Rayne Riding School, Essex

After riding there for 1.5 years I think it is time to leave a detailed review (from an adult's perspective).

Positives:

- Some of the instructors are brilliant. It is a good place for a beginner rider if you get the right instructor, (the one who will not teach you bad habits such as kicking the horse non-stop and will sort out your riding position from the start.

-Very safe horses

-Everything is organised well: you see your name on the list with the horse allocated to you for the lesson, the booking system is convenient

Negatives:

- Without going into details, some staff are rude and hostile, which is probably reflection of the owner who can be very abrupt and condescending.

- The progress of kids in group lessons will be much prioritised over private lessons. If you have private lessons, you are not likely to be able to do much more beyond walk/trot/canter. In flatwork you get a full arena once in a blue moon, which means you are very limited to what you can do (school figures, etc). The instructors are really trying to teach more technical things considering limited space. When it comes to jumping, your opitions are even worse, since lately the price for a private jumping lesson increased to 70 pounds per 30 minutes. Most likely the rule was implemented just to put people off, since private lessons simply don't bring enough money to justify the exclusive use of the arena.

The stated reason behind the price increase was 'horses wellbeing', which I really doubt, since their ponies and horses are jumping all the time in group lessons, probably way more than they should, and jumping in group lessons will carry on as normal.

- Most of the times the horses are stabled, not much turnout and not much bedding. Many horses are desensitised to the leg and don't enjoy what they are doing, which is only normal considering the circumstances.

-Since the place is so busy, you never get the chance to discuss things with your instructor, since there is another lesson right/before after you. If your lesson starts 5 minutes later due to the previous one running late, you will still finish on time, and will ride about 25 minutes in total which is nothing for an adult.

As an adult you will be given beginner horses forever (a friend of mine who has been riding for many years (elsewhere) was always given very beginner horses, turned out that she was marked as a total beginner in the system), it looks like the person who decides which horse to allocate to you never actually saw your riding, decision is probably based simply on your age/weight/height, and instructors are too busy to actually go to the office and perhaps change it.

The atmosphere on the yard is very strange. Some staff will tell you not to handle the horses 'we do that for you', then suddenly you will be told off by 'still haven't checked the girth/adjusted stirrups?' so it is always a lose-lose situation whatever you do.

Rode her for a few years then noticed the miss treating of horses- never groomed, lack of bedding, lack of hay, lack of turnout! And they over jump there horses so much! Jumping a 4-15 year old horse 6 times a week multiple times a day isn’t right! Staff are awful aswell! Super bitchy and fat shamed me! When told to stand on the scales to check my weight they couldn’t get a reading so one told the other to change the scales and then said ‘no it will come up in the thousands!’ Awful behaviour!

Would definitely not recommend! All about the money instead of horse welfare!

A very friendly, helpful, supportive riding school, with a good variety of horses, range of classes, and other opportunities as well, especially during the holidays.

I would highly recommend this venue for someone who is starting out with riding, all the way through to someone who is a more experienced rider, looking to develop further.

A very good level of tuition, and a good range of classes, as well as private tuition available for those who want that bit extra.

When i started riding there i felt it was the best place ever, since my friend had been complaining about her riding school. I advanced up through classes quite quickly and enjoyed lessons with my instructors for the several years i was there.

If there's one thing i noticed, the instructors of course had their favorites, however i can't complain as whenever i asked to ride a specific horse, they did normally let me ride it the next week.

I did notice that the horses stables were lacking in bedding, other yards i have been to provided plenty of straw/shavings, i noticed the ponies weren't groomed regularly as stuff would be stuck to their hooves before lessons and there would be mud on their coats, and their stables were dirty.

My class was normally quite small maybe 5/6 people riding each week, but towards the end of my time there my class was filled to the maximum with older ponies which were used in beginner lessons and a lot of younger riders were put into this class, where we would normally ride the bigger/newer horses.. that lesson was "fun" having youngsters who could barely canter. I felt that it could have been organised a bit better.

I did go through a good couple of instructors who came and went. I felt some of the staff were quite rude and bitchy, there were only few members of staff whom i felt provided excellent customer service.

But, coming up to the end of my time there i felt the place became more obsessed with how much money it could make, thus squeezing as many people into a class as possible completely disregarding their level of skill. I've never once recommended this riding centre to anyone.

When I first started going to Rayne Riding Centre, it was good, a huge step up from my previous yard. However this did not last. The staff turnover was huge every single week, I had a different instructor and was asked the same questions about my riding over and over, so there was very little progress. Some staff were very friendly, others were a huge let down to the school and were rude and in some ways cruel to the horses. When you did have a good instructor consistently, you would come back the next week to find they had left, the staff would not give an explanation why.

The horses were looked after to cost- cutting standards, some were overworked, others were not. The yard was untidy and the horses had limited bedding in there stables which were always quite dirty. In the winter they did not appear to have rugs on.

The arenas were small, and you would be lucky to have them to yourself during a private lesson! The pricing was cheaper compared to other schools but not for what Rayne was offering.

We drove from Lodnon to do a two hour hack at Rayne riding school...the entire experience was very disappointing. Then horses they gave us were very old and lazy, could barely trot. We asked several time to the girl who took us around whether we could try a canter but despite she kept saying we would we never even tried one. Also the itinerary she chose was very ugly, mainly urban. She was consistently unfriendly, didnt say goodbye or asked for a feed-back art the end.

Complete waste of money.

Rayne riding centre is a bit step up from my previous centre. The horses are well looked after and all the staff know them well. When you arrive the staff are kind and help you with what to do. The lessons themselves always seem to last the right time and I always finish them sweating.

However, it didn't bother me but when you are new to horse riding they don't really explain everything to you. They don't tell you HOW to tack up, groom and so forth.

Overall, I believe it's worth the money and I would recommend it to other people. Baring in mind what was previously mentioned.

Rayne riding center is amazing, they are so good at helping people's confidence with horse. The staff are friendly, encouraging and very supportive. The horses there are very well looked after ( you will never ride a dirty horse) they also make sure the horse are not over worked. There are lots of horses at rayne so they always match you up with a perfect horse for you. Rayne has a good verity of jumps which are nice to practice your clear round jumping on. They also have lots of events on like own a pony days and dressage tests to hacking in the amazing fields and Forrest on there doorstep. Everyone loves rayne riding center!!!!!

The best equestrian centre in Essex, in my humble opinion. Excellent facilities, fantastic selection of horses, brilliant staff. This establishment is affiliated as an exam centre with the British Horse Society and it is clear to see the work that goes into making customer and spectators happy. Horses are very well cared for, they engage in a variety of level of activities and are not at all over worked (and so havent turned into zombies). It is wonderful to see such a clean & friendly yard which looks after their horses and riders so well. All the instructors know their stuff, and work with all their students in a friendly and positive way. They all help build confidence and ability.Although not huge, the car park does seem to hold just about enough cars. Accomplished riders can participate in jumping classes and small onsite competitions.

Good local friendly stables although a teaching for beginners could be better in terms of holding the reins and how to sit etc just the basics when you start riding. Some extremly friendly and helpful staff who are willing to listen and help. Horse's look well cared for and happy and lessons well attended. They are good at building confindence if a child is timid.