My grandson just started as a freshman at a very exclusive private school in CA. The headmaster is a big Trump supporter and refuses to coddle the students. Each freshman gets his or her own horse who they are responsible for for the entire year. They have to do everything for this horse in addition to learning how to ride. The headmaster thought that having the kids wear helmets was sissie-ish but that was shot down by the parents. I have hope that my grandson will emerge from 4years at this school ready to tackle the world.
What a wonderful thing. That really sounds outstanding.
FWIW I think the parents were right about the riding helmets.
Falling or being thrown from a horse is a good step above
most of the falls a kid might take on a bicycle.
Once the kids learn some horsemanship they can go riding
bareback and without helmets on their own time.