Horse Riding Lessons for Beginners

Learn to ride a horse with our sport & fitness short courses in Sydney!

In partnership with Eastside Riding Academy, Sydney Community College is proud to present our new and improved Horse Riding Lessons for Beginners. This course will give you a broad overview of horse riding, with part theory and majority practical riding experience, because we all know what you want most is time in the saddle. At the end of the course, you should understand how horses think, how to interpret their body language, what gear to use when riding and whether it is correctly fitted as well as the correct terminology around riding. It doesn’t matter if you’re brand new to horse riding as this horse riding course is aimed at the beginner. Eastside Riding Academy in Centennial Park has one of the best reputations in the country and prides itself on being fun, inclusive and welcoming to all.

If you want to learn to about horses and horse riding in Sydney, then this horse riding course is for you.

Learning outcomes

By the end of these horse riding lessons, you should be able to:

• Correctly saddle and tack the horse
• Mount and dismount the horse correctly
• Sit safely in the saddle
• Walk, trot, and steer the horse.

Course content

What will be covered in this course?

• Understand the horse’s perspective
• Read the horse’s body language
• Groom a horse
• Get themselves and the horse ready to ride
• Tack up a horse, recognise and name the gear needed
• Get on the horse and sit safely in the saddle
• Walk and steer a horse
• Correctly dismount
• Untack and take care of a horse after riding

Course venue

Eastside Riding Academy

Centennial Parklands Equestrian Centre
114-120 Lang Road
Centennial Park, NSW 2021

There is free parking on-site, at the top of the property. You drive in through a boom gate which opens automatically as you approach. Please note that there is a one-way traffic system. You must turn left after the boom gate and keep to the 10km per hour speed limit. Be careful if you use Google Maps as it tends to take you to the Entertainment Quarter, rather than the Equestrian Centre. Eastside Riding Academy is not located in Centennial Park, but in the suburb of that name.

The suburbs surrounding the Equestrian Centre can be very busy at traffic peak times, including evenings and weekends. Please ensure you allow plenty of time for travel, so that you don’t miss out on your course by being late.

Course materials

Equipment provided

• Riding boots and helmets provided as part of the course fee

What to bring to class

• Wear socks so boots don't rub your feet
• Wear flexible pants

Additional information

Please note the following:

• Important: Please be aware that there is a weight limit for this horse riding course of 85kg maximum.
• Please arrive 15 minutes early to be fitted with your boots, helmet and to complete paperwork.
• There is a minimum age of 16 years to attend this course, this course is not intended for children.
• We can not apply any discounts to the price of this course.
• There are toilets and showers on-site, as well as a drinks machine and coffee machine.
• Sessions go ahead even when it is raining, as the Sydney Horse Stables are undercover as are two of the riding arenas. The arenas and stables are lit in the evenings, so after-work classes are held all year round.
• All sport/recreation classes are active and therefore you must bring to the attention of the tutor any physical or health-related impairment that may affect your safety.
• For all courses involving physical activity, you must arrive by the published course commencement time or the tutor may refuse to admit you into the session. The agenda for many courses involving physical activity starts with a workplace health and safety (WH&S) briefing and/or a warm-up and to miss either may create a hazard to you, which might exclude you from participation for the session.