https://www.facebook.com/612843332413037/

Maureen Sterling Dressage, Larkspur, CO (2025)

09/04/2025

Just the best

09/04/2025

Yesss!! I had a teen drama problem once. One bad apple ruins the bunch!

Zero tolerance here too, teen and adult! It’s great when the bad apples leave the bunch. The culture restored. 💕🍎

Teenage Barn Drama: Zero Tolerance Policy in Effect 🚫

Let me be crystal clear about something: My barn is not a social experiment.

The drama I've witnessed:
- "She got to ride MY horse!" (it was a lesson horse!!)
- Cliques excluding other riders
- Gossip sessions in the tack room
- Mean girl behavior toward newer students
- Social media drama spilling into the barn

Here's my policy: One warning. Then you're out.

Why zero tolerance?
🐴 Horses feel tension - your drama stresses them out
🔒 Other students suffer - quiet kids quit because of your behavior
⏰ My time is valuable - I'm not a middle school counselor

After kicking a problem student out of my program, the mother said to me "But they're just teenagers!" Exactly. Which means this is the PERFECT time to learn that actions have consequences.

What I tell the teens: "You can have drama OR you can have horses. Pick one."
The result? My barn stays focused on horses and riding. Students actually learn. The good kids thrive without toxic energy around them.

Life's too short to manage teenage attitudes when there are horses to ride and skills to build.

Fellow instructors: Am I too harsh? How do you handle barn drama?

Horses deserve better than our human drama. So do the students who actually want to learn.