RSEC is dedicated to equestrian education offering year round lessons in a well established professional environment. Our safe and reliable school horses will assist you in developing your skills as a beginner, intermediate or advanced rider. Beginning at the age of 6 or as adults, riders are taught basic equitation principles which will allow them to specialize in the discipline of their choice when ready. Those with more experience will build on skills both on the flat and over fences depending on what discipline you specialize in. Regardless of your level, you will enjoy our beautiful stable area as well as our outdoor and eventual indoor riding arenas.
Our lesson program is specially designed to educate students from the ground up. We focus on stable management, ground work and riding skills, from the basic grassroots level and up. We train our equestrians to become excellent horse people and not just riders.
RSEC is first and foremost a teaching institution, providing a well-rounded program for all ages and abilities. We specialize in hunt seat equitation and jumping, however we offer instruction in most english disciplines including eventing.
All of our teaching staff are knowledgeable certified coaches and instructors that are interested in sharing their abilities, knowledge and experiences to help us give our students the best chance at reaching their personal equestrian goals.
Our school horse string ranges from 15 to 20 horses and ponies. They are all competent, safe mounts that have a wide range of abilities to give you a safe, fun and educational experience. We provide all tack for all of our school horses, grooming equipment, and helmets for beginners to make it easy for parents to assess whether or not their child will stay interested before purchasing all the necessities.
At RSEC we create riders and drivers who know the importance of fun when it comes to learning about horses in a safe, caring, family-like environment.
Lessons run 7 days a week (including evenings). We offer semi-private and private lessons with experienced school horses and ponies. We take riders ages 3 and up, from beginners to advanced. We also provide private driving lessons to adults and children ages 8 and up.
All lessons are run professionally, with certified instructors and coaches in our outdoor ring (and eventual indoor arena), with our number one goal being the safety of horses, riders and drivers. Instruction is available for whatever your riding or driving goals may be - anywhere from pleasure or trails to EC Gold National competitions.
All of our programs have only one prerequisite – a love of horses!
We offer lessons in the following disciplines:
What is the right age to start riding?
The sport of equestrian requires a combination of mental and emotional maturity and physical strength. It is difficult to say at what age exactly a child is ready for horseback riding simply because each and every child matures differently, so really it is up to the individual. At RSEC we generally take students ages 6 and up including adult and mature riders and riders with certain disabilities. All young riders are on a trial period for their first month of instruction, and your Instructor will advise you from there as to whether or not to continue at this time or allow your child more time to be ready.
Why take horseback riding lessons?
Riding lessons are important to teach you the safety and understanding and to build confidence not only as a rider but also in horse handling on the ground by encouraging and nurturing the potential of each individual rider. Beginner riders
What to Wear?
The most important thing when choosing suitable riding clothes and equipment is safety. The following are a few points to help you in choosing proper attire.
PLEASE NOTE, THERE WILL BE NO CANCELLATIONS DUE TO WEATHER. If it’s your riding day and weather doesn’t permit us to do a mounted lesson, students will do an unmounted stable management or horsemanship lesson.
PLEASE NOTE: WE HAVE LIMITED SPACES AVAILABLE IN THIS PROGRAM, WITH A MAXIMUM OF 30 RIDERS A WEEK.
Available only once students have graduated from our Introduction to Horses Beginner program, or if you’re an advanced beginner/intermediate/Advanced rider coming in from an outside program
PLEASE NOTE, THERE WILL BE NO CANCELLATIONS DUE TO WEATHER. If it’s your riding day and weather doesn’t permit us to do a mounted lesson, students will do an unmounted stable management or horsemanship lesson.
We ask that all students in our regular lesson program take the time to Volunteer at least one scheduled day each week in either a morning, afternoon or evening shift.
At RSEC we encourage all of our riders to be members of the Nova Scotia Equestrian Federation. Becoming a member has many benefits; to name just a few, it provides you with fantastic insurance coverage and gives you access to the many educational seminars and programs including the Equine Canada Rider Level certification program, the P'tit Trot program, etc. So whether you are looking to compete, are a recreational trail rider or a horse owner in general, this membership will benefit you.
That being said, have you purchased your annual NSEF membership yet? Please don't forget to tell anyone and everyone who plans to sit on a horse that they need to know the risks.. NSEF membership gives you the liability insurance you need. If you're a horse owner or rider we recommend that you should have it - don't take any chances! Visit NSEF's website at www.horsenovascotia.ca.
We host several riding camps for both children and adults at all levels of riding. The camps will be focused for those interested in learning more about horses, their proper care and management and improving both their horse handling and riding skills. Camps will run from 2 to 3 days and are for anyone ages 7 and up. Part of the learning experience besides the actual riding lessons (2 daily) will include the discipline of horse management – grooming, feeding, watering, cleaning and generally looking after the horse that they are assigned for the duration of the camp. Our camps are a lot of fun; they are very educational with tons of other fun activities. Please book in well in advance to secure a space. For more information please visit our Camp page.
We provide classroom sessions for students who are looking to enhance their horse knowledge by being tested through Equine Canada in the National Rider Level Program. Classroom sessions provide the student with the knowledge needed to be ready to take their exam for whichever level they are looking to challenge. Our lesson program focuses on getting the rider ready for the ridden exam, while the classroom sessions provide the knowledge for the oral and written portions of the testing process. Rider level testing is held annually for levels 1 through 10, usually in the spring when we bring in a certified EC coach that is qualified to do the testing. Instructor certification is also available.
Our classroom sessions are also open to the public for anyone wanting to enhance their knowledge of the horse, whether they are RSEC students or not. Everyone is welcome. We also provide an open testing where equestrians from outside RSEC are welcome to take their exam.
Classroom sessions are generally held once weekly, starting 3 months before the actual exam date. Please feel free to contact us for further information.
Click here to download the rider levels registration form.
At RSEC we are pleased to provide coaching for and at competitions to riders that are ready to take this next step. We coach riders at the beginner levels that are ready to enter in schooling and fun shows as well as advanced level riders that compete at provincial as well as at the national levels.
Riders that are interested in competing but do not have their own horse to compete on have the option to lease one of RSEC's horses for their use during the competition season. As with any sport, competition training must be done with practice - the more one rides the more prepared they will be. Our lease options enable riders to have some practice time on their own in between their regular lessons and is designed for the competitive rider who is serious in their pursuit of excellence. For further information about our lease programs please see the our lease page.
Do you have a kiddo interested in horseback riding and you need some assistance with funding?
Not enough folks take advantage of these great programs!! There’s funds available to help make your childs dreams come true through both of these great programs. Jump start and Kid Sport both offer up to $500 in funding, and you can apply once a year for each.
RSEC is registered for both, so the process is an easy one. Information about what we at Reaching Strides have to offer can be found on our website. Check out our Introduction to Horses for Beginners Program ages 6 and up. We currently have 3 spots left for our first session beginning mid April. Also, keep an eye out over the next few weeks as We will be launching some exciting new programs for ages 3-6.
To check out whats involved to get some funding to assist in this wonderful journey of equestrian. Have your financial info ready, follow the links and apply. Come join us this season and discover the magical world of horses and what it’s like to be a part of our barn family. Links for both can be found below.
KidSport (Sport Nova Scotia)
Note: All package pricing is for group lessons, with all fees paid at the beginning of each month.
Prices listed below are for our occasional students who do not take lessons regularly. Individual lessons are limited.
Private Lessons (one on one, 50 to 60 minutes): $70
Semi-Private Lessons (two riders maximum, 60 minutes): $60
Group Lesson (3 to 6 riders, 60 to 75 minutes): $50
Pony Rides (15 minutes): $25
Please Note: there will be an additional $5 fee for casual lessons if you do not have your own helmet.
At RSEC all lessons are progressive in nature, as we work on building and practicing new skills from week to week. This is why we strongly recommend and encourage a regular attendance. We do recognize that on occasion absences are unavoidable and therefore will allow one make up lesson per month, provided of course that we receive advanced notice, at least six hours prior to your scheduled lesson time. Notice is necessary so that we can arrange to fill your vacant lesson spot with another rider. Please note that cancellations have to happen no less than 24 prior to your lesson time, all lessons are prepaid, no refunds past that 24 hr marker. If you cancel 24 hours prior we can refund you minus a $10 administration fee. If you're in our regular program, we will offer you a make up time if one is available. All make ups must happen within the month you are in.
