New Page 1

Heavenly Farm Arabians Getting Started

Home

News

Your First Lesson . . . with HFA will be an evaluation of your riding ability to help us determine which class level would be the best for you. Your evaluation instructor will conduct your lesson, explain our procedures and take you on a short tour of our facility. The First Lesson Evaluation takes about an hour (tour, lesson and evaluation) and costs $50.00. (The evaluation lesson is included in the price of our New Student Lesson Packages. See our price list for more information. *Note: All lessons expire 60 days from date of purchase. Prices are subject to change. Please contact our office for current prices and schedules.)

Call our school office at (530) 680-1897 to make an appointment for your first evaluation. You must schedule the evaluation before you can begin riding lessons. The evaluation fee of $50.00 needs to be paid for at the time of evaluation. If you choose to purchase the New Student Package, the evaluation fee will be credited towards the package.

Please read our Release of Liability & Assumption of Risk Agreement. You must agree to this and sign before riding in our facility.

Riding Clothes and Equipment . . . For your comfort and safety, we require a few basic items. For your evaluation, you will need a pair of boots or hard-soled shoes with a 1/2" heel. Whatever you choose, make sure they are comfortable and fit properly. After you have taken the evaluation and our Horsemanship "Tack" class and are ready to begin lesson, you must have riding boots specially designed for riding.

For English style riding, ankle-high paddock boots or knee-high leather riding boots are appropriate. For Western style riding, either standard cowboy boots or ropers are appropriate. Jeans or long pants can be worn for either English or Western style riding. If you ride English, you may be more comfortable in breeches or jodhpurs.

For the safety of all our student, an approved riding helmet is always worn in the stall (for all students 8 & under) and while mounted on school horses. The School provides helmets for use during your first few lessons, but you are required to purchase your own ASTM-SEI approved helmet after your first lesson package is completed.

T.E.S Helmet Policy

applies to all students, including students who own their own horses.

· Helmets must be properly-fitted ASTM-SEI approved helmets.

· Any student mounted on a school horse must wear a helmet.

· All students in HFA riding classes and shows must wear helmets, whether they are riding school horses or privately-owned horses.

· New students must purchase their own helmets after completing our introductory programs, such as the Introductory Lesson Package or the LACC Program.

· Current students must have their own ASTM-SEI helmets.

The Horsemanship Class . . . We believe that good horsemanship includes knowing how to care for your lesson horse before and after your riding lesson as well as how to work around horses safely. All students are required to take the Horsemanship Class (also known as the Tack Class) as soon as possible after the first evaluation lesson. This two-hour class will teach you HFA safety rules and provide both demonstration and hands-on experience for how to catch, groom, tack and untack your lesson horse as well as special procedures for hot or cold weather. Please see our Tack Up Policy for more information.

Lesson Procedures . . . Here are some guidelines to make your time at HFA as hassle-free as possible.

· We expect you to arrive 30 minutes prior to the start of your lesson so that you can groom and tack up your lesson horse as well as to take care of any administrative tasks such as buying lesson packages or scheduling lessons.

· When you arrive, Pay for you lesson at this time (by check or cash ) or indicate that you have a pre-paid lesson package.

· Applying the procedures that you learned in the Horsemanship Class, prepare your horse for your lesson. When you are ready, line up in the parking lot near the cars, facing the barn, and wait for your instructor to take you to your lesson arena. Do not mount your horse at this time.

· After your lesson, you are expected to untack your horse, unless another student is using your horse in the next lesson. Plan to stay at least 30 minutes after your lesson to care for your horse. Weather conditions may require you to provide additional horse care, such as sponging down, walking a hot horse or removing mud during the rainy season.

Scheduling Lessons . . . You may schedule lessons by phone or in person. The riding school phone number is (530) 680-1897

Canceling Lessons:

· Since your lesson reserves time with your instructor and the exclusive use of a school horse, we require that you cancel any lessons you cannot attend at least 24 hours before the start of the classes. If you do not cancel a lesson and do not show up for it, it will be considered a "no show" and you may be charged for it.

· Cancellations may be made by phone or in person. Call the School office at (530) 680-1897 and You may also reschedule the lesson at this time.

Procedures for Rainy Weather:

· Classes are generally held if at all possible. Do not assume that your lesson has been cancelled. It is up to you to call and cancel due to rain if classes are being held.