Have a riding lesson
A friend has invited you to do this with them.
Riding is a conversation with a large animal carried on through your seat, legs and hands, and learning to make yourself understood is the fascination of it. A first lesson is usually at a walk on a steady horse, with an instructor close by.
ModerateUnder £100 / $130An afternoonOutdoorsWith othersUK and US
How to start
- Search the British Horse Society's Find a riding centre page, or the Certified Horsemanship Association's directories of certified instructors and facilities.
- Ring the centre, say you are a complete beginner and book a private or small-group lesson.
- Wear long trousers and boots with a small heel, and borrow a riding hat from the centre.
Where to go
- British Horse Society approved riding centre finder UK
- Certified Horsemanship Association: How to find the right riding instructor US
We opened these links on 7 October 2026 and found them to be what we say. Dates, places and prices are on the official page, where they stay up to date.
Plan this
Pick a day, or a month, and we will set out how to get ready, step by step, with a date and a reason for each. The hard part of a day out is the timing: the right season, tickets and getting there. The plan watches the calendar for you.
Read next
No one left behind on the Expresso trail: fifteen years of Tuesday rides with Girls Outside
How a group of women in Colorado's Roaring Fork Valley turned a Tuesday mountain bike ride into a 15-year habit: the motto, the tailgate and why the group keeps them riding. How to start mountain biking on easy graded trails, or ride harder terrain with a group if you already ride.
Watching a swimmer from an exercise bike led Sola Alegbe from a lifelong fear of water to teaching it
How a Londoner who nearly drowned as a child learned to swim at 48, left her job at Transport for London and qualified as a swimming teacher. What the first lesson is really like, and how to start if water frightens you, or go further if you already swim.
More like this
Moderate
Try indoor rock climbing
Moderate
Swim in open water
Moderate
Play a game of pickleball
Moderate · Virginia
Hike Shenandoah National Park with your dog

