Horse riding in Singapore

[shanthehippo]

took the beginner riding course at BTSC. hmmm, it was okay. all my coursemates are like teenagers...

[choi yu jin]

Thanks for the informations

good to know that I don't have to be a member

I would love to go sometimes. and join with anyone.

[ozsingfly]

Ever gone over to Leisure farm in JB?

[rousse]

I am thinking of signing up at Bukhit Tima Saddle Club. Did a trial ride, was also not absolutely happy but better than Turf Club... and in the meanwhile I miss riding so much that I am thinking of investing the money...

as the turf club increased their prices by 50% for foreigners, finally the price difference with a membership at BTSC is not a lot ( based on riding 1x a week)

[Vivinn]

Hello - Just arrived in Singapore 2 weeks ago from NY and I'm not sure if this thread is still live. I would love to hang out with horse fans if there ever was or is a coffee / drinks gathering going on. So please include me via [email protected].

My question is, does any of the current riding centers for public allow riders to tack-untack and groom horses? I just Turf Club Riding Center and they said strictly on-off horse only. No leading towards stable tack untack groom.

Also, I would love to be able to continue my focus on dressage and jumps (never competed but I do it for pleasure). Besides Turf Club, any other places that will still allow me to pursue long term horse riding besides joining a club?

Lastly, Rider's Lodge in Johor. Does anyone still go there and is it for intermediate/advanced riders? Does anyone in this group organize trips there so I might join (I don't own wheels unfortunately)?

I'm new to forum so I believe I have limited PMs. My email though is [email protected].

~ vivien: I heart bagels and horses.

[richie303]

I know an expat lady who is starting on Tuesday at an instructor at the Saddle Club her name is Karen, she is very good from what I know. She will be working part time, but maybe ask for her there, she has some pretty impressive riding credentials.

[Vivinn]

For anyone interested in STCRC, or future riders new to Singapore:

I want to STCRC (very convenient walk from Kranji MRT Station) yesterday and watched a few students at their classes. I wanted to get a feel for the place and instructors. The two instructors I saw were pretty good. They were able to catch mistakes made by the riders easily, corrected them, and were firm and precise with directions and requests. The indoor arena looks well-maintained and horses looked in top form too. In fact, the horses were very willing to gallop and trot nonstop for the duration of 45 mins I was there.

Encouraged that the instructors here seem to at least know what riders need (quick immediate feedback and correction of position) to improve on riding, I decided to sign up for their assessment class, held Tuesdays at 7pm. You have to sign up 3 days in advance and pay-register on-site (I know... what happened to using email & paypal!?) Cost of assessment including a compulsory 1 yr insurance (valid only for STC_RC for accidents that might occur at their school only) is about $55. So my assessment will be held next Tue, Nov 8 at 7pm.

I've ridden rather intensively for the past 1.5 yrs, averaging about 4-6 hours per week. I can post trots, canter, sit-trots with and without stirrups and recently tried jumping up to 3 ft. I'm not sure how they'll grade my level (intermediate? advance?) for future classes but I'll update this site for future research reference.

As of yesterday, they informed me that all classes at STCRC run 45-mins, almost usually group classes, $70 per session for non-student adults. They do not allow you to groom, tack-untack or even feed carrots to horses but I've concluded that it's the same policy as most for-public stables/schools in Singapore. Sigh... what a shame... being a good rider means being able to connect with a horse in those simple grooming ways....

Oh well.... Will update this as soon as I have time after the assessment class. If any horse lover is still up for meeting for tea coffee wine, give a shout out... there seems to be quite a few of us on this topic who are interested in a meetup.

later. v.

[Smilla1978]

I rode advanced at the TCRC for about six months, then haven't bothered for the last year. It's average in my opinion. Most of the horses when I left didn't offer very much for advanced riders. A number of the horses are standardbreds that can't canter or are very difficult to get to canter nicely.

Perhaps every second ride I got a horse that was a bit challenging or a more educated/push-button horse that I felt I was learning something on, but every other lesson was a waste of time. After they put the prices up and decided to charge you private lesson prices if other people didn't show up, I decided to not bother anymore as I just didn't think it was worth the cost.

I think you are in a much better position there if you are a beginner. There aren't many advanced classes, horses, or riders comparatively.

The instructors are pretty good. Andrew was very good and I learnt the most off him.

[Smilla1978]

I have been out to riders lodge for a morning lesson and an afternoon hack with two other advanced riders. The property is charming and quaint. There are a few well educated horses there but they will put you on "schoolies" to start with, which is what they did with us. We had extremely lazy horses which made it difficult to get anything out of the lesson. In the afternoon we rode much nicer well-schooled horses on our hack and it was really enjoyable.

[pearlcific]

Hi there, I'm looking around for a suitable adult beginners riding course to attend. So far, the only 2 places I found that do not require membership are STCRC and EFS.

STCRC has pretty good reviews but my concern is the need to commit to 7 consecutive weekends, which is difficult because of my work schedule.

Does anyone have any reviews on EFS's riding lessons and its pros and cons compared to STCRC? Or if anyone knows of any other schools which offer adult riding lessons, please tell me about them too!

P.S. I just realised that Gallop Stables/Horsecity has started to offer adult riding lessons as well. However, the internet is full of bad reviews, albeit rather old ones dating back to the time when it only catered to children. Any new reviews on this would also be appreciated.


Information from my research so far:

1. EFS (http://www.efs.org.sg/ -- click on Riding Packages on the top right hand corner)
- I know it seems to suggest lessons only for children but I've spoken to them and they have confirmed that they run adult lessons as well since last year
- Riding package for adult is $640.00 per 8 lessons
- For single lesson is 30 minutes and group is 45 minutes (3 to 4 riders)
- Adults will probably skip to Level 2 according to the person I spoke to
- Progress according to individual performance, but no formal interval assessments scheduled
- The lady I spoke to also mentioned in particular that their program is different than STCRC in that at NEC they encourage riders to look after the horses and they do stable management also
- In the news: http://www.equestrian.com.my/index.php/ ... trian-park

2. STCRC
- $70 per lesson for 7 lessons, 45 mins each, max 8 riders
- Has rough syllabus to cover from lessons 1-5 (e.g. 1st lesson learn to mount/dismount etc.)
- Assessment on 6th lesson to determine if able to progress from Beginner to Novice (Beginners learn to walk and trot)
- 7th lesson is stable management
- According to this forum, very little interaction with horses allowed, purely riding only

3. Gallop Stables/Horsecity (http://www.gallopstable.com/)
- Website seems to suggest they now offer adult lessons, however no new information/reviews can be found online.
- If anyone has information, please contribute!


Facilities in Malaysia that I know of:

1. Riders' Lodge
- already very well covered in this forum and elsewhere so I don't have much to add on, plus I've never been there myself so I can't say

2. Horse Valley (http://horsevalley.com.my/index.php)
- have personally visited this place as part of a Groupon deal
- rode a lead horse and then had a quick trotting lessons as a taster
- place is clean and facilities well kept (see pictures, they are truly representative)
- they offer lessons, trail riding and private stabling facilities as well
- the guy in charge, Alex, seems to know what he's talking about
- Constantine Adventures (http://www.constantine-adventure.com/) apparently organises trips there, transport to and from Kranji MRT included, which is convenient if you don't wish to drive[/b]

[Paulara]

You can try National Equestrian centre, just beside Polo Club.

[praveen524]

Hi all,
I dont know any thing about horse riding but am very much interested to learn. So please suggest me a good place to start without a membership.

would like to join the other learners also
Reach me at 9806 1800 , [email protected]

Cheers
--------------
Praveen

[Travailes]

Hi all,
I dont know any thing about horse riding but am very much interested to learn. So please suggest me a good place to start without a membership.

would like to join the other learners also
Reach me at 9806 1800 , [email protected]

Cheers
--------------
Praveen

The only place I know where membership is not required (I believe) is Gallop Stables.
http://www.gallopstable.com/

If you have never ridden, worth trying out to see if you like it without incurring membership costs. After that, other Clubs tend to have more activities, better horses and facilities but you pay for that of course.

[gillyC]

Hi guys

I'm interested to take the beginner riding lessons at STCRC.
Do drop me an email at [email protected] if anyone else is interested to go together! =)

Cheers

[donnadb]

Hi Smilla1978,

Could you post some feedback on your lesson at the Turf Club Riding Club? I have just moved to Singapore and I am looking to sign up to some riding lessons here. I looked into both The Polo Club and Bukit Timah Saddle Club but the membership fees are pretty steep. I am an experienced rider, having owned a horse for 10 years in the UK and I don't want to lose my riding while I'm here!!

I am waiting for my riding kit to be shipped out here at the moment, but hope to start riding come the end of March and would welcome your feedback on the standards at the Turf Club. Also keen to catch up for a coffee at the club - I haven't had much of a chance to socialize in my first couple of weeks here and I am keen to meet some like-minded people!

Thanks,
Claudia

Hi Claudia,
Did you ever get sorted with ridding in Singapore? Do you have recommendations were to go for ridding lessons or any info for me thanks.