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Riding Lessons at Cortijo Las Minas Equestrian Centre

At Cortijo Las Minas Equestrian Center we offer Riding lessons for all levels of rider individually and in groups.

Dorcas has over 30 years experience as a riding instructor teaching children and adults to ride.

She holds the British Horse Society's Assistant Instructor's Certificate, BHSAI since 1986 and also the "Técnico Deportivo en Equitación Nivel I" awarded by the Spanish "Federación Andaluza de Hípica" in 2008.

Over all these years she has developed a holistic vision of riding, taking into account the combination of horse and rider as a whole, not just in the physical sense, but also through the senses and the connection between you and your horse.

Learning to ride means so many things at once, so where to start?

Let's try taking it from the beginning:

People who approach the equestrian world and tell us that they would love to learn to ride a horse, obviously, feel attracted to these wonderful creatures.

BEGINNER:

Someone who has no previous knowledge or experience of riding. Without previous knowledge you can learn the basics in a few classes, depending on the physical  and mental condition of each person. There are no rules that say that in ten lessons, for example, you are going to learn to ride a horse. The ideal to progress rapidly is to listen carefully and follow the instructions, explanations and advice given. In approximately 6 individual lessons you can get the idea of how to get the horse to walk forward, steer it left and right and make simple turns going round the school, learn to stop the horse and try a little trot and maybe more. At the same time you will learn how to sit correctly and the reason why the correct position of the rider is so important. You will discover the application of the aids (the controls or signals you give the horse), the importance of your weight in the saddle, your balance and relaxation as a rider.

In each riding lesson we use simple warm up exercises through which we will help you to feel relaxed and comfortable on the horse, ready to enjoy an unforgettable experience.

Programme: Riding lessons for individuals and groups, adults and children.

From this point on there is a long journey of discovery, learning skills, technique, position, gaits, movements etc. Everyone has different motivations for learning to ride. Whether you want to ride a horse once a year when you are on holiday, to try this sport because someone in your family or group enjoys it or aspire to be an olympic rider in any of the equestrian disciplines, we are here to help you explore and achieve your goals.

The fact is, if you like horses and you take a few basic riding lessons, they will always stand you in good stead for any riding you may do in the future.

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NOVICE

Riders who are able to stay on in walk and trot, have had a few lessons, or who ride occasionally.

For riders of this level we will look at your position on the horse, analyse your ability and technique, help you to improve in every way and learn a lot more about controlling and getting the most from your horse.

A lot of people start riding casually, on a friend's horse, from time to time, when they go away for the weekend or on holiday etc. They learn to stay on the horse and control it a bit, then want to do more. However, without professional tuition it's easy to develop bad habits. When this happens it's time to take some lessons and improve your basic riding skills.

Once you have the basics right, we can dramatically improve your results with the horse, so that it listens to you, does what you ask of it when you ask it and goes where you want it to, instead of the horse taking you where it wants to go. We will look at your seat and position in the saddle and help improve these aspects, so you can ride more effectively.

We look at your application of the aids. Does the horse do what you are asking it? If not we will find a solution, in all gaits, walk, trot, canter and also halt.


We therefore work on your position, the application of the aids, your balance, relaxation how you can reduce tensions where there shouldn't be any, and your overall strength and flexibility. We are also looking at the same time at the movements of the horse which should be more or less what we ask of him. He should go where we want him to in the required gait paying attention to you and responding with rhythm and activity.

We work on techniques such as rising trot, diagonals, transitions and the execution of the basic school movements, so you can enjoy a more comfortable, confident and pleasurable riding experience.

Programme: Riding lessons for individuals and groups, adults and children

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RIDING LESSONS FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT TO RECOVER THEIR CONFIDENCE WITH HORSES

Riding is an exciting, deeply satisfying and challenging experience for all riders but sometimes things can go wrong.

Many people who decide to take riding lessons have already had some kind of incident with horses, generally for accidental reasons, through lack of propper supervision, poor teaching, choosing the wrong horse, etc. Have you had a frightening experience?

If you want to ride again but are a little afraid, anxious or nervous about what can happen we can help you. Here at Cortijo Las Minas Equestrian Centre we resolve these concerns with common sense, kindness and a lot of patience.

Firstly we go back and analyse what happened, then we talk about possible solutions. We concentrate on the great sensitivity which horses have towards our emotional state. We explore how our feelings can directly affect the horse and how we can learn to harness positive energy to develop trust and overcome our fears.


We use yoga and relaxation techniques to get over emotional difficulties and nervousness and via that relaxation we learn to connect with the horse.

Bit by bit we help riders who have had some kind of misfortune with horses regain their confidence. For this we recommend individual lessons

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INTERMEDIATE

Riders who ride more or less regularly, are competent in walk, trot and canter, do some jumping and want to improve their riding skills.

Continuing to learn to ride is always enjoyable. Once you have acquired the skills of the intermediate rider you will enjoy this fantastic sport even more. In fact, it gets more and more interesting.


When you can ride well at walk, trot and canter and you feel safe with your horse then you can start to develop more refined skills and get to know your horse better.
 
Depending on the objectives of each rider we can now improve technique, start jumping or introduce the more elementary movements of dressage, such as leg yielding and shoulder in.


Each step forward that we take will allow us to feel the movement of the horse with greater sensitivity. The rhythm of the paces, the balance, the impulsion and the forward movement.

During this process we will highlight areas for improvement as they crop up and apply constructive problem-solving to any areas of difficulty, always with the aim of developing you into a more confident, skilful and effective rider.

Programme: Riding lessons for individuals and groups, adults and children.

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ADVANCED

Riders who are competent in all gaits, walk, trot, canter, gallop and jumping who want to improve their skills and widen their experience.

At Cortijo Las Minas Equestrian Center we offer individual lessons for advanced riders.

We analyse your objectives which can be many and varied: to improve technique lost due to lack of practice, because you want to enjoy a thrilling ride on a spirited pure Andalusian horse or simply because you are on holiday and you feel like riding in a stunning setting.

For advanced-level lessons, we will look at your posture, the results obtained from the horses that you ride and where there are faults we help you correct them.

We offer a great variety of horses to ride, such as Altanero, our magnificent PRE stallion or Diablo , a challenging horse that works really well both on the flat and in jumping, Milana, at 10 years old or Intrepido, at 6 both with good ability and the necessary sensitivity for advanced dressage.

We work on the sensitivity of the rider, above all through the seat, balance and flexibility. We use yoga and relaxation techniques to eliminate tensions that can impede the fluidity of the movements in both the rider and the horse. We are always looking to achieve harmony between horse and rider. We will practise dressage movements to an advanced level including half pass and other lateral movements, flying changes, extension in trot and canter etc and also jumping using a lot of gymnastic work in combinations of various elements.

Programme: Individual riding lessons for adults and children.

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