TRIAL SYSTEM FOR BOOKINGS
As many of you may have seen on Facebook, we are trying a new booking system for December private lessons in response to members comments about how busy the phoneline gets. So if you would like to book private lessons in December, you need to email Ali at lessons@aberdeenridingclub.com at any point up to 26th November. If you let Ali know that you wish to have a “private lesson booking slot” she will then allocate you a number and we will then call those numbers in a random drawn order on Monday 30th November meaning that members don’t have to keep trying to call as we will call you. The following things are important to remember:
We need a working number that you will be able to answer – we will try twice and if there is no answer, we will move onto the next person in the drawn order.
Restrictions remain the same – riders can only book two private lessons in a month in peak time slots.
Each rider needs a booking slot – therefore if there are a couple of riders in a family, we will call at separate times for each family member depending on where they are in the drawn order.
We are going to use this as a trial month for December private lessons and will look for your feedback after that as to whether you prefer the new system.
XMAS AND NEW YEAR
We know! It still seems early, but we’ve got to go there and mention the Christmas word! Although things will likely be very different for us all this Christmas, our opening and closing times at ARC will be the same as previous years. The riding school will be closed on 24th, 25th, 26th and 31st December and 1st and 2nd of January. We always go to “skeleton lessons” for a fortnight over Xmas and New Year as so many of our members are away – we know that many of you may not be travelling away this year, but don’t worry – even with skeleton lessons, we will be able to accommodate everyone who wants to ride.
Skeleton lessons start on Monday 21st December and run until Sunday 3rd January (inclusive). During this time, we run a more limited group lesson and private lesson diary as our staff all have extra time off over Xmas and New Year, but we will keep you updated if your lesson time or day changes in that two-week period.
WELCOME LILLY!
We were delighted to welcome Lilly who is an experienced event horse to our team at ARC a few months ago. We took Lilly on trial for a few months to make sure she approved of us as new owners and she settled in really well. She has worked quite a bit with Laura so far to help Laura with her training towards her Stage 4 and will be primarily used for career pathway training private sessions.
WELCOME SRUC
As you may have seen on social media, ARC is going to be working in partnership with SRUC (Craibstone) from September 2021 to deliver HNC/D in Equine Studies. The partnership fits really well with our ethos at ARC as it will be really beneficial to anyone who is looking for some equine related qualifications and we will also be able to assist the students to train and sit some of their BHS assessments in their time at college. The college has a virtual open day which Sally is co-presenting on Tuesday 10th November at 4.p.m and if you would like to sign up to attend the open day then just go to the following link: www.sruc.ac.uk/aberdeenopendays