Outside of lessons, we encourage all students to spend extra time at the barn, developing bonds with the horses.

 

Rider Responsibilities:

All group and private lesson students are required to groom and tack horses and help care for the horses through barn chores. Specifically, riders in group lessons must:

• Arrive 30 minutes before each lesson to tack horses

• Stay 30 minutes after each lesson to untack horses

• Give an additional hour, either before or after their lesson, to help with barn chores

• Sign up to open or close the barn once each month 

Rider Equipment: 

All riders are required to wear an ASTM/SEI approved riding helmet, riding pants, and heeled boots with a smooth sole while riding. Riding gloves are not required, but highly recommended.

Exception: Vaulters are allowed to wear a bike helmet, long pants, and tennis shoes.

Liability Release:

Riders and their parent or guardian, as appropriate, are required to complete an application and sign the liability release prior to riding.

Fees:

Fees are due by the first of the month and are non-refundable, unless noted otherwise. Payments made after the 7th of the month will incur a $25 penalty, and the rider will not be able to ride until the penalty is paid. Habitual late payments may result in revoking riding lessons or raising the penalty fee, as determined by VRA management.

 

Accepted payment methods include check and/or money order.

On the check, make reference to the rider's or boarder's name to assist in our accounting. 

Changes to Group Lessons:

If a rider needs to change the number of lessons ridden each week, they must notify their instructor at least 30 days before the change takes effect.

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Riders moving to one lesson per week cannot be guaranteed their preferred class, and a meeting with the instructor will be necessary to determine whether or not the rider can maintain the level of riding for the requested class.

 

Cancellation Policy:
Students must give at least 24 hours' notice to change or cancel a lesson. 

• If a private lesson is cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice, then the lesson must be paid in full.

• If a group lesson is cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice, the lesson cannot be rescheduled.  

Make-up Policy for Group Lessons:

If a student cannot ride in their scheduled lesson, the lesson may be rescheduled, provided:

• There is space in the class

• The instructor has given prior approval

• The rider has notified the instructor in advance, per the cancellation policy, and

• The rider hasn’t yet met the number of paid lessons for the month.

Group lessons are billed monthly, and given how the monthly calendar falls, a rider may get an extra lesson in a month, effectively getting a 5th lesson for free. Rather than charging riders for this extra lesson, VRA will waive that fee, but students can only make up and/or reschedule paid lessons.

 

Missed lessons must be made up in the same month and cannot be carried over into the next month. If the missed lesson occurs in the last week of the month, it must be made up in the first week of the following month. Once the make-up lesson is scheduled, it cannot be rescheduled. If a student cancels a make-up lesson, that lesson is forfeited.

VRA instructors will announce holiday make-up dates for any recognized holiday falling on a day of regularly scheduled lessons (i.e., Monday through Saturday) and post it on bulletin boards in the barn.