# What was your WORST lesson ever?



## crimson88 (Aug 29, 2009)

Mine was several years ago, back when I was 16 and was looking for a new trainer because my main trainer moved down south. I was very specfic in what I wanted as a trainer. My gelding was super green and he didn't like to be pushed too hard. A lady I boarded with in the past had told me about a guy who she trained with and she told me he was really good and she liked him a lot.

I emailed the trainer and found out a lot about him and his training methods and he sounded very promising, pretty much everything I was looking for. We arranged to have our first lesson together and when I met him, I was sort of suprised to see an old bald guy! But he was friendly and he really liked the looks of my horse, this was going to be a great lesson! _I thought._

First he wanted me to lunge my gelding, which I normally didn't do with him because he was born a bit of a dead head and lunging wasn't nessicary with him. I didn't mind lunging, perhaps he just wanted to see his movement or something.

My gelding was doing great, but slow, that's just how he is naturally. The trainer kept saying I need to smack him with the whip because he's not being fast enough. I didn't want too smack him, he wasn't doing anything wrong that he needed punishment for. So I popped the whip at his hind quarter instead. My horse listened and increased his pace but the trainer got irritated that I didn't follow his instruction. 

As we started trotting and cantering on the lunge the trainer started to get furious and I mean furious. He kept yelling at me that I wasn't standing directly in the center of the arena, my feet were moving to much, and I wasn't standing up straight. But instead of asking me to do something differently, he shouted out various put downs like "Get in the center of the arena, you look stupid!" ect. 

The lunging part of the lesson went on for almost 45 mins and my gelding was EXHAUSTED!! And I was on the verge of tears (LOL) because of the many put down comments the frustrated instructor kept yelling at me. My mom was watching from the viewing area and could tell I was not dealing well with all this and would yell words of incouragement to me.

Finally, it was time to actually ride and I wasn't looking forward to it. At this point I started to tune out his repulsive comments such as "You look like a turkey trying to fly!" but I also started tuning out his advice he did give me which just made things worse. He _did _say something nice, that I had been doing a great job with my gelding. Yay 

That was the lesson that dragged on forever and felt like hell too me, LOL. My mom later emailed the trainer and said that his comments may have come across a little too harsh and that I did cry a little during the lesson because I felt like I wasn't doing what he expected of me. (Again I was only 16 so everything was so much more traumatic too me, ha) 

He felt REALLY bad and sent a super long apology email, and said that I don't have to take any more lessons from him if I chose too but since I was going to a show that weekend, he wanted to come along and cheer me on. At the show he was very friendly and gave me great advice and my gelding and I did great! He kept apologizing to me, but I never went back for another lesson agian! I look back and laugh about it now though


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## DuffyDuck (Sep 27, 2011)

Oh my dear, that is nothing! I learnt to ride out here in Germany and my instructor was an ...well, insert expletives.

His favourite comments 
'You will never be able to sit on a horse, you can sit on a chair, but never a horse.'
'If you do not listen, I will drag you off that horse.'
'Why can you not do the simplest of things.'

Oh he was a horror, proper old school but the advice he did give was brilliant. I left the yard though. We went to buy a mare that he was holding on to for someone else and he told us if we bought the mare he'd kick us off the yard. So we didn't, she went back and my mum was DEVESTATED. Three months later she came back and he said, so I suppose you want to buy her.. go on. And we did, moved not long after. Far too controlling.

I had one instructor tell me 'Your problem is you are a good rider but don't have money to buy a good enough horse, people who have the money aren't good enough riders'. My poor Doey, he turned out brilliant after 18months at my current place, but this guy would get on him, draw reins, beast the rubbish out of him then make me get on. Next day Doey couldn't walk.. soon stopped those! My lessons were so tough, and Doey was so hard in the mouth that I had to take a weeks break from him. Decided to do a bit of jumping and he was in the ring riding another horse. My Doey refused, so he said more inside rein.. told him if I mess with his head he won't do it. MORE INSIDE REIN, so I did, and Doey caught the pole between his front legs and went down on top of me. He then had a go at me saying if I couldn;t be bothered to train, then there was no point in me riding because no instructor he knew would put up with my horse being old as he was (16!!) and that if I had a sore shoulder back and neck I needed to get over myself.

OUCH!


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## Allison Finch (Oct 21, 2009)

One lesson that I will never forget was when I was around 8 years old. I was taking lessons from an old European dressage master. I used his big horses which he showed on. Well, I was getting frustrated because my little legs could not communicate what I needed and the horse was not doing the lateral movement I was supposed to do. In my frustration, I smacked the horse with the dressage whip. 

Capt Heyer slowly walked up to me, grabbed my leg, pulled it away from the horse, pushed it so hard up that I fell off the other side of the horse and landed in the dirt. He then led the horse back to the barn without one word coming out of his mouth. Lesson over! He certainly gave me an even more important lesson in anger control than just a riding lesson would have taught me. My next lesson went on and never was a word said about the incident. I didn't need an explanation...ever. 

It was a life long lesson, too.


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## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

DuffyDuck said:


> I had one instructor tell me 'Your problem is you are a good rider but don't have money to buy a good enough horse, people who have the money aren't good enough riders'.


Ooooooh yes! I've had that one a few times! When I've come out with my downhill crazy ottbs, or my psyschotic warmblood 'fixer upper'... From my coach interstate I get it every time he comes down! "You're such a **** good jockey Kayt, come to my stables and work for me any time you like, I would put you on any one of my stallions in a heartbeat... but hell, you need to get yourself a rich husband or sponsor because these horses do nothing for you and you'll never be recognised for what you can do with a horse" Those words, every.single.lesson!


I get yelled at all the time, same things as DuffyDuck, my local coach has even chased me around the arena with a lunge whip smacking my legs because I couldn't ride the horse forward enough!! - Said horse was 17.2hh, round as a barrel and part draft .... I am bordering on 5'4 with super short legs :lol:
I went home in tears many a time, but hell did I learn from it. I'd much rather be screamed at and told what I'm doing wrong, than have someone tell me it's all lovely and great, then go home having learnt zilch. 


My worst lesson, that I did not learn a thing and ended up storming out, was an interstate clinician. 
I was on my old psychotic warmblood, that would grind his teeth and chew the bit as soon as the pressure built.
So this clinician made me stop, changed his bit to a baucher, cranked his noseband so tight that the horse was making horrible noises trying to breathe, then told me to hit him until he gave to the pressure and stopped chewing the bit. 
I got off, told him he was a cruel b****** and walked out of the lesson.


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## twh (Feb 1, 2010)

Worst lesson ever was when an instructor tried anything she could think of to discourage me from riding (I think I was 14 or 15, and we'd gone to her hoping she'd help a fear of cantering I'd developed after having a bad fall). It got really personal, and I got so rattled that when she told me to trot, my cue was so lame the horse didn't take it seriously, prompting her to scream across the arena that I was "showing her attitude" and that I "wasn't grateful my parents were paying for lessons". 

I'm pretty sure I cried after that lesson, I don't remember. But I never went back. 

Allison, sounds like your instructor meant business! 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

DuffyDuck said:


> I had one instructor tell me 'Your problem is you are a good rider but don't have money to buy a good enough horse, people who have the money aren't good enough riders'.


At least you gotta hear "you are a good rider"! :lol: I had 4 trainers telling me my qh is useless, badly conformed, and is no good for dressage (much less for showing).


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Wow, some people! No one & I mean NO ONE talks to me like that, ever, without needing dental reconstructive surgery. I have never had a bad lesson, always learnt something or improved something, even a tiny bit. However my worst lesson, but it was fun, was when I was taking a group lesson. We all knew each other, so the instructor says, switch horses. My son was riding his mini (this was 17 yrs ago, he's grown up now), he asked to switch with me. I fell off the mini on my back directly on the ground. I was laughing but my back has never been the same since.


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## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

My worst lesson wasn't a trainer issue but a horse issue, and being put into a lesson that we as a team weren't ready for. (Very very recently. About two weeks ago)Bailey was not ready to be put into a big, advanced group lesson. If I had been riding Rebel, or Selena, that would have been fine. They are calm and seasoned enough to handle that. But Bailey was not.I felt so stupid. I was the only one on a horse who had "Problems", per say. Bailey in particular is a problem because she loses her mind when other horses run past her. And when she can't think, she doesn't work. I had hoped to work on this with people who KNEW the problem before I put her in a group lesson with other people who needed assistance.Well, to say the least, we almost ran over EVERYONE. I tried to stop, I tried to steer around, but no. She wasn't hearing any of it. Something totally went wrong and we almost ran right up on a horse that kicked. I cringed everytime my trainer instructed us to "Prepare to pick up the lope." I had been working with her on this before, but its hard to stop and fix it when you have a lot of riders in the arena with you and your trainer is yelling at you to do other things. At the time, do I stop to school my horse, or do I keep doing what she tells me to do and not obstruct the flow of the arena?I am still in that group lesson, but I don't want to be. I've been taking my other horse for it until I can get Bailey used to having other horses running around her. She's a dream when its just me and her in the arena, but not with others.... And now I'm being pressured to bring her back into the lesson, but I really don't want to. And the other riders get mad at me if I stop to school her because they think I'm being distracting and obscuring. But my trainer wants her in there...-sigh-I think I'll just work her on my own.


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## demonwolfmoon (Oct 31, 2011)

kitten_Val said:


> At least you gotta hear "you are a good rider"! :lol: I had 4 trainers telling me my qh is useless, badly conformed, and is no good for dressage (much less for showing).


Why are people so fricken nasty sometimes? 
I would never deal with someone like that ever again.


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## Delfina (Feb 12, 2010)

Beginning of the Summer I had the world's shortest lesson. I was hopping on my horse and as I was in mid-air, he spooked at a sheep and bolted. I slid down and landed on my feet, only my right foot landed on a piece of gravel, slipped and I ended up dislocating my knee and overstretching all the tendons in my leg. 

Some lesson.... I didn't even make it onto the horse! My trainer was standing less than 5 feet away and instead of giving me a lesson ended up putting my knee back in place and bandaging me up (she's a paramedic) and while she was doing that, her lesson pony spooked at the same dang sheep and bolted with a tiny kid on him. Thankfully the kiddo managed to stay on but that was not a good day at the barn!


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## crimson88 (Aug 29, 2009)

kitten_Val said:


> I had 4 trainers telling me my qh is useless, badly conformed, and is no good for dressage (much less for showing).


 
UGH! That's happened to me before! With several different trainers too and it's funny how your own horse is never enough good but they have a horse that would gladly sell you because its "better" or they know of a horse that would be better but you have too pay them to put on like six months of training. Defiantly stay away from those type of trainers for sure!


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## Dresden (Jun 24, 2011)

I have ridden extensively in the past and wanted to take lessons as a refresher before getting my own horse. I explained to the instructors I tried out that I had ridden 2-3 times a week for 10 years and had shown western during those years but was rusty after a roughly 15 yr hiatus from horses. 

Anyway, I had one lesson with a man who told me I was lying about my experience because I did not know how to tie a rope halter(I have and to this day use nylon halters with a buckle). We spent the entire hour tying the halter. Over and over...and over. I never laid eyes on a horse the entire time. He told me at the end I wouldn't even get to lead a horse until I could properly tie the halter blah blah and that'd probably take at least a month! I never went back.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## eventerdrew (Mar 13, 2009)

I had a trainer once tell me that I would never make in anywhere in this sport because my horse was too stupid and my fourteen year old self was too fat.


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## LoveStory10 (Oct 31, 2009)

My very first lesson at a new barn (I was 10) I was told to trot over a little cross - about 50cm high. I did, but the beast of a horse they had me on was waaaay to strong for me to handle back then, so he took off with me and leaped 2 METRE jumps! I just barely hung on.

Then on this same horse, she MADE me jump a course of 80cm's. I really didn't want to, but she forced me, calling me a "little coward", and a "useless wimp". Which of course upset me, at which point she starts yelling at me to "jump the f%$king course"! So I do. I ended up in the ER, with her telling my mother it was all my fault and that she told me jumping that course wasn't a good idea (lying cow!). She then told my mom I would NEVER go to shows, as I don't have "the drive". I was there for a year, just until I almost turned 12.

Needless to say my mom moved me, to my current barn, where I have been ever since. (I'm now 17), a year later I went to my first show, and I jump 90cm with ease thanks to my new wonderful instructors.


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## Cruiser (Aug 28, 2011)

Worst, I rode under this trainer once, four other kids in the ring and she made a point to humiliate me in front of the parents, students. She couldn't say things much worst and not once did she tell me how to fix the problems I was having. She even hit me with the saddle (the stirrup hit me across the side of head), when I want tacking up because I didn't pull the pad up in the gullet before girthing up, I always do it up part way, pull the pad and finish tightening. It just made it better that the day before at work I fell through wooden pallets so my whole leg was swollen from my knee down. 

I was near tears, said told her if she called me on more thing I was getting off and she wouldn't see any money from me. She thought she could keep bullying me I flipped her off, dismounted and left the ring. The person hosting the trainer was mad at me, and I told her that she is very lucky I haven't called legal action before (I have been injried in very preventable ways in past "lessons" and I've never signed a waiver saying I wouldn't after I turned 18) she should be happy that I am even paying for half the session. I haven't been back to that barn, and I rode there ten years prior.


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## DuffyDuck (Sep 27, 2011)

kitten_Val said:


> At least you gotta hear "you are a good rider"! :lol: I had 4 trainers telling me my qh is useless, badly conformed, and is no good for dressage (much less for showing).


 
Its the same with Duffy, her confirmation isn't brilliant and her front legs are pigeon toed from the shoulder down. Now, if I wanted a nice big flashy sports horse, I'd have to save every penny, or find a uber rich husband haha! So many people laughed at poor Duffy when I got her, now they want to ride her!
At the end of the day, if the horse in question can do what you are asking it to do and is in no discomfort to anyone poo to confirmation and correct breeding etc! :lol:


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## crimson88 (Aug 29, 2009)

LoveStory10 said:


> My very first lesson at a new barn (I was 10) I was told to trot over a little cross - about 50cm high. I did, but the beast of a horse they had me on was waaaay to strong for me to handle back then, so he took off with me and leaped 2 METRE jumps! I just barely hung on.
> 
> Then on this same horse, she MADE me jump a course of 80cm's. I really didn't want to, but she forced me, calling me a "little coward", and a "useless wimp". Which of course upset me, at which point she starts yelling at me to "jump the f%$king course"! So I do. I ended up in the ER, with her telling my mother it was all my fault and that she told me jumping that course wasn't a good idea (lying cow!). She then told my mom I would NEVER go to shows, as I don't have "the drive". I was there for a year, just until I almost turned 12.
> 
> Needless to say my mom moved me, to my current barn, where I have been ever since. (I'm now 17), a year later I went to my first show, and I jump 90cm with ease thanks to my new wonderful instructors.


I sort of had a similar exprience! For a while I was with one trainer (who turned out to be a total dud!) When I was wanting to learn to jump. I had been taking some flat lessons and had done some small grid work but never actually jumped yet (well I had jumped before but very little and just on my own without a trainer). So the day that she chose to actaully have me jump she put me on her client's horse who was a hot OTTB
and was a little bit pshycotic too, lol. She first had me do some pole work, then some grid work and said I was ready to jump! And here I am (about 15 at the time) on this huge 16.3 crazy gelding who had NO brakes! And she wanted me to jump already!? She leaned two cross bars between two barrels and I jumped it twice successfully. When I thought the lesson was over for the day she put a third pole on top of the two barrels and told me to jump it. I did and fell off! I wasn't hurt but she told me to jump it again, and I tried and fell off a second time, this time I landed on my kneee though and it really hurt. She told me to get back on but there was no way I could stand or even get on the horse, lol. I did manage to get back on and trot some poles and then I told her I was done for the day. I did go back to her a few times but it didn't take long for me to realize that she had no idea what she was doing!


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## LoveTheSaddlebreds (Jul 9, 2009)

I'm naturally tentative and a nervous rider. I doubt myself all the time. My lifelong trainer was able to boost my confidence so well. She didn't push too much on me at once, and she was sooo nice. She said I had enough natural talent to do well, all I lacked was confidence. WELL I got a new trainer when I joined a team, since she was the coach for the team. I brought my mare there (a bit reluctant to leave the old place, but I was moving again after the team, anyway) So, this trainer didn't have the patience of a saint my previous one did, and it was a bit of a shock. When I got scared, she'd yell at me and force me to do it.

One time, I was on a 17.2hh warmblood gelding who kept refusing an oxer and throw me off balance (I fell off once, landing on my feet but shaking my nerves). She got mad at me and started driving the horse at the jump with waving hands and spooking him. He'd take off and skid to a stop before the jump. I'm sure after the first refusal, the ones following were completely my fault, I was terrified. If got to the point where I was almost having an anxiety attack; my throat felt tight and I was trying not to cry. She got fed up and wouldn't talk to me the rest of the day. I felt worthless and such a bad rider I didn't deserve to be in the higher level.

The next day, I came out, and rode the gelding again. After a short warmup, I pointed him at the oxer and made it over the first try. 

She did make me suck it up and ride, but she was pretty harsh xD


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

crimson88 said:


> UGH! That's happened to me before! With several different trainers too and it's funny how your own horse is never enough good but they have a horse that would gladly sell you because its "better" or they know of a horse that would be better but you have too pay them to put on like six months of training. Defiantly stay away from those type of trainers for sure!


You know I didn't even think about this reason until someone on this forum asked me if they try to sell me other horse (when I was ranting while back). And now I'm thinking hmmmmmmmm.... very well may be. At least 2 of them were selling horses (and one tried to push me to take more lessons with her).


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

DuffyDuck said:


> Now, if I wanted a nice big flashy sports horse, I'd have to save every penny, or find a uber rich husband haha!


Duffy, you can get big flashy CHEAP (or even free sometime) OTTB here. And if it's healthy, willing and smart (and you know what you are doing or can afford a good trainer) in principle you can go very far/high with that horse. Personally I never considered this road because I neither was into serious riding till recently nor I'm a fan of TBs in general (no offense to anyone, I like the look of TBs, but not the movement, not my cup of tea  ). But if someone would want a good prospect for eventing or dressage and don't have a pocket of money (or a rich husband that doesn't mind to spend money on his wife lol! ) I'd say it's a way to go.


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## crimson88 (Aug 29, 2009)

kitten_Val said:


> You know I didn't even think about this reason until someone on this forum asked me if they try to sell me other horse (when I was ranting while back). And now I'm thinking hmmmmmmmm.... very well may be. At least 2 of them were selling horses (and one tried to push me to take more lessons with her).


When I first started showing I had a very nice AQHA gelding who wasn't winning high points or anything super spectacular, but he was always in the ribbions and he could really hold his own. I had a trainer, who I took a few lessons with, call me and tell me over the phone that if I ever wanted to be a good a dressage rider or jumper there was no way an my QH would ever be competitive against tradional sport horses. She gave me the whole lecture about how he doesn't have the right movement, he had crappy confromation and was too small. She tried pushing a bunch of her horse's on me (or horses's she was selling for other people), telling me I could buy one but If I did it would need like seven months of training and I would need to take lessons like 5x a week for seven months and just a whole bunch of bullcrap. I've heard from quite a few people who have done business with her, that she is always bashing people's horses and pushing her's on to them. There are so many scammers in the horse world!


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## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

Well following on from my rather loud, 'say it how it is' coach - you know you're doing something right when you get asked to warm your coach up when they take their 4 year old home bred colt to its first Young Horse qualifying event.
Feeling rather stoked with that as a very big compliment from her!!!


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## Teresa (Sep 29, 2009)

Allison Finch said:


> One lesson that I will never forget was when I was around 8 years old. I was taking lessons from an old European dressage master. I used his big horses which he showed on. Well, I was getting frustrated because my little legs could not communicate what I needed and the horse was not doing the lateral movement I was supposed to do. In my frustration, I smacked the horse with the dressage whip.
> 
> Capt Heyer slowly walked up to me, grabbed my leg, pulled it away from the horse, pushed it so hard up that I fell off the other side of the horse and landed in the dirt. He then led the horse back to the barn without one word coming out of his mouth. Lesson over! He certainly gave me an even more important lesson in anger control than just a riding lesson would have taught me. My next lesson went on and never was a word said about the incident. I didn't need an explanation...ever.
> 
> It was a life long lesson, too.


Wow. :shock: Lol. Okay, I know what your teacher was trying to do, and it doesn't seem to have bothered you, but...yikes. Intentionally shoving a young kid off a horse? Um. What. :?

I'd have to say my worst ever lesson would be this one time when I was about nine. I was just learning how to jump, and the pony I was on kept refusing in a multitude of super-sneaky ways. Me, being pretty inexperienced, fell off bunches of times and ended up getting stepped on. Miraculously, I escaped without any severe injury. xD


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## Rachel1786 (Nov 14, 2010)

My worst lesson was last winter/early spring. I had been taking lessons for probably 1-2 months at that point(although I had 13 years prior experience, it was almost all western and self taught and I hadn't ridden much in the 3 years before) It was a cold windy day and Molly was being unusually spooky, Val(instructor) snapped a twig off a tree and Molly bolted backwards right over my foot. Then during the lesson she repeatedly spooked at nothing(not like her at all!) I was half off numerous times during the hour lesson, but somehow I managed to save myself every time. At one point I had lost both my irons and had only my right calf over the saddle and had to use my calf and her mane to pull myself back on. We still joke about that lesson and how Molly was just making sure I had a good seat . I ride that horse at least once a week and she's never been that spooky again and I have ridden her on far windier days.


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## BCtazzie (Jun 7, 2011)

I've been lucky with instructors. Yet at pony club some times we just didn't have enough for how many showed up to Rally. The DC at the time would step in time to time and thats when it got interesting not just for me but others in the group. 

She would single someone out and just destroy them. She has been the only instructor I have rode out of the lesson with, ever. Not everyone can afford push button horses like her kids had. So if our horses didn't have the training to do something.........gong show.

I used to do alot of eventing and showjumping at pony club and I remember the day when I was talking to my friend about entering in the National Dressage Championships. Not the pony club ones but "the Nationals" and she told me rather clear that showjumpers can not do dressage. So me being the spiteful one that I am. Spent the next 4 months competing 4-5 hours away to qualify. Her children competed at home. 

So I competed in the Nationals and get 3rd in Novice. Her daughter, 9th. It felt SOOOOO GOOD as a 16 year old to ride up to her and say "not to bad for a showjumper eh?" in a borrowed dressage saddle.


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## TouchedByAnAngel (Sep 12, 2011)

My worst lesson was probably when I was around 11 or 12. I was in a crowded indoor arena and desperately trying to learn the ring rules (left shoulder to left shoulder, shouting where you're going etc.). I was on my pony who had an incredibly fast paced canter and we working on getting more control and slowing the pace. So while the ring was jam packed I was struggling to manuever around everybody, calling correct directions so I didn't run into people, and struggling to canter my pony. 
Being the overly-sensitive person that I was (and sometimes still am) I froze and couldn't think straight as my instructor consistently yelled at me for not doing what she said, calling out incorrect directions, and passing people on the incorrect shoulder. I was absolutely terrified of running into someone and causing an accident so that was a pretty miserable lesson. But, I managed to avoid the tears until I got home lol.
Mine isn't as nearly as bad as some of you guys' lessons! Hats off to ya, for me personally a bad lesson is hard to take! :$.


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## DuffyDuck (Sep 27, 2011)

I have to agree with Kayty, my trainer is a ' This was good today, HOWEVER' and then I get a list of faults. At times, my trainer is harsher, because she knows it will make me strive harder, or I haven't been trying hard enough. She told me a couple of weeks ago 'You have taught this young horse a great many things, but if you keep tensing your left shoulder you will ruin her mouth and no one will be able to ride her' I admit I cried, not because of her,but because I was failing Duffy, next time, and from then on, very few problems because I concentrate on what was wrong.

There is one lady I always manage to cross with, she has this HUGE Hanno, lovely looking animal, but their personalities crash. She whips its backside, and during flying changes, not one word of a lie, he brings a hind leg up and puts it between her leg and the saddle in an attempt to get her off. He succeeded on May two days before her wedding, but he does it with his ears forward!

I've run in to her, sometimes my fault, sometimes hers, and she doesn't half scream. I learnt that shrugging and pretending not to understand works best ;D


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## kendrawrrr (Nov 17, 2011)

My worst lesson.. Was when I was probably 12-13. I'd been riding at this nice barn that was a total haul from where I live. My mother always used to take me to my lessons. 

Well this was the one lesson where my dad took me instead. I had JUST gotten my new barn jacket with my name on it. And they changed the school horse I usually rode to a brand new school horse. The moons must've been aligned wrong because that day was a total disaster. The horse and I must've spooked eachother.. or we didn't get along or something. At that point I was riding hunter/jumper. And we were working on a little course. Well next thing I know.. The horse has taken off.. And it was a HUGE ring with probably.. 8-10 people riding at a time.. I've lost all balance and all control. And worse.. all my confidence. I'm flopping around on his back trying to stop him. But I think I was just making it worse.. And them BOOM next thing I know.. I'm on the ground. That was the worst lesson of my life.. And it has stuck with me forever. I quit riding after that.. I quit anything that had to do with horses.. Now I wish I hadn't and I wish I would've worked on regaining my confidence right away.. But things happen. And that is why I am terrified to jump. Lol I am perfectly fine with flat work for right now !


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## paddlefoot (Jul 9, 2008)

I was about 14, but I had owned a pony since I was 12. 

About 15 mins in we got into an argument about what was the correct diagonal. I mean seriously - I was 14 and I knew! Needless to say this lady was full of crazy, self-importance, etc, and I ended up trotting on the wrong diagonal for the rest of the lesson.

This memory still makes me crazy!


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## MyLittleHunter (Jul 20, 2009)

Hmm my worst lesson was with a trainer who *hated* my horse Dallas. He never had anything nice to say about my horse, every word out of his mouth somehow degraded or put down Dallas. The best was, "that horse isn't good as anything but dog food." He tried many times to get me to sell Dallas, and buy a reining QH which is what he specialized in. I wanted to jump and do dressage. lol.

On to the actual lesson. I was riding out in the hay field with him as one of his horses who had all sorts of reining titles. We were trying to get him to round up and pay attention at the canter instead of looking all around and _slacking off_. Dallas was young and green so it was much training for him as it was for me. The whole time it was nasty comments about my horse and my riding, not real advice. I was shaking I was so upset and nervous riding in front of him. This only made it worse because then Dallas starting feeding off of me and acting up, leading to even more comments. By the end of the lesson we had gotten nothing productive done. I was pale and freaking out, and Dallas was a sweaty mess. The instructor saw this and said I couldn't end like that so put me on one of his horses and made me ride the mare for 3 hours. It was really really bad. There was no way Dallas and I could ever grow under him.


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## Cinder (Feb 20, 2011)

Mine isn't anywhere near any of yours!

Worst lesson. It was the first place I had ever taken lessons consistently at. We got on the horses and were told to do a few simple things so she could see how we were doing. At the end she told me I needed a ton of help and basically needed to start from scratch. Although I knew I was far from a great rider and probably wasn't even good, that stung. Plus my cousin, who nearly everyone considers a better rider than me, was right there and the same instructor was praising her. My cousin is my best friend, but just seeing and really REALIZING the contrast between the two of us for the first time and just letting how I was as a rider sink in really bugged me for quite a while after that. It sitll, in fact, kind of bugs me to this day. However, the difference between then and now is amazing, and I am much better now.


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