Verrill Farm Stable

My daughter recently took a few riding lessons during the summer in New Mexico and fell in love with her horse and instructor. She kept pestering me to sign her up for lessons during the school year here in MA and I relented, despite the time and monetary commitment. Having participated in hunter/​jumper competitions myself as a youngster, I was vicariously excited for the lessons. The women who taught me were kind and competent; I always felt a warm feeling going to the stable and couldn’t wait for my next lesson.
Verrill Farm Stable is close to Lexington, MA, where we live and had openings, unlike some of the other places nearby (e.g. Matlock Farm). I was thrilled to get her in. Her first group lesson went quite well. Mary, the lead instructor, was patient and organized with my daughter, who was still a bit timid around the horses and less familiar with the stable and getting gear on than her classmates. Mary let my daughter lead her horse out on her own and walk and trot by herself without any one leading her. It was a good, appropriate lesson given my daughter’s familiarity with riding.
The next lesson could not have been more different. The owner of Verrill Farm Stable, Alyce, was subbing in for Mary. She asked my daughter to help her get the girth on a horse and my daughter eagerly went forward, under the impression that Alyce would show her how to do so. Instead, Alyce got upset that she didn’t know what to do and admonished her. She then told me she expected the girls to know how to do this, as though I was at fault for bringing her to the lesson unprepared.
A young assistant was showing my daughter how to put the saddle on and she seemed unsure as to how tight to put the girth. In a friendly way, I asked Alyce how my daughter can know when it is tight enough and she looked at me and abruptly said, «Why don’t you go grocery shopping or something. She’ll figure it out.»
Another parent nearby looked at me with disbelief and mentioned that she thought the whole exchange was highly inappropriate. I didn’t go to the grocery store, actually, because I wanted to see how the rest of the lesson would go. Alyce told the young lady who had assisted with the saddle to hold on to my daughter’s horse and not to let go. The entire lesson she was escorted and looked very tense and nervous and unhappy.
The whole situation was handled poorly and the communication was abysmal. Riding is dangerous and I feel that instructors should be more than willing to accommodate parents who have questions, especially if there seem to be expectations for the child exceeding her/​his ability.
Since it was the owner who was behaving this way, I had no recourse, so I took my daughter out of the lesson. She will be starting lessons soon at another stable in Littleton. Alyce was completely unapologetic about the situation but said she will send me a refund for the unused lessons.
Mary seemed really good in our limited experience, but I got the impression that Alyce commonly steps in to teach lessons at random times. If your child is at all fearful or timid and relatively new around horses, I would not recommend her as an instructor.