All ages, all stages. Safe, professional, fun. Your horse or ours.
Beginners learn balanced, English seat, Dressage basics
- Excellent base for all disciplines and pleasure riding
- Safety-conscious, encouraging lessons start on the lead or lunge line
- Learn to groom and tack-up horses, make some equine friends
- Beginner lessons available year-round by appointment
- Dressage, Jumping
- Lunge Lessons
- Lessons on the Trail
School horses – trained & trustworthy
Enthusiastic qualified instructors work as a team
- Matched to student’s level
- Individual and group lessons
- Available every day except Monday
- Experienced teaching students with special needs
“Under the guidance of Cricket Hill’s caring and knowledgeable staff, our girls have grown from novices to experienced competitors. Cricket Hill takes the time to make sure each child advances in a safe and thoughtful progression. Our girls have learned how to be responsible and independent riders and feel like a valued part of the Cricket Hill community.“
– Kiersten Skog
mother of Ava and CarlyClick to learn What is Dressage?
The word dressage sounds like massage – and comes from the French word dresser, to train. To the untrained eye it looks easy, but like many equestrian sports, it serves the needs of a diverse range of horse lovers. It’s an Olympic equestrian sport; yet a basic training discipline for the backyard horse.
Dressage teaches a horse to be obedient, willing, supple and responsive. The horse freely submits to the rider’s lightest “aids” or body signals, while remaining balanced and energetic. The object of dressage is the harmonious development of the horse in both mind and body, and every horse, regardless of its type or use, can benefit from this training.
Dressage principles are a logical, step-by-step progression from simple to increasingly complex movements. More and more is asked of the horse as it becomes mentally and physically ready to respond to these demands.
The graceful movements performed in competition may look effortless, but are the result of years of training. The aids should be virtually imperceptible. A squeeze of the calf, a closing of the fingers, a shifting of the rider’s weight in the saddle should be all that is necessary to tell the horse what is required.
Dressage requires the horse and rider to combine the strength and agility of gymnastics with the elegance and beauty of ballet. The result is truly the best blend of sport and art. The highlight of a dressage competition is the Musical Freestyle in which the rider creates and choreographs to music an original ride of compulsory figures and movements.