Riding school ponies?

I'm at NTU doing FdSc. Watched a few of the equine course students have some lessons and all the horses seem nice, they did some complicated jumping courses and flat work (it was nice to watch a lesson with v. well behaved horses and ALL above 15hh!) :)
 
Ok well I would personally ask, worse they can say is no........ and then ur still in the same situation, if they say yes. GREAT! :)

If they say no, ask then for any recommendations of good riding schools locally. They wont send you somewhere that will try to top you and their latest nutter! :) hehe

As I say there are number on the north side of notts, the ones Iv mentioned are more south side, so really depends where abouts ur based :)
 
I'm sure they can carry you fine, I really wouldn't worry to much about it, horses are harder then we give them credit for.
 
I'd just like to second Lucy's recommendation of Barleyfields, that is where I ride and it is very good. They certainly have horses there to suit all standards and you can compete on them too.

Whilst all riding schools have their good and bad points I would always feel able to recommend Barleyfields as I know that the standards are decent and the horses good and well looked after. When I first started riding there I was really impressed, it was so much better than the previous place I had been at and I never expected riding schools to have horses of the standard of theirs. They have a decent range of instructors there too, from BHSPTC to BHSI on a day to day basis they all have their strengths and are generally good at what they do but the fact that they have a number of different instructors means you can choose to have lessons with one who suits your ability, learning style and ambition. It is a BHS exam centre too which means that you can train for your stages and do your exams there if you want.

If you need somewhere closer to nottingham you could try Elvaston Castle, (just off the A52 near borrowash) I've never ridden there and I know it is quite a small school but I understand that the owner is a good instructor and the horses are well schooled and well looked after.

You may have to travel a bit to a really good riding school, I drive half an hour at the moment. But it is so worth it in terms of the progress you make in your riding. I wish I had been at a better riding school when I was a teenager, I would have made so much more progress. The rough and ready one I went to left me a confident rider over fences, in the open and on difficult horses but technically lacking, and in all honesty I made virtually no progress from age 12 - 16.
 
Just to mention to thosethat think BHS/ABRS approval means that the RS will be ok, i know examples that are otherwise. One, an ABRS approved place has several unsuitable horses (temperament, etc), ive seen some so thin their backbones are sticking up and rubbing under the saddle and tack holding on by a few stitches. The other, a BHS approved one, allows young girls to ride bareback (unsupervised) on a road, leading 2 other horses in only headcollars. No reflective clothing but at least wearing a hat. They do this to get horses to and from their fields. Due to this practice one horse lost its life when lead on an icy road, it slipped and broke its pelvis and lay in the road for 4 hours before being seen by a vet. The horses have no grazing and limited supplementary feed. The foot balance/shoes are apalling.

So i agree with others, vote with your feet and if something is unsafe or the welfare is poor then report it.
 
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