If yours isn’t here, ring the yard or send an email — Nikki would rather answer a question than have you wonder about it.
Do I need my own horse to have lessons?
No. Lessons can be taken on one of the yard’s own horses, or on your own horse if you have one. Riding a well-schooled horse that already knows its job is often the faster way to learn something new — it means only one of you is figuring it out.
I haven’t ridden in years. Is that a problem?
It’s one of the most common reasons people get in touch. Riding comes back, but it comes back unevenly — your position and feel return quickly, your fitness and your confidence take longer, and the two rarely arrive together.
Expect the first few lessons to be about re-establishing balance and rhythm rather than doing anything clever. Nothing about that is a step backwards.
What should I wear to a first lesson?
A riding hat that meets current safety standards, boots with a small heel and a smooth sole, and long trousers — leggings are fine, jeans usually aren’t, because the seams rub. Gloves help more than people expect.
If you don’t own a hat yet, say so when you book rather than buying one in a hurry. Hat standards change, and a badly fitted hat is worse than no hat at all.
Can children ride here?
Yes. Alongside lessons, there are pony club summer weekends and a stable management course for under-15s during the school holidays, where each child takes charge of a horse for the week — feeding, mucking out, grooming, rugging and tack — with a riding lesson every day.
Learning to look after a horse is the half of the sport that lessons alone never teach.
What does full livery actually involve day to day?
Your horse is ridden or exercised at least once a day, mucked out at least three times, fed up to three times unless its diet says otherwise, and groomed as part of the daily routine. Rugs are changed with the weather and tack is cleaned after use.
Turnout is limited, so it’s arranged in advance rather than assumed. Laundry can be added on request.
Can I come and look round before deciding?
Please do — and come at a working hour rather than a quiet one. A yard tells you most about itself mid-morning: whether the horses look settled, whether the water buckets are clean, whether the people are calm. Ring or email first so someone is free to walk you round.
Do I need my own insurance?
Pentonville Lodge holds public and employers’ liability insurance. That covers the yard’s own liability, not you personally, so clients training on site or on school horses are recommended to take out their own personal cover as well.
If you own the horse, its insurance stays your responsibility, as do vet and farrier accounts.
How do I get to the yard without a car?
The yard is about ten minutes by taxi from Broxbourne station and twenty from Epping. A bus runs between Harlow and Waltham Cross via Waltham Abbey in roughly half an hour. A return taxi to Broxbourne is usually around £15.