The state of UK riding schools, 2026

Updated 10 November 2026 · Compiled from live directory data by Will Bales, founder of Saddl.

Saddl maintains one of the most complete public directories of UK equestrian venues, riding schools, livery yards, trekking centres and specialist yards across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The figures below are drawn from the 890 venues currently published on Saddl and are refreshed daily from the live directory. Where a metric depends on yards self-reporting a detail, we say so and give the sample size.

You are welcome to cite these figures. Please attribute them to Saddl with a link to this page.

Accreditation & licensing

Just under half of published riding schools hold a British Horse Society Approved Centre badge, and roughly one in seven is ABRS-approved. Accreditation is not universal, which is exactly why riders value being able to filter for it.

Share is of all 890 published venues. See our guide to BHS vs ABRS approval for what each badge means.

Reviews & reputation

Across the 303 venues with a public Google rating, the mean score is 4.64 out of 5, drawn from 19,103 individual reviews. UK riding schools are, on the whole, well regarded by the riders who use them, the distribution sits firmly at the top of the scale.

What venues offer, by discipline

Hacking is the single most widely offered activity, available at the majority of yards, followed by flatwork and jumping. Most venues list several disciplines, so shares sum to more than 100%.

Families, access & specialisms

Regional coverage

Venues are spread across 87 counties and regions. The largest concentrations sit around London and the Home Counties, with strong representation in Scotland and the South West.

Browse the full county directory for every region.

Pricing

Among the 328 venues that publish a starting price, the median entry price is £30. Advertised prices cover a range of session types, so this is a broad indicator rather than a like-for-like lesson rate. For a like-for-like breakdown of lesson costs, see our county-by-county lesson pricing.