Quick Guide

QUICK GUIDE TO CHOOSING YOUR RIDING HOLIDAY

Beginner Rider - first lesson to learning to canter

Intermediate - established walk, trot and canter and has ridden out of a school arena

Experienced - Ride regularly, well established at all paces in and out of the arena and confident over a small course of jumps

LOCATION	ABILITY	RIDING	LENGTH OF STAY
Sherwood - Nottingham	Children from 4 years Beginner Intermediate Experienced	Instruction Countryside Hacking Family Friendly Intensive Instruction Carriage Driving Side Saddle	2 nights or more Flexible start or end date
Cheshire	Intermediate Experienced	Intensive Instruction Dressage Training Flatwork Polework Jumping	2 nights or more Flexible start or end date Riding Wednesday - Sundays
Lake District	Children from 3 years Beginner Intermediate Experienced	Instruction Countryside Hacking Childrens' Camp 5 days Family Friendly Intensive Instruction	2 nights or more Flexible start or end date Set Dates Childrens' Camp
Suffolk	Children from 4 years Beginner Intermediate Experienced	Instruction Beach Riding Family Friendly	2 nights or more Flexible start or end date
Brecon Beacons - Wales	Children from 4 years Beginner Intermediate Experienced	Local Treks for Lead Rein and Beginners National Park Trail Riding for Intermediate & Experienced	2 nights or more Flexible start or end date
Welsh Borders - Wales	Intermediate Experienced	4 & 6 Day Trails Experienced Beach Trail	Set Trail Dates
Snowdonia - Wales	Children from 4 years Beginner Intermediate Experienced	Local Treks for Lead Rein and Beginners National Park Trail Riding for Intermediate & Experienced	2 nights or more Flexible start or end date
North York Moors	Children from 6 years Beginner Intermediate Experienced	National Park Hacking Family Friendly Childrens' Camp 5 days	2 nights or more Flexible start or end date Set Dates Childrens' Camp
New Forest	Children from 4 years Beginner Intermediate Experienced	Instruction National Park Hacking Family Friendly	2 nights or more Flexible start or end date Riding Tuesday - Sundays
Exeter - Devon	Children from 4 years Beginner Intermediate Experienced	Instruction Countryside Hacking Family Friendly	2 nights or more Flexible start or end date Riding Tuesday - Sundays
North Devon	Children from 4 years Beginner Intermediate Experienced	Coastal Hacking Family Friendly Beach Riding for Intermediate & Experienced	2 nights or more Flexible start or end date Riding Tuesday - Sundays Winter Tuesday - Saturday
Windsor - London	Children from 6 years Beginner Intermediate Experienced	Instruction Royal Park Hacking	2 nights or more Flexible start or end date Riding Tuesday - Sundays
West Sussex	Children from 4 years Beginner Intermediate Experienced	Instruction South Downs Hacking	2 nights or more Flexible start or end date Riding Tuesday - Sundays
Dartmoor - Devon	Children from 4 years Beginner Intermediate Experienced	National Park Trail Riding	2 nights or more Flexible start or end date
Lanarkshire - Scotland	Children from 6 years Beginner Intermediate Experienced	Instruction Countryside Hacking Childrens' Camp 8 days Castle Trail 7 days Intermediate & Experienced Intensive Instruction	2 nights or more Flexible start or end date Set dates for Trail Set Dates Childrens' Camp
Cornwall	Children from 4 years Beginner Intermediate Experienced	Instruction Coastal Hacking Beach Riding Intermediate & Expereinced Family Friendly	2 nights or more Flexible start or end date Riding Wednesday - Sundays out of season

Want to Get Fit to Ride?

Five ways to become a fitter, better balanced and more effective horse rider, with advice from performance coach, Jon Pitts.

1. Loosen your pelvis

When we ride our horses, we communicate with our horse through our pelvis.

It connects us to the horse and has a key role in stabilising our trunk, which makes up two-thirds of our bodyweight.

Watch a top rider like William Fox-Pitt in action and it doesn’t look as though he’s moving, but that’s because he’s using his body and especially his pelvic area, to stay in balance with the horse.

As a rule, we’re far too sedentary, and lack of exercise and movement weakens our pelvis function.

This area becomes blocked and we can’t absorb the horse’s movement.

Regular pilates and yoga sessions will help to redress the balance and loosen your pelvis.

You could also ask your gym instructor to devise a programme of pelvic tilts and circles.

2. Learn how to breathe properly

If I’m teaching at a clinic, I always see a huge difference in a horse’s way of going once I ask his rider to concentrate on their breathing.

We tend to shorten and hold our breath when we’re riding and this reduces oxygen levels in the brain, which affects our co-ordination, balance and reactions.

Try getting into the habit of breathing deeply for a few minutes each day, either on or off your horse, and incorporate this into every warm-up session when you’re schooling.

3. Build your core muscles

Exercises to strengthen your core are separate to those that aid pelvic function, though they still will improve the stability in your pelvis.

Sit-ups, abdominal crunches and dorsal raises to develop lower back strength are great for building core strength and, in turn, improving your balance when in the saddle.

4. Improve your balance

Your ability to balance alters on a daily basis depend on the chemical levels of your brain, especially if you’ve had a few glasses of wine!

However, you can ‘tune up’ your balance before you hop in the saddle.

I often work with top venters in the lorry park before they go cross-country, getting them to sit on a balance ball, catch a tennis ball… anything to sharpen their brain and nervous system.

5. Move your body

Riding can be quite intense, so you need to reach a level of fitness that means enough oxygen is getting to your brain to allow it to work under stress.

You shouldn’t get out of breath when you ride, and if you do your horse will feel it.

To up your fitness levels, simply get moving.

Anything that makes you slightly out of breath is good, be it interval training, running or bike riding.