Adelaide Horse Riding Pty Ltd

About

Adelaide Horse Riding is a small riding school established for almost two decades. We started out at Parkgate Place behind Belair National Park. Recently, we relocated to Hahndorf, and now have access to outdoor and under-cover arenas, and new riding trails.

Our main instruction vehicle is 'Saddle Club' (10 x 90-minute sessions cost $440). Saddle Club comprises regular weekly lessons throughout the school term. Half of the session is spent riding, and the other half is spent learning safety around horses, grooming and tacking up, in-hand work, stable and horse maintenance. Later on, we look at equine health and first aid, vaccinations and worming, floating, preparing for competition, training regimes and riding disciplines. Twice a term, students go out on the trail to put into practice what they learn in the arena.

Full-day riding camps ($130 per student) are offered during school holidays. These run from 10am to 4pm, and incorporate three riding sessions. If your offspring is making noises about horse riding, holiday camps are a great starting point, as your child is given a horse for the day to feed, groom and ride. Our January 2012 camps are coming up on Monday 9, Wednesday 11, Saturday 14, Monday 16 and Wednesday 18.

For children and teen celebrations, two options are offered ($65 per rider) one for younger riders and the other with teen appeal.

Option 1: we start with a safety talk, and then get the children on board for a 40-minute riding lesson and paddock walk. Once the children have dismounted and are away from the stables area, we let them loose with a real horseshoe to decorate with jewels and sequins as a take-home souvenir.

Option 2 is more hands-on, and appeals to teens: we start with the safety talk, but this time the children get up close and personal with the horses they will ride. They groom and will help tack up their own horse, then have a riding lesson, and finish up with a short trail ride.

With our scenic, one-hour trail rides ($65 per rider), everyone mounts their horse in the arena. After a safety talk, we do a couple of walking laps to ensure everyone is comfortable before setting off in single file. We have no age limit for trail riders, however, we expect all riders to be capable of sitting quietly and confidently on their horse without being led. However, at least one guide always walks the trail on foot to assist when necessary.

FAQs

What should I bring? Long loose pants, such as track pants or leggings, are required, as stirrup leathers will rub on bare skin (and really aggravate hairy legs). A wind/waterproof jacket is always a good idea as are scarves and gloves in winter. It's better to have layers than you can remove, rather than shiver through a trail ride. Riding boots are the best footwear, but any enclosed, smooth-soled, flat heeled footwear (with no buckles or laces) is acceptable on trails. In summer, sun-safe clothing is required shoulders must be covered, and sunscreen applied beforehand.

Can we trot/canter/gallop? Adelaide Horse Riding Pty Ltd is a fully-insured operation and risk management procedures are in place to promote everyone's safety. Horse riding can be dangerous and we cannot anticipate every eventuality. As such, we can not cater to adrenaline junkies, regardless of how much experience they say they have. Think of trail riding as meditation on horseback it's a lovely, lazy way to take in some beautiful scenery. If you want to go fast, we will need a chance to assess you in a controlled setting, so come and do a few lessons first.

Will I fall off? If you ride for any length of time - weeks, months, years - you will part company with your horse at some point. That's guaranteed. However, health and safety is a serious matter, and this is why children's riding lessons incorporate a theory and horsemanship component, and why trail rides are at a walking pace. If you are interest in riding, we offer programs to suit all ages.