THE PADDOCKSReitzentrum · Dublin Mountains
Heute bis 6 pm geöffnetWoodside Road, Sandyford — 15 Min. von der M50
Helme & Stiefel gratis+353 87 223 7981Gutscheine
THE PADDOCKSRIDING CENTRE · DUBLIN
A rider cantering past the stable block at The PaddocksPlaceholder — not this yard
Lessons · in the arena

Learn to ride,
an hour at a time.

Group lessons on Saturdays and Sundays at two o’clock, from age five. Private and semi-private lessons through the week. Riding hats and boots are fitted on arrival and cost nothing.

€50
child · trial hour
€55
adult · trial hour
Age 5
and up
2 pm
Saturdays and Sundays
What actually happens

Your first hour,
minute by minute

Nobody rings a riding centre to ask about the price. They ring to ask what it is like. This is what it is like.

A palomino being schooled along the fence of the arenaNeeds pro shoot
A rider on a palomino at the start of a lesson, the rest of the group behindNeeds pro shoot
A small child on a grey pony among other horses on the hill trackNeeds pro shoot
One hour, from the car park
−15 min
Park in the yard and find the office. Somebody will be expecting you by name.
−10 min
A hat and a pair of boots fitted to you. Long trousers and a rain jacket are the only things you bring.
00:00
Meet your horse. Which one you get depends on your height, your weight and how sure you look — that is why the booking form asks.
00:10
Walking on. Sitting straight, holding the reins properly, and stopping when you mean to.
00:25
Steering on your own. Circles, changing the rein, keeping a sensible distance from the horse in front.
00:40
Rising trot. Most people find it inside the first hour. Nobody minds if you do not.
00:55
Back to the middle of the arena, feet on the ground, a hand on the neck before you go.
Book your first hour
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Before you book

Is it a lesson you want, or a walkout?

It is the question the yard is asked more than any other, so here is the honest answer rather than a sales one.

In the arena

A lesson

  • You want to learn: seat, steering, stopping, rising trot, in time jumping.
  • You are happy to be corrected for an hour, out loud, in front of four others.
  • You would come back next week, and the week after that.
  • You are five or over, and you can be here at two o’clock on a Saturday.
€50
child · €55 adult · one hour
You are on the right page
In the forest

A walkout

  • You want the trail and the view over Dublin Bay, not a technique.
  • You have never ridden, or you have not ridden since you were a child.
  • You are here for an afternoon, not for a season.
  • You are content to be led: walk only, on a lead rein, always — no trotting, no cantering.
€70–€90
per rider · one hour · always private
Read about walkouts
Four ways to ride

Pick the shape of the hour

Same arena, same instructors. What changes is how many people are in it with you, and how quickly you get on.

Riders from the yard lined up in the ring at a local showStart hereNeeds pro shoot

Group trial lesson

Your first hour in the arena with a qualified instructor and four or five others.

1 hourSat & Sun 2 pmFrom age 5
€50
child · €55 adult
Book
A rider on a palomino in the arena, with the group schooling behindTwo or three of youNeeds pro shoot

Semi-private lesson

Two or three riders who already know each other, one instructor.

50 min2 – 3 ridersPrivate group
€75
per rider · two or three of you
Book
A rider cantering a dark bay horse across the grass fieldOne to one

Private lesson

Fifty minutes, one instructor, one rider.

50 minOne-to-oneSemi-private €75
€80
child · €90 adult
Book
A rider jumping a palomino over a pole outside the arenaAll at onceNeeds pro shoot

Beginner intensive course

From never having ridden to riding independently, in a restricted group.

Small groupBeginnerCourse
€490
small group · the full course
Book
Every price

What a lesson costs

Euro, VAT included, nothing added at checkout. Riding hats and boots are provided free with every lesson.

Lessons · 2026
Lessons · 2026
What you bookPrice
Group trial lesson · childOne hour · Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm · from age five€50
Group trial lesson · adultOne hour · Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm€55
Semi-private lessonFifty minutes · two or three riders who already know each other€75each
Private lesson · childFifty minutes, one instructor, one rider€80
Private lesson · adultFifty minutes, one instructor, one rider€90
Ten group lessons · childUse within 11 weeks · €500 bought singly, so it saves €80€420
Ten group lessons · adultUse within 11 weeks · €550 bought singly, so it saves €110€440
Ten private lessons · childUse within 14 weeks · €800 bought singly, so it saves €50€750
Beginner intensive courseSmall group · from never having ridden to riding independently€490

Change or cancel free up to 48 hours before your slot. Inside 48 hours we do our best to offer a credit. Please arrive 15 minutes early so hats and boots can be fitted.

Riding every week

A book of ten,
and the sums behind it

Pay once, ride ten times, and the yard keeps count for you. It is the best value on this page — but it comes with a deadline, and you should read the deadline before you pay rather than after.

Ten group lessons · child
€50 × 10 = €500
€420
saves €80
Use within 11 weeks
Ten group lessons · adult
€55 × 10 = €550
€440
saves €110
Use within 11 weeks
Ten private lessons · child
€80 × 10 = €800
€750
saves €50
Use within 14 weeks

The window starts the day you pay

Eleven weeks for a book of group lessons, fourteen for a book of private lessons. That is the trade: the yard holds the same slot for you every week, and in return the book is used inside the season rather than left in a drawer. Ten weekly lessons inside eleven weeks leaves you one week spare, and no more than that.

So buy the book when your weeks are clear — not before exams, not the fortnight before a holiday. Single lessons are always there in the meantime, at the prices above.

Buy a book of tenTry one lesson first

Free cancellation up to 48 hours before.

Private & semi-private

Fifty minutes that are entirely yours

Wednesday to Sunday, by arrangement. Ring the yard if the diary looks full.

People book a private lesson for one of two reasons: to get better faster, or to get over a fright. Both work, and neither needs explaining when you arrive.

Bring the thing you want fixed. A canter transition that keeps falling apart, a horse that leans on your inside hand, a fall two years ago that is still in your shoulders — that is what the fifty minutes goes on. Nothing is shared with a group, so nothing has to be explained twice.

A semi-private is the same lesson with two or three riders who already know each other: siblings, a couple, two friends at roughly the same level. You keep most of the attention of a private lesson and pay €75 each for it. It is the quietest way to bring a nervous adult back to riding, because somebody they trust is in the arena with them.

Please arrive 15 minutes early so hats and boots can be fitted. Maximum rider weight 95 kg (15 stone), for the horses’ welfare.
One instructor
  • Private lesson · child€80
  • Private lesson · adult€90
  • Semi-private · 2 – 3 riders€75
  • Ten private lessons · child€750

Fifty minutes each. The book of ten runs for 14 weeks from the day you pay.

Where it goes

From one hour to the pony club

Nobody is pushed up this list. Plenty of riders stop at step two and keep coming for years.

01

The trial hour

One lesson, one hour, nothing signed. Saturdays and Sundays at two o’clock, from age five.

02

The weekly slot

A book of ten holds the same time each week, so the instructor and the horse both know you by the third one.

03

Poles, then fences

Trotting poles first, then small fences, then out of the arena and up onto the hill for a change of scene.

04

Shows and pony club

Hunter trials, cross-country, pony club and the outings the yard runs through the year, including the beach.

Kit

What to wear, and what you never have to buy

Long trousers and a rain jacket. Riding hats and boots are provided free.

Bring

  • Long trousers — jeans, leggings, jodhpurs. Anything without a hard seam inside the knee.
  • A rain jacket. The arena is covered, the walk to it is not.
  • Shoes with a small heel if you have them. If you have not, we have boots.
  • Long hair tied back, and no scarves.

Provided, free

  • A riding hat, fitted to your head on arrival — not handed to you in a size.
  • Riding boots in your size, adult and child.
  • Everything the horse wears. You never bring tack.
  • Somewhere dry to wait, and parking at the gate.
Please arrive 15 minutes early so hats and boots can be fitted. If you would rather buy your own hat, boots or jodhpurs, the tack shop is on site — see the tack shop.
Questions

Asked at the gate, most weeks

Anything not here, ring the yard. Somebody who teaches will answer, not a call centre.

I have never sat on a horse. Is a group lesson really where I start?
Yes. The Saturday and Sunday two o’clock lessons are trial lessons — four or five riders, most of them on their first hour. You are taught from the ground up: how to sit, how to hold the reins, how to stop. Nothing is assumed.
How old does a child have to be?
Five for a lesson. Under five, Pony Play is the right thing: an hour from age three, twenty minutes grooming and forty minutes riding on a lead rein, with a parent beside the pony the whole time.
What happens if it rains?
The lesson goes ahead. The arena is covered and all-weather, so rain changes what you wear and nothing else. Long trousers and a jacket, and you will be fine.
How long does a book of ten last?
Eleven weeks for a book of group lessons, fourteen for a book of private lessons. The window starts the day you pay, not the day of your first lesson, so it is worth buying a book when you know your weeks are clear. Free cancellation up to 48 hours before.
Is there a weight limit?
Maximum rider weight 95 kg (15 stone), for the horses’ welfare. If you are near it, ring the yard before you book and we will tell you which horses are free that day.
Ready when you are

Start with one hour.
Decide after that.

Book a trial lesson for the coming weekend. If it turns out you wanted the forest and the view instead, the walkouts run every day.