NMW Riding Academy

08/06/2026

What an absolutely incredible weekend we have had at NMW!
3 day camp with Jen Morris Coaching johnson smith and york
Which included flatwork, showjumping, XC, theory sessions and alot of fun and team building activities 🤩
Also had the riding school running along side it with flat lessons and Pony club theory sessions too!
Some external riders and some riding school clients also had the opportunity to have a lesson with our camp coaches.
We had a CPD for coaches to come along and shadow the fantastic coaches!

All the coaches, Clients, Yard staff, campers and horses have all been amazing!
This would not have been possible without our volunteers, staff, sponsors and of course the super coaches and coaches who looked after the riding school too! 🤩
Norvite Farm and Country
round
Kerry Balment
Equine Vets
Plumbing and heating
All made possible by the continuous support from John and Anne Middler and use of their amazing facility!

25/05/2026

Some photos from our Event training last week 🤩😍

21/05/2026

20/05/2026

Learning to ride isn't a straight line. It never was.

If you've ever felt like you were getting worse just when you thought you were getting better, this one is for you.

Learning any complex skill - and riding is one of the most complex there is - doesn't follow a smooth upward path. It feels more like a rollercoaster. And understanding why that is changes everything about how you experience the process.

When you start learning something new, it's hard. Your brain and body are working flat out just to process what's being asked of them. Gradually, with repetition and time, it starts to click. Things that felt impossible begin to feel possible. You find your trajectory and progress feels real.

And then you plateau.

This is not a problem. This is the point.

That plateau is where the skill embeds itself properly. Where what you've learned stops being something you have to think about and starts becoming something you just do. Staying in that place for a while - consolidating before moving on - is not stagnation. It's the foundation for everything that comes next. Think of each point of consolidation as a gatekeeper - building a buffer around your progress so that if you have a wobble further down the line, you won't go all the way back to the beginning. You'll only ever regress to your last point of embedding.

This is also why rushing that process works against you. Ask too much too soon and the nervous system doesn't just struggle - it pulls back. The comfort zone shrinks rather than grows. And what felt like a shortcut becomes a much longer road.
Then we ask something new of you. And for a while, it feels like you've gone backwards.

You haven't.

Nobody learns a new skill without getting it wrong first. That's not a detour from the process - it is the process. You're gathering information. Working out what works and what doesn't. Your brain is doing exactly what it's supposed to do, it just doesn't feel that way from the inside.

This is why we don't rush progression. Not because we don't believe in you. Because we understand what learning actually looks like - and we'd rather you embed something properly than move on before you're ready and spend twice as long unpicking it later.

The rollercoaster isn't a sign something is wrong. It's a sign something is happening.

17/05/2026

Thank you to our lovely model Emily 🤩😍 our teamwear camp clothing has arrived get your orders in asap 🤩 link is attached below. The castle design is for the mini camp and any of the other camps and the traitors design is for the June camp and the Residential camps. Lots of colours available. Still spaces available on our June camp with 3 amazing coaches, space on our 2nd residential camp and on our August mini camp. Bookings on horse monkey 🐵 fun filled days learning about our horses/ponies, plenty of riding, evening entertainment, prizes and rosettes 🏵️

https://www.jsteamwear.co.uk/product/nmw-competition-zip-neck-track-top-sweatshirt/

12/05/2026

This weekend we went off to New deer to Support Buchan Riding Club
Sharon and Smarty came home with a first and 2 second place rosettes 😍 Kelsi and Tim 6th in his first working hunter class and 2nd his ridden m and ms,
Rach and Kitkat won the 1m workers and Albert tired his first workers 😍 he tried hard, no rosettes for him this time but he was too busy entertaining the audience 😂 he’s done so well the last few weeks with his outings, so much for him to take in. Now to get on with our homework. 📚thank you to Dawn Brown Photography for the Photos

12/05/2026

Last sunday we headed pff to Turriff to support Deveron Branch of The Pony Club for their showjumping. Evie and Comet got a rosette in the 40cm and had a go at the 50 doing very well. Rae and Monty won the 60cm and jumped her first 70cm course, Albert took 6th place in the 50 and jumped a
More confident round in the 60cm and Sophie and walter took home a 5th place rosette in both the 70 and 80cm. Well done guys! 😍
Alice Hughes Veterinary Equine Dental Care

12/05/2026

CPD 4 points per day
Coaches
Richard Johnston-Smith, Jen Morris Coaching, Sam York Oakring Stud and Performance Horses
Friday 5th June
AM Watch and join in discussion of our camp trot up looking at turnout and dynamic conformation
PM shadow coaches teaching lessons, flat, xc and sj
There may be a coach who is not coaching on the Friday afternoon to spend time with the cpd group too!
Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th June
Shadowing these fantastic coaches over 3-4 different disciplines!
Bookings on horse Monkey