Wildwind Equestrian Center

We enrolled my child in the Tiny Tots program for three sessions as recently as 7 months ago (during 2011 and 2012). My child enjoyed the experience each week, but I was never pleased.
The attentiveness of the teachers was never enough. Even though we were there for so many weeks, so many sessions, no one ever bothered to learn my child’s name. (There were about 8 – 12 children enrolled each session.) The instructor (who had experience in western riding instead of english), who was no longer there, was completely inattentive. EACH week there would be instances where my child would circle the arena with one boot out of the stirrup and legs at an improper angle. Those errors would go unnoticed until I said something. The last straw was when the boot slipped out of the stirrup on the opposite end of the arena, went unnoticed by the instructor (who was chatting with another employee), and then when the children were told to trot my child bounced off the horse and landed on the ground.
My child was guided by children who appeared to be as young as 10 years old, who were also completely inattentive at times and did not communicate with my child. The replacement teacher was not much better. Although, for an interim, the high school aged young woman who led the class was hands down the best teacher we experienced there.
After leaving Wildwind we found Happy Hooves in Dexter. They pride themselves on having adult teachers and private lessons. The relationship my daughter is building with her instructor and the same horse every week is phenomenal. The cost difference is nominal. Don’t bother with Wildwind. Go somewhere where your child isn’t a number and his/​her safety matters!