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Welcome to Nelson Park Riding Centre Ltd, Thanet’s largest riding centre, with fully qualified and highly experienced adult instructors.

We need to make sure you are all aware of the following:

ENTERING AND EXITING THE RIDING CENTRE.

When entering the riding centre please press the doorbell, the gates are always locked for the safety of the children and vulnerable people we have at the centre, some are classed as flight risks therefore we need to ensure their safety (It’s no different than most of the primary and secondary schools in the area), when exiting please ask a member of staff to unlock for you, please do not just sit there expecting us to know that you are ready to leave. PLEASE DO NOT JUST SIT THERE HONKING YOUR HORN. THERE IS A RING DOORBELL ON THE LEFT WHEN ENTERING THE CENTRE
ALWAYS ENSURE YOU ARRIVE BEFORE YOUR RIDING LESSON TIME AS SOMETIMES WE ARE NOT CLOSE TO THE GATES.

RIDING IS A RISK SPORT

Your choice to ride is voluntary, we take all reasonable care to provide suitable and safe horses and ponies for our clients. All animals can be unpredictable, we strongly advise you to take out full personal accident cover.

CANCELLATIONS

REFUNDS ARE NOT GIVEN

With effect from January 2021 refunds in cash / cheque or bank transfer are not given, all and any credit unused after a period of 6 months will be cancelled, the credit is there for use by any rider on your account for riding lessons.

If you need to cancel a lesson then you must do this online via the booking system or the app we do not take cancellations on the phone, emails or via any of the social media platforms, it is your responsibility to cancel your lesson within the cancellation period.

We have a strict 24 hour cancellation policy, however with effect from the 31st July 2026 the cancellation period will increase to 48hours. If you wish to cancel the lesson with less than 24 hours' notice from the lesson start time then you will not receive any credit on your account, nor will you receive a refund.

You will be required to confirm your cancellation on a pop up window, the pop up window will explain that due to less than the required notice period being given you will not be entitled to credit.

If you cancel with more than 48 hours' notice then the full amount paid for the lesson will be given as credit to your account. This credit can be used towards any future booking at Nelson Park Riding Centre Ltd it will not return to your bank account / debit / credit card.

With effect from January 2021 refunds in cash / cheque or bank transfer are not given, all and any credit used after a period of 6 months will be cancelled

If any rider ceases to ride at Nelson Park Riding Centre Ltd any credit on the account will only be held for a period of 6 months, with effect from the 29th September 2023 credit cannot be transferred to another account holder.

If you feel you have exceptional circumstances then please contact us personally to discuss, you will be required to provide a doctor's note, please do not be offended if we say no, it takes a lot of money to provide our facilities to you as riding clients, the horses and ponies, hay, water, haylege, electricity, maintenance, wages and continued staff development all increase and our policy will remain the same. You will find the same or similar policy wording of any reputable riding establishment across the country in fact some centres are now operating a 48 hour policy.

There are no refunds available for memberships if they are automatically re-subscribed to, this is automatically rolling year to year, it is your responsibility to cancel your membership. Money from memberships cannot be transferred into lessons.

Change of lessons.

We reserve the right to cancel or change a rider’s lesson, you will receive an email stating this has happened and why, the lesson price will be credited to your booking account for use again.

We may cancel or move a lesson for your rider’s safety and / or wellbeing, you will receive an email explaining why, if cancelled by us the money will return to your booking account.

If you wish to cancel or edit outside of this period you will be refunded in account credit. Some of our activities may have a different policy so please ensure you read our refund policy for this activity, it is clearly written on the booking system

If you book for an hour group riding session and you are the only rider the lesson will revert to a half hour private session we will try to inform you before the lesson but this isn’t always possible the online booking system is open for bookings and cancellations 24 hours a day 365 days a year.

Please contact us by email email@nelsonpark.co.uk if you need assistance we can only advise and will not be able to assist by doing it for you, the office isn’t manned all the time anymore as we don’t need to be there.

Deposits for Camps, Clinics, Activity Courses and other Events.

Please note that all camps, activity courses, clinics and other events held by Nelson Park include a non-refundable deposit, the system currently is not able to show this as a separate cost.

Cancellation Policy for Camps

If you cancel an Camp (Week long or more) there is a non-refundable deposit of £50.00, all spaces are limited and are on a first come first served basis, if we are able to resell your cancelled space the deposit may be refunded to your online booking account.

With effect from January 2021 refunds in cash / cheque or bank transfer are not given, all and any credit unused after a period of 6 months will be cancelled

Cancellation Policy for Activity Courses if you cancel a Course (1 Day Event, Morning Session / Afternoon Session) there is a non-refundable deposit of £20.00, all spaces are limited and are on a first come first served basis, if we are able to resell your cancelled space the deposit may be refunded to your online booking account.

If a camp is cancelled 14 days prior to the start date there will be no refund as places are limited, if cancelled up-to 14 days before the start of the camp your money will be credited minus a £50.00 deposit / admin charge.

If you need to cancel your Activity Course, Camp, Clinic or other event regardless of the reason a non-refundable deposit will remain with us, the balance of the camp less the deposit will be returned to your booking account for future use, all spaces are limited and are on a first come first served basis, if we are able to resell your space your deposit could be returned to your booking account.

HEAT

Due to the high running costs of our centre and keeping the horses in the times of adverse weather and the ever changing climate and the extreme weather we now get, in the event of RED warning for heat, we will not only look at not only the temperature and humidity and the heat index, in the interests of both horse and human welfare, lessons may be substituted with stable management and horse care or lessons shortened and a combination of the both if you do not wish to change the type of lesson you must cancel the lesson within the 48 hour cancellation period. Decisions will be made on assessment of whether there is shade, breeze humidity and other factors. Please ensure your riders have water with them, to ensure good hydration and if you / they have been feeling ill suffering from the heat, heat exhaustion, sickness do consider whether it is in the best interest in your own or riders health. Ultimately its your decision to not ride we will provide an alternative as above if we decide we will not ride in the extreme weather.

MEMBERSHIPS

Our membership scheme entitles you to discounts on lessons and other associated offers, however it is a subscription based facility therefore as with subscriptions they will roll over into the next year unless you stop it from your account, only the account holder can cancel the memberships from within your account, failure to cancel will mean you are automatically billed and the money will be taken out from the bank details you stored in the system. Membership money cannot be transferred into lessons.

COVID - 19 Cancellations.

Cancellations due to Covid-19 related illnesses are subject to the same policy above.

Rider Information

It is 100% your responsibility to ensure that you and your riders information is maintained on our booking system, you receive emails every 6 months from when you registered requesting that you update your records, this will include height and weight of a rider, any medical information must also be updated, it is in your interests to ensure that everything is up-to date, failure to update the record could result in the wrong diagnosis or medical intervention being administered by the emergency services should they be required. Please remember that horse and pony riding is a risk sport and should be treated as such at all times.

Weight’s

Occasionally you may be asked to step on the scales in the office, this is simply to ensure that your record shows the correct weight and the horse or pony allocated is suitable for you, this is in the interest of the horse / pony welfare.

Riding Hat Loan / Purchase.

Please note we are only able to loan riding hats for 2 sessions, after this you are expected to purchase your own hat, the hat must conform to the current riding standards as displayed in our reception and tea room, this can also be found on our website under “Rider Information”

Purchasing Riding Hat’s.

We have riding hats available to purchase from our reception, please ask a member of staff, our senior staff are all specifically trained to fit riding hats correctly.

Riding Equipment.

Clients must supply their own riding equipment, a riding hat to current UK regulations and standards and appropriate footwear, body protectors, gloves etc, all guidance can be found in the office at the top of the yard. Nelson Park Riding Centre have their own branded T’shirts, Jackets, Hoodies and Sweatshirts for sale via our website, everything is purchasable via this page and securely processed by Paypal. http://www.ridinglessonsthanet.co.uk/shop-1

Covid-19 Safety. ( It’s still here )

Please ensure you abide by all current government regulations, remain socially distanced if requested.

Clean riding gloves must be worn by all riders.

Please use hand sanitisers.

We reserve the right to take a Client's temperature if they are in our opinion showing symptoms of Covid-19, if it is deemed that you are unable to ride you will be asked to return home.

YOUR PROPERTY

Please note that we are not responsible in any way whatsoever for your property, please ensure that your riding equipment, hats and gloves etc are all named, lost property is only kept for a period of 2 weeks and then disposed off, how this is disposed of is our decision, please ensure everything is marked with your riders name.

Nelson Park Riding Centre Ltd takes no responsibility for any damage or loss to your vehicle whilst in our car park.

IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST LESSON

First Things First

The basic clothing you will need for your first horse riding lesson is comfortable tops and bottoms.

You should aim to wear thin layers when riding, as if too hot you will be able to take layers off, and if learning in the winter you will be able to put extra layers on. Any comfortable trousers should suffice, but you should aim to wear bottoms that are not baggy and no rough materials. This is to ensure the comfort of both you and the horse as your legs will be on the sides of the horse and may rub if a rough material. As you progress in your riding, it may be advisable to invest in a pair of good jodhpurs if you will be riding regularly. Regarding shoes for your first horse riding lesson, any strong boots would be suitable provided they are not too ‘grippy’ (in the case of hiking boots) and it might be a good idea to have a small heel. By wearing shoes with a small heel, you run less of a risk of your foot slipping through the stirrup. Your riding school will be able to advise you best in this instance, as they may allow you to wear trainers for the first couple of lessons until you can get something more suitable. As above, as your riding progresses you may want to buy a pair of paddock or riding boots if you think you want to continue up the levels. Gloves may also be a good idea to take just in case, as it prevents rubs on your fingers and provides a sturdier grip for the reins.

PLEASE REMEMBER THIS OUR DOGS HOME, PLEASE DO NOT BRING YOUR DOGS TO OUR CENTRE, WE ACCEPT NO RESPONSIBILITY IF THEY GET ATTACKED OR YOUR VEHICLE IS DAMAGED BY ANY DOG ON THE PREMISES.