Laura Edwards was the lucky winner of my recent simulator lesson competition and enjoyed a half hour session with me earlier this month. A lifelong rider who has owned horses for 15 years, Laura had previously had a brief demo on a simulator at Your Horse Live and had seen social media posts about simulator lessons and thought it looked interesting. But the question remained; how beneficial and realistic would a simulator be? Following her lesson with me, Laura has now experienced first hand the many benefits of a simulator lesson and feels it has made a real difference to her riding for both now and in the future.
She said “I knew I have a few faults with my riding position which the simulator and Sarah very quickly picked up. The great thing about a lesson on the simulator is that we could work out what my body was doing, why and how to fix it. Having the ability for your instructor to be able to move you physically while you’re riding is a real bonus and a quick way to learn. The lesson also picked up some things I didn’t realise I was doing which was great. The half hour flew by and I felt my head may explode with the information.”
Laura continued “Moving forward and trying to practice what I learnt is always the challenging part but Sarah has proved to be fantastically supportive. I called her when I had some questions regarding the simulator lesson and she was very open to discussing and helping me understand. Since the simulator lesson, I booked a lesson with Sarah on my own horse which allowed me to practice what I learnt and also learn from Sarah’s vast experience. As a person, Sarah is incredibly enthusiastic, friendly and knowledgeable; she explains things in a way that are very easy to understand. I would highly recommend both a simulator lesson and a riding lesson with Sarah – after many years of riding I feel I have learnt a lot in my two sessions with Sarah. Winning the competition was fantastic but will certainly only be the start of this new journey.”
I run regular simulator lesson clinics at Wildwoods Riding Centre in Tadworth, Surrey with upcoming clinics taking place on Saturday 2ndMarch, Friday 22ndMarch, Saturday 30thMarch and Saturday 20thApril. An alternative to traditional riding lessons, during a simulator lesson you’ll have the opportunity to concentrate on all aspects of your riding, some of which are not easily done whilst riding a live horse. I’ll be on hand right next to you to make positional adjustments, which would be impossible on a live horse when in trot or canter! It also allows you to track your progress over time. Sessions are open to riders of all levels and are either 30 or 60 minutes. Find out more about simulator lessons here and keep track of dates of upcoming sessions here.
