Team Tutsham Saddle Club
We are not your average riding school!
At Team Tutsham Saddle Club, we believe that learning about ponies goes far beyond just riding lessons. It’s about fostering confidence, responsibility, and friendships in a fun and supportive environment. It is for this reason we don’t offer stand alone lessons, the children spend the day with us. What is the point of learning to ride a horse if you don’t know how to care for it?
Our Saddle Club runs every Saturday throughout the year, from 8:45AM to 2:30PM – rain or shine! (We’re a hardy bunch, and our ponies are too.)
Thanks to generous charity grants, we’re proud to provide every child with a free lunch and cold drinks throughout the day, ensuring they stay energized and ready to learn.
Who Can Join?
Children aged eight and up are welcome to enrol into our sessions. Our relaxed and positive atmosphere ensures that every child, regardless of their background or ability, feels supported and encouraged. Along the way, they’ll develop practical pony care and riding skills while making memories and friendships to last a lifetime.
What Happens at Saddle Club?
Bringing the Ponies In
After arrival and registration, the children head to the fields to bring the ponies into the barn. At Team Tutsham, we emphasise the importance of horse care – not just riding.
Grooming
Once the ponies are back at the barn, it’s time for grooming! This essential part of horse care helps the children bond with the ponies and learn about their well-being. All grooming and safety equipment is provided.
Tacking Up
The children assist in tacking up the ponies, learning the ins and outs of saddles, bridles, and other tack. These hands-on lessons are key to becoming a pony expert.
Riding Lessons
Our group riding lessons last about an hour and cater to all skill levels, from complete beginners to experienced riders. No matter their ability, every child develops new skills, gains valuable experiences, and forms lifelong connections – both with other riders and their ponies.
Stable Management
We teach everything from saddlery and points of a horse, to poisonous plants and native breeds. Our teaching goes way beyond horse riding!
Lunch is a social time
We provide the food and drink, our children provide the chatter and laughter!
Turning Out
After the riding lessons, the children untack and groom the ponies one last time before returning them to the fields. It’s a perfect end to a fun and rewarding day.
Recognising Achievements
As part of the Association of British Riding Schools, we are so happy to be able to offer: Rosette Awards (both Ridden & Stable Management), Progressive Rider Tests & Equine Care Awards.
Saddle Club Opportunities
Pony Time-Share
A chance to experience having your own Pony by sharing one of ours! Our ponies all love having their own special person who loves them like their own. (TimeSharers must meet a certain level of both ridden & stable management competencies as well as a regular time commitment, please speak to Max for more information.)
In-House Shows
Saddle Club members are invited to participate in our relaxed, supportive shows, where they can showcase their developing riding skills. These events are fantastic confidence boosters and a celebration of their progress.
Holiday Activities
During school holidays, we offer special events such as:
- Pony Experiences – the chance to groom and ride a pony around our beautiful farm.
- Stable Management Certificate programmes.
- Agility Days and Cross-Country lessons.
- Trips in our TT minibus to places like local horse trainers for natural horsemanship demonstrations, Hickstead, The London Horse Show or even the local tack shop for pony treats!
There’s always something exciting happening at Team Tutsham Saddle Club.
A Pony for Everyone
Our experienced ponies welcome new students with patience and care. Each child is matched with a pony based on their ability and size, ensuring a perfect fit. Before long, every rider forms a special bond with their pony – a relationship built on trust and teamwork.
Join us at Team Tutsham Saddle Club, where the opportunities are endless, and every child has the chance to shine.
Education and Training
Saddle Club work towards the Association of British Riding Schools Rosette Awards, Care Awards and Progressive Rider Awards.
Saddle Club Resources
Click the images or links below to open a printable PDF in a new tab
Unfortunately, our Saddle Club is currently full. We do have a waiting list, but we’ve made the difficult decision to close it for now, as the waiting time was becoming very long. Once children start at Saddle Club, they tend to stay with us for many years, which means we don’t often gain spaces and the waiting list moves very slowly. We only have a limited number of ponies, and their welfare and happiness always come first, so there’s only so many hours we can ask of them. Because of this, creating extra spaces isn’t easy without compromising their wellbeing. We truly appreciate your understanding and patience. We will share any updates or changes on our social media pages.