December…. here we are again! The days are getting shorter, but the activities list is getting longer. School concerts, winter parties, family gatherings and shopping, oh my! Although it takes effort to get here, the time spent in the saddle is not time wasted. Riding requires you to be where your hands are, you must be in the present. It allows you to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the season and just breathe.
I hope you enjoy our last newsletter of the year. Find time to reflect on the progress you’ve made in your riding this year and think of what you want to accomplish in 2025.
Robin
December 3 & 10
Make Horseshoe Ornaments - Deck the Stalls
6pm
December 16 - 21
Level Up Week
December 23 - 28
Winter Break Classes - No Regular Lessons
December 29
Spring Trimester Begins
Level Up Week supports opportunities for our students to grow as compassionate, knowledgeable horse people through unmounted curriculum. Hopefully you have been attending Horsemanship classes and trying to get some hands-on time doing the things horses need us to do to keep them healthy and well behaved. Each level also has a riding component which your riding instructor tracks through your weekly lessons.
Your instructor will give you a progress report at the beginning of the month. This report will show you the things your instructor feels you have accomplished and can do without supervision. Any skills left unchecked are things you still need to learn and/or practice to be considered skilled enough to Level Up.
There will be several opportunities in December to work with an instructor or mentor to get through any missing information in the level you are working on. Please see the Horsemanship calendar for dates and times.
Our judge, Kate Kostenbader, spent a little time with each student giving them a pointer or two to work on to improve their riding. She knows riding is a journey requiring many incremental changes that lead to success.
$100
Monday December 23 Red & Yellow Levels
Thursday December 26 Yellow & Green Levels
Friday December 27 Green & Blue Levels
Saturday December 28 All Levels
Each day will follow this format.
9:00-9:30 Establish horsemanship skills needed
9:30-11:30 Study/practice/test
11:00-12:00 Group 1 & 2 Open Ride
12:00-1:00 Group 1 & 2 Untack/Review
December 23, 26, 27 & 28
1:00-1:30 Individual Goal Setting
1:30-2:00 Individual Goal Setting
2:00-2:30 Individual Goal Setting
2:30-3:00 Individual Goal Setting
3:00-3:30 Individual Goal Setting
Parents – this is a great way to watch your children grow up, too.
It is an annual tradition at Greenbriar to take photos in the fall. Gwenaelle Clement Photography is our house photographer and provides many opportunities throughout the year for photo shoots around the farm and with the horses.
Building community is one of our goals for this year, so we thought we could ask our Horse Lovers to be a mentor for a younger student who wants to be around the barn more. Many of our younger students wish they could be at the barn more, so we devised a plan to allow that to happen. Current Horse Lovers know and understand the procedures we follow to take excellent care of our horses. Horse Lovers do a lot of behind the scenes work! Activities include scrubbing buckets, cobwebbing, cleaning water tanks, helping with class changeovers, moving horses to the areas that they are needed next.
If you are interested in being a mentor or being a buddy please
ask your instructor help you find a match.
As social animals, both humans and horses thrive in group settings; it fosters community, camaraderie, and a sense of belonging. Friendships formed in these lessons can create a supportive and inspiring environment.
While group lessons may not provide the same level of individual attention as private sessions, they do better prepare riders to handle variable situations. In a group setting, riders receive individual instruction and are then allowed time on their own to process and practice that information. This gives the rider time to assess how the horse responds to their use of the new skill. Riders not only benefit from receiving direct instruction but also from observing others, hearing feedback for other riders, and gaining new perspectives, which significantly expands their knowledge.
Group lessons encourage riders to think ahead and develop skills like communication, spatial awareness, and adaptability. The momentum of a group can also help riders focus on refining their position, as the shared energy minimizes the need to concentrate solely on forward movement.
Spending time with other riders provides opportunities to appreciate the diversity of horse personalities, which helps riders prepare and adapt to different mounts. There is also something to be said about seeing peers succeed – and even struggle – reminding us that riding is a journey filled with ups and downs, fostering resilience and motivation.
Whether it’s learning arena etiquette or building confidence, group lessons are a fun and effective way to grow as a rider while enjoying the support of a like-minded community.
*You pay for one lesson and get the other lessons for free!
PO Box 435 - Springville, IA, 52336
United States
+1 319-854-7115