Recommendations for private jumping and dressage lessons (without having own horse) in London?

[EchoInterrupted]

Just moved to London and have had to give up my wonderful part-loan. I've been toying with the idea of finding a new part-loan in London and am looking into it, but of course London being London it's a bit more difficult.

So, I have also been considering doing private weekly lessons instead and hoping that it will help progress my riding more. For reference, I'm an adult rider who came back to riding after several years out and am in the process of relearning certain things (e.g. properly putting the scales of training to use, correctly getting a horse engaged and on the bit, etc because my background was more in hunt seat equitation in the US than in dressage). Current instructor says I am "definitely not a novice rider" and my current loan is a 17hh+ lovely ex-eventer. I'm hesitant to go back to a riding school because I feel like a lot of the group jump lessons "max out" around 70-80cm, but am considering it (maybe private lessons would be better?).

Are there any other private instructors out there who maybe have schoolmasters they teach lessons on? Would love any recommendations! Can be dressage or jumping (or both). I have heard Hilltop livery does dressage, so am considering them already.

Obviously I'm not looking to do anything I'm not prepared for, I'm just looking for somewhere I can genuinely see improvement in my riding across the months, start jumping higher, etc. I have been seeing loads of improvement over the last 6 months with my part-loan and am gutted to give him up. The eventual goal is to buy my own horse in about 5 years once I'm a bit further into my career, then work towards eventing BE80/BE90 down the road.

Would love any suggestions - the closer to East London the better!

 

[teapot]

Schoolmasters are as rare as hen's teeth for lessons on at the moment, not without travelling. How far are you willing to travel?

Lomond, Contessa, Talland would be all worth the distance.

 

[MuddyMonster]

Is Gatwick too far out of London for you? I've heard great things about Lomond classical riding centre, but not been there myself.

 

[EchoInterrupted]

Schoolmasters are as rare as hen's teeth for lessons on at the moment, not without travelling. How far are you willing to travel?

I had to sell my car because the flat we ended up with was in a car free development But if it's accessible by tube/train I wouldn't mind commuting an hour and a half or so from the Mile End area as long as it's accessible by public transport of some type.

Doesn't need to be super fancy to be honest or a true "schoolmaster", I just want to not be stuck riding plodding RS horses and jumping 70cm again and again haha. When it comes to dressage, a horse that knows basic lateral movement (I've only done leg yield, turn on the forehand, shoulder in and haunches in - and that was a while ago. Haven't done halfpass etc yet) and can do a nice novice/elementary dressage test would do it for now.

 

[EchoInterrupted]

Is Gatwick too far out of London for you? I've heard great things about Lomond classical riding centre, but not been there myself.

Oh wow, I just looked them up. I expected WAY worse prices - those aren't bad at all! About a 2 hour commute by train though Will keep them in mind though!

 

[mariew]

I used to ride at Lomond, it's lovely. However you are better off looking to go east. I'm sure there are a couple of riding schools around Epping. Lee valley something?

 

[PeterNatt]

Why not see if you can get a part share at somewhere like Mote End Farm Mill Hill NW7 4HH as they have some wonderful facilities and some super visiting instructors and someone there may wish to share their horse.

 

[daydreamer]

Hemps green equestrian near Colchester. They have quite a few Londoners come I think and can usually arrange for you to be picked up at the train station. Very good horses and instruction. When I was there I was jumping 1m/1.20m in lessons. Not a typical riding school at all.

 

[RachelFerd]

When I lived in Bow I used to get out to Epping to ride a horse on an informal share agreement - horse was sharp and fizzy and a fun ride. Lots of hacking and opportunity to have lessons.

Edited to add - beware the instructor that offers lessons on their own schoolmaster - this requires them to have an operators license as a riding school - which is unlikely. You're therefore in a very slippery place re. liability in the event of any kind of accident.

 

[coblets]

Why not see if you can get a part share at somewhere like Mote End Farm Mill Hill NW7 4HH as they have some wonderful facilities and some super visiting instructors and someone there may wish to share their horse.

Last I heard, Mote End didn’t allow sharers.

OP, have a look at Ham House stables though you probably wouldn’t jump with them for a while. Jumping wise, the best I can think of is private lessons at Trent or Lee Valley.

 

[pixie27]

OP, don’t worry about RS ponies not being advanced enough for you just yet. Try a few out and see if you can find an instructor you gel with. When i was in london (albeit briefly) I had a few RS lessons and with the right instructor, had some of the best lessons I’d had in a while. All could do lateral work, and a couple were very buzzy youngsters that I would’ve bought in a heartbeat! (I only did private lessons, so that may have been a factor in doing more stuff.)

I found that I couldn’t do exactly what I wanted with horses and riding while being in London (ie competing and sharing), so I just decided to enjoy what I could - hacking around the royal parks on well schooled, nicely put together horses once a week. (I went through Operation Centaur, but it might be too far west for you. However, they have class horses, a show jumper instructor/yard manager, and direct access into Richmond Park. Plus you ride the same horse every week, so it feels a little personal than a traditional RS.)

 

[Barlow]

White Horse Farm in Kent do schoolmaster lessons on iberians, not sure how you’d get there though but worth a look

 

[wren123]

I second the recommendation for ham house Stables though just for the dressage.