This will be a fairly long post so I will apologize in advance! Lessons have been closed down since March due to the COIVD-19 pandemic and high risk people in my household and a death in my family. Since then I have been waiting for more information about how the virus spreads and how I can keep my family safe and responsibly teach lessons so that my students and parents can also remain safe.
I am glad to say that we will soon be offering riding lessons again. Ms. Kristin will not be returning to teach lessons due to financial reasons so our lesson schedule will be more limited than normal at least to start off with.
Lessons will be re-opening on September 5th. Initially they will only be open to riding students that can put a halter on, lead, groom and tack up their horses without help. Once I have the process worked out I will expand lessons to students that do not know how to tack up on their own — for those students the horses will be tacked and ready for you in the arena to address the concerns of needing close contact/instruction in that area.
Masks will be required by all people (students/parents/siblings/any other visitors) who are not on a horse and are outside of their vehicle. Masks must cover your mouth and nose. Students, once mounted, may remove their mask for the duration of their lesson. Before dismounting students must put their masks back on. Anyone without a mask will be asked to leave. We cannot provide masks for you and we will not carry any extra on hand in case you forget yours. We recommend that all students wash their hands with soap and water and/or use hand sanitizer directly after their lesson. Hand sanitizer will always be available in our bathroom.
To reduce the possibility of transmission I’m asking all visitors to maintain 6ft of social distancing unless you are a part of a family unit. This includes myself and my daughter. If you or someone in your family unit have been coughing, have a fever, sore throat or feel sick in any way do not come to the barn. I will gladly reschedule your lesson in 2 weeks time and this helps keep everyone safe, including myself, so that lessons can continue. If you or your family unit becomes sick after your lesson please notify us immediately so we can alert everyone who was in the lesson of the potential exposure.
As always you will be riding and visiting us at your own risk, even with these measures in place we cannot guarantee your health or safety from the virus. Thank you for helping us stay safe so we can get back to doing the thing we love most, riding horses!!!
TLDR; Lessons will be opening with limited availability on September 5th. They will initially be restricted to riding students who can halter/lead/groom/tack up on their own. Masks will be required by anyone who is not in their car. Masks may only be removed by students once they are mounted on the horses and must be replaced before they dismount.