Good article for Horseguy

Yes, good article. I have edited it down to the points that are most obvious and powerfully destructive. It's the way things are today, and until students demand higher quality instruction it will go on as it is now.

Top 3 Reasons Why America’s Producing so Many Mediocre Instructors

1. Too many Instructors are not learning and teaching foundations and basics

... so many of our current instructors lack depth. They may have miles and miles of show ring experience, but they lack the fundamental foundation and do not understand how one principal depends on another to form a strong base of knowledge... We have a generation of copy cat instructors who see something but have no idea about the principles behind what they see. They teach it to students, some who become instructors themselves, and their knowledge is more shallow than their predecessors. This has created a spiraling down cycle and a dilution of the quality of instruction in the U.S.

2. Too many riding instructors in America are in the wrong profession.

... as spectacular as they and their horses are, they can’t explain why they do what they do... George Morris quotes former USET 3 day Coach, Jack LeGoff. Morris says, “When talking to Jack the other day about his new book, I asked him what was wrong. He hit the nail on the head, as usual: The young trainers are teaching their students to compete. They are not, necessarily, teaching them to ride.”

3. Too Many Riding Instructors Teach for the Wrong Reasons

... Money is a driving force in today’s horse industry ... A trainer’s lifestyle depends on clients and commissions. Many instructors and trainers strive to keep their students dependent on them so they can keep clients, and they teach “over their heads” in order not to lose their client to another barn.

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During the past several months since I shut down the farm lesson program and moved about an hour south, I have encountered this more than ever before. When I first move here I went to a few established barns and offered to teach on a limited basis because I enjoy it. I was willing to do a lesson fee split that was favorable to the facility owner because my motivation was more to teach than to make money. But uniformly, I was rejected. Most often no reason was given but the few comments I received it was clear that competition was the issue. I have ridden for 63 years, trained horses for over 40, and taught riding for 30 years. Most of the barn owners and managers I met who taught lessons were under 40 years old, many were in their 20s. My presence was a threat of exposing all that this article summarizes. Today the typical riding instructor, as the article says, is basically untrained, has no depth of knowledge and fears exposure of their pretended ability to teach riding.

But there is more. Not only are many of these so called instructors frauds in their work, many of the students are equally shallow in their desire to learn. They are the reciprocal for the "new" standard of the ineffective teacher. They say they want to learn collection and immediately describe head set. Their balance creates so much noise for a horse that the horse cannot hear a cue, yet these students want to jump 3'. On and on the list of unrealistic riding goals goes as many contemporary students want results without work. So, in a way you cannot blame the instructors who are essentially giving them what they want. Riding for them is an extension of their pet relationship with a horse.

I have found by now that the only student I want to teach is one who is a proven athlete. They have gone out for a sport in school or in a club and made a team that has competed with other teams. This establishes a minimal objective measure of gained skill and work in a sport. These students have a context for learning to ride. The antithesis of this is the mother who calls or emails and says her daughter has always loved horses and has had horse posters on her bedroom wall since she was 3 years old. While this may indicate some dedication, I have also found it is evidence of a romantic view of horses that is contrary to learning to ride well.

It's a mess here in America. Few teacher can teach effectively and few student riders truly want to learn the fundamentals. Our US Equestrian Federation, the organization that would be addressing this national problem is on the wrong side of many issues because of point number 3. in the article. The Federation is completely focused on money.