Indecision about which barn to take lessons at?

Yay! I'm GOING to take hunter/jumper lessons, hopefully starting this month. After I'm done with all my xmas shopping, anyway ;)

I have three in mind, and I can't decide which one! I've heard good things about all of them but have no idea how to "judge" their students abilities or anything.

1. Southern Hills. Things I've heard: Good instructors, hard to get into (whatever that means??), and not very personal (run more like a business). Home

2. KJM Equestrian. I've heard its nice but small, and a coworker of mine's friend gives lessons there. KJM Equestrian, LLC

3. Saddleback Equestrian. I've heard it's a good place and they have really nice facilities and horses. SaddleBack Equestrian

ETA: I'm planning on private lessons.

Personally I don't like big lesson barns (although I know many people will disagree). I prefer smaller ones, because horses there are better, and (from my experience) instructors are better too.

My advice to you would be to call up each place and talk to the trainer(s) you're interested in and arrange a time when you can go out to watch a lesson or two that they give. You'll be able to see their teaching style, etc. because the most important thing is that you learn and get a lot out of your lessons when you start to take them. You can also ask questions of anyone who might be there riding, get their opinions on the facilities, trainers (if they take lessons), etc.

I totally agree with this. This is the best possible way to make the right decision that fits you best.
On that note, my personal pick would be KJM Equestrian. Based on the photos, I feel that the students that have are exhibiting the best form.

Again it all depends on your personal preference and I wish you the best in finding that.

Yeah go look at the barns first and watch their lessons. Everyone teaches differently. As well as the atmosphere/feel of every barn is different. When I went looking for more competitive barn to start showing, I went to two different ones in my area and I knew immediately which one I loved. The first one I went to was a Christian Riding Academy. Sounds fancy but it's just run by a Christian couple :] the atmosphere of their barn was so much more welcoming and happier than the other one I went to. The other barn I went to was pretty much deserted. The arena was destroyed(jumps knocked down all over the place) and no one was there, at the time to welcome us. Even though the photos showed an awesome barn, the actual place in person was nothing like it.

So with that being said, the barns may look nice online, but in person they could be run down, falling apart, etc.

But if I had to chose based upon sites, I would go with KJM Equestrian or Saddleback Equestrian. Saddleback looks like they have AWESOME facilities.

Thank you all muchly for the advice! I'll take it and run... I'll call up both KJM and Saddleback and set up something. As you all said I can observe lessons and at the same time talk to riders there and even get a glimpse of what the horses are like at each place.

This is going to be fun! :)

K... I'm nowhere near Oklahoma but after scoping out some of those websites I wish I was! -drool-

I like Saddleback, but I agree w/ the advice to go and watch.

Definitely go look and watch lessons and talk to trainers at ea ch place but from the sites I'd recommend saddle back. The facilities seem nicer, the horses seem nicer and it just seems like a better place to me. More proffesional type people not lot's of kids wanting to learn to ride a pony.

Go look at them, as others have said. I also agree to either go with KJM or Saddleback. Their positions seem to be the best. The first one... well everybody just look awkward.

I like smaller barns too , more one on one with the trainers