Riverdale Stables

Instructors are extremely supportive! Great facilities, And knowledgeable staff! I highly recommend!

An incredible opportunity to take riding lessons in New York City! They offer private lessons, group lessons, and boarding for your horse if you have your own. The horses are well taken care of, the staff is very friendly, and lessons are surprisingly affordable.

Edit: after reading some of the other reviews I feel like clarifying a few things.

First, no there are no public restrooms. This is an active barn full of highly sensitive, expensive, half-ton animals. Of course there is no public access, that would be incredibly irresponsible and dangerous.

Second, yes the office can be understaffed and can get overwhelmed, but everybody I’ve met is very friendly and working incredibly hard to provide the best experience possible.

Third, this barn is for people who want to learn how to properly ride a horse. There are no trail rides and it is obligatory to start with a 30min private lesson. This is how it should be for any professionally run place that cares about safety and the well-being of their horses.

I have been riding with Riverdale stables for three years and loved it! They have wonderful instructors for every skill level and ages, and want to help their riders be the best they possibly can be while also staying safe. It is a wonderful community and an amazing experience every day there!

I have been riding at riverdale stables for a very long time now. My riding has improved so much since I started riding there. The staff and grooms could not be nicer. The trainers are patient and understanding but encouraging when it comes to something you’re scared or uncomfortable with. The horses are so sweet and the horses experiences vary from beginner to advanced. For your first time at Riverdale they evaluate you to see what you can do, which is obviously for safety of the horse and the rider. Overall I would definitely recommend Riverdale Stables to anyone who is interested in continuing their riding experience or just starting.

Returning to riding as an adult has been a wonderful experience at Riverdale. The trainers I’ve had lessons with Caitlin H, Cheryl W and Rebecca M are all wonderfully gentle and encouraging to their beginner lessons (you can see in all of their show ribbons!); while being able to be encouraging yet firm with their older experienced riders who are looking to improve each ride. Every lesson has me wanting to return right away and all of the horses are well turned out.

I send my love to all the horse's there. Animals are so beautiful, & absolutely amazing! I met two New York City Parks Enforcement Officer's on Father's Day on Johnson Ave. Those two Officer's were very nice, & we had a nice about 10 minute conversation. They were both on two horses. Told me they were doing Park Patrol for that area. I was obviously petting one of the horses a lot. It was wonderful. I feel bad I didn't pet the other one. Didn't think about it. They told me that those two Law Enforcement horses were from down there. Very cool! I got lessons when I was way younger at Riverdale Stables. I love how great they take care of the horses. About 5 months ago I saw one female NYC Parks Enforcement Officer going through the forest part of Van cortlandt Park on one of the horses. Cool. This photo is of the two very respectful Officer's, & the two beautiful horse's I saw on Johnson Ave that day.
I have to add the male Officer was very handsome.

My children ages 13, and 10 loved it!! The staff was very friendly and informative. The horses and stable were lovely. They will be returning for more lessons.