Manege Sonniushof
Our fixed home base is manege Sonniushof in Son. On Tuesday and Wednesday evenings members of ESRV Concorde can participate in dressage lesson with other Concorde members at this stables. On these evenings there is transport available to get to and from the stables. There is also an opportunity to participate in jumping lesson at the stables.
Manege Sonniushof has two inside arena’s, two outside arena’s and a jumping pasture. During winter the group lessons take place inside, but when the weather gets better the lessons are in the outside arena or trail rides take place. The stables is next to the Sonse Heide, a nature reserve existing out of namely forest, but also sand and moor.
Transport
As we already mentioned earlier, transport is arranged for the Concorde lessons. The van leaves approximately an hour before the lesson begins. Members who do not have their own transport can have a weekly spot in the van. Transport with the van costs 1.50 euro per day you use it. If you do not need transport, you must sign out at least 24 hours in advance. This can be done by sending an email to: [email protected]. A fee of 2.50 euros will be charged if you are to late with this or if if you forgot that.
Dressage
Our dressage lessons take place at manege Sonniushof.
In the winter these lessons always take place in the inside arena, and considering that the stables at located just by the Sonse Heide we often go on an outride during the summer. Although there are separate jumping lessons, occasionally we do a jump or cavalleti during the lessons. This ensures that we have exciting and varied lessons. At the stables you ride the same horse every week, this means you really get to know the horse well and work on improving together. However, if you want to ride different horses this is also a possibility, although perhaps not every week.
Lesson possibilities
ESRV Concorde has special dressage lessons where mainly members ride in. For these lessons, a van from the studentensportcentrum is rented so that if you ride in one of these lessons you do not have to provide your own transport. This also makes it easier to make friends and have a good social time. Although horse riding is generally an individual sport, it is also a fun social activity for many Concorde members. Often after the lesson we have a drink and a chat. If the times of the lessons are not convenient for you, it is also possible to ride at another time or day, however then you have to provide your own transport and there is less opportunity to get to know other members. The following times are available for dressage lessons:
Type of lesson | Day | Time |
Half-advanced | Tuesday | 20.00 – 21.00 pm |
Advanced | Tuesday | 21.00 – 22.00 pm |
Advanced | Wednesday | 19.00 – 20.00 pm |
Half-advanced / Advanced | Wednesday | 20.00 – 21.00 pm |
Lesson payment
As of March 2022, the stables make use of a digital administration system called ManegePlan. With this system, members sign a lesson agreement and engage in a quarterly subscription consisting of 13 dressage lessons. Since there are no lessons in the summer break, the third quarter only consists of 7 lessons. Normally, the costs are €19,00 per lesson, but since we are a student sports association in Eindhoven that is affiliated with the ESSF, we are sponsored by the SSC for our lesson subscriptions. This means that the lessons only cost €14,10 per lesson, which makes the equestrian sport much more affordable and the cheapest in and around Eindhoven! The costs for loose lessons are €25,00 per lesson and the refund from the SSC is not offered for loose/trial lessons.
Clothes during the lessons
To take part in the lessons, there are a number of regulations concerning clothing which have been put in place for your own safety. It is mandatory to wear a hard hat that is according to the European norm EN 1384. It is also mandatory to ride with riding boots or chaps and good riding shoes. Sports shoes or other shoes with laces are not allowed. Members can also use caps or chaps from ESRV Concorde if they forget these, although they have to pay a small fee for this. It is furthermore not allowed to wear loose clothing or scarfs. Ladies are also reminded not to wear tops with too large neck lines and remove any jewellery.
Jumping
If you have more experience (2+ years), you can join the jumping lessons. For the jumping lessons you can buy a jumping card of 10 lessons. For this you have 1 jumping lesson every month. There are no jumping lessons during the summer holidays. The jumping lessons themselves are more expensive than a dressage lesson: 24.50 euros per lesson with a jumping card, and 27.50 euros for a separate jumping lesson.
For the jumping lessons you must take dressage lessons weekly, because dressage is the basis of jumping. There are various jumping lessons at the stables. Depending on your level, you can end up in a specific jumping lesson.
Please note that there is currently a queue for the jumping lessons due to high demand. You can always contact us about the possibilities.
Carrousel
More info about the carrousel lesson will follow soon.
Beginner Course
If you want to start horse riding but have no experience, then the beginners course is something for you!! In ten lessons you learn the basics of horse riding. This includes walk, trot, canter and being able to steer your horse by yourself. At the end of the course you have the choice if you want to continue with horse riding or not. If you want to continue, you will have enough experience to be placed in a regular lesson.
Clothes
We can imagine that as a starting horse rider you do not immediately want to buy all the riding clothes and accessories. Therefore members of the beginners course can borrow some things from ESRV Concorde. We have brushes to clean your horse, and a few hard hats and chaps that you can use. Chaps are leg protectors that you wear over your shoes.
What you do need to watch out for is that you wear a strong pair of long trousers that does not have seams at the inside (this is why we do not advise you to wear jeans). You also have to wear good shoes, the best is to wear shoes without laces but with a small heel. It is not allowed to ride with sport shoes so take this into account. Also try not to wear very loose, or with a large neck line clothes and remove scarves and jewellery. If you have further questions about the type of clothes you can wear you can always email the board.
However, although there are a few things that you can borrow, it is always nicer to have your own materials.
Tutorial grooming and tacking up
To help you before your first lesson, we have a small tutorial about how you should groom and tack op your horse. This consists of the following parts.
- Grooming
- Tacking up and untacking
- Going to the arena and back to the stable
- Getting on and off the horse
- Riding
- Figures
You can always contact the board if you want more information on when the next beginnerscourse is.