Equestrian

Welcome to Edinburgh Napier Equestrian Club! We're a new club to Napier, hoping to give all students an affordable opportunity to try out, or continue to horse ride at university. We run a little differently from most University horse riding clubs, as we have our own two horses to give our members the opportunity to create a better connection with the horse - not only to improve your riding, but to develop a better understanding of equine behaviour, horse care and stable management.

We have groups of 2-5 members going to the stables almost any day of the week, where they help each other to develop their riding and get some time away from the city. Here's what makes our club different:

Our ponies ??

Bryn: 4YO 15hh gelding with the perfect temperament for new riders to learn horse care with. he's bold out on hacks, an angel in the riding school as well as being a great project for our more advanced riders to school.

Cliff: 8YO 16.2hh gelding - a gentle giant suited for the more advanced rider to work on dressage or take out hacking.

Where we train...

We keep our two horses at Stewarton polo Club, South Queensferry. It's a 30-minute drive from Merchiston or Craiglockart, or a 20-minute drive from Sighthill. Transport to and from the campuses is arranged for you at a cost of £10 for the term.

The facilities include an outdoor sand arena, a lit indoor sand arena, and a grass polo pitch for the summer months. We have our own tack, rugs and other equipment for the horses. Stewarton also boast some amazing hacking routes so it's perfect for anyone wanting a break from the city.

What we offer!

Riding lessons:

• We have two horses suited to all abilities, so we welcome all levels of experience
• Our lessons focus on developing your riding in an empathetic way and in a relaxed setting so you can learn at your own pace.
• We teach beginner riders the basics of horse care and stable management to match your riding ability so that you can become independent and confident around horses to put you in a better place for developing your skills further after university.
• Taught by our more advanced volunteering members in order to keep lessons affordable and create a sense of community within the club.
• Opportunity to go to competitions (depending on rider experience and availability)

Hacking:

• Hacking around Stewarton polo club for both beginner and advanced riders.
• Beginners can have a more experienced member on the ground to develop confidence outside of the riding arena.
• Opportunity to take our horses out and about (think beach hacks, long treks across the Pentland hills...)

Polo lessons

• Our polo membership includes polo lessons supervised by a trained polo instructor on the lovely ponies of Stewarton Polo Club!
• Polo practice on our own little Bryn

Typical weekly planner:

We have a booking system where you can work out what days in advance you can come, and we'll suit you with other people from your campus who are of similar ability, as well as a couple advanced volunteers for more groups of more inexperienced riders.

This is just an example! It will likely change week by week to work for you and give you as many chances to come along as possible.

Socials and events

We have a partnership with Club cartel, so our socials are usually at Milk Tuesdays (Bourbon Nightclub) or Broke Fridays (The Liquid Rooms). As well as this, we have a few events lined up such as the Musselburgh Races on the 2^nd of November, a beach hack weekend trip away, yard BBQs, a Christmas dinner and potentially other day/ weekend trips away to horse trials and polo competitions.

Since our horses aren't cheap, we are also hoping to host a few fundraisers to raise money for the upkeep of the ponies whilst also getting all our members together. We'll be having a horseshoe upcycling night to create hanging horseshoe deco to sell, raising money for future saddle fitting demonstrations, new equipment for the horses and to help fund some day trips for you.

Membership plans:

All memberships include return transport from Sighthill, Craiglockart or Merchiston. The memberships go towards the livery of our club pony (Bryn) and fuel costs.

All committee members, lesson instructors/ helpers, riding supervisors and drivers are volunteers, meaning we can offer you the lowest prices possible since we know it's otherwise impossible to start/ continue horse riding on a student budget!

This also means that there are plenty of opportunities to grow your horsemanship skills at the same time as helping fellow students learn as we are always on the lookout for volunteers to help with lessons or horse care.

Accessibility Information

Equestrian Accessibility