Horse riding for beginners in Side
"Do I need to know how to ride?" is the question we are asked most, and the answer is no — but a flat no is not much use on its own. Here is what actually happens if you have never sat on a horse.
No previous riding experience is required. Most guests on this ride have never been on a horse. The staff choose a suitable horse for you rather than letting you pick, a helmet is provided, you are shown how to sit, steer and stop before anyone moves, and a guide rides with the group throughout. The woodland stretch is at a walk. Nobody is asked to go faster than they want to.
Do I need previous horse riding experience?
No. This ride is sold to people on holiday, not to riders, and the whole thing is arranged on that basis: horses that are used to beginners, a walking pace on the first stretch, and staff who expect to explain everything from scratch.
The one thing worth bringing is honesty. If you are nervous, say so at the start rather than at the point where it shows. It changes which horse you get, and that is the single thing that most affects how the hour goes.
You do not choose your own horse
And that is a feature. The staff look at your height, your build and how you are standing next to the animal, and they pick. A confident rider and a first-timer can go out in the same group precisely because neither of them chose.
If the horse you are given feels wrong once you are on it — too wide, too tall, too keen — say so before the group moves off. Swapping at the centre takes a minute. Swapping on the track does not happen.
What you are actually taught
- How to sit: upright, heels down, weight through your feet rather than your hands.
- How to steer: gently, with the rein and your eyes, not by hauling.
- How to stop: sit deep, squeeze the reins, say the word. In that order.
- What to do when the horse in front stops: yours will too, and that is the moment beginners grab. Don't.
It is not a lesson. It is enough to ride safely at a walk in a guided group for an hour, which is exactly what this is.
Will I be made to gallop?
No. A rider who can genuinely handle more may be offered a faster stretch where the ground allows and where the guide judges it sensible. That call belongs to the guide alone, nothing about it is promised in advance, and no one is pushed into it.
If you want the whole hour at a walk, have the whole hour at a walk. Nobody will think less of you and the view is identical.
Will it hurt afterwards?
A little, probably, in muscles you did not know were involved — the inside of your thighs mostly. An hour is short enough that it is a mild ache rather than a day off, and long trousers do more to prevent soreness than anything else you can control.
If you have serious back problems this ride is not for you, and that is not a formality.
Ready to ride?
The standard hour has a price and a calendar. Sunset, sunrise and private rides are arranged with the riding centre.
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