Are helmets provided?

How to tell whether it fits

• It sits level, with the front edge just above your eyebrows — not tipped back like a cap.
• It does not rock when you shake your head gently. If it slides, it is too big.
• The strap is snug under your jaw, not under your chin, with about a finger's width of slack.
• Long hair goes under it, tied low. A high bun pushes the helmet forward and off.

Have a look at a child's helmet yourself once the staff have fitted it — a small rider will not always think to say that it is sliding.

Do I have to wear it?

We ask you to. We are not calling it a legal requirement — every rider is given one, and every sensible reason to put it on applies to an hour on a track as much as to an hour in an arena.

It is also the single cheapest thing you will do all day for your own safety: free, already in your hands, and it takes ten seconds.

Can I bring my own?

If you ride at home and own a helmet you trust, bring it. The staff will look at it before you mount and tell you whether it is right for this ride.

A bicycle helmet is not a riding helmet — different shape, different coverage at the back of the head, different test. Use the one the centre gives you instead.

What else is provided

The helmet and the safety equipment for the ride, and that is the honest list. Riding clothing is not provided — no boots, no chaps, no gloves — which is why this site is specific about what to wear.

What you bring is the clothing. What the centre brings is the horse, the tack and the helmet.

What to wear · What shoes to wear