Swinhoe Farm Riding Centre

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Swinhoe Farm Riding Centre We are the ONLY BHS Approved Riding Centre in North Northumberland, Livery, Clubmarked and Pony Club
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Swinhoe Farm Riding Centre is a small family business, run on a 1750 acre farm in the picturesque countryside of North Northumberland with Spectacular views to both the cheviots and the coast overlooking Holy Island. The Centre was established in 2005 by Claire Nixon; registered BHSI (BHS Stage 5 Senior performance Coach in complete horsemanship), UKCC Level 4 Coach, BHS Riding & Road Safety Trainer, IV and NVQ Assessor. She also has an HND in Equine Management and qualifications in BHS Equine Specific First Aid & Child Protection. Claire is also an NLP Practitioner, NLP Coach, Timeline Therapy and Hypnosis practitioner. The Centre is the ONLY BHS Approved Riding Establishment in North Northumberland. We are also a Club marked, Riding Club Centre and Pony Club Centre, which caters for adults and children 4 years and above, offering a mixture of qualified tuition and leisure rides which are all off-road including to St.Cuthbert’s cave. All groups are taught in small sizes so that you can learn in a safe environment and get value for money. We have a purpose build Indoor Arena (60m x 28m with a viewing gallery for 136 people), Floodlit outdoor arena 40m x 20m, horse walker, 16 stables and miles of off-road hacking. We currently have a range of 19 horses and ponies on our licence from 12'2hh to 16'2hh, quality cobs to competition horses. All riders have an assessment lesson to ensure that they are suited to the horse and competent to go on a hack, (all of our horses are well mannered & professionally schooled). Some of our clients travel from as far as Newcastle every week! What we do:
• Lessons for all abilities from 4 years and upwards on your horses or ours
• Mindset training to help you overcome any fears or confidence issues.
• Pony Club Seniors (10 years and upwards) meet once a fortnight for 1 hour and a half and Mini Pony Club (4 years and upwards) meet once a fortnight for 1-hour sessions, both groups do stable management working towards their pony club tests and achievement badges.
• Tailor-made BHS and Pony club Exam Training including BHS Riding & Road Safety
• Birthday Parties
• All Hacks off-road (Maximum of 5)
• Teenage Riding Holidays
• Part and Full Livery

All taught by qualified BHSI Coach, UKCC Level 4 Coach. Contact Claire Nixon on: 07762773559
www.swinhoefarmridingcentre.co.uk

* Please note; We have a cancellation policy. All bookings cancelled with less than 48 hours notice must be paid for in full.

10/10/2026

💡 This World Mental Health Day, we're shining a light on the role equestrian activity can play in supporting mental wellbeing.

🩺 The health system is increasingly focusing on prevention and community-based support, and horses are already helping people across the UK build confidence, reduce anxiety, develop social connections and improve overall wellbeing.

🤝 Through our partnerships with Sport in Mind and British Horse Society, we're helping more people experience the power of horses and demonstrating the valuable contribution equestrian activity can make to healthier communities.

Our ambition ➡ everyone should have the opportunity to benefit from these health benefiting experiences.

Discover the impact horses are having on mental health and wellbeing: https://bit.ly/BEFProtectingThePowerOfHorses.

📷© British Equestrian / Leslie Bliss

Sport England NHS

📣 LOCAL BUSINESSES & EVENT ORGANISERS – SHARE YOUR NEWS! 📣Are you a local business, community group, charity or event or...
09/10/2026

📣 LOCAL BUSINESSES & EVENT ORGANISERS – SHARE YOUR NEWS! 📣

Are you a local business, community group, charity or event organiser in our area? 🌿

We’d love to help spread the word about what’s happening locally! ❤️

🎉 Have an upcoming event?
🛍️ Running a local business?
🎄 Planning a seasonal event or activity?
🎶 Organising something for the community?
🐴 Got something exciting happening that locals should know about?

👇 Share your details in the comments below!

Please include:
📅 Date & time
📍 Location
🎟️ Booking/contact details
🔗 Website or booking link
📝 A short description of your event or business

Let’s use this page to support local businesses, promote community events and help people discover what’s happening right here on our doorstep. 🏡💚

Don’t just keep it to yourself — share your event below and let’s get the local community talking! 👇

🎃🐴 PONY STARS HALLOWEEN FUN HALF DAY! 🐴🎃Looking for something fun, active and horsey for the school holidays? 👻Join us a...
08/10/2026

🎃🐴 PONY STARS HALLOWEEN FUN HALF DAY! 🐴🎃

Looking for something fun, active and horsey for the school holidays? 👻

Join us at Swinhoe Farm Riding Centre for a fantastic Pony Stars Fun Half Day!

📅 Wednesday 28th October
🌞 Morning: 9am–12pm
🌙 Afternoon: 1pm–4pm

🐴 What’s included?
⭐ BHS Pony Stars Awards
🐎 Fun rides & games
🧽 Grooming & stable care
🎃 Plenty of Halloween-themed fun!

👧 Suitable for children aged 4+
🐴 On or off the lead rein

💰 Pony Stars Members: £45
💰 Non-Members: £50
£3 hat hire cleaning fee.

Places are limited, so don’t miss out! 🎃👻

📲 BOOK ONLINE:
Booking Form https://forms.gle/TP954dLXB4Easoe97

Or simply scan the QR code on the poster 📱

📍 Swinhoe Farm Riding Centre, Belford, Northumberland NE70 7LJ

📞 07762 773359
📧 [email protected]

🎃 Come and enjoy a spooktacular morning or afternoon with the ponies! 🐴👻

🎉 Qualification Success! 🎉I’m delighted to share that Claire Nixon BHSI has successfully completed and passed the BHS Co...
05/10/2026

🎉 Qualification Success! 🎉
I’m delighted to share that Claire Nixon BHSI has successfully completed and passed the BHS Coaching4All qualification. 🐴👏

Although I thoroughly enjoyed completing the qualification, I chose to undertake Coaching4All for a bigger reason — to look at how I can continue to develop and adapt Swinhoe Farm Riding Centre to be as inclusive and accessible as possible.

For me, being a riding centre isn’t just about teaching people to ride. It’s about creating opportunities for everyone to experience the benefits of horses, regardless of their background, ability or individual needs.

The qualification has given me the opportunity to reflect on what we already do well, where we can improve, and how we can continue to develop the business so that more people can access equestrian sport, feel welcome and achieve their own goals. 💙

I’m looking forward to putting what I’ve learned into practice and continuing to develop Swinhoe Farm Riding Centre as an inclusive, welcoming and progressive BHS Approved Centre.

A qualification achieved — but, more importantly, lots of ideas for what comes next! 🐎✨

01/10/2026

🐴 DID YOU KNOW?

If you are concerned that a riding establishment may be operating without the appropriate licence, ABRS has a reporting page where concerns can be submitted.

This can be particularly relevant where establishments are offering activities such as horse or pony loans, riding lessons or other services involving horses, and you are unsure whether the appropriate licensing requirements apply.

👉 Report an establishment to ABRS: https://www.abrs-info.org/report-establishment
ABRS – Report an Establishment

⚠️ If you have concerns, don't simply assume an establishment is operating illegally. The licensing position can depend on exactly what services are being provided and how the business operates.

But if you're unsure, report your concerns and allow the appropriate authority to investigate.

This is exactly why I believe we need clearer, consistent equine licensing legislation so horse owners, riding schools and the public can understand what standards should apply.

🐴 Know the rules. Know where to report concerns. Help protect horses and people.

And if you support my petition calling for the Government to close the gaps in equine licensing, please sign and share: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/783467/sponsors/

🐴⚡ RIDER ENERGY – HAVE YOU GOT ENOUGH IN THE TANK? ⚡🐴After observing a few riders last week, I noticed their energy leve...
25/09/2026

🐴⚡ RIDER ENERGY – HAVE YOU GOT ENOUGH IN THE TANK? ⚡🐴

After observing a few riders last week, I noticed their energy levels starting to drop as the session went on.

It got me thinking about how important it is for riders to understand their own energy levels – and recognise the signs when they are running low.

Some of the signs I saw, and others I could have seen, included:

😴 Tiredness and reduced concentration
🐴 Less effective communication with the horse
⚖️ Balance becoming less consistent
🧠 Taking longer to process instructions
😕 Frustration or becoming more easily overwhelmed
🐎 More mistakes or loss of accuracy
💪 Less strength and coordination

It’s really important that riders come to their lessons with enough sleep, rest, food and fluids to support their riding.

Just like our horses, we need the right fuel and enough recovery time to perform at our best. ❤️

Sometimes the issue isn't that a rider doesn't know how to do something – they may simply be running out of energy.

So this week, have a think…
👉 How do you know when YOUR energy is starting to drop?
👉 What can you do before riding to make sure you have enough in the tank?

I’ve put together a little Rider Energy worksheet to help our riders think about this. 📚🐴

📣 BACS PAYMENT REMINDERA little admin reminder for everyone booking sessions with us 💚If you are paying by BACS, please ...
23/09/2026

📣 BACS PAYMENT REMINDER

A little admin reminder for everyone booking sessions with us 💚

If you are paying by BACS, please make sure your payment is made before the day of your session.

Please also make sure you use the correct payment reference:

👉 Your Surname + Date of your Session
For example: Smith 26Sep

This makes it much easier for me to match payments to bookings and saves a lot of admin time.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: If payment hasn’t been received before the day of the session, or the payment reference is missing/incorrect, I may have to ask for cash payment on the day.

If this continues to create a lot of additional admin, I may have to move to cash payments on the day only.

I really appreciate everyone taking the time to get the payment and reference right — it makes a huge difference and helps keep everything running smoothly! 🐴💚

📣 BOOKING & CANCELLATION POLICY REMINDER

A little reminder for all our customers 💚

Please remember that any booking cancelled with less than 48 hours’ notice must be paid for in full.

This applies to riding lessons, Pony Stars sessions, hacks and other booked activities.

We understand that sometimes things happen unexpectedly, but late cancellations leave spaces that we are often unable to fill at short notice.

Thank you for your understanding and for helping us keep the riding centre running smoothly. 🐴💚

Swinhoe Farm Riding Centre
Thank you for your continued support!

🐴 ST. CUTHBERT’S CAVE RIDE – SPACES AVAILABLE! 🐴Looking for a truly special way to explore Northumberland? 🌿🐎Don’t have ...
22/09/2026

🐴 ST. CUTHBERT’S CAVE RIDE – SPACES AVAILABLE! 🐴

Looking for a truly special way to explore Northumberland? 🌿🐎

Don’t have your own horse but still want to experience the amazing St. Cuthbert’s Cave Ride? This is the perfect opportunity! 🐎🌿

Join us on Friday 30th October for our St. Cuthbert’s Cave Ride!

🏇 Approx. 2 hours 15 minutes riding through beautiful Northumberland countryside
🪨 Visit the dramatic St. Cuthbert’s Cave
🏔️ Spectacular views towards the Cheviot Hills
🌲 Beautiful off-road riding

📅 Friday 30th October
⏰ Assessment: 10am | Ride: 10.15am
💷 £130 per person + £10pp assessment

⚠️ This is an off-road ride with cantering, so riders must be able to canter independently, in balance and in control.
⚖️ Weight limit: 14 stone

Spaces are limited – don’t miss out!

📞 07762 773559 to book your place.

Come and experience Northumberland from the saddle! 🐴🌿

🐴 SPACES AVAILABLE – ST CUTHBERT’S CAVE RIDE! 🐴Fancy exploring the stunning Northumberland countryside on horseback? 🌿🐎📅...
22/09/2026

🐴 SPACES AVAILABLE – ST CUTHBERT’S CAVE RIDE! 🐴

Fancy exploring the stunning Northumberland countryside on horseback? 🌿🐎

📅 Friday 25th September
⏰ Assessment: 10.00am | Ride: 10.15am
⏱️ Approx. 2 hours 15 minutes
💷 £130 per person – assessment lesson £10pp

Ride through beautiful countryside to the dramatic St Cuthbert’s Cave, with spectacular views towards the Cheviot Hills. 🏇🌄

⚠️ Off-road ride with cantering – riders must be able to canter independently, in balance and in control.
⚖️ Weight limit: 14 stone

📞 Book your space: 07762 773559
Spaces are limited!

Address

Swinhoe Farm Riding Centre
Belford
NE707LJ

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 6pm
Tuesday 9am - 6:30pm
Wednesday 9am - 7:30pm
Thursday 9am - 7:30pm
Friday 9am - 6pm
Saturday 9am - 6pm

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