Ages 7 & Up

PonyPros has fun lessons for kids and kids at heart

During the summer, lessons are offered 7 days a week, taking place on the hour from 9-1. During the school year, lessons are offered weekdays 1-6pm, weekends 9-2pm. A 1-hr lesson is $28. Lessons generally have a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio, with special large group jumping or trail riding sessions for more advanced students once a month.

The gist of it...

At PonyPros, we teach horsemanship, not riding. We teach our students how to train (communicate with) ponies so that they can safely enjoy a life-long passion for horses. We ride mostly bareback and bitless with some riding in treeless, English, and Western saddles. Students pay $28 for one lesson per week. After they have the skill (usually after about a month of lessons), students start coming out for at least one self-directed session per week, so they learn to trust their instincts and become self-reliant. During self-directed sessions, students work on pony training, tricks, and games on the ground, take the horses on trail walks, and ride when they have the skill.

Our discipline is called EQxpressionsism, a form of natural horsemanship, both because it is about developing two-way communication with the horse through facial expressions, and because it is about horsemanship as an expressionistic artistic practice.

Here are some frequently asked questions:

Do you English or Western?

Neither. To the best of our knowledge, there is no other program like ours in the country, possibly in the world. We teach kids to train ponies using Natural Horsemanship. Our program is a hybrid between English, Western, hunter/jumpers, French Classical Dressage, and clicker training. We mostly ride bareback and bitless. Our goal is to give students a "backyard" horse experience even though they live in the suburbs and travel to the barn. We focus on trail riding and jumping.

How much are lessons?

$28/hour with occasional scholarship opportunities based on combined need and merit. Included in the $28, students get to come in for self-directed play sessions with their lesson ponies at no charge. Self-directed sessions are required, but it is also a huge privilege to get to spend time with the ponies at no extra charge. Our program is a "horse immersion" program for kids who are passionate about horses.

What is the time requirement?

3 hours per week. One, 1-hr lesson after school on a weekday and one self-directed session per week for 2 hours, usually on the weekend or a Friday. After the student has sufficient skill, we ask that you arrive 15-30 minutes before your lesson in order to catch, groom, and saddle the pony.

What kind of commitment is there?

You can try 4 lessons where you pay at the time of the lesson. After that 4-lesson trial period, we ask you to write a check for a month's worth of lessons at the start of the month. Students can take anywhere from 1-4 lessons per week.

What do I need to buy?

After a 1-month trial period to make sure the child likes horses, parents are asked to buy a $40 riding helmet. We use safety stirrups so do not require you to purchase boots immediately, so long as the student's shoes protect his/her toes, but will ask you to purchase boots when your child begins the rising trot, which requires ankle support. Horse dirt does not come out so we recommend either jeans specifically for the barn or riding breeches, which are about $20-$40. Riding pants are preferable because they allow more flexibility in the hip.

What about carpooling?

Yes, please carpool! We have kids on the West Side and kids on the East Side. Many of them drive out together and the moms take turns supervising the self-directed sessions. We are also available to meet parents at Whole Foods after lessons so they don't have to drive all the way back out to the barn.

Do I have to stay the whole lesson?

No, please go to the grocery store or whatever you need to do. We supervise the kids for their whole lesson.

How long are lessons?

60 minutes. Some kids choose to stay longer to braid the ponies' tails and talk with their friends.

What if we are running late?

Please do not rush. I've found that most days when I am running late, the person I have to meet is running late too. Plus, the ponies are very sensitive to energy. We'd rather you show up in a good mood. We'll see you when we see the whites of your eyes. Take a deep breath when you hit the driveway and please slow to 10mph. Driving faster than that causes the gravel drive to degrade quicker.

Where is the ranch?

On the East Side of Bend, about 10 minutes East of Costco. We have, what we think of, as the best indoor arena in Bend, an outdoor arena, natural horsemanship playground, 5-acre riding field, and trails out 2 sides. Our ponies live in a herd environment where they have a dry-lot and grass pasture. Here are directions. Please make an appointment if you wish to visit.

What about home schoolers?

We love home schoolers. We're generally available as early as 1pm for lessons during the school year. A couple of our students will be going online school next year so they can spend more time at the barn. We will be assisting them with tutoring and rides to the barn.

Road Map

Here is a broad overview of the learning progression:


Step 1)

Learn to understand your pony on the ground.

Step 2)

Learn to ride on the longe so you have a balanced seat.

Step 3)

Learn to ride independently in an arena walk, trot, jumping, cantering.

Step 4)

After you can ride at a trot in the arena and are started on catering, then you can trail ride. Trail riding is not safe until you already have strong riding skills.

There are seven readily identifiable levels of horse experience:

  • Beginner:

    Fewer than 20 hours experience

  • Novice:

    21-80 hours experience

  • Intermediate:

    81-200 hours experience

  • Advanced:

    201-400 hours experience

  • Experienced:

    400 hours experience

  • Amateur:

    1000-10,000 hours experience

  • Professional:

    More than 10,000 hours experience
There is a saying among animal behaviorists - it takes...

1000 Hour Eyes

just to understand an animal. In other words, a student must devote 1000 hours of focused attention to watching a certain species of animal before the student is able to understand that animal's psychology and communication.

We've found that students need at least 3 hours around horses per week to continue improving. That's why students take at least 1 hour-long lesson per week and come for at least one 2-hour self-directed session per week. With less time than that, and students do not make steady enough progress towards "1000 hour eyes" and never become confident enough around horses to truly enjoy them. With even a week off from lessons, students back-track, loosing skill and confidence, which decreases their enjoyment.

A PonyPro is a student who is passionate enough about horses to crave 1000 hours of horse experience!


Many of our students achieve 1000 hours in 2-2.5 years. Here's how:

9.5-month school year:

2 days per week x 2 hours weekday, 3 hours weekend = 5 hours/wk, about 210 hours during the school year

2.5-month summer:

5 days per week x 3-5 hours per day = 15-25 hours/wk, about 150-250 hours during the summer

So, what do you learn in a traditional program?

  • Lead the horse
  • Groom the horse
  • Saddle the horse
  • Ride the horse
Actual learning time? About 40 minutes in the saddle.

Ok, so what do you learn from PonyPros?

The difference is that we try to milk every second you spend with the horse so that you get to your 1,000 Hour Eyes sooner. We make horse psychology the focus of our lessons so that even while you're catching, leading, and grooming your horse, you're focusing on what is really important.

  • Gain connection with the horse on the ground
  • Play synchronization games to put what you're learning about horse psychology and behavior into action
  • Ride on a longe and feel how the horse's body moves. How is he using his feet, back, shoulders, and neck?
  • Learn to steer the horse on leadline. Where are the horse's eyes looking? How is his body set up to make a sharp turn or a wide turn? Are you using your rein to move the hind end or front end?
  • Care for the horse. What does he eat? Why is his poop shiny? Why are his feet cracking? How come that other horse is picking on him?
Actual learning time? About 1.5-2 hours.

What else do the PonyPros do differently?

  • We take lots of photos and video for review. Students learn better when they can see themselves ride.
  • Students help teach other students. We take our best students to clinics around the Northwest and California where they help 4H groups, breeders, PonyClubs, and students at traditional stables.
  • Students have one primary horse partner who is "theirs," but also help train other ponies to gain experience. Students work with young ponies and rescue horses.
  • We have our own show circuit. Students compete at HEPP shows (Human-Equine Play with Purpose), showing in liberty/online, finesse/freestyle, trail, and jumping.
  • There are many opportunities for PonyPros students to lease a pony from a breeder. Leases are ordinarily very difficult to find.
  • We help our students make horsemanship videos so they are comfortable with internet and videographic technology, which will give them a huge hand up in future job markets.

Horseback Riding Rates

Group Lesson - $28/hour
Full Lesson Program - $425/month, 4 lessons/week
Pony Lease - $100-$200/month, plus lessons

Email

info@ponypros.net

Phone

(541) 848-9573