Horse riding in England

About riding in England

England's riding landscape is more varied and more dramatic than outsiders often expect. The South West alone — Dartmoor, Exmoor, the South Downs — offers hundreds of miles of open riding country, from granite-studded moorland to rolling chalk downland to spectacular coastal clifftops. Further north, the Yorkshire Dales, the North Pennines, and Northumberland offer vast, wild terrain with very few visitors and extraordinary freedom.

The horses used in English riding centres are typically robust, sensible breeds suited to the terrain: native moorland ponies and crosses in Dartmoor and Exmoor, warmbloods and sports horses in more formal hacking centres, heavier cobs in the north. English riding culture values practicality and safety — guides are generally well-trained and routes are well-considered, even if the experience can feel more structured than riding abroad.

England is rideable year-round, but the experience changes dramatically with the seasons. Spring and autumn offer the best combination of comfortable temperatures, lower visitor numbers, and beautiful light. Summer can be magical on the moorlands. Winter riding — cold, wet, often muddy — is not for everyone, but there is a particular pleasure in having wild places entirely to yourself.

Reviewed stables in England

2 listings — all first-hand reviews

Moorland

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿Devon, England

Dartmoor Riding Centre

5.0

One of Dartmoor's best-regarded riding centres — open moorland, granite tors, and miles of freedom right from the yard gate.

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Moorland

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿Somerset, England

Exmoor Trekking Centre

4.0

Exmoor's rolling heather moorland meets the dramatic Bristol Channel coast — some of England's most spectacular riding terrain.

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