Lessons – Maplewood

Your Reasons for Riding...

We have three different lesson programs designed to fit with your goals for riding. Each of the lesson programs are detailed here, including current prices. Simply click on each of the sections below to find out more about each program.

Pleasure

Simply for the love of horses...

Perhaps you are looking to stay active and be athletic. Perhaps you want to learn something new, or return to riding after having taken a break. Or maybe, you just love these amazing horses. Whatever your reason, the Maplewood horses are the perfect companions for your equestrian adventure.

What to expect...

The pleasure riding program is particularly designed for those who are new to riding, as well as lifelong equestrians looking to ride for pleasure while still developing skills. The focus of the lessons will be on skills development and enjoying some time with our equine companions. Private or semi-private lessons are available and lessons are 80 to 90 minutes long. This includes 30 minutes in the barn with the Lesson Prep Leaders to help prepare the horse for the riding portion of the lesson. This is followed by 30 minutes in the riding arena with the coach. The lesson finishes with another 20-30 minutes in the barn to help prepare the horse to return to its paddock. Pleasure lessons are offered Tuesday mornings, Wednesday evenings, Saturdays.

Recreation

On the path to leasing or owning your own horse?

This program is geared towards students who are interested in leasing and want to develop more equestrian skills prior to starting, for those leasing already, or those looking to purchase their own horse (in the short term or long term). These lessons are not for beginners and will work on the foundational skills already developed through our pleasure program. Students who lease or who own their own horse require confidence in ground handling skills and equine care/management. This program will provide one lesson per month that will work on developing unmounted equestrian skills. This may include lessons such as ground handling (leading, tying), lunging, equine stretching and health care, and many other topics! Small group lessons (3 students) are available and lessons are 2 hours long. This includes 45 minutes in the barn with the Lesson Prep Leaders to help prepare the horse. This is followed by 45 minutes with the coach. The lesson finishes with another 30 minutes in the barn to help prepare the horse to return to its paddock. Recreational Lessons are offered Monday evenings, Thursday evenings, and Friday mornings.

Competition

Sportsmanship, talent, and training meet here

Our Maplewood Show Team competes in a variety of different levels. We host our In-house Show Series as a cost-effective way to get involved in horse shows. We also support a team of off-property competitors who wish to compete in dressage and hunter shows. Competitors who compete with our school horses attend local and regional ESD (Equestrian Skills Development), Schooling, and Silver level dressage shows, and local and regional Schooling and Bronze hunter shows. We are also proud to have our boarders compete with their horses at their chosen level(s). Although equestrian sport can be a solitary pursuit, Maplewood works hard to make it a small team environment with different people taking on mentoring, assisting, and grooming roles, as well as coordinating the competitors to work together for their season. We put significant value in the care of the horse, sportsmanship, and doing one's best, regardless of the results.

What to expect...

This program is geared towards students who are interested in competing. These lessons are not for beginners and will build on the foundational skills already developed in our Pleasure Program. Our coaches will tailor the lessons to developing skills that are essential for dressage, and hunter. In order to compete, students need to be able to manage horses on the ground, so one lesson per month will be dedicated to developing unmounted equestrian skills. This may include lessons such as ground handling (leading, tying), lunging, grooming (braiding and preparing for shows), equine stretching and health care, and many other topics! Small group lessons (3 students) are available and lessons are 2 hours long. This includes 45 minutes in the barn with the Lesson Prep Leaders to help prepare the horse. This is followed by 45 minutes with the coach. The lesson finishes with another 30 minutes in the barn to help prepare the horse to return to its paddock. Competitive Lessons are available Monday evenings, Thursday evenings, and Friday mornings.

Leasing:

We offer two different leasing programs depending on how often you would like to ride each week. Each of the leasing options are detailed in the sections below.

Quarter Leases

Lessons plus leasing

Quarter leasing is a great way to get a one-on-one bond with one horse in particular. Lease sessions are 2 hours maximum. You do not need to ride every session, you are always welcome to come out for your session just to spend time with your equine companion on the ground (lunging not permitted). Riding portions of leases are a maximum of 1 hour total (this includes warm-up and cool-down times). You will receive your lease horse in at least 1 lesson/month. Leases are available to students in the Recreational or Competitive lesson streams only and are subject to approval from the coach.

New:

Alternating flat and over fences can be added for an additional $50/month, for riders 18+ or riders with EC rider level 5 or higher (if under 18).

New:

Makeup lease sessions are no longer available. Your scheduled lease day and time are your responsibility, the lease fees will guarantee your horse availability for that day and time even if you cannot make it.

Half Leases

The benefits of owning a horse without all the stress of ownership!

Half leasing is a great way to get the feel of “owning” a horse without all of the responsibility of owning. Lease sessions are 2 hours maximum. You do not need to ride every session, you are always welcome to come out for your session just to spend time with your equine companion on the ground (lunging not permitted). Riding portions of leases are a maximum of 1 hour total (this includes warm-up and cool-down times). You will receive your lease horse in all lessons. Half leasing also comes with the benefit of the horse being stalled over night (either green barn or silver barn), access to a locker or cubby for your tack and supplies (in the barn your horse is stabled), and separate lease tack for your use (coach’s/trainer’s may use this tack as well). Half Leasing is a semester commitment. Leases are available to students in the Recreational or Competitive lesson streams only and are subject to approval from the coach.

New:

Alternating flat and over fences can be added for an additional $50/month (one lease/week only), for riders 18+ or riders with EC rider level 5 or higher (if under 18).

New:

What do I need?

An equestrian-approved riding helmet

Footwear with a small heel

Long pants

Face mask - optional

Scheduling

Our lesson schedule is on an online calendar. The calendar shows the full time of the lesson including the preparation phases before and after the riding portion. Once you have a regularly scheduled lesson, you will receive access to the TeamUp calendar. You need to be at the barn and ready to meet the Lesson Prep Leader(s) in the barn by the start time of your lesson on the calendar. A 10 minute grace period is given until the lesson is forfeited in order to ensure that sufficient time is there for the proper care and preparation for the horse.

Arriving at the Barn

There is an area inside the lesson barn designated for students to wait for the Lesson Prep Leader to bring you into the preparation area. You simply go through the lounge (follow the signs) and wait in one of the designated areas for the Lesson Prep Leader. Spectators are not limited at this point, but there is not a lot of space inside the viewing area in the arena, so please be respectful of other students' families and friends and make sure that everyone has space! Students are to arrive already ready to ride with your helmet and mask on. Please leave all belongings in your vehicle.

Inside the Barn

We have staff in the barn to guide and teach the students in the preparation phases of the horse. This area is for students and staff only. Regardless of the age of the student, no parents or guardians are allowed inside the barn. Each student will be given an area to work in and staff will be cleaning and sanitizing the surfaces, tack and equipment.

Makeup Lessons

If you are a Recreation or Competitive Lesson Program student and need to miss a lesson, we need at least 72 hours notice (more is appreciated!) for you to be eligible for a makeup lesson. Notice that you will need to miss a lesson needs to be sent directly to Michelle. Refunds are not provided for missed lessons. Makeup lessons are not guaranteed - we do our best to find options for everyone, but if the spaces that we have available don't match up with when you're available, then we may not be able to arrange a makeup. Makeup lessons may also not be the same type of lesson as the original - for example, if you are in the Competitive Program, a makeup lesson may be in the Pleasure program; or if the misses lesson was supposed to have been a jumping lesson, the makeup may be a flat lesson; or if your lesson was a semi-private lesson the makeup may be a small group lesson; etc.

Frequently Asked Questions...

I don't have an equestrian-approved helmet. Can I borrow one?

We have some school helmets that can be borrowed and they are sanitized after each use. However, we ask that if you are taking lessons on a regular basis, that you purchase a helmet from one of the equestrian stores in Ottawa. Apple Saddlery (Innes Road) and Greenhawk (Slack Road) will have a wide selection of approved helmets at a variety of price points. If you forget your helmet and need to borrow one from the school, there is a $5 plus HST rental fee to cover the costs of having staff sanitize the helmet.

I'm accompanying my child but would like to go for a walk. Can I take a walk around the farm?

You can stay and watch the lesson, but if you want to go for a walk, we recommend that you drop off your child for their lesson and go to some walking trails in the area. There is a wonderful multi-purpose trail only 4 km south of Maplewood on Dunning Road.

Can I wear running shoes?

This is a firm no! You must have footwear with at least a small heel. Regular rubber rain boots are usually perfect in the spring, summer, and fall, but not warm enough for winter. For winter, I typically recommend to invest in some winter riding boots as these can make the difference for keeping your feet warm during the lesson. But whatever you decide, it must have a heel and not just a bumpy tread. You will not be able to ride without proper footwear.

Do we ride the same horse every time?

Each school horse has something different to teach the students, so we try to mix it up as much as we can so that students learn to ride a variety of different horses and ponies.

Can I pick which horse I'd like to ride for my lessons?

It wouldn't be possible to manage everyone's requests for horses (Paddy can't work EVERY lesson! :), so we do not take requests. Horse assignments are based on a complex mix of factors including the overall workload of the horse, the type of lesson that the coach is going to be running, the skill level of the student, and more!

Can I pay by credit or debit card?

We are able to accept cash, cheques, and email funds transfers but are not set up to process debit or credit cards. We prefer email funds transfers for payment as this is our only contact-less method of payment.

Lesson Availability

Full

We are currently not adding anyone to the wait list. We hope to be able to open up the wait list to new people soon. We are happy to provide additional information on our programs, though. To have specific questions answered, please submit a Lesson Request Form:

Lesson Information Request