of the class) with the skills building each day. Then the instructor could help the more advanced students refine their skills.

One thing for sure, there are a lot of kids that want to learn to Jump. It is a very popular class. But I do think you are right in that there needs to be a better evaluation process to assess knowledge and training levels of riders and their mounts!!!

Suggestions from the experienced jumpers/instructors are welcome, especially positive comments from folks that have attended HSS in the past and understand how the clinics and days are set up.

[Eventer29]

I was the jumping instructor the year before last. Some sort of evaluation would be nice. Esp if the instructor themselves could do the evaluations. I know the year I taught was interesting... The "advanced group", most of them COULD jump 2'6+ with some exceptions, but should they have been? prob not really. I know some kids were a little upset with me because they didnt get the height, but we did some challenging exercises at lower heights. I felt that if they could not do those exercises at 18" they should not have been jumping a whole lot higher. Plus with 4 days of hard riding the horses and ponies do not need high jumps. Some of the animals were pretty tired and a little stressed.
The "beg. group" most of them actually seemed to have a better grip on the basics. But we still stayed at a low height and did the more difficult exercises.
We also had major weather issues and only had 2 days I think to work together, as well as not having many jumps to work with on the first day. Not to mention horses acting up...etc.

Anyway, I had fun and hope most of the kids had fun too. But an evaluation would have made things run a lot better. In the future if I am invited to instruct again, I will def bring someone who can do a little teaching with me, so if I do have a problem horse/kid they can take them aside and work with them, instead of slowing down the whole class.

On another note. Does HSS still do the safety tack and apparel check before the kids ride on the first day? I did not have any kids in my classes, but I know that there were some kids in unsafe foot wear. Someone knowledgable should also evaluate tack fit etc...

[CountryLady]

Originally Posted by Eventer29

I was the jumping instructor the year before last. Some sort of evaluation would be nice. Esp if the instructor themselves could do the evaluations. I know the year I taught was interesting... The "advanced group", most of them COULD jump 2'6+ with some exceptions, but should they have been? prob not really. I know some kids were a little upset with me because they didnt get the height, but we did some challenging exercises at lower heights. I felt that if they could not do those exercises at 18" they should not have been jumping a whole lot higher. Plus with 4 days of hard riding the horses and ponies do not need high jumps. Some of the animals were pretty tired and a little stressed.
The "beg. group" most of them actually seemed to have a better grip on the basics. But we still stayed at a low height and did the more difficult exercises.
We also had major weather issues and only had 2 days I think to work together, as well as not having many jumps to work with on the first day. Not to mention horses acting up...etc.

Anyway, I had fun and hope most of the kids had fun too. But an evaluation would have made things run a lot better. In the future if I am invited to instruct again, I will def bring someone who can do a little teaching with me, so if I do have a problem horse/kid they can take them aside and work with them, instead of slowing down the whole class.

On another note. Does HSS still do the safety tack and apparel check before the kids ride on the first day? I did not have any kids in my classes, but I know that there were some kids in unsafe foot wear. Someone knowledgable should also evaluate tack fit etc...

I tend to agree with you.
With four days of intense riding in many different types of classes, by the end of the week the horses and kids are tired. But I could see where the kids would like the opp. to show their skills for higher jumps. Having said that, with tired kids and tired horses, good opp. for injury too.

I think the real root of the problem that "lovemyber135" is trying to point out is that there has to be a better way of determining skill level of horse and rider BEFORE HSS so that they don't get the wide mix of rider/horse ability in the same class.

Some kids brought horses to HSS that have never jumped, while other kids brought horses that could jump the moon but the rider wasn't trained.
Regardless of rider ability or horse ability in those cases, they should be placed in a beginner class PERIOD. JMO.

HSS is a place where kids have an opp. to be exposed to types of horseback riding that they otherwise may not get a chance too. It is a good place to test the waters, so to speak. But if the rider SELF/PARENT evaluations aren't done honestly, and they do not include the horse’s ability, there could be more problems like this.

This is not the place to think, "I wish my child could jump 2'6", so I will put them in the advanced class." "They are otherwise a very good rider."

I would even like to see a couple of mini clinics for the HSS kids throughout the year (like at oakridge). BUT it takes volunteers.

I think that they are already trying something like that with Open Trail and Polo Cross.

I DO think the teaching assistant would be very helpfull pulling off a few kids to work on specific skills.

[happyappygirl]

HSS used to to a ready to ride the week BEFORE HSS, but this past year the former MD HC president had some serious health issues and the planning stages got a really late start. I will bring up doing a ready to ride for skills prior to HSS at the next board meeting. It would be nice if we could have all instructors show up for that date, to evaluate the kids who will be in her classess, and help with class divisions following the ready to ride evaluation but that has to happen well before the start of HSS.

We DO a ready to ride tack inspection which includes apparal on the first morning. We can't control what they wear after that.

SO, anyone who would like to instruct a class could volunteer early (like now) and be in on the planning stages to make that happen. That's why we've already had several meetings for 2010 (all announced in here). Anyone who would like to contact the president for 2010 can do so, by sending me a pm and i'll provide her email address.

Thanks for bringing your suggestions to light lovemyber135. You can also email them to the HSS email group, you should have been getting emails from that group all along. Do you?

[CountryLady]

When is the next meeting?

What instructors are lined up so far?

What type of instructors do we still need?

Volunteer for 2010 HSS!

[lovemyber135]

unfortunetly i do not :-( i was wondering why i was out of the loop all this time blonde moment sry

[lovemyber135]

i mean really if you want your child to jump 2'6 then thats what lessons are for or a friend to teach you if you cant afford lessons like my self lol...i mean you cant learn it in 4 days...and our instrcutor was a very good one and he did a very good job handleing all the levels of jumping in our class but there just wasnt enough time...i think it would be awsum if prior to HSS when we sign up....there should be more specific options of rider and horse ya know???....but other than that i think i was the oldest there and i loved every minute of HSS...jumping is my thing thats why im saying something about it to help out :-)....this is my last year of HSS and bet ill be volunteering after this year!!!!