Abbotsford Park Riding Centre

13/08/2026

😎 COURTESY REMINDER:

Kaylee is taking a much needed break and is now out of the office until Wednesday 19th.

Any enquires, messages, phone calls etc received during this time will not be answered until after she gets back. She will do her best to get back to everyone as promptly as possible on return.

Our Saturday morning Horsemanship Program will run as usual, with Jo (and 3 helpers) taking over the class. There will be no other lessons running during this time.

Kaylee is looking forward to seeing you all when she gets back! 💕😄

21/07/2026

WELCOME BACK! 😄

Term 3 has begun, and our regular lesson programs resume this weekend! We hope you've all had a wonderful holiday break and are looking forward to getting back in the saddle and continuing your learning journey with us.

We’ve had an incredibly busy school holiday period, so over the coming week we’ll be catching up on emails, enquiries, and the many farm jobs that accumulated during the holidays. Thank you for your patience while we work through everything!

➡ A reminder for our Horsemanship Program families:
Enrollments automatically roll over from one term to the next. Unless we receive notice of cancellation before the start of term, we will assume your place is continuing for Term 3.

If you’re unsure of your lesson start date or time, please send us a message and we’ll confirm it as soon as possible.

We can’t wait to see everyone back this weekend! 🐴💙

08/07/2026

🐴 July School Holidays - Private Lessons FULLY BOOKED! 🥰

We are delighted to share that our private lessons are now fully booked for the entire July school holiday period!

There are still a limited number of places available in our Half Day Camp on 18 July, so be sure to book soon as these are filling quickly too. The other camp days are also fully booked.

If any private lesson cancellations become available, we'll advertise them on our socials. Alternatively, you're welcome to send us a message and ask to be added to our cancellation contact list, so you'll have the opportunity to secure a spot before it's publicly advertised.

To our regular clients, new and returning riders, one-off visitors, and everyone who support what we do here; Thank You. Your support means the world to us, and we're incredibly grateful to share our horses and our passion with such an amazing community. 💙🐴

22/06/2026

✨🐴JULY SCHOOL HOLIDAY PROGRAMS🐴✨

Holiday Day-Camps for ages 8+. Hands on learning days blending education with horsemanship skills. Perfect for beginners through to confident, experienced riders. Plenty of hands on horse time, riding and lots of fun!

🔷 FULL DAY: 9AM - 4PM 〰️ [$180pp, lunch included]
Wednesday 8th July - 4 spots remaining
Friday 17th July - 4 spots remaining

🔹HALF DAY: 9AM - 1PM 〰️ [$100pp, lunch included]
Friday 10th - 6 spots remaining
Saturday 18th - 6 spots remaining
➡ Half day options are available for any full day program also.

🔵PRIVATE LESSONS and PONY RIDES
1hr or 1.5 hr private lessons are available on selected days for ages 7+ and limited to 3 riders per session to ensure individual attention and a calm, supportive learning environment. Beginners and adults welcome. Weight limit of 80/85kg.
All lessons begin with a ground up approach and non riding/ground handling only lessons are always welcome. Bring your own horse, or ride one of our beautiful herd members.

1 hour session: $90pp
1.5 hour session: $120pp
30-min pony rides (ages 3+): $50pp >>only available during school holidays!

⚠️BOOKINGS AND CANCELLATION POLICY⚠️
- Bookings required for all sessions
- 50% deposit required for all new/non-regular clients
- no shows or cancellations within 24hours will result in the deposit being forfeited
- with more than 24 hrs notice, your deposit can be transferred as credit towards a future booking
- arriving late this will cut into your lesson time, not our time. Please be prompt and on time. If you're running late, a quick call is much appreciated.

Call or text the office on 0421854354 or message us here to book! 🐴

28/05/2026

NOW RUNNING EVERY THURSDAY! 😁🐴

Immerse yourself in the world of horses while building confidence and connecting with like-minded individuals! Whether you’re a complete beginner or an experienced rider, our Adults Confidence and Connection Club is designed to cater to your individual abilities and goals in a supportive, low-pressure environment. Whether that be strengthen your bond with your horse through groundwork and riding that focuses on trust and communication, it is all about enjoying the experience at your own pace.

We have been running this group for a while now and there has become so much interest that we're moving from bi-weekly into weekly classes. That being said, it is not a "commitment program". Rock up weekly, or even once a month if you choose, as long as you let us know! 🐴
So join us, for a judgement free, super chill morning where learning with horses meets good conversation and great company.

👉Price: $70pp/per session. (Booking is required)
👉Time: Every Thursday 9am - 11am (may change during school holiday periods).
🐴You are also welcome to bring your own horse too, but our school horses are the bees knees 😉

🚨(Rider limit of 85kg)

14/05/2026

Some of our favourite things about our property is that we can offer our horses a fairly natural space that meets their 3 basic needs.

🐴 Friends:
Our main herd consists of 18 horses and ponies and between those 18 they even have separate smaller friend groups. They graze together, sleep together and play together. It's fascinating to see how far apart the herd can be, yet still be comfortable to be spread apart over many acres. We still love watching them run together on the days that they're feeling fresh and silly. Allowing horses to be able to physically touch and groom one another keeps their nervous system healthy and working correctly.

🐴 Forage:
Our horses have 24hr access to rhodes grass round bale in a . Along with many different native grasses to graze, and fed lucerne hay also as an important part of their diet. Constant forage plays an important part of a horses digestive system. We also water buffets with different herbs so horses can choose which ones they would like.

🐴 Freedom:
Our property spans almost 60 acres, with the herd having access to approx 45 acres of undulating, differing terrains ranging from open cleared paddocks and rocky areas through to dense rainforest and sandy creek beds. We allow the herd access to our "barn/home" paddock on days that lessons are not run. This allows them some new forage, spaces and a dry space in heavy flooding and rainfall, under our large undercover barn. One of our favourite things is that our main herd paddock runs out and away from 'people' so the horses can go and be horses without a human in sight if they choose. It's important to offer them this freedom of choice.

So please enjoy this compilation of our horses enjoying being horses. 🩵🐴🦄

11/05/2026

🙌🐴 What a wonderful post.

As riding instructors we spend a lot of time managing the gap between what new students expect riding to be and what it actually is. Most of that gap could be narrowed significantly with one honest conversation before the first lesson ever happens. So here is everything I wish every new student and every new riding family walked in already knowing...

1. Riding is harder than it looks
This is the one that surprises people most. Watching a good rider looks effortless but it is not effortless. It is years of muscle memory, feel, balance, and body awareness built through consistent work over a long time. Your first lessons will feel awkward and uncoordinated and that is completely normal. Every rider you have ever admired felt exactly the way you feel right now when they were starting out.

2. The horse is not a bicycle
It is a living animal with its own personality, its own opinions, and its own good days and bad days. It does not always do what you ask the first time and that is not always your fault but it is always your responsibility to figure out the communication. Learning to work with a horse rather than on top of one is one of the most valuable things riding teaches and it starts from the very first lesson.

3. Progress is not linear
Some weeks you will feel like you have jumped forward three levels. Other weeks you will feel like you have forgotten everything you learned last month. Both are completely normal parts of learning to ride. The students who improve consistently are not the ones who never have bad lessons but they are the ones who show up anyway and keep working through the frustrating ones.

4. One lesson a week is a start but not a program
A single lesson per week gives you exposure to riding. Two lessons per week builds skill significantly faster. The riders who progress quickest are the ones who ride consistently and frequently enough that their muscles and nervous system have time to develop real memory around what correct feels like. If budget allows for more than one lesson per week it is worth it.

5. Your position will feel wrong before it feels right
Correct position in the saddle feels deeply unnatural to most people at first. Heels down feels like you are pushing your foot through the floor. Sitting tall feels like you are leaning back. An independent hand feels like you are doing nothing. Trust the process and trust your instructor. The things that feel strange now become automatic eventually but only if you commit to doing them correctly rather than defaulting back to what feels comfortable.

6. The time around the lesson matters as much as the lesson itself
Grooming your horse before you ride. Learning to tack up correctly. Understanding how to read your horse's body language in the cross ties. This is not the boring part before the real lesson begins. This is horsemanship and it makes you a better rider than an hour in the saddle alone ever will.

7. Bad rides happen to every rider at every level
Including the ones you look up to most. A bad lesson does not mean you are not cut out for this, it just means you are learning something hard and doing it on the back of a living animal that is also having a day. Come back next week and it will be different.
Your instructor is on your side.

8. Every correction we give is in service of your progress and your safety
We are not pointing out what is wrong to make you feel bad but we are pointing out what needs to change so you can get where you want to go faster and more safely. The students who improve fastest are the ones who hear a correction as information rather than criticism and apply it without taking it personally.

9. Riding changes you in ways you will not expect
The patience it builds, the confidence that comes from communicating with an animal ten times your size and being understood. The resilience that develops from falling short of a goal and coming back for it anyway. The community you find at the barn. None of that shows up in the first lesson or even the tenth but it will show up at one point. For most riders it becomes one of the most significant things in their life and not just what they do on Tuesday afternoons but part of who they are.

If you are a riding instructor share this with every new family who walks through your gate. If you are a new student or a parent of one - welcome. You picked something genuinely worth doing!

What do you wish someone had told you before your very first riding lesson?