Frequently Asked Questions

Lesson Questions

Each lesson takes about 2 hours from your scheduled time: 30 minutes to prepare your horse, 45 (private) or 60 (group) minutes of riding, and 30 minutes to untack and clean your space. For your first lesson, please come 5-10 minutes early so we can complete waivers and check that your equipment is suitable. Riders are welcome to come early or stay late, but children at the barn outside of their lesson time are expected to be supervised.

What do I need to bring for a lesson?

Each rider needs:
– Long Pants: No jeans please! Leggings or riding breeches both work well.
– Boots with a heel of at least 1.5cm: Approximately the width of a finger.
– An ASTM certified riding helmet: Different from a bike helmet. If you don’t have your own, you can rent them from us for $5 per helmet per ride.
– Clothes for the weather: in the winter, our arena and barn are protected from the wind but not the cold.
[Optional] – An apple or carrot for your horse!
Open toed shoes are not permitted in the barn. This applies not just to riders, but also anyone else in the barn.

If you are looking for riding gear, we have a small selection of used riding equipment for sale. This includes tall riding boots, paddock boots, half chaps, breeches, show shirts, show jackets, and safety vests. Ask your instructor if you are interested in checking things out.

What ages do you teach?

How do I book and pay for a lesson?

How do I cancel or reschedule a lesson?

If you have to miss a lesson, please let us know by email at least 24 hours in advance. One lesson can be made up at the end of the month. Lessons that are not cancelled 24 hours in advance, or made up at the end of the month, are forfeited. If you frequently miss lessons, you may be asked to choose a different time slot that works better for you.
Lesson packages only ever include 4 weeks of lessons. The 5th week of each month (29th, 30th, 31st) is set aside as rest days for our horses, and there are no lessons on these days.
Lessons are cancelled day-of in the case of road closures or weather below 20C (excluding windchill). In this case, we send notice through Facebook and the mailing list, and lessons are made up at no additional cost on a later date. Riding lessons may be swapped for theory lessons in the case of dangerous weather.

What does it really cost?

Where can I park when I get there?

Do you travel to give lessons? How far?

Can students bring their own horses for lessons?

Horse Training Questions

1. Can you train my horse to do tricks?

2. What kind of training do you offer?

I specialize in dressage training, and I have also competed in hunter/jumper, eventing, and both performance and speed Western events. Every discipline I have ridden has given me tools and techniques to make me a more well-rounded trainer.

English, Western, Driving, and other styles of horse sports are all based in the same principles to me. I want my horse confident, willing to please, happy, and so well trained the rest of the world thinks I’m just sitting there. One of my favourite things to tell my students is to make their friends think, “I could do that!”

I use short frequent training sessions to keep my horses learning, and enjoying their training. This approach helps them learn everything so thoroughly they can be ridden without a bridle: they steer completely off my seat, weight, eyes, and legs. A clinician once told me it was impossible to ride upper-level dressage movements without a bridle, and I’m out to prove him wrong.

Boarding Questions

1. Do you have indoor and outdoor board?

2. Do I have to pay a deposit?

3. What about the extras?

Blankets and fly masks are included in the indoor board price. The barn staff will put on and remove as required. It is up to you to keep them in good repair, and replace them as needed if your horse requires them.

If your horse requires extra grain or supplements outside of what we already feed, we are happy to feed it at no extra cost. You must provide these extras, and include them in your board contract so all barn workers can be made aware of dosages.

Testimonials

I have been taking lessons at Fire Fly Stables for a year now, and I absolutely love my lessons. Jenn is so knowledgeable and detail oriented I have learned more than I could have imagined there was to learn. She is relaxed, easy going, the lessons are fun but she is also able to motivate her students to do better each time. Thank you Jenn, I promise someday you won’t have to remind me to keep my heels down and fingers closed!Happy Rider, Tracy Ann

Hi Jenn, I just wanted to put it out there that out of all the other barns I’ve been to, yours tops the list! You are the BEST trainer I’ve ever had and I can’t wait to see where we go from here. I am always excited to come out and ride, I sometimes have a lack of confidence but you have a way of telling me I can do it! Your teaching style is awesome because you don’t teach everyone the same way, you pick out our flaws and work on them in a way that is really fun and easy to understand. I don’t know how you remember which person has which style. I love coming to every lesson and I always walk away extremely happy and I learn something every time, even if it was small… thank you so much!Thrilled Student, Morgan

I have been riding for a year and a half now and it has been amazing. Sometimes I can be scared around horses and Jenn is really helping. She doesn’t push us to do things, but she doesn’t do the work for us either. I really like it at Fire Fly. Jenn is very laid back and easygoing. Our lessons are always different too!Happy Student, Jordyn

You have been the best teacher ever! Your horses are nice, you are nice, and thanks for everything. Because you trusted me I believe in myself no matter what happens.Excited Rider, Paige