>>> Horse Riding <<<
1. Payment & General Rules
Advance payment is required to confirm and to commit to a booking. We accept all debit &credit cards and payment is made online. No refunds are given on bookings. Multi-lesson packages, Flexipack and Term, carry 10% discounts and non-negotiable expiry dates.
48 hours rescheduling policy/ Horse Welfare Window – you may reschedule your lesson/ activity online as often as you wish/ need to – but never within the pre 48 hour pre window. This is for the welfare and organisation of stable and horses.
All no-shows or cancellations are non-refundable. If you cannot come to your lesson, we are grateful for prior notification to prevent horse & coach waiting in the Arena.
Extra non-optional payments are for leaders for novice students and hats/ boots hire.
Leading fee – If one of our helpers leads your horse/pony during the lesson, then you must pay them a leading fee: £2/half hour and £3/hour.
Hat/ Boot hire – £3 per lesson.
New Rider Registration & Risk All riders need to be registered before enjoying their first lesson with us. Horse-riding is a risk sport. Please complete a New Rider Registration form which can be found on our website HERE. Insurance & Liability documents are on the ERS Clubhouse wall.
Communications. Email is the main form of information exchange between ERS and students. Please check your emails frequently as the challenges of livestock management can occasionally cause short-time changes. ERS emails will be sent out – on booking, 48 hour appointment reminder and for 2 day-later feedback. ERS recommends opening an account (invited every time you book) which allows easy visibility of all bookings.
Mobile phones & Safety Horses are large, fast-moving animals and all students & visitors must be alert (please restrict mobile phone usage to the Clubhouse) and seek and take advice from the uniformed Staff. Horses can bite & kick.
Students own Riding hats – must comply with current standards (PAS 015 2011; VG1 01.040, ASTM F1163 SNELL 9E2016 OR 2021, BS EN1384 2023). Riding hats must be worn and securely fastened at all times when mounted. For safety reasons, riders are not permitted to wear turbans or peaked caps under riding hats.
Weather policy. Riding is an all-weather sport and the area is sheltered.
On Met Office Alerts for the specific region, ERS may take a decision on safety on the day (rain is rarely an issue; wind, direction and type can be more problematic and challenging) and may take the opportunity to run Riding Theory & Horsemanship for all students which is a bonus for all concerned – mandatory for all novices, optional for intermediate/ advanced. In 30degree plus heat, lessons will be slow and/ or moved to horsemanship. Keep an eye on the weather forecast ahead of your lesson, and remember you can reschedule, as usual, outside the 48 hour no rescheduling Horse Welfare Window, with no penalty.
2. Entry & Eligibility Filters
Entry Requirements
All children have direct entry – see notes below on age and special needs.
Adults have indirect entry via a suitability check. All adults, from advanced to novice, must book & attend a Get Ready to Ride lesson and should not book a saddle lesson until they receive ERS go-ahead or it can be rescheduled/ cancelled. Get Ready to Ride attendees will be directed to riding or horsemanship (depending on horse experience and readiness to ride).
Children with 20+ riding experiences should attend a ½ hour private assessment lesson at which they will be progress level graded.
Weight limit – Our horses can carry a strict maximum of 12.5st/80kg.
Graded Progress & Booklet & Promotion. Levels are BASIC NOVICE INTERMEDIATE (upper and lower for children) ADVANCED. On promotion to NOVICE all students are given a Progress Booklet which they should bring to each lesson. Only Coaches can promote students to the next level and any adult/ child placed without permission (“self-promoted”) to an incorrect level, will be asked to leave the lesson and receive no refund.
Minimum age – Children must be over 5 years old to start riding lessons with us however are welcome to join us for our Early Years activities please visit our website www.ealingridingschool.biz for more information.
Special needs. ERS is not an RDA centre and can unfortunately take only a small number of high function needs. For acceptance assessment, staff need to first meet the prospective student– if 10 or under – in the bookable Dotty Club; or 10yrs+ in a bookable Stable Management Session.
Length of Saddle Time. Private lessons, for novices, are kept to 30 mins for the horse and student comfort and safety. This is flagged throughout the booking process. If you book an hour (and you are a novice) the lesson will be automatically be edited to 30 mins without refund or compensation.
We recommend for novices, an hour group length (a little less intense) OR adding an optional ½ hour horsemanship to their booking if they seek one hour tuition.
Volunteering. We welcome helpers , adults and 10+ youngsters, and have a Stamp-Reward Scheme for regulars. Anyone wishing to volunteer, must book & attend one health & safety Volunteer Induction Friday session which enters in to ERS Group membership. Further highly recommended (essential for 10-12 year olds) Fast Track training is available on Thursdays for a rotating series of x 3 learning modules (saddling, leading, tacking). Volunteering is a semi-supervised activity for adults and children (parents must be aware of this and mentor their children). ERS cannot take responsibility for participation.
3. Conduct
Entry to the School & Yard for Visitors. For the safety and security of all visitors please check in at the reception clubhouse. Please study the Fire Drill posters and insurance/ liability documentation available in the Clubhouse. Report any concern or query to a uniformed member of staff immediately.
While kind to bring treats to horses, it is not encouraged, as can make stable mates very unsettled.
Access to the Gallivanters Meadow – strictly prohibited without supervision by staff.
Lateness Policy Lateness to lessons can be very disruptive. Late entry to lessons is at the Coaches’ discretion with a guide of 5 minutes for group lessons and 10 minutes for private lessons. No cancelation or rescheduling will be given – please come to your lesson as early as you can.
Horse & Coach request. The advantage of a School is the range of experience of diverse horses and a variety of Coaches. Please understand that it is impossible for us to mount riders on their preferred horse/pony or with a specific Coach. For riders to improve their ability, they must ride a selection of horses/ponies recommended by the instructors.
Observer Conduct. ERS welcomes observation but no intervention (e.g. shouting, waving, comment) should be given during the lesson. We reserve the right to stop the lesson. Observers should watch from the Terrace or sitting (not standing over fence) around the Arena and they should refrain from multiple Photo taking. Group lesson photos are forbidden, as are images of Coaches, as they can include snaps taken without the subject’s explicit permission.
Any issue with the conduct of a lesson should be made orally only on lesson completion or sent on feedback request to admin@ealingridingschool.net.
Young children must be supervised at all times, with the very young required to have their hands held for added safety. Horses can move quickly and at times lose their tether and move at great speed through the Yard. All buggies/ prams must be left outside clubhouse.
Dogs must be kept on short leads and owners are responsible for clearing up after their pets. Please do not take your animal to the main stables or put them in close proximity to the horses.
>>> The Gallivanter Meadow and Parties <<<
4. General Use Of The Gallivanters Meadow
The Gallivanter Meadow area is created to help adults/ children aged 7 +. develop courage, balance and co-ordination in alliance with the Pony Club. There are risks in environment & equipment and the area is not as safe as you would expect in a municipal park. The Meadow is dual-purpose, used for horses and human turnout and at any time, horses may in the area for grazing & turn-out.
The Gallivanter Meadow is not open to the general public. Authorisation to enter & supervision of all activities must be given/ undertaken by a Riding or Gallivanter Nature Coach. There is no responsibility taken for any incident/ /accident without the presence of a Coach.
There is NO ENTRY whatsoever to the Meadow while horses are in turn-out.
All children with parents in stay & play activities must be carefully supervised at all times and parents should not permit them on any above-ground level equipment or treehouses. Participation is at own risk.
5. Parties – in Gallivanter Meadow and/or Little Yard/ Riding and Warm Barn/ Lecture Room
All parties are part-supervised by a Riding or Nature Coach during activities and their instructions need to be followed.
During unsupervised periods (a part of all parties) it is essential that children are strictly supervised by parents. There are risks near stabled/ unstabled horses/ ponies and in the Meadow area, which is designed for courage, balance and co-ordination and does not have the safety protocols of a municipal park.
Any supervising host parent should ensure that other parents are present & appointed for the role of Parent Marshall to a min ration of 1: 6 adult:child.. These parent Marshalls should be briefed on all risks (fire, embers, high points, all equipment etc) and should be advised to keep children under watch and at ground level at all times.
At no time should children be left alone around horses or the Meadow area without either Coaches, parents or designated & briefed Parent Marshalls.
All parties will have helpers in attendance to take the strain. Tidying up is the responsibility of the host.