All Ages. All Disciplines. All Levels. Motivation Unlocked
Riders choose their weekly activities, track progress, and build confidence while staying connected to their goals, their horse, and their barn community and your guidance.
Why Instructors Love It
The Winter Horsemanship Challenge is a flexible, effort-based program that keeps riders engaged in meaningful riding, horsemanship, and personal development activities—both at the barn and at home!
Designed to support your teaching—without adding to your workload.
Requires no extra supervision—activities are designed for riders to complete independently or at home.
Aligns with professional horsemanship and teaching standards.
Helps you better understand each rider’s interests, strengths, and focus areas so you can teach more effectively.
Increases Rider Engagement and Retention
Keeps riders motivated and showing up consistently through winter.
Reduces seasonal drop-off and weather-related cancellations for more predictable income
- Builds value and appreciation for unmounted lessons.
Strengthens Riders Outside of Lesson Time
Improves rider fitness, balance, and mindset.
Encourages independence, curiosity, and confidence.
Reinforces the horsemanship and horse-care concepts you’re already teaching.
Flexible for Any Program
Works for all ages, abilities, and learning styles.
Can be used with lesson horses or student-owned horses.
Easy to integrate into your current lesson structure without adding time or pressure.
Gives you the option to offer additional horsemanship classes for extra income (if you choose).
Why These Challenges Were Created
As a riding instructor, I’ve seen firsthand how much more there is to becoming a confident, capable, and compassionate horseperson than what can fit into weekly lessons. And too often, people want to “be riders,” without understanding the deeper, fuller picture of what it truly means to be an equestrian.
Horses deserve partners—not passengers. And riders deserve a clear, engaging path that helps them grow beyond the saddle.
That’s why these challenges were created.
They are designed to bridge the gap between what can be taught in a lesson and what riders need to become well-rounded equestrians. They help riders build the bigger-picture understanding that supports safer, more meaningful interactions with horses and a stronger foundation for progression.
Growth Opportunities Included
Each week includes activities across all four categories, with options for both at the barn and at home. You’ll also find helpful learning resources and variations of each activity so riders of all ages, abilities, and learning styles can participate successfully.
What Should You Do?
1. Send to your riders to sign up
All activities are accessible and trackable through a course portal, email, or a simple paper checklist. They can complete activities at home, at the barn, or during lessons – it’s your choice!
Get 5 or more rider to sign up and you can participate for free!
2. Guide your riders
Each challenge is self-paced and they can choose challenges from any of the 4 areas of growth. To continue to build your relationship with your rider, you can stay involved with their progress and guide their choices.
3. Lead by example
Continue to learn and grow as an instructor. You may join the challenge and participate or check out some of the resources from Instructor Half Halt
What's Included
- Flexible Access – Participate at your own pace through the course portal or paper checklist—whatever works best for you.
- Email Reminders – Inspiration, tips and tricks for continued progress.
- Weekly Choices – Each week, choose from at least 4 fun, skill-building activities.
- Variations – Activities designed with variations to accommodate adults, youth, and individuals with special needs.
- Community – Access to a private Facebook community to connect and share and see what others are working on.
- Supportive Resources – Access online guides and resources to help you learn, grow, and connect with your horse.
- Celebration Ribbon – Complete the challenge and receive a large, beautiful rosette ribbon to honor your effort, progress, and growth.
- Instructor / Coach Resources – Activities, ideas and resources are available for any supporting coaches.
December 15th - February 15th
Stay motivated and build meaningful horsemanship habits all winter long.
This challenge blends fun activities with skill-building tasks you can do in lessons, at the barn or even at home to stay engaged through the cold months.
More Thoughts
Which of my riders would this be good for?
All of them! Horsemanship Challenges are an effort-based, skill-building program designed to help equestrians grow in confidence, knowledge, and connection with their horses. It’s open to riders of all ages, experience levels, and abilities—including children – adults, beginners – advanced and participants with special needs. Everyone can join at their own pace.
I need to protect my lesson horses
Yes you do! This challenge can be done without adding load to your horses. Plus it will help your riders become better at reading the horse’s signals and understanding the horse’s needs.
I don't want my riders getting confused
The goal of this challenge is to generate motivation and effort to grow. It’s designed to complement what you’re teaching them not confuse them.
How do they earn a ribbon?
The target is to attempt 2 activities per week. Provided the riders attempt or progress is submitted in the course platform, ribbon will get mailed out after the challenge has ended to the mailing address that was provide.
Challenges Powered by:
