hello, we are the essex blades equestrian & POLO club

Horse Riding is riding a fully tacked-up horse, learning how to ride with skills such as walking, trot, canter, pole work and jumping. All of our training/lessons take place in enclosed sand arenas at our 2 teaching locations, but if you are part of either of the teams you will visit other universities and also use their horses/facilities.

Recent honours?

Essex Blades Gold Standard Club - 2016/17
Essex Blades Silver Standard Club - 2017/18
Essex Blades Gold Standard Club - 2019/20 

Do I need anything else before I get involved?

If you want to take part in training or to learn how to ride, you don't need anything and can hire boots and a hat from one of our training centres (but you can provide your own if you wish!). If you want to be in either of our teams you will need full show gear (shirt, tie/stock, jacket, white/cream jodhpurs, boots, hat, body protector and whip).

Equestrian

Horse riding is a fantastic experience and a really good way to keep fit, relax and have fun.

Everyone is welcome to join us, we cater for all abilities and riding levels. The club is hosted at Brook Farm Stables in Alresford. To get there you can catch either get the 74 bus towards Wivenhoe at 50 minutes past every hour, or you can catch the 78X towards Wivenhoe at 20 minutes past every hour. The bus usually takes around 15 minutes - these bus times are based from South Courts. Please ensure that you always arrive to Brook Farm early. If you have any questions about riding with the club, please feel free to email sr21631@essex.ac.uk (our president) or contact our Instagram for further information!

Polo

Whether you've played polo before or have never sat on a horse, we cater to all abilities. By joining the club we offer the most affordable way of getting into polo with beginner lessons at £50. We aim to hold polo lessons every Saturday (Numbers dependant) at Silverleys polo club in Hertfordshire, transport is provided by the club for a £7 minibus fee (this is normally included in your ticket price unless stated otherwise). We offer the chance to compete for us at the largest national polo tournament held between universities called SUPA, we have two of these competitions a year. Winter SUPA (Held in February) is based at Onley Equestrian Centre in Rugby as is Arena polo whereas Summer SUPA (held in June) is based in Lemington Spa and we compete on grass! Whether you wish to play or whether you wish to join as the many social members who come along, SUPA is an experience like no other!

Pre-BUCs Team

This year we are lucky to be able to offer the chance for our more advanced riders who are looking to compete or to further themselves with lessons at Hemps Green Equestrian.