Edinburgh & Lasswade Riding Centre Kevock Road, Lasswade EH18 1HX

"I went to Edinburgh for a week, specifically for horse riding. I rode here almost daily, either in the form of lessons or hacks. The lessons were absolutely fabulous. I improved my form within the week. The hacks were super fun. It was very wet (big surprise in Scotland......) still we got canters in and the scenery is superb anyway. For me it was about getting as much saddle time as possible within a week .. i did not care as much about the views... and that goal was achieved. The staff was flexible and helpful. They invited me back for the Common rides in the summer, and I will definitely be returning. Thank you for fabulous week or horse riding.."

"Good riding lesson with Isobel but very poor customer service and rude instructor (Claire) for private hack. I contacted Edinburgh and Lasswade Riding Centre before visiting Edinburgh to get a riding lesson and a private hack. The riding lesson was good and the instructor knew what she was doing and encouraged me to do my best and progress. The horse I was given was beautiful and very responsive. The following day I went back to the stables for a private hack around the area. The experience was completely different and one I would not recommend to anyone. Claire, the instructor was a young women with no social skills, cold and rude as it comes. She asked me to follow her and didn't say anything about where we were going. I asked and she reply with a 'around the woods', as if I knew the area. I must say the area covering the hack was beautiful and a combination of horse tracks, a river, a bit of road (very minimal) and an area to canter. I had specified that I only wanted to walk and trot on the hack, as I had not been on a saddle for 3 years and my canter skills are not very good yet. Her horse suddenly started cantering and mine followed, I was not prepared but managed to stay on the saddle. When we stopped I did ask if we could do only very short canters. She was clearly not happy about this and there was not much interaction after this. I felt uncomfortable and almost as if I was a burden to her. We returned to the stables 13 min. before the hack should have finished. I think this stable needs to understand that private hacks are an experience for clients and that if instructors are not happy to provide that experience, then it should be advertised as only available for regular cllients and not to people who like me, were visiting the stables and the city. Also, instructors leading hacks should ask their clients about their riding skills before the start of the hack. Staff leading hacks should also be mature and professional and leave their prejudices to one side when dealing with clients."

"Such a great time with the kids. The trainers are all so professional and put our kids minds at ease (they were a bit scared) took thier time with the girls and made them love the experience. The horses and ponies are all well behaved and absolutely cute as a button. Definitely recommend."

"This is the one and only riding establishment In central Scotland where booking is so easy! You’re lucky if the others even answer the phone. I have taken my granddaughter to many other riding schools but Edinburgh and Lasswade have the best riding instructors I’ve found. David usually teaches Fearne, but the others are good too. David has got exactly the correct balance between pushing but not scaring. My granddaughter has come on leaps and bounds. She has also joined in on fun activities here during the school holidays and had a ball. I too have got the bug and returned to horse riding after a gap of 30 years. I took lessons here and rode on 8 common rides over the summer, with horses hired from this establishment. To those reviewers who mention rude staff - get a grip. The staff are not rude but they probably do have to deal with some idiots. You don’t take riding lessons to be molly coddled over. And horse people simply never run to time. That’s just how it is."

"I would have definitely given five stars for the actual riding experience had it not been for the incredibly frosty reception and poor time keeping of the reception staff. Customer service skills are definitely lacking. The instructor however, could not have been better. I had never ridden before and she explained everything very clearly, and struck a good balance between teaching the basic skills and building beginners’ confidence on the horses."