Lessons at Seven Oaks are taught from beginner to intermediate for ages six and up, including adults.

Students are paired up with horses or ponies who fit their experience level and personality.  

While we have only one or two school masters, they are only used for those students who are just beginning or need a confidence boost.  We believe in challenging the rider by putting them on horses or ponies who will ask the rider to do more than "sit" on the horse and look pretty.  This makes for more confident riders with greater riding ability.

We have a wide range of horses available for lessons, from a 16.2 Trakehner gelding to medium and occasional small ponies.  Except for a few lesson horses who are too precious to ever go, our lesson pool is almost always changing as we take on new horses for the program.  Horses that have been in the lesson program for anywhere from a few months to a few years are often sold to students who have fallen in love with them.  We believe in recycling our lesson horses out of the lesson program in order to insure that they always enjoy their job.

With this wide range of horses and ponies, every student can be placed on a horse who will almost perfectly match their experience level and body-type.  One thing we have noticed - and that most students must learn - is that beginners often start on the kinder large horses and move to the sneakier ponies.  

Students are taught the basics of horsemanship from the beginning.  As students advance, they are taught new skills on the ground as well as in the saddle.  Starting with learning to brush a horse properly, a beginner will eventually be able to tack up their horse, bathe and even braid for horse shows.

Show Opportunities at Seven Oaks

Students at Seven Oaks are able to start showing at the beginner level and enter walk/trot classes once they have successfully ridden at that level for several months in the lesson environment.  The same goes for more advanced students.  Local shows offer a wide range of classes, from trot poles to 3' Hunter classes.  Fun shows offer trail classes, ride-a-buck and other ability-building classes for students to enter. 

Seven Oaks pairs students and horses up at shows for the best match possible.  Showing, especially for young riders and beginners, can be a nerve-wracking experience and we strive to make it as smooth and enjoyable as possible!

With this approach, horse and rider often make a winning team!

Students are required to bathe their horses the night before the show, often a group-effort between riders sharing the same horse.  Braiding is not required because of time restraints, but is encouraged by Anna for the more advanced riders.

Some are much harder to get clean than others!

Students are also required to wear appropriate attire at shows.  We stress the respect for the judge that wearing proper clothes implies.  We at Seven Oaks understand that show clothes are expensive and have taken measures to help parents and students with attaining show attire.  We have a large selection of riding helmets that students use in lessons, and several are black velvet or black Troxels.  We also have a few velvet covers for white helmets.  A selection of jackets are available in different sizes for students to borrow as well.  We also often have "consignment" show clothes that have been out-grown by other students.

Most summer shows waive jackets due to the heat.

Anna coaches students at shows in order to keep the experience as calm and familiar as possible.  With the excitement of a show, new people and new horses, the grounding effect of a coach is often all that it takes to center a rider and enable him or her to ride to the best of their abilities.

Students often enter in-hand showmanship and halter classes at fun shows that have a Western bent.  This is a new experience, with different clothes and different rules, and students often enjoy the break from the more straight-laced classes they are used to.