Rainbow Ridge Riding

16/11/2023

I would like to say a big thank you to all my wonderful students who have supported me in the last 2 years of teaching lessons.
I stopped doing lessons months ago due to working so much with my other 2 jobs and there isn’t enough time in a day to fit everything in. 😅

Unfortunately I have still closed my doors I hope I taught all my students everything they need to know about horses from the ground up to riding, I have enjoyed and had so much fun with you all so Thankyou and Good Luck with your horse riding journey and remember …
HAPPY HORSE, HAPPY RIDER 🦄✨

I have sold 2 of our horses and 1 has crossed the rainbow bridge 🌈🕊️ but we still have my amazing older horses Dusty & Rhythm who are enjoying their retired life at 23 & 22 years old.
Milo, Belle and Sparkles are still getting loved by my step children, cousins and friends children. 🥰

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 🎉🎄🍾

Sincerly, Tess and all horses from RRR
🌈🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜🤎🤍

06/06/2023

Everything comes with a price

A sensitive horse is going to be sensitive to both light aids AND your accidental aids and mistakes

A quiet school horse is going to give you room to fumble with your hands and legs, and they are also likely to ignore them when you mean to use them.

It isn’t fair to want the reward without the price. It isn’t fair to take from a horse without giving- and it all comes down to working on ourselves: our expectations, riding abilities, mindset, and awareness. You can’t have a perfectly performing horse without putting in your own work. A horse is not a computer or a robot- they rise to, or fall to, the level of the horseman.

- originally written by Amy Skinner Horsemanship

03/06/2023

Dearest Riders,

Please let me remind you of something very important. Horse showing, riding and training are insanely difficult. If you have a crappy ride, a less than stellar show ring result (or if you made your trainer want to pull their hair out today), it just means there's more to learn. The people who had good rides today are not exempt from disappointing rides tomorrow. They also have bad days and, if they're very experienced riders, they've had a whole bunch of bad days.

There will always be someone out there on a more talented horse, someone with a bigger bank account, someone who never struggled to learn to sit the trot...life isn't fair. You probably can't win the lottery or grow 5 more inches of leg. You can, however, wake up every morning and be thankful that you're able to ride horses. Work hard at becoming the best rider you can be with the body and the bank account that you have right now. Work at being the rider your horse wants up there on his back. Your horse's opinion of your riding is more valuable than any judge's opinion could ever be.

- originally written by Amber Kimball

18/05/2023

Dentist today 🦷🪥🤩🐎

09/05/2023

Everyone needs to pay attention to this. Two local riders have been seriously hurt this week after falls from their horses. Under no circumstance should you ever sit in a saddle without a helmet on. If you ride English, wear a helmet. If you ride Western, WEAR A HELMET. If you're jumping, you should be wearing a helmet. If you run barrels, you should absolutely be wearing a helmet! If you're out on the trails with your friend, both of you should be wearing a helmet! Check your ego and your coolness factor at the door. A cracked helmet could have been your skull. Not everyone comes away from a fall okay. Some people are left paralyzed and worse yet, some people die. Don't take your life for granted by not wearing a helmet.

12/04/2023

02/04/2023

Celebrating Charlotte & Grace’s birthday today with lots of kiddies on Sparkles 🎉🐎💗

31/03/2023

👏🏻🙌🏻

Things your riding instructor wants you to know:
1. This sport is hard. You don't get to bypass the hard…..every good rider has gone through it. You make progress, then you don't, and then you make progress again. Your riding instructor can coach you through it, but they cannot make it easy.

2. You're going to ride horses you don't want to ride. If you're teachable, you will learn from every horse you ride. Each horse in the barn can teach you if you let them. IF YOU LET THEM. Which leads me to…

3. You MUST be teachable to succeed in this sport. You must be teachable to succeed at anything, but that is another conversation. Being teachable often means going back to basics time and time and time again. If you find basics boring, then your not looking at them as an opportunity to learn. Which brings me to…..

4. This sport is a COMMITMENT. Read that, then read it again. Every sport is a commitment, but in this sport your teammate weighs 1200 lbs and speaks a different language. Good riders don't get good by riding every once in awhile….they improve because they make riding a priority and give themsevles opportunity to practice.

5. EVERY RIDE IS AN OPPORTUNITY. Even the walk ones. Even the hard ones. Every. Single. Ride. Remember when you just wished someone would lead you around on a horse? Find the happiness in just being able to RIDE. If you make every ride about what your AREN'T doing, you take the fun out of the experience for yourself, your horse, and your instructor. Just enjoy the process. Which brings me to...

6. Riding should be fun. It is work. and work isn't always fun.....but if you (or your rider) are consistently choosing other activities or find yourself not looking forward to lessons, it's time to take a break. The horses already know you don't want to be here, and you set yourself up for failure if you are already dreading the lesson before you get here.

7. You'll learn more about horses from the ground than you ever will while riding. That's why ground lessons are important, too. If you're skipping ground lessons (or the part of your lesson that takes place on the ground), you're missing out on the most important parts of the lesson. You spend far more time on the ground with horses than you do in the saddle.

8. Ask questions and communicate. If you're wondering why your coach is having you ride a particular horse or do an exercise, ask them. Then listen to their answer and refer to #3 above.

9. We are human beings. We make decisions (some of them life and death ones) every day. We balance learning for students with workloads for horses and carry the bulk of this business on our shoulders. A little courtesy goes a long way.

Of all the sports your child will try through their school years, riding is one of 3 that they may continue regularly as adults (golf and skiing are the others). People who coach riding spend the better part of their free time and much of their disposable income trying to improve their own riding and caring for the horses who help teach your child. They love this sport and teaching others…..but they all have their limits. Not all good riders are good coaches, but all good coaches will tell you that the process to get good is not an easy one.

*thank you to whoever wrote this! Not my words, but certainly a shared sentiment!

18/03/2023

Busy morning in the sun 🥵☀️🌱

16/03/2023

A very hot afternoon!! 🥵 A beautiful trail ride for Banjo & Rhythm 🐎🤩


❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤍🤎💗