Horse Riding Holidays in North Devon Croyde, England

Horse Riding Holidays in North Devon Croyde Child Friendly Attraction in Croyde, Devon, England

Roylands Riding Stables is a family established yard of some 21 years. bhs approved it is open all year for Hacking, Tuition, Beach Rides, Riding Holidays, B&B for horses, Own a Pony days, Birthday Rides, & Full & Working Livery.

Roylands is situated behind the sand dunes of Croyde Beach, North Devon. Famous for its local Surfing community Croyde village also boasts picturesque ‘chocolate box’ thatched cottages, excellent pubs, ice cream shops, surf shops, a Post Office and restaurants.

A mile from Croyde is Putsborough Beach, an award winning beach, some 3 miles long that runs along the north Devon coastline and meets Woolacombe at the opposite end. Lundy Island can be seen offshore, famous for its Lundy Ponies, Seals, Sika deer & Puffins. It is the first U.K. Marine Conservation Zone and can be visited via the ms oldenburg leaving Bideford or Ilfracombe. Croyde is also less than a mile from Saunton Sands, so you will have four stunning beaches all within a 5 minute drive.

Surrounded by the rolling hillside of Croyde Bay, we have wonderful riding opportunities through villages along farm tracks, bridleways, sand dunes, the beach, woods & through fields.

Our riding holidays can be for 2 days or a week, tailored to suit the individual rider. You can get involved as much or as little as you wish with the daily routine at Roylands. We cater for all abilities, you may be nervous, perhaps had a nasty riding experience, lacking in confidence or had a few years break from riding and want to get back into it. We have great confidence giving ponies they will have you eating out of their hooves by the end of your stay!

Perhaps you want to achieve more from your riding. Jumping, Dressage, schooling or Beach Riding. You may be considering buying your first pony or having a pony on loan ~ a riding holiday would certainly give you an insight into looking after your own feeding, grazing, grooming and so on.

You may start the day catching your horse and bringing them in from the fields or mucking out the stable if kept in overnight. Grooming and tacking up for your first lesson. This first introductory lesson is give you and Simon chance to chat and discuss the areas you may like to improve on and to form a structure of lesson/rides to help you achieve your goals during your time spent with us. Some of your lessons may be filmed to use as constructive feedback during your stay.

The afternoon may be a long hack, a lesson or lunge lesson depending on the outcome of your morning chat with Simon. Grooming, tack cleaning and all areas of stable management included.

There are opportunities to watch Simon schooling the horses that he is training at the time, bringing on a youngster or re-schooling a problem horse ~ you will be amazed at how much you can learn from just watching & listening. Simon explains everything that he is doing & why at the time, which is extremely worthwhile.

End the day taking your horse back to the field for his nightly turnout or prepare the stable for the night. Programmes vary to suit your ability and are structured to be informative and fun. You can bring a packed lunch or stroll to the village for some excellent freshly made sandwiches, pasties & cakes. Croyde beach is just a 5 minute walk through the dunes via the back of the yard so you chill out on the beach, laze in the sand and have a paddle.

Simon Maddocks - Owner & bhs instructor.
Simon has been running the family business of riding for the past 21 years. Starting with a handful of ponies the yard is now home to some 25 ponies.

Rosa Neville - Head Groom. bhs stage 1, bhs stage 2
Rosa has been working at Roylands for 15 years, she first went there as a young girl on the Kids Days and helped out on the yard during school holidays.

Vicci Greenaway - Groom. bhs stage 1, bhs stage 2
Roylands being the friendly place that it is, all the people that keep their ponies & horses there on Livery are involved on a daily basis voluntarily, Roylands has a great family atmosphere. We are all there to support each other through the highs and lows of horsemanship. Should you decide to bring your own horse with you for instruction or just a holiday you will always have somebody to ride out with and show you the best rides in the area.

things to pack:
Boots - we do have a selection if you need to borrow.
Hats - we have riding hats if you do not have your own.
Waterproofs, Sun cream & long sleeve tops (some of the bridleways have the odd bramble or nettle! )
Days are 9.30am-5pm ~ Minimum of 3 days at Peak Times
Half Days available by arrangement ~ excluding Peak times

Accommodation
The choice is yours, there is a fine selection of self catering, campsites and Bed & Breakfasts in Croyde, Georgeham & Saunton that you may wish to stay in ~ you will need to book these yourself. Alternatively we can book your Riding Hoilday and accommodation for you at Breakers Georgeham B&B as an all inclusive package. Just one person to deal with and one payment to send.

Breakers Georgeham offer B&B and optional evening meals for equestrians in a home from home environment. Vicki & Graeme are like minded horse people, they have 5 horses all of which are on livery at Roylands. Having been associated with Roylands for the past 5 years they have joined with Simon to offer the accommodation for his riding holiday guests. It is a 3 bedroom house with swimming pool and a hot tub, garden & decking area for relaxing with a bar b que.

The Rock Inn is just 5 doors away and The Kings Arms just 100 yards further. Perfect for eating out or you may want to have optional home cooked meals which Vicki prepares and serves in Breakers Dining room. Vicki & Graeme are excellent hosts and in their relaxed home you can even enjoy a Take Away if you wish. Well behaved dogs are welcome. Offshore cottage ~ self catering sleeps 4 ~ 25% discount for riding holiday guests. Weekend, weekly or mid week bookings only. Dogs welcome.

Offshore cottage is owned by Vicki & Graeme and is in the village of Braunton. This can be booked as an all inclusive package.