Riding lessons at Paradise Stables Riding Academy

I get a lot of questions about our riding lesson program. These include inquiries like ‘do I need my own horse’ and ‘what kind of riding do you teach at your barn ’ and ‘how much does it cost to get started’ and on down the line. I thought the best way to answer was to give a student’s perspective. So here is one of my new students, Megan, telling about her experience:

-Kim G.

I’d been thinking about starting lessons up again for a few months. I have a horse of my own, but he is not ‘finished’, meaning he still has a ways to go before he’d be considered completely trained. I’ve always wanted to know what it felt like to ride a well trained horse, so I decided to start lessons with Kim’s school horses. The school horses are available for students that don’t have their own horses (most people) or folks like me, who just want to get a feel for a different horse.

Lori shows me proper hand position



My instructor Lori told me that we would just try out a couple different horses and see which one worked best for me. So we will try a different horse at each lesson over the next few weeks. Here’s a bit about Lori: Lori Stancik has been in the horse industry for over 40 years (she must have been 2 years old when she started!) coaching and competing at the World level (the highest level in horse competition) Quick to smile and a warm and welcoming demeanor, Lori made me feel completely comfortable from the moment we met.

We picked out a gorgeous sorrel (also referred to as chestnut, if you are riding English – one of a few things that have different names for the same thing depending on the style of riding you do) named CHH Maximum Charisma, “Max” for short, for me to ride. Max is a 4 year old gelding (a neutered male horse), standing about 15.3 hands, a little more than 61 inches at his shoulder. We also picked out a saddle, which Lori helped me put on and cinch up so I knew my equipment was on correctly and secure. You'll notice that Lori and I both have Western riding equipment, but you can learn English disciplines at PSRA too!

Lessons with Lori, or any of the Paradise Stables RidingAcademy instructors, can be for designed for a novice rider during which you will learn how to ask the horse to walk, stop and turn right and left. Each lesson builds on the last and each rider will progress at their own speed.

Lessons can also be completely customized, so if you want to become proficient at a specific skill, the instructors at PSRA can help you with that too.
Lesson fees are very reasonable for the Woodinville/Redmond/Bothell area. A single lesson is $65 and monthly packages are available. Leasing and lesson packages are also offered.

 

My lesson was instructive and inspiring, but most of all it was fun! For anyone looking for a great stress reliever and a good source of physical activity, horseback riding is a great option. Remember that if you are a Microsoft employee, you can apply Stay Fit to pay for your lessons.

While this program is low-key enough to include just about any rider, and it also has a highly competitive team program for those who aspire to compete at very high levels.