Abbotsford Park Riding Centre

30/05/2026

🚨🩺Equine First Aid Essentials Clinic by The Holistic Herd🚨

📅Sunday June 14th
⌚ 10am–2pm
💲 $90 per person (Includes printed take-home reference sheets and mini-first aid starter pack). If a parent needs to attend alongside their child, the second ticket is half-price ($45).

Emergencies can happen at any stage of horse ownership. Knowing what to do before the vet arrives could save your horse’s life, or at least reduce the severity of an injury or illness. This hands-on, practical clinic is perfect for horse owners, prospective lessees, riders, and even our regular students who want to deepen their horse care knowledge.
👉Remember: Knowledge = Safety!

Kaylee Dodson is a Certified Equine First Aid Practitioner (Holistic Animal Studies), and super passionate about helping people feel prepared, confident, and capable when it comes to their horse’s health.

What we’ll cover:
💉 Recognising early signs of injury or illness
💉Taking TPR (temperature, pulse, respiration, dehydration etc)
💉Pain detection & lameness assessment
💉Building your first aid kit
💉Colic signs & responses
💉Treating a hoof abscess
💉When to call the vet & how to prepare
💉Responding calmly in emergencies
💉Daily health checks for happy horses

Event Details:
Location: Abbotsford Park Horse Riding Centre at Glenreagh NSW
Date & Time: Sunday June 14th, 10am–2pm (with a short lunch break)
Snacks & refreshments provided (BYO welcome, tea & coffee, biscuits always available)
Rain or shine! Held under our undercover barn

👩‍🤝‍👨 Who can join:
Ages 10+
Participants should have enough horse-handling experience to safely practice groundwork in a group setting.

Whether you’re brand new to lessons or have spent years around horses, this clinic will help you build confidence and keep your horse safe.

👉 Bookings & Enquiries:
📱0421 854 354
📩 [email protected] OR [email protected]
or contact us here!

28/05/2026

NOW RUNNING EVERY THURSDAY! 😁🐴

Immerse yourself in the world of horses while building confidence and connecting with like-minded individuals! Whether you’re a complete beginner or an experienced rider, our Adults Confidence and Connection Club is designed to cater to your individual abilities and goals in a supportive, low-pressure environment. Whether that be strengthen your bond with your horse through groundwork and riding that focuses on trust and communication, it is all about enjoying the experience at your own pace.

We have been running this group for a while now and there has become so much interest that we're moving from bi-weekly into weekly classes. That being said, it is not a "commitment program". Rock up weekly, or even once a month if you choose, as long as you let us know! 🐴
So join us, for a judgement free, super chill morning where learning with horses meets good conversation and great company.

👉Price: $70pp/per session. (Booking is required)
👉Time: Every Thursday 9am - 11am (may change during school holiday periods).
🐴You are also welcome to bring your own horse too, but our school horses are the bees knees 😉

🚨(Rider limit of 85kg)

17/05/2026

The Holistic Herd Expo Day. Guest Speaker #3 Nikki Tucker from GutzBusta Slow Feed Hay Nets and Raffle Draw 🥰🐴🐴

14/05/2026

Some of our favourite things about our property is that we can offer our horses a fairly natural space that meets their 3 basic needs.

🐴 Friends:
Our main herd consists of 18 horses and ponies and between those 18 they even have separate smaller friend groups. They graze together, sleep together and play together. It's fascinating to see how far apart the herd can be, yet still be comfortable to be spread apart over many acres. We still love watching them run together on the days that they're feeling fresh and silly. Allowing horses to be able to physically touch and groom one another keeps their nervous system healthy and working correctly.

🐴 Forage:
Our horses have 24hr access to rhodes grass round bale in a . Along with many different native grasses to graze, and fed lucerne hay also as an important part of their diet. Constant forage plays an important part of a horses digestive system. We also water buffets with different herbs so horses can choose which ones they would like.

🐴 Freedom:
Our property spans almost 60 acres, with the herd having access to approx 45 acres of undulating, differing terrains ranging from open cleared paddocks and rocky areas through to dense rainforest and sandy creek beds. We allow the herd access to our "barn/home" paddock on days that lessons are not run. This allows them some new forage, spaces and a dry space in heavy flooding and rainfall, under our large undercover barn. One of our favourite things is that our main herd paddock runs out and away from 'people' so the horses can go and be horses without a human in sight if they choose. It's important to offer them this freedom of choice.

So please enjoy this compilation of our horses enjoying being horses. 🩵🐴🦄

11/05/2026

🙌🐴 What a wonderful post.

As riding instructors we spend a lot of time managing the gap between what new students expect riding to be and what it actually is. Most of that gap could be narrowed significantly with one honest conversation before the first lesson ever happens. So here is everything I wish every new student and every new riding family walked in already knowing...

1. Riding is harder than it looks
This is the one that surprises people most. Watching a good rider looks effortless but it is not effortless. It is years of muscle memory, feel, balance, and body awareness built through consistent work over a long time. Your first lessons will feel awkward and uncoordinated and that is completely normal. Every rider you have ever admired felt exactly the way you feel right now when they were starting out.

2. The horse is not a bicycle
It is a living animal with its own personality, its own opinions, and its own good days and bad days. It does not always do what you ask the first time and that is not always your fault but it is always your responsibility to figure out the communication. Learning to work with a horse rather than on top of one is one of the most valuable things riding teaches and it starts from the very first lesson.

3. Progress is not linear
Some weeks you will feel like you have jumped forward three levels. Other weeks you will feel like you have forgotten everything you learned last month. Both are completely normal parts of learning to ride. The students who improve consistently are not the ones who never have bad lessons but they are the ones who show up anyway and keep working through the frustrating ones.

4. One lesson a week is a start but not a program
A single lesson per week gives you exposure to riding. Two lessons per week builds skill significantly faster. The riders who progress quickest are the ones who ride consistently and frequently enough that their muscles and nervous system have time to develop real memory around what correct feels like. If budget allows for more than one lesson per week it is worth it.

5. Your position will feel wrong before it feels right
Correct position in the saddle feels deeply unnatural to most people at first. Heels down feels like you are pushing your foot through the floor. Sitting tall feels like you are leaning back. An independent hand feels like you are doing nothing. Trust the process and trust your instructor. The things that feel strange now become automatic eventually but only if you commit to doing them correctly rather than defaulting back to what feels comfortable.

6. The time around the lesson matters as much as the lesson itself
Grooming your horse before you ride. Learning to tack up correctly. Understanding how to read your horse's body language in the cross ties. This is not the boring part before the real lesson begins. This is horsemanship and it makes you a better rider than an hour in the saddle alone ever will.

7. Bad rides happen to every rider at every level
Including the ones you look up to most. A bad lesson does not mean you are not cut out for this, it just means you are learning something hard and doing it on the back of a living animal that is also having a day. Come back next week and it will be different.
Your instructor is on your side.

8. Every correction we give is in service of your progress and your safety
We are not pointing out what is wrong to make you feel bad but we are pointing out what needs to change so you can get where you want to go faster and more safely. The students who improve fastest are the ones who hear a correction as information rather than criticism and apply it without taking it personally.

9. Riding changes you in ways you will not expect
The patience it builds, the confidence that comes from communicating with an animal ten times your size and being understood. The resilience that develops from falling short of a goal and coming back for it anyway. The community you find at the barn. None of that shows up in the first lesson or even the tenth but it will show up at one point. For most riders it becomes one of the most significant things in their life and not just what they do on Tuesday afternoons but part of who they are.

If you are a riding instructor share this with every new family who walks through your gate. If you are a new student or a parent of one - welcome. You picked something genuinely worth doing!

What do you wish someone had told you before your very first riding lesson?

10/05/2026

Hope to see you all here on Sunday in the big blue barn 🥰🩵

🚨EQUINE EDUCATION EXPO: ONE WEEK TO GO 🐴💚

We're really looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday May 17th for a fantastic day filled with learning, community, fun and all things horses!

We’ve got an incredible line up of guest speakers (hopefully you've seen them now on our page 😉), a variety of trade stalls, pony rides for the kids, raffle prizes (you can buy tickets online if you can't make it on the day), lucky door prizes, free educational resources and plenty more throughout the day. Grab some lunch, ask questions, connect with like-minded people and enjoy a great day out.

The Expo will be going ahead rain, or shine, so bring along a chair or picnic blanket and settle in for the day. We have a huge undercover area and are hoping for beautiful sunny weather ☀️

👉Please note: Pony rides will be weather permitting for the safety of both horses and riders.

So share it around, bring your family, friends, neighbours ...
We can’t wait to see you there! 🐴🌿

05/05/2026

🚨Booking & Cancellation Policy + Office Hours🚨
ALL CLIENTS PLEASE READ📌

As many of you know, I run our business almost entirely on my own. Between caring for our 20+ horses, managing a small business and raising a young family, life is super busy! I love what I do and every cent of it earned goes right back into the care of the horses that you guys interact with here. 🐴

To keep things balanced and ensure I can give my best to both my family and our herd, I have updated my booking and cancellation policies and want to share my "office hours", with you all.

🕘Work Days: Wednesday - Sunday (approx. 8am - 5pm)
❎Closed: Monday & Tuesday

If you message or call on my off-days or after 5pm, I will get back to you on my next work day. Please if you have called during the day, leave a voicemail and/or a text. I am very rarely actually IN the office and I WILL get back to you if you've left a message (it just could take a few days!).

If you're enquiring for the first time, jump on our social media pages and website. This may answer your questions (and will save me time answering questions that are easily accessible!). I try to ensure as much info is available on our pages regarding pricing, availabilities and booking.

BOOKINGS AND CANCELLATION POLICY🚨

👉ALL LESSONS/CAMPS/PROGRAMS must be paid for either before or on the day of service.
👉 No-Shows or Cancellations within 24hrs of session start time will incur a 50% cancellation fee (or their booking fee forfeited). Except for our Horsemanship curriculum which is a full lesson fee to hold the enrollment in the program.
👉 Private Lessons (new clients or one-offs): a 50% deposit is required at booking. Cancellations made within 24 hrs of the scheduled lesson will result in their deposit forfeited. With more than 24hrs notice, your deposit will be transferred as credit toward a future booking.
👉 All direct bank deposits must have receipt shown upon payment.
👉 Regular ongoing clients may continue existing arrangements.

Thank you for being such an amazing community and for respecting the boundaries that keep this little business 'trotting along'.

- Happy Horsing,
Kaylee😁🩵

24/04/2026

🇦🇺 LEST WE FORGET 🇦🇺
📍Glenreagh.

We will remember them.
Our service men, women and animals.

We were honoured to lay a handmade wreath on behalf of Abbotsford Park and The Holisitc Herd today at our local dawn service. 🙏

17/04/2026

✨🩵 HORSEMANSHIP PROGRAM TERM 2 🩵✨

A notice to our students who are currently enrolled in our Horsemanship Program:

Due to ANZAC day falling on the first Saturday of Term 2, we will be starting our Saturday program the following week on WEEK TWO of school. This means that it will still fall on the same 'fortnight' that always has (if you work off a fortnightly roster) but our students who usually come on the first week of school, will simply start in the second week instead. Please also note that since we now have reduced daylight hours that our afternoon group will move back up to 2pm - 4pm instead of 3pm - 5pm.

🚨Our Sunday group will resume as normal on the first week of school, which will be the day after Anzac Day on April 26th. This is so we do not class with our Equine Education Expo Day which will be held on May 17th.

Saturday classes commence as follows:
👉Saturday (Week One) classes - May 2nd at 9am and 2pm.
👉Saturday (Week Two) class - May 9th at 9am. [THERE ARE TWO SPACES AVAILABLE HERE!]

I will try to contact all of our clients in the next week to confirm this with them, if you do not contact me beforehand.

Thanks for your understanding,
Kaylee 🐴😁