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Stepney Summer Camp at Blackhall Mill every Summer holidays during the final week. A fab opportunity to take part in woodland rides, cross country lessons, nature trails, sports days plus loads more!

All ages and abilities welcomed.

Prices are identical to those charged for other rides at Stepney.

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Birthday rides are available at Stepney and are perfect if you are struggling for ideas or want to do something completely different to make your child's party a memorable one! The birthday boy or girl and up to five friends can come for a hour of riding followed by a further hour grooming the ponies and playing games.

If you need somewhere for the children to eat and chat at the end we can also provide a room at no extra cost. We are not able to cater for the party ourselves but if you wish to bring your own food you are welcome to use our activity room at no extra cost.

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Available all but Christmas Holidays.

A must for all pony-mad children with a thirst for knowledge. Various riding and stable management topics are taught using a mix of hands on practical sessions and theory.

The day starts with a practical session on preparing the horses for riding. This could include mucking out their stables, grooming them and putting on their saddles and bridles. The children then have a riding lesson in either our indoor or outdoor arena. When the children have returned their ponies to the stables, removed their tack and checked that their ponies have hay and water and had a break themselves a theory session begins.

Topics for theory sessions include feeding and watering, caring for a pony at grass, equine first aid, training and exercising the horse, yard routine . . . . . the list is endless!

After a break for lunch and a quick quiz the children get their ponies ready for the afternoon session. Riding in the afternoon is generally mounted games or a hack. When the children return the afternoon is rounded off with a practical stable management session. Popular topics in this session include bathing the horses, preparing for a competition, tacking up for various disciplines, bandaging etc. The children finish by checking their ponies have comfy clean beds and plenty of hay. The children are awarded with certificates at the end of each day.

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Only available in School Holidays.

The children will prepare the horses and ponies by dressing them up in party outfits (optional and only with the pony's consent!!) and preparing a picnic for them. Horses and riders will then set off on a ride across to Heaton Park. Here they will stop for a picnic lunch and play some games. They will then ride back to Stepney and finish off any picnic leftovers!

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This course is designed to give children a taster of what it is like to have a pony of your very own. They get involved in all the hard work caring for the pony of their choice including cleaning out the stable, washing and grooming. They also get to taste the fun side by having a riding lesson on their chosen pony. The course lasts half a day. All participants are awarded with a certificate at the end.

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Aimed at riders who are keen to progress further with their riding. Guest instructors are brought in to help riders perfect their skills. This summer guest instructors are Chrissie Havis, Wendy Murry and Sian Lawson, all of whom have masses of competition experience and have taught pupils both in Britain and abroad. This is a fantastic opportunity for riders to gain top class instruction and a different perspective on their riding.

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Only available school holidays.

What could be nicer than riding your favorite horse or pony along the beach on a hot (fingers crossed) summers day? The beach ride is open to riders of all abilities so you can live your dream of galloping across golden sands or simply take your horse for a paddle!

The Stepney horses will travel by lorry to Seaton Sluice beach. Riders will have to make their own way there. The horse lorries will park near the road so will be easily visible! Bring a picnic and make a day of it!

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Riders of all levels can get involved in this one! For advanced riders there will be a round of jumps in the outdoor arena and at the stadium to tackle, for novice and intermediate riders a handy pony course will be set out to test the rider's skill and control around fun obstacles.

It is also a fantastic opportunity to put your best riding clothes on, make your pony look ace and get parents to capture the moment on camera! There will be a prize for the best turned out.

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A fun competition where people compete to get their horses looking like Horse of the Year Show winners! Our resident Kim and Aggie will be putting their white gloves on to inspect each equine, the one they judge to be the cleanest will win a framed photo of themselves with their very beautiful horse! Runners up will also receive a prize.

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Every Friday during the summer culminating in a big competition at camp. The games teach riders to become more skillful, athletic and confident but mainly are loads of fun! Games include a sack race, bending in and out of poles, running over stepping stones (buckets), the 'old sock race' and the tack shop game! Suitable for riders of all abilities.

To take part in the games practice (2 hour session)

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A range of horse management and riding topics will be covered in these lecture demos every Thursday evening during the summer. With guest lectures and talks from our regular instructors we guarantee you will learn something new!

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