How to organize riding times at a busy barn

At many barns, riding times are arranged by text message and a whiteboard by the tack room. That works while the barn is small. Then two riders turn up for the same arena, a lesson runs into a booked ride, and whoever keeps the whiteboard spends the evening answering messages.

Give the day a shape

Agree on your opening hours and on one length for a ride, such as 45 minutes or an hour. With those two settled, every day divides into the same riding times, and nobody has to negotiate a start time.

Give every arena its own column

An arena holds one booking at a time, so plan your arenas side by side. A rider looking for a time should see at a glance which arenas are open and when.

Keep lessons and closures on the same schedule

Lessons and arena closures cause most double bookings, because they are written down somewhere other than the rides. Put them on the same schedule as everything else. A lesson takes its arena for its whole length, and a closure for a break or for dragging the arena shows to everyone who looks.

Agree on rules for booking and cancelling

Decide how far ahead people can book, so the popular times don’t all go to whoever books first. Decide until how many hours before a ride people can cancel on their own, so a time that opens up can still be used by someone else.

Keep a record of who came

After each lesson, note who showed up, who cancelled too late and who didn’t come. A short record makes it easier to talk with a rider who keeps missing lessons, and shows how often each rider rides.

Riding times in Canidary Equestrian

Canidary Equestrian lays out each day from your opening hours and ride length, with a column for every arena. Riders press Book on an open time and choose their own horse or one of the school horses. A foal, or a horse that isn’t ridden, can’t be picked. Instructors set lessons with their riders and horses, and close an arena when they need to. Lessons can repeat, and when one changes, its riders are told.

Your stable sets how many days ahead people can book and until when they can cancel. Riders are told when a lesson is set for them or their riding time is cancelled, and on Show-ups the people your stable chooses mark who came. See everything Canidary Equestrian does, or start a stable.