Horseback riding is a wonderful hobby because of the incredible animals and the wonderful humans who love horses. Once new riders begin researching horse riding and learn to ride, many find themselves wishing for some friends to ride with. This is where horse riding clubs come in handy!
Riding clubs can offer a wide variety of services, so the process of finding a good club can be overwhelming. Let’s start with the basics.
What are horse riding clubs?
Horse riding clubs are groups or organizations that provide several horse-related services. Some can be full-fledged facilities with their own horses that provide lessons and host competitions, but many are smaller clubs that allow people to ride together in groups.
The main things that horse riding clubs provide are resources like arenas, trails, or horses and services/social opportunities like lessons, competitions, scheduled group rides and group trail rides.
Horse riding clubs can be great to join for someone who is just starting to learn how to ride or for established equestrians who are looking for some extra fun and companionship.
How to Choose the Best Horse Riding Clubs
With so many horse clubs offering different things, it can be difficult to decide on which club to join.
Location
The biggest thing to consider at the start of this process is the location! Anyone interested in joining a club should decide how far they’d be willing to travel and start searching for horse riding clubs near them. Depending on where you live, this could significantly reduce your options and therefore make the decision-making less of a struggle. If you only have one club close enough to where you live, that will have to be the club for you!
Riding Discipline and Services on Offer
For those who live in bigger cities or more horse-heavy areas, the next step is to decide what exactly you want out of a club.
One good way to do this is to narrow the search to a specific riding discipline, such as looking for clubs that specialize in western or English riding. Most of the horse world is divided between the two styles, and horse riding clubs are no different, so try to decide on a preference before looking for clubs to join.
The next thing to consider would be the actual services you’re looking for. If you want to join a club that offers lessons or hosts competitions, there may only be one or two clubs nearby that offer such things. Figure out your riding club wishlist to make the search as narrow as possible.
Is your riding club a good fit?
The next thing to consider is whether a club is a good fit for you and your horse.
Some clubs may only have long, strenuous trails or host high-level competitions, which may not be the best option for certain horses or less experienced riders.
Don’t be afraid to contact a club to ask how beginner-friendly they are or assess the intensity level of the activities they have. Some clubs may also have public events to attend so you can get a feel for the club and decide whether or not it’s for you.
Consider Other Options
In addition to regular riding clubs, there are also larger horse associations that can be joined to enjoy many of the benefits of smaller clubs.
Horse associations are usually focused on a specific riding discipline or horse breed, with the American Quarter Horse Association being a well-known example.
These organizations could be national or state-based, and many will have local events and competitions where you can meet other riders and hopefully obtain some riding buddies. These types of groups may offer other services like magazines, stud services, and riding equipment sales, and local chapters could function very similarly to small riding clubs.
Conclusion
Horse riding clubs are a wonderful way to have more fun with riding and make some horse-loving friends.
On top of that, they can be a great way to gain access to arenas, trails, competitions, and lessons that would otherwise be hard to find.
The biggest thing to focus on when deciding on which club to join is doing some research and deciding what you would like to do in a club and what would be the best for you and your horse. Once you have some ideas in mind, you can research your local clubs and see which ones seem to fit your needs the most.