Why Riding Schools Matter, And Why Splendacrest Exists

Across Australia, riding schools are becoming harder to find. Rising insurance, feed bills that behave like they’re on steroids, staff shortages, and the sheer day-to-day workload put huge pressure on small equestrian centres. It’s easy to look at a riding school and not see the mountain it stands on, but without them, we’re heading into a real crisis for riders and their much-loved horses.

I was one of the lucky ones who always had a horse in the backyard. I did my homework on their backs, I rode every day, and I learned the old-school way: do the hard work, fall off a lot, get back on even more. My parents encouraged Pony Club (which I had to ride to), and entering shows, but never pushed it. My first pony was a Shetland mare when I was two. My second was a 14hh stockhorse mare who carried me through countless adventures from ages five to ten. She had a foal who became my third horse, and together we were stars at Pony Club. Then came my fourth, a partbred Arabian gelding I broke in at twelve, when he was just two. No one else could ride him, but he and I could do anything together: four-foot jumps, 20-mile days for weeks on end, hack classes, the lot. He lived to 36 and now rests right in the middle of the Splendacrest arena.

Kids who loved horses but didn’t have the same access often learned to ride on mine. I’d ride over to their place, give them a lesson, and ride home, none of which my parents knew about at the time. There were no riding schools where I grew up, apart from Pony Club once a month. But the kids who had been to riding schools in other towns always wanted a turn on my horse. By the time I left school, I’d ridden dozens of horses: saints, idiots, OTTBs, and the humbling ones that teach you fast.

I’d done shows, main street processions, trails with varying levels of control, dressage, jumping, polocrosse, barrel racing, novelty events, hacking, and a mountain of long-distance riding. And through all of it, my horses quietly taught me how to stay balanced and confident in walk, trot, and canter.

Adulthood took me through all sorts of careers, some horsey and some office-shaped. Along the way I tried cutting, reining, western pleasure, dressage, campdrafting, and droving. Eventually I came back to horses full-time in 2000 and never left; endurance has been my world ever since.

I started my riding school because I could see a real need, and in the 25 years since, I’ve taught thousands of people to ride. Some had only a handful of lessons; some stayed 10–15 years. I’ve helped many people choose their first horse, and the Splendacrest “boomerang program” became a hit: clients buy a suitable horse, and when they move on to another, I buy that horse back so it can safely find its next person.

But the landscape is shifting. As fewer riding schools survive, more people are buying horses with very little riding experience. Often it’s a green horse, a youngster, or an OTTB straight off the track. Sometimes it’s a rider returning after twenty years whose body has done many things in life, except sit in a saddle recently.

And suddenly you’ve got a trio, horse, owner, and instructor, in a tough spot. Rising to the trot is not “easy,” no matter what the internet says. It takes hours of practice on educated horses who can carry the load while you learn. Cantering? That needs regular miles too. If you and your horse aren’t comfortable with it, that accidental pop into canter can be a startling moment for you both.

This is exactly why riding school horses are the quiet superheroes of the equestrian world. A good school horse gives riders the miles they need, safely, consistently, and without the pressure of also having to educate a green horse. They create space for genuine learning. They fill the gaps. They prepare you for the horse you have now or the horse you hope to own someday.

Here at Splendacrest Stables, our school horses carry decades of combined wisdom. They help beginners find their balance, returning riders rebuild confidence, and new horse owners develop the skills that keep everyone safe. They shoulder the early learning so your own horse doesn’t have to absorb your entire riding journey.

If you’re new to riding, returning after a long break, or thinking of buying a youngster, please consider booking proper lessons. There’s no shame in learning, only in skipping the steps that keep you and your horse safe. You can’t replace real riding time with YouTube, Facebook threads, or clinic spectating. You learn to ride by actually riding.

Splendacrest exists so riders of all ages and abilities can build the solid foundations they deserve, and so the horses in our wider community can benefit from well-educated, confident, capable owners.

And if you’ve got a favourite riding school horse, give them a pat next time you see them. They’re doing far more for the horse world than most people will ever realise.