Follifoot has excellent outdoor and indoor facilities and country trails. The Centre boats a choice of well trained horses of every size to suit riders of all ages and abilities from campers who are riding for the first time through the intermediate stages right up to advanced.
The Riding School has been run for the past 27 years by Chris and Julie Pedley – now joined by their son Toby and daughter Ellie-Jay. Julie not only heads up the team of instructors at Follifoot but sits on the Association of British Riding Schools (ABRS) Executive Committee and holds the ABRS TC, Principles Diploma and BHS AI status.
Lessons are from 09.00 o 12.00 on Monday to Friday. On the first morning the group will be divided so that some campers will be introduced to the stable and the impressive Follifoot facilities whilst the others will set off for the first lesson. Midway through the morning after a 15-minute break the order will be reversed.
For the beginners and less experienced riders the time spent on horseback will be about one hour at the start and as the course progresses will be increased. For more experienced riders the aim will be to spend about 90 minutes actually riding.
With the guidance of the team of instructors, riders of all abilities will make steady progress with beginners and intermediates walking, trotting, cantering then jumping logs and eventually small fences As a break from lessons, campers will enjoy the fun, easy competitions and pony games! Experienced riders will be taken through a more advanced programme. too. In addition to the riding instruction, campers will also learn about the care of horses, bandaging, plating, tacking up, brushing and washing the horses after work, cleaning the tack and the important tasks of stable husbandry, all essential elements of this comprehensive course. On the last morning, a highlight of the course will be the fun individual and team games and competitions followed by the presentation of rosettes.
The facilities at Follifoot include:
a spacious indoor arena with a sand and rubber surface, sprinkler system and a viewing area
an outdoor floodlit manage with a sand and rubber chipping Charles Britain all-weather surface
a paddock of 35 acres
space to hack in Follifoot
access to country trails
horse-walker for 4 horses
an on-site working forge
The Stouse is a room where riders can relax. However, its main purpose is to house the amazing ‘Stan the Mechanical Horse’! Stan is a life size mechanical horse used by the instructors and is positioned in front of a large mirror so that the rider can see any problems spotted by the instructors. At the push of a button the instructor can change from a trot to a canter or gallop, all perfectly replicated by Stan. This is a great way to deal with any persistent riding issue or to introduce young riders to a new skill. In addition there is a Function Room with a fitted kitchen. Snacks and soft drinks are available to purchase.
