Hop Dog Stables

My daughter and I started having lesson’s with Maia over 6 years ago, we are now both accomplished riders and horse owners, we keep our horses at Hop Dog & still have regular lesson’s & training sessions with her.
Maia is an amazing teacher and sounding board, not only teaching people how to ride but how the horse is feeling too, which we have found really helpful and important!
Her knowledge of riding and horse care is extensive and she is incredibly kind and passionate, the welfare of the horse’s is her priority and we feel very lucky to have her looking after us and our horses.

I wanted to get back into riding after a long break so started having lessons at Hop Dog. I lacked confidence with horses I didn’t know, but Maïa quickly put me at ease and the horses were kind and gentle. Before long I was hacking out around the woods and local lanes and had the chance to develop other horsey skills on the ground too. I’m really grateful to Maïa and the horses for this and for helping me to become a horse-owner again.

Maia’s patience, kindness, and knowledge over the past 8 years have allowed me to grow from a complete novice into a confident and competent rider. Her particular guidance when buying and learning to ride my first horse was invaluable, her reassurance and support made all the difference and is what turned me into the competitive showjumper that I am today. Alongside this, she has taught me everything I know about care and stable management enabling me to gain a broader set of skills. The warm and welcoming yard environment is what makes HopDog so special. I feel so grateful to have found the perfect riding school for me.

I came to hop dog a year ago with my two ponies who had previously lived out up until this point. The transition to a stabled yard routine was tricky for them but the hop dog team was great at making sure they had a structured routine with plenty of turnout to allow them to adjust. Maia also helped me dealing with behavioural issues with one of my ponies both on the ground and through ridden work. Due to the help of the hop dog team my ponies are now happily settled in and loving their new home. I am now able to enjoy both schooling and hacking in the lovely facilities at hop dog

We LOVE Hop Dog Stables, Maia is so experienced and patient with her teaching. My daughter has been able to achieve more with her horse than she ever imagined, both dressage and jumping. I am a very nervous rider and Maia always pushed me enough to achieve more than I expect, is so patient with me and makes sure every lesson is positive, I always have a smile on my face at the end. Our horse is in the best hands, and we trust and value everything that is in place to look after him. We love the facilities, and we are so lucky to be able to hack straight in to Ham Street woods.