Horse Riding Lessons At East Boldon Riding Centre

Ever wanted to learn to horse ride? or maybe you have a child who adores ponies and you think they would like riding lessons. If so read on to find out what we thought of riding lessons at East Boldon Riding Centre, located in Boldon Tyne and Wear.

We were kindly invited to East Boldon Riding Centre to try out a riding lesson and see what we thought. My daughter Sophia (9) has been riding for a year at a different riding school and is pony crazy. Plus I was horse crazy as a child / teen and rode for 10 years up to a high level before giving up in my late teens - something I massively regret. So we do know a little bit about horses and it is actually something we are interested in.

Sophia was booked onto a half an hour assessment lesson, this is a 30 minute one to one session with an instructor to see what level you are at before you can book onto regular lessons. These are priced at £20 and are great to see if horse riding is for you. Once you have had the assessment lesson you can then be graded and can book onto regular lessons which start at £20 for a half hour beginner group lesson, with a maximum of just four riders in the group.

Arriving at the yard there was plenty of on-site parking (there was also a bus stop outside if you were visiting by public transport and the metro is not too far away) and a toilet block. We were warmly greeted by the staff at the office and Sophia was introduced to the lovely Poppet who she would be riding. Riders can lead their pony to the school themselves which Sophia loved as she doesn't get to do this where she currently rides, she loves to spend time with and look after the ponies just as much as riding them.

Because Sophia already rides she has her own hat and riding clothing, however if you don't you can borrow a hat from the riding school and just wear leggings / joggers and low heeled boots/ wellies. There is no need to go out and buy all the equipment straight away.

East Boldon Riding Centre assessment lesson

East Boldon Riding Centre has an indoor and outdoor school and lots of lovely fields to hack out in. Sophia had her assessment lesson in the outdoor school, which has seating for parents. Even though Sophia has been riding a year she massively lacks confidence and is still on a lead rein at her current riding school, however Julie encouraged her to go off the lead rein and she did it and she managed great.

east boldon riding centre outdoor assessment lesson

During the session Sophia practiced changing reins, trotting on her own and even mastered around the world without falling off. Julie the instructor was brilliant with her and really instilled confidence in Sophia which was lovely to see.

The lesson and way of teaching at East Boldon Riding Centre was like how I learnt to ride (many years ago), letting people learn by doing and instilling confidence in them. Julie was an amazing instructor and I would recommend her to anyone wanting to learn to ride or get back into riding.

At the end of the session Sophia was showing how to run up the stirrups and loosen the girth before leading Poppet back to the yard to munch on some hay. I loved that she was shown how to do things as having a pony is probably 90-per-cent looking after the pony and 10-per-cent riding.

The Pony Sophia rode, Poppet was such a great riding school pony too she was calm and laid back and just such a lovely confidence giver. I think Sophia fell a little bit in love with her.

What's On This Summer

During the summer holidays East Boldon Riding Centre has a lot going on such as

You can book a private one to one lesson for just £25 during the holidays available Monday - Friday 9.30 - 3.30

They offer meet and greet sessions for younger riders (under 4) where you can groom the smaller ponies and have a short ride for £20.

There are group lessons available for all different abilities priced from £20 per half an hour. They also offer specialist sessions for more experienced riders such as dressage, jumping or hacks.

They have pony camp which runs Monday - Friday during the holidays and costs £35 per day.

You can even book birthday parties priced at £35pp.

What We Thought

Overall I was impressed with East Boldon Riding Centre, the lesson Sophia had was brilliant and Julie was an amazing instructor. We were made to feel welcome and were encouraged to spend time with the ponies, who were all well looked after. The yard was lovely and facilities great.

Sophia enjoyed her session so much that we have actually signed her up on the East Boldon Riding Centre website so she can start lessons there, even though it is about a 25 minute drive from where we live in North Tyneside through the Tyne Tunnel. She enjoyed the lesson that much and she learnt so much more in the half an hour lesson then she has in months.

Don't just take my word on what a great riding school it is - as East Boldon Riding Centre is a finalist in the Riding School Of The Year 2022 by the National Equestrian Business Awards and is one of the top 3 riding schools in the country.