A phone ringing in the tack room
It is Saturday morning, the busiest time of the week. Both instructors are in the arena. The phone in the office rings, stops, rings again. A mother wants to book her daughter into a beginners' group lesson next week. A returning adult rider wants a private lesson on a quiet horse. Facebook Messenger has eleven unread messages, including two cancellations for this afternoon.
At lunchtime you work through them while eating a sandwich, writing in the lesson book. By then one family has booked somewhere else, and one of the cancellations was for a lesson that has already happened.
Why riding school bookings are hard to automate
Riding schools often try a generic booking app and give up, because a lesson is not just a time slot.
- A lesson needs an instructor who teaches that level and type of lesson.
- It needs horses or ponies suitable for the riders, and each horse can only do so much in a day.
- Group lessons are grouped by ability, so a rider cannot just join any group.
- New riders need an assessment before they can join a group.
- Bookings come in by phone, text, email and social media, so there is no one diary.
When a booking system ignores these, the school ends up checking every online booking by hand, which is barely better than the phone.
Missed calls are missed riders
A riding school fills its week from enquiries, and people looking for lessons tend to try several schools. If nobody answers, they book with the one that does. Existing riders are more patient, but even they get tired of chasing.
The admin load falls on the busiest people at the busiest times, often in the evenings. And mistakes in the lesson book, such as double bookings or a horse booked twice at once, lead to awkward mornings in the yard.
Lesson booking that knows your horses and instructors
We build a booking system around how your school actually allocates lessons.
- Your lesson types are set up: private, semi-private, group by level, lead rein, hacks, own-horse lessons.
- Riders have a profile with their level, as assessed by your instructors, and any notes you keep.
- When a rider or parent books online, they see only the lessons open to them, at times when an instructor and suitable horses are available.
- New riders are offered an assessment lesson first, and their level is set by the instructor afterwards.
- Horses are allocated from the pool of suitable horses for that lesson, using your rules and any preferences, and staff can change allocations.
- Payment or a deposit is taken at booking through Stripe, or the lesson is added to an account if you invoice regulars.
- Confirmations and reminders go out by email or text, with a link to cancel within your cancellation rules.
| Part of the booking | Lesson book and phone | Online booking |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiry | Call back when you can | Booked at any time |
| Right lesson for the rider | Checked by the person taking the call | Only suitable lessons shown |
| Instructor and horse | Worked out in the lesson book | Allocated within your rules |
| Payment | On the day, or chased | Taken or recorded at booking |
| Cancellation | Message, if seen | Through the booking link, within your rules |
Riders who prefer to ring can still ring. Staff book them into the same system, so there is only ever one diary.
A Saturday with the phone quiet
Most bookings arrive online overnight or in the evening, already in the right lesson with a horse and instructor. The phone still rings, but less, and whoever answers can book the caller in the same system in a minute. The lesson list for the day is ready on a screen in the tack room, with horses allocated and riders' notes visible to instructors.
Cancellations come through the same system, so the space can be offered to someone else rather than sitting empty.
Is your booking system a phone and a book?
- Most bookings come by phone, text or social media.
- Calls are missed while instructors are teaching.
- You have tried a booking app that did not understand horses.
- Double bookings or clashes happen on busy days.
- Payments are collected on the day or chased afterwards.