Boarding at a Top Riding School
Queen Mary’s School is recognised as one of the UK’s top girls’ boarding schools and UK’s top equestrian schools, with success in both academics and equestrianism. Our boarding offering is unique with equestrian boarders accounting for approximately 25% of our total boarders.
Horse riding and equestrian eventing is engrained into the culture at Queen Mary’s. Our riding boarders can care for horses and ponies before school and after school, and can ride or take part in lessons and activities every day after school and over the weekend. Our equestrian boarding school also offers transportation and the loaning of horses and ponies for equestrian eventing, providing our horse riders with plenty of opportunities to develop and compete.
Once a family residence, the boarding house is rich in character and provides a warm, homely setting for the girls. Bedrooms are shared between three to five pupils, encouraging close friendships and a strong community spirit. Many rooms enjoy views across the beautiful parkland, and each girl has her own dedicated space for her belongings. Wi-Fi is accessible throughout.
Our BHS Riding School Boarding Options
UK Equestrian Boarding Options
Queen Mary’s offers flexible boarding options including full-time boarding, weekly boarding, and flexi boarding, with parents able to upgrade and downgrade boarding options each term, as their family needs change.
Our equestrian centre offers lessons after school every day and on Saturdays, as well as hacking and road safety sessions on Sundays. There are also regular equestrian activities, camps, and Pony Days, with our pupils enjoying priority access to all. As well as working to Pony Stars or BHS Challenge Awards, our equestrian boarders can join our Equestrian Team and compete in regional and national competitions, both individually and as a group. Transportation for both pupils and horses to equestrian events, can be arranged, as and when needed.
Our reputation for regional and national success in a variety of equestrian specialisms and events, along with our outstanding equestrian facilities, attracts large numbers of equestrian enthusiasts with 80% of school pupils riding competitively or for fun. This means that horse riders from ages 7-16 years will easily find their tribe within our welcoming and active boarding community.
Full-time Equestrian Boarding
Full-time boarders get to be part of our close-knit, homely, ‘quintessentially British’, girls-only boarding community, enjoying the full benefits of sisterhood with other girls aged 7-16 years. Living upstairs in the bedrooms of the original stately home that is now the main school building, our boarders are always at the heart of the school community, and are never far away from our attentive boarding staff.
Our exciting boarding activity programme is what we believe sets our offering apart from other boarding schools. Girls from Year 3 to Year 11 enjoy a highly-varied and engaging programme of activities from days out to in-house competitions and activities on evenings and weekends. There is never a dull moment in boarding!
Our full-time horse riding boarders can visit our stables before school, at lunchtimes, after school, and on weekends, offering a flexible itinerary of horse riding development, stable management, and equine therapy. When pupils are not in lessons, they can choose to partake in organised activities such as the large variety of lessons and sessions available at the equestrian centre, or they can choose to spend time caring for horses or riding within our 40-acre parklands.
Full-time boarders can either bring their own horse or pony, or choose to loan one of Queen Mary’s horses or ponies. There are loan and livery packages for every circumstance, and we have equine boarders on our full livery service package right through to equestrian boarders on our DIY livery package, who take complete responsibility for their horse. For those who take care of their own horse, breakfasts and tea times can be flexed to suit each pupil’s individual needs.
Every three weeks during term time there is an exeat weekend where full-time boarders can return home, go to assigned guardians, or it can be organised that they stay with the families of friends. We’re proud to be flexible, and parents or guardians are also welcome to take their children out at weekends that are not exeat.
Weekly Boarding at Our Equestrian Boarding School
Weekly boarders are every bit as part of our boarding family as our full-time boarders and are welcomed into weekday life at Queen Mary’s. The ‘home from home’ experience with ‘boarding parents’ gives pupils a grounded start to every week.
Weekly boarders can stay up to five weeknights per week are usually dropped off on Sunday nights or Monday mornings and collected on Friday evenings. Many of our parents find that weekly boarding suits their daughter’s equestrian training schedule with weeknight lessons often finishing at 7.15 pm.
Weekly equestrian boarders can also either bring their own horse or pony, or choose to loan one of Queen Mary’s horses or ponies. There are loan and livery packages geared towards weekly boarders, with parents and guardians able to drop off and collect horses for the weekends, or have them stay at Queen Mary’s.
Flexi Boarding at Our Horse Riding School
Day pupils and weekly boarders can enjoy occasional boarding nights, on any night or the week during term time, with at least 24 hours notice, excluding exeat weekends. The flexible overnight stays are great for socialising as well as for equestrian events, activities, and training. Meals are included within the overnight stay cost.
Our Equestrian Teams and Riding Academy
A leading British school with riding programme, Queen Mary’s provides on-site BHS-approved coaching in show jumping, dressage and arena eventing, with our equestrian teams competing on a county, regional, and national level.
Queen Mary’s Equestrian Centre
Our leading 5 Star BHS riding school equestrian centre is located at the heart of our 40-acre school grounds, within easy walking distance of the main school building. Perfectly located within the beautiful North Yorkshire countryside between Thirsk and Ripon, our boarding school is also ideally located for exploring the wonderful Yorkshire countryside, as well as nearby towns, villages, cities, and attractions nearby such as historic city of York, the spa town of Harrogate, or adventure locations like Sutton Bank, Brimham Rocks, and Stump Cross Caverns.
Our fourteen horse boxes, three open-barn stables, all-weather arena with full show jumping and dressage Set-up, and 33 acres of grazing paddocks has everything that a young budding equestrian needs.
Our BHS Riding School Facilities
Our Equestrian Boarding Fees
Our equestrian centre delivers a level of coaching and horse care that we believe sets us apart from most BHS-approved riding schools, with support available for riders of every ability. We have five BHS-approved coaches, grooms and a horse walker and offer a variety of loan and livery packages for our day pupils and boarders alike.
Our riding school fees and loan and livery charges are usually paid termly for day pupils, flexi boarders, weekly boarders, and full boarders. Find out more below.