Thursday, February 27, 2014

Classes cancelled - Thursday, Feb 27th

Hello everyone!

I appreciate everyone's patience and understanding this winter with the cold weather cancellations.  This has been a record-breaking cold winter, making it hard on the horses and riders.  We have brought in some of the slimmer outside horses to keep them warm and the ones staying outside have plenty of blankets and hay to keep them toasty as well.  I am happy if students wish to wait until April to reschedule cancelled classes when (hopefully!) we will be into spring and warmer temperatures.

Stay warm tonight!

Nikki

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

It has to warm up soon... right?

Hello Everyone!  With the temp currently -15c with a windchill of -25c and not looking to improve much for this evening, unfortunately we have to cancel classes again tonight.  Wednesday was the only day of the week had to cancel classes twice last session, so I have credited riders for the second cancellation.  If you were missing your credit on your invoice, please let me know.  Hopefully this will be the only time we have to cancel this session, (it's almost March!) so riders WILL have to schedule a make-up class for tonight.  Again, here is the link to the online scheduler: http://www.raynhamstables.com/forms1.html.

Stay warm tonight!

Nikki

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Session Four, Summer Camp, Lesson Policies & more!

Hello Raynham Riders!

Wow, despite the ridiculously cold weather we have had this winter, time is flying by!  It’s hard to believe, but Session Four (Feb 23rd – April 26th) starts on Sunday.   Hopefully this also means that warmer weather is on its way!  If you need to make a change to your lesson time, add an additional lesson per week or wish to resume classes, please let me know ASAP.  

There is a lot of information in this email blast, so if you read nothing else, please take the time to review the make-up lesson policy and changes to private lessons, below. 

As always, we are working hard to make Raynham Stables the best place possible to ride!  If you ever have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

Nikki

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Session Four, Summer Camp & more!

Hello Raynham Riders!

Wow, despite the ridiculously cold weather we have had this winter, time is flying by!  It’s hard to believe, but Session Four (Feb 23rd – April 26th) starts in less than a week.    Hopefully this also means that warmer weather is on its way!  If you need to make a change to your lesson time, add an additional lesson per week or wish to resume classes, please me know ASAP.  

We are already gearing up for Summer Camp 2014!  The dates and registration for this summer have been posted on the website, http://www.raynhamstables.com/registration.html.  We have a few exciting changes for this summer.  We will only be accepting 32 campers (instead of 40) so that we can keep the class sizes smaller, which will be greatly beneficial for both the beginner riders and for dressage lessons for the more advanced riders.   We also are excited to be able to offer more XC schooling for advanced riders.   Residential camp will again be split into two, one-week sessions.  The first week will be run as usual but the second week will be geared specifically for intermediate –advanced riders (including competition riders).  Campers that attend both sessions will be able to stay the weekend in between for free.  Details on each session theme and new residential camp format TBA shortly. 

We also have a lot of exciting plans for this spring!  We are going to be starting the lounge over the tack-up area in April, which will provide a large, comfortable (and warm!) viewing area for parents and a terrific craft and lunch area for summer camps!  We will also be tackling replacing the fencing this year, so it’s going to be a busy spring.   If you have any skills and time to offer, any help would be greatly appreciated.

A note about private lessons:
Due to the rising demand for private/semi-private lessons, the cost is increasing by $5.00/lesson ($40.00/session).  I also want to remind students to mount 15 min prior to your lesson time to adjust tack and begin warming up so that you get the most out of your private lessons.   If you are looking to add a private lesson this session, I cannot guarantee that there will be a time slot available until Lindsay and Alex return, as I am already teaching as many hours as possible.  I will do my absolute best to accommodate as many requests as possible.  The cost increase will not affect the Early Rider Program (for riders 5 – 7 years old) as Lindsay and I will not be teaching these classes. 


As always, we are working hard to make Raynham Stables the best place possible to ride!  If you ever have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

It's winter wonderland out there!

With the snow still falling and the road conditions looking uncertain, unfortunately I feel it is necessary to cancel classes yet again.  I have finally entered all the riders into the online scheduler, so students can book make-up lessons quickly and easily online.  I have added a couple classes tomorrow evening so if riders are keen to get in the saddle, you only have to wait until tomorrow! If tomorrow does not work for you,  feel free to pick any time that does.  Right now, the scheduler is allowing bookings up until the end of the current session, but you can also wait and schedule a make-up next session if you wish to hold out for warmer weather!

As this is the second cancellation on a Wednesday this session, if you prefer we can deduct the cost of this class off the next sessions fees.  If you choose this option, please email Nikki so that I can enter it as an account credit.

Here is the link for the online scheduler page: http://www.raynhamstables.com/lesson-scheduling.html

If you are unsure what level lesson to choose, I have included a copy of the lesson schedule at the bottom of the page which indicates the level for each class as well as the age group. If you have any questions regarding using the new scheduler, just send me an email!