Don't get taken for a ride by your riding school

Now that the summer holidays have arrived parents may be looking for activities to keep their children occupied, and riding may be one of the activities on the list.

Riding can be a really enjoyable and beneficial activity for children and adults alike, but as with any sport there can be risks involved, which means using a professional riding school is essential to ensure safety.

The only way to be sure that all the appropriate measures are being taken to ensure rider safety is to ride only at a licensed riding school. A licensed riding school will have been inspected to ensure that the staff, horses, equipment and the yard itself are fit for purpose. For a riding school to achieve this licence, all staff members have to be qualified to British Horse Society (BHS) teaching standard, insurance must be valid and all Health and Safety procedures are rigorously inspected. The licence will be prominently displayed in the office of the riding school.

There are three licensed riding establishments in Three Rivers; Coltspring School of Riding (Chandlers Cross), Rose Hall Farm (Sarratt) and High Herts Farm (Abbots Langley). All other establishments offering riding lessons in the Three Rivers area will be operating without a licence. Having a licence is a legal requirement to operate a riding school. Any unlicensed premises are operating illegally and can be prosecuted.

Parents who are concerned their riding establishment may not be as safe as it should be are urged to ask the following questions when ringing riding schools:

• Are you licensed?
• Are you insured?
• Are your staff qualified to BHS standard to teach?

Environment Officer at Three Rivers District Council, Debbie Sandling, says:
"Many parents may be unaware of the dangers involved in using unlicensed riding schools. If an accident occurs at an unlicensed establishment there may be no insurance cover and no registered first aider. There will have been no checks on the safety of the yard, equipment or its ponies. Children's safety is paramount and parents are urged to check the credentials of the riding school they are considering, to ensure safety standards are being met."

For further information on riding schools in the local area and/or licensing requirements, residents can visit www.threerivers.gov.uk and www.bhs.org.uk.