The Riding Academy

Great place to learn how to ride & take care of horses. Staff are great too!

Great place located in the heart of downtown. They were closed for awhile but seem to be back in business and offering lessons. Staff is friendly and a great place to learn to ride.

It's free so that always great

I work at this place every year

I telephoned -twice- and left a message inquiring about summer riding camp for my child. Neither message was responded to. What a poor business practice and frankly very rude of them, to simply ignore people.

Loved it awesome place to see if u love horses and can get out to the country

I am a newer rider, who started in January 2020, in their Adult Intro lessons. They do run the school with old school pen and paper, which works for them, but may seem outdated to some. When you see it, in person, it makes sense why they do it this way. They only have a few people working the office due to COVID, and that has made it harder for them to get back to new riders by email/voicemail. That is understandable knowing they are in high demand, but limited in how many people they can have in the building at a time. Norman, is the friendliest man you could hope to have providing help for riders with grooming and tacking the horses. Sarah, the instructor I am working with is great. She advises based on your riding experience and makes sure you progress safely and with proper technique. The horses are well loved, and extremely gentle. They are cautious to book horses with riders, based on experience and the horse's temperament. Be patient with their admins, if you are trying to get ahold of them. They have a lot on their plates, and are doing their best. It is worth the effort to get in touch, even if it takes a little more work and patience. Once you are booked and riding, there are few, if any issues, with administration. This is the most joyful time I have each week. I am thankful that there is a riding school in downtown Toronto, and am willing to pay the premium not to have to drive an hour out of the city. It truly is a wonderful and stress-relieving experience simply to be around these gentle giants and spend time away from the world for an hour a week.

Update: Finally received email replies in January 2019. Have since heard that there were management issues and changes. I have not followed up further on booking lessons.Original review: Have been trying since August 2018 to inquire about lessons. Phone is not answered, voicemail box is full. Emails bounce back. Seems like in-person might be the only way to contact them.

Tried several times to email and call since last summer, and had no response. Was in the area for a concert in the Fall and saw riders leaving, so I know it was up and running. Very strange and poor business practices.