Scheduling Policy
Scheduling riding lessons is more complex than most other activities. Each lesson requires matching the rider with a suitable and available horse—considering the horse’s size, training level, and temperament—as well as an appropriate instructor. Horses are also limited in how many lessons they do each day and need scheduled rest periods between lessons to ensure their well-being. All of these factors are reviewed and aligned for each lesson booking.
Because of this complexity, we strictly adhere to our scheduling and cancellation policy. Every booking and cancellation requires significant time and management.
Lesson Booking Requests
We accept lesson booking requests for specific days and times. At the start of the booking process, we internally confirm the availability of a suitable horse and instructor. Lessons are not scheduled according to requests for specific horses or instructors; any such preferences included in a request will be disregarded.
Recurring Lessons
A recurring lesson is repeated weekly on the same day and at the same time. These lesson bookings are the most popular and receive scheduling priority. We also reserve the same horse and instructor each week to maintain consistency for students, horses, and instructors. However, changes may occur due to unforeseen circumstances.
Non-Recurring (Single) Lessons
Non-recurring lessons are booked individually and are not a weekly commitment like recurring lessons.
These lessons are subordinate to recurring lessons and may be cancelled if they conflict with a request for a recurring booking. Conflicts include:
Time Conflict – A new recurring student requests the same time slot.
Horse Availability Conflict – Each horse has a maximum number of rides per day. If a recurring lesson is booked with the same horse; whether at the same time, directly before or after the lesson, or if it would exceed the horse’s daily ride limit, then the non-recurring lesson may be cancelled to ensure appropriate spacing and workload for the horse.
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Booking requests for lessons are accepted up to 14 days in advance.
Lesson cancellations notices are accepted during the month of the cancelled lesson or up to 7 days before the start of that month.
Cancellation Policy
Definitions
Cancellation: Any change to the scheduled day or time of a lesson. Re-bookings are considered cancellations.
Free Cancellation: A cancellation that does not incur a charge for cancelled lesson.
Cancellation Notice: A verbal or written notification received, for one or more consecutive canceled lessons.
Cancellation Limit: The number of free cancellation notices allowed per month, based on membership tier.
Cancellation Cutoff: The latest time a cancellation notice must be received to qualify as a free cancellation.
Cancellation Notices: Timing
Lesson cancellations notices are accepted during the month of the cancelled lesson or up to 7 days before the start of that month.
Free Cancellation Notices Per Month
Bronze Membership: 1 cancellation notice per month, if received by 6pm the previous day.
Silver Membership: 2 cancellation notices per month, if received by 6pm the previous day.
Gold Membership: 4 cancellation notices per month, if received within 2 hours of the lesson.
Welcome Package: 1 cancellation notice, if received by 6pm the previous day.
Guest Lesson Student: 1 cancellation notice per month, if received by 6pm the previous day.
Legacy Student: 1 cancellation notice per month, if received by 6pm the previous day.
Cancellation Charges
Cancellations that do not qualify as a free cancellation or a cancellation illness exemption are charged the lesson price.
Cancellation Illness Exemption
To qualify for a cancellation notice exemption, illness-related cancellations must be received by 9 AM on the day of the lesson. A doctor’s note of assessment must be provided within 14 days of the notice to be eligible for the exemption.
Notes based solely on patient-reported symptoms, without an in-person or virtual assessment by the doctor, will not be accepted. The note must include the appointment date and confirm that the doctor assessed the patient for the illness during the appointment.
Illness-related cancellations follow the standard policy until a doctor’s note is received, at which point the record is amended to reflect a sickness exemption.
Late Arrival
If a lesson cannot proceed due to late arrival, the standard cancellation policy applies.
Please arrive 30 minutes before your lesson. Unexpected delays, such as traffic can impact arrival time. Lessons cannot be delayed due to scheduling constraints for instructors and horses.