Spice Up Your Riding Lessons with a Spinner!

Instructors, have you ever incorporated a spinner into your lessons or camps? It's an excellent method to interact with your students and introduce variety. Adding a spinner to your toolkit can transform routine lessons into dynamic and engaging experiences. Here are numerous ways to utilize the spinner:

• Warm-Up Activities

  • Use the spinner to decide on warm-up activities. Spinner options might include different stretches for horse or rider, steering exercises, or playful exercises to get both horses and riders ready for the lesson ahead.

• Ground Exercises

  • Introduce a range of ground exercises by spinning the wheel. Activities might include leading the horse through a series of cones and poles, practicing transitions and backups etc. This keeps ground work interesting and varied.

• Riding Activities

  • Add excitement to riding activities by letting the spinner determine the lesson’s focus. Whether it’s trotting, cantering, or practicing figure eights, the spinner can guide the day’s riding challenge.

• Selecting Horses

  • If you have several horses, let the spinner decide which horse each student will ride. This ensures that riders get experience with different horses and learn to adapt to various equine personalities.

• Assigning Chores

  • Make chore assignments more fun by spinning the wheel. Tasks like mucking stalls, filling water buckets, and cleaning tack can be distributed randomly, adding an element of surprise to routine duties.

• Vaulting Routines

  • For those including vaulting in their curriculum, use the spinner to select different vaulting exercises. Options might include basic mounts/dismounts, flag, lunging practice or more advanced maneuvers, helping to keep vaulting sessions diverse and challenging.

• Role Reversal Where Riders Instruct

  • Encourage leadership and teaching skills by having older or more experienced riders spin the wheel to determine what they will teach the group. This can include specific riding techniques, horse care tips, or even leading a warm-up.

 The possibilities with a spinner are endless. Here are a few more ideas:

1. Follow-the-Leader: For younger riders, use the spinner to decide the leader’s task, which the rest will follow.

2. Simon Says: Riders on the ground can spin the wheel for what the riders on should do next in a fun game of simon says!

3. Horse Switching: Add horse names to the spinner so students switch horses throughout the lesson.

4. Fun Challenges: Include fun and silly challenges to keep the atmosphere light and enjoyable.

How to Implement a Spinner in Your Program

1. Create a Spinner: You can make a physical spinner or use a digital version available online.

2. Customize Options: Tailor the spinner to your lesson plan, including relevant activities and tasks.

3. Introduce the Spinner: Explain to your students how the spinner works and incorporate it into the lesson.

4. Rotate Roles: Allow different students to spin the wheel, fostering a sense of involvement and excitement.

Using a spinner can make your lessons more interactive and engaging. It keeps students on their toes and adds a playful element to the learning process. Let me know how you do/would use the spinner in your program—I’d love to hear your creative ideas!