Teaching rising trot, and games to play

[ChocolateJam]

I'm teaching two little girls to ride, 4 and 6 years old. The 4 year old can rise to the trot and I allow her to trot on her own in the lunge ring. The 6 year old is just not getting it despite the fact that she has been riding for a long time, most of it at a walk though. (She only recently became my pupil.) I've taught other kids to do it within a couple of lessons, it just isn't working for this one. Any tips?

I would also like any ideas for games I can play and things I can do to improve their riding and make things interesting for them. Currently the lessons consist of walking on the lunge while doing stretching exercises, trotting on the lunge (and off for the 4 year old), steering around obstacles and over poles, riding while holding soft toys which we hide around the arena for the next girl to find and going on little outrides.

[tootsietoo]

Does she have a neckstrap to hold on to? Then she can balance herself on it and sort of pull herself up and down to start off with. Maybe get her standing up in her stirrups quite a bit, at halt or walk to start off with.

Mounted games are the best thing for getting them riding without thinking about it, if you can get your hands on some equipment - poles to bend round bins/tables to pick things up from. If you've got good ponies, get them to do lots of getting on and off from both sides, exercises in the saddle, sliding off the ponies bottoms etc, anything to get them moving about in the saddle to help their balance.

I haven't taught lots of children, these are just things I've done with my two who are slightly older.