Equestrian Venues in West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire rides on the edge of the moors. Leeds, Bradford and the textile towns give way quickly to the Pennines, and the riding country starts where the streets end, on the moorland and in the valleys above Calderdale and around Ilkley. Saddl lists 18 venues, 9 BHS-approved. These are yards that serve a big urban population, so teaching is a strength, with schools running lessons for all ages and indoor arenas that earn their keep through long Pennine winters. Hacking improves fast as you climb, onto heather moor and gritstone edges with the kind of views the Brontes wrote about. The going can be heavy in the valleys and exposed up top, so a sure-footed horse helps. Livery near the towns is in demand. Prices are reasonable by national standards, well below the south. For beginners, the county is well supplied with accredited schools used to teaching from scratch. More experienced riders use the moors for hill work and travel into the Dales for cross-country and bigger hacking. The character here is honest, hard-wearing riding country, close to the city but a world away once you're up on the tops.