Giddy Up Gelsey, LLC
Private English Riding Lessons
Stephanie Mallick
I’m Stephanie Mallick, and like all great things, I became a riding instructor by accident. One of my best friends, Heather, asked me if I could teach her daughter, Nara, on my show horse Gelsey. Her riding instructor had quit and Nara was crazy about horses. The problem was I had never done it, was quite nervous, and Gelsey was frankly a frisky horse. I told her we would do it for free for the first lesson and see how it went. Gelsey surprised me and somehow knew Nara was a beginner and took care of her. I loved it so I got permission from the barn and an agreement to pay them part of the lesson money, called a ring fee. I thought of a name that rhymed, and my business “Giddy Up Gelsey” was born. Even though Gelsey is now deceased, I kept the business name because it honors a great lesson horse.
I am extremely lucky to have a home as staff English Instructor at Abenaki Farm. The entire place is fun and loaded with good karma. I no longer have to travel to several barns in one day, and the facility and indoor allow me to teach in every season.
I teach 5 year olds to 70 year olds. I want the child to be at least 5 so they are big enough to ride a horse and understand the lesson. I teach beginners and accomplished riders. I like the diversity. I mostly teach on school horses, but some clients do have their own horse, and I also exercise some horses. The rule is if you can safely get on and off the horse, I’ll teach you. I do not discriminate. I have athletic riders, scared riders, casual riders, and good riders, and one summer I had the privilege to teach a mentally disabled rider and was a joy to teach.
My lessons always start with good horsemanship. Every student learns and gets familiar with the horse and gently introduces themselves by brushing and tacking up. They also get a dose of some natural horsemanship, which is groundwork that gives them horse sense, common sense and the understanding of how a horse thinks. Remember horses are by nature the prey - the nervous ones, the spooky ones. They need someone to be the boss, the rider. Not to beat them into submission but to ask kindly, but firmly. They usually weigh over 1000 pounds, and they can really push you around. During the lesson I always ask the student who is in charge and they learn to say loudly, “Me!”
When they get on and when we first start I make sure we are both breathing. I constantly say, “Don’t panic.” Its more my reassurance then theirs. I’m a very nervous person but as an incredible friend and neighbor Ruth once told me that witnessed me teach, once I’m in teaching mode, it transforms me into a confident better Stephanie. I am more at easy on a horse or with a horse teaching then anywhere else in the world.
My purpose in teaching is not to take the students to the Olympics. It’s for us to stay safe, learn something and have fun. I try to end the lessons with summing up the positive points so they remember them. And sometimes my students walk away with some real self esteem and a smile on their face and its really worth it.
Some clients I have had for over 7 years and they competed with Gelsey in training level dressage. One student went to UNH for the riding program. Most students just want some time in the saddle and a relationship with the horse. A relationship with a horse is a spiritual one for me. It is a bond and teamwork to make riding work.
I put everyone on the lunge line, which is like a long leash and the horse circles around me. They learn to be centered, balanced and use soft aids. Aids are your leg or a squeeze of the reins. On the lunge line I have control of the reins and they work on their seat. I also usually run with the horse when they first learn to trot. That way I control the speed of the horse and I lose some weight. I usually make it around the arena twice at most and then we take a walk break. I like to walk with my students so I can see first hand what is going on and that they can hear me. I always wear my riding clothes so I can demonstrate something on the horse or give the horse a quick schooling if there is a problem. I explain to the student why I am asking them to give the horse an aid or put their hands on the reins a certain way because if I explain it they will remember it. I also never respect a riding instructor if they haven’t ridden the horse I’m riding and haven’t literally ridden in my boots.
We work on one issue at a time and I don’t bombard them with negatives. They need to be critiqued to get better but they also need confidence. I never yell. I’ve taken too many lessons myself where I went home crying. I make everyone talk to me. That way I constantly check in with them and make sure they are not scared. We laugh a lot. I like to get to know my students as people and not just clients. And in the end I realize I’ve learned as much as they have because I can see my own weaknesses as a rider and as a person better in a student than myself and we end up both better because of it.
In general the kids are brave and they listen and trust me, but don’t always understand the concepts. There’s math in those 20-meter circles and diagonals in dressage training and physics in the centripetal force in the canter. I don’t have any of my own kids unless you count the four-legged kind, but I enjoy them, so I get to borrow them for an hour and give them back. The adult riders catch on with the technicalities but worry so much they are going to fail somehow. They also have aches and pains, not as fit and athletic as the kids, and feel free to say no to me when I ask them to pick up a canter.
I am a decent rider, not a great rider, but always a serious rider. I put in at least five days a week. On a good day in good weather I ride 2-4 horses and give one or two lessons. The best part of the day is when I can gallop Abe, my show horse. He is a very special horse. Not only is he drop-dead gorgeous, we nicknamed him “Abe the Babe”- but talented in dressage & jumping. I taught him how to jump. After five years he now gallops the cross-country course clean at Beginner Novice level. To ride Abe is magical. The only way to explain it is that when I ride him, it makes my soul sing.
I didn’t start riding until I was 19, but I’ve had lots of lessons, and now I try to ride as many different horses as possible. To ride another horse is a privilege and you learn something every time you ride. So I do it whether I get paid or not. I’m never said I was a horse trainer. I’m too old and too smart to break baby horses. I merely spiff-up the unfit horses and remind them of their prior training. There are much better riders & trainers out there. What I do have is experience, and I get to ride all the time. I have worked for many barns. I’m been to many shows. I have tons of useless ribbons. My main forte is dressage but I also teach low-level jumping and hunter pleasure. Dressage is like a dance with a horse, when you do it right, you flow from one gait to another in different formations at different letters in the dressage ring. I also practice natural horsemanship because it can always make riding and handling horses safer.
I am trained as a lawyer, so I wrote up my own release and LLC and understand the liabilities. I made a lot of money out of law school, but I was miserable. Being a lawyer makes me a problem solver and understand the technical things so I study the rider and a horse and try to find a solution. And when I can’t, I ask a trainer or rider who knows more than me. I always continue to train with an instructor and compete in shows because it makes me a better rider and instructor. I read a lot about training and try different things like western lessons because all the riding disciplines are related and compliment each other.
A lot of people have helped me along the way and I appreciate it so I give back. I don’t charge a lot because I want someone without a horse to have access to riding lessons. I charge $40/hour and it goes directly into the gas tank, or towards the board.
I also am an organization 4-H horse leader for the North Country Saddle Club. I like to give back to my students and anyone who is horse crazy and wants to learn about caring for horses. Over the years, I have volunteered to help many horse shows, big and small, because there are not enough volunteers out there. I have also run 2 schooling dressage shows and two 4-H Fun Shows.
I always have a horse project or 4-H project going. You know I didn’t plan for life to turn out this way. My back always hurts and my shoulder, and I live in dirty breeches, but I’m a lucky person; I got the best job in the world!
I am extremely lucky to have a home as staff English Instructor at Abenaki Farm. The entire place is fun and loaded with good karma. I no longer have to travel to several barns in one day, and the facility and indoor allow me to teach in every season.
I teach 5 year olds to 70 year olds. I want the child to be at least 5 so they are big enough to ride a horse and understand the lesson. I teach beginners and accomplished riders. I like the diversity. I mostly teach on school horses, but some clients do have their own horse, and I also exercise some horses. The rule is if you can safely get on and off the horse, I’ll teach you. I do not discriminate. I have athletic riders, scared riders, casual riders, and good riders, and one summer I had the privilege to teach a mentally disabled rider and was a joy to teach.
My lessons always start with good horsemanship. Every student learns and gets familiar with the horse and gently introduces themselves by brushing and tacking up. They also get a dose of some natural horsemanship, which is groundwork that gives them horse sense, common sense and the understanding of how a horse thinks. Remember horses are by nature the prey - the nervous ones, the spooky ones. They need someone to be the boss, the rider. Not to beat them into submission but to ask kindly, but firmly. They usually weigh over 1000 pounds, and they can really push you around. During the lesson I always ask the student who is in charge and they learn to say loudly, “Me!”
When they get on and when we first start I make sure we are both breathing. I constantly say, “Don’t panic.” Its more my reassurance then theirs. I’m a very nervous person but as an incredible friend and neighbor Ruth once told me that witnessed me teach, once I’m in teaching mode, it transforms me into a confident better Stephanie. I am more at easy on a horse or with a horse teaching then anywhere else in the world.
My purpose in teaching is not to take the students to the Olympics. It’s for us to stay safe, learn something and have fun. I try to end the lessons with summing up the positive points so they remember them. And sometimes my students walk away with some real self esteem and a smile on their face and its really worth it.
Some clients I have had for over 7 years and they competed with Gelsey in training level dressage. One student went to UNH for the riding program. Most students just want some time in the saddle and a relationship with the horse. A relationship with a horse is a spiritual one for me. It is a bond and teamwork to make riding work.
I put everyone on the lunge line, which is like a long leash and the horse circles around me. They learn to be centered, balanced and use soft aids. Aids are your leg or a squeeze of the reins. On the lunge line I have control of the reins and they work on their seat. I also usually run with the horse when they first learn to trot. That way I control the speed of the horse and I lose some weight. I usually make it around the arena twice at most and then we take a walk break. I like to walk with my students so I can see first hand what is going on and that they can hear me. I always wear my riding clothes so I can demonstrate something on the horse or give the horse a quick schooling if there is a problem. I explain to the student why I am asking them to give the horse an aid or put their hands on the reins a certain way because if I explain it they will remember it. I also never respect a riding instructor if they haven’t ridden the horse I’m riding and haven’t literally ridden in my boots.
We work on one issue at a time and I don’t bombard them with negatives. They need to be critiqued to get better but they also need confidence. I never yell. I’ve taken too many lessons myself where I went home crying. I make everyone talk to me. That way I constantly check in with them and make sure they are not scared. We laugh a lot. I like to get to know my students as people and not just clients. And in the end I realize I’ve learned as much as they have because I can see my own weaknesses as a rider and as a person better in a student than myself and we end up both better because of it.
In general the kids are brave and they listen and trust me, but don’t always understand the concepts. There’s math in those 20-meter circles and diagonals in dressage training and physics in the centripetal force in the canter. I don’t have any of my own kids unless you count the four-legged kind, but I enjoy them, so I get to borrow them for an hour and give them back. The adult riders catch on with the technicalities but worry so much they are going to fail somehow. They also have aches and pains, not as fit and athletic as the kids, and feel free to say no to me when I ask them to pick up a canter.
I am a decent rider, not a great rider, but always a serious rider. I put in at least five days a week. On a good day in good weather I ride 2-4 horses and give one or two lessons. The best part of the day is when I can gallop Abe, my show horse. He is a very special horse. Not only is he drop-dead gorgeous, we nicknamed him “Abe the Babe”- but talented in dressage & jumping. I taught him how to jump. After five years he now gallops the cross-country course clean at Beginner Novice level. To ride Abe is magical. The only way to explain it is that when I ride him, it makes my soul sing.
I didn’t start riding until I was 19, but I’ve had lots of lessons, and now I try to ride as many different horses as possible. To ride another horse is a privilege and you learn something every time you ride. So I do it whether I get paid or not. I’m never said I was a horse trainer. I’m too old and too smart to break baby horses. I merely spiff-up the unfit horses and remind them of their prior training. There are much better riders & trainers out there. What I do have is experience, and I get to ride all the time. I have worked for many barns. I’m been to many shows. I have tons of useless ribbons. My main forte is dressage but I also teach low-level jumping and hunter pleasure. Dressage is like a dance with a horse, when you do it right, you flow from one gait to another in different formations at different letters in the dressage ring. I also practice natural horsemanship because it can always make riding and handling horses safer.
I am trained as a lawyer, so I wrote up my own release and LLC and understand the liabilities. I made a lot of money out of law school, but I was miserable. Being a lawyer makes me a problem solver and understand the technical things so I study the rider and a horse and try to find a solution. And when I can’t, I ask a trainer or rider who knows more than me. I always continue to train with an instructor and compete in shows because it makes me a better rider and instructor. I read a lot about training and try different things like western lessons because all the riding disciplines are related and compliment each other.
A lot of people have helped me along the way and I appreciate it so I give back. I don’t charge a lot because I want someone without a horse to have access to riding lessons. I charge $40/hour and it goes directly into the gas tank, or towards the board.
I also am an organization 4-H horse leader for the North Country Saddle Club. I like to give back to my students and anyone who is horse crazy and wants to learn about caring for horses. Over the years, I have volunteered to help many horse shows, big and small, because there are not enough volunteers out there. I have also run 2 schooling dressage shows and two 4-H Fun Shows.
I always have a horse project or 4-H project going. You know I didn’t plan for life to turn out this way. My back always hurts and my shoulder, and I live in dirty breeches, but I’m a lucky person; I got the best job in the world!
