I’ve been riding since I was a young girl, and most of my family have always been involved with horses. I started riding at Woodlands about a year ago, but unfortunately, I had a serious incident during one of my recent lessons that left me extremely disappointed and concerned about the safety standards at this yard.
As I went to mount the horse, the saddle slipped to the side. The owner came over and tightened the girth, and I continued with the lesson. However, while riding back up after the lesson, the saddle slipped again — this time while I was mounted — and I fell off, landing on my back and hitting my head. I was in a lot of pain and ended up going to the hospital, where after 21 x-rays, I was diagnosed with a fractured tailbone.
What concerned me even more was that the owner told my auntie (a former rider herself) that I had fallen because I “leaned too far to one side.” In my many years of riding, I’ve never seen a properly secured saddle slip simply from leaning slightly. My auntie agreed — this explanation didn’t make sense. Saddles don't fall like that if they’re correctly fitted and tightened.
I take riding seriously, and safety should always be a top priority — especially when dealing with children or less experienced riders. Sadly, I felt the situation was not handled professionally, and I did not feel supported after the incident.
I am now recovering from my injury and will be looking for a new riding school — one with higher safety standards and a more responsible approach to rider welfare.

This is the best horse riding place I’ve ever been too. The trail rides are incredible and so are the lessons. The instructors take you from beginner to advanced and even offer jumping! Overall, this should be everyone’s pick for horse riding in Melbourne!

Definitely an eventful and exhilarating experience!!! I rode the beautiful Bowie (who I tried to sneak back to Tas). Such a gorgeous and tall boy and such a sweet heart. The horses even ended up getting spooked and we were so close to falling off (a whole 16 Hands!!!! #scary). The guide Sienna was lovely and the ride was amazing! I’m definitely gonna have to come back up to Melbourne for this again!

I had the pleasure of visiting during my trip to Melbourne. Even as a first-time rider, I was able to enjoy horseback riding comfortably thanks to the clear and easy-to-understand instructions.

Located just 6 km from Melbourne Airport, this riding club is very accessible. The horses are incredibly cute, so if you ever feel like trying horseback riding, be sure to stop by!

A collection of calm, graceful and responsive horses. I was a beginner and the ride was perfect for me. Bowie is a strong, powerful and intuitive horse. He is very picky and selective about who he lets ride and control him. A horse that is definitely not for the weak. The instructor, Janice, I think her name was, was great, professional and we never had a dull moment. I really enjoyed the day, worth every penny and would absolutely be back. 🐎🫶 💖

Today I had my first ever trail riding it was amazing really😍 and the instructor ZOE 🙋‍♀️was really really good and loving person. She keeps eyes on us every time as I was bit scared because pf first time but overall loved it❤️😘

A wonderful place for both experienced and beginner riders. We did the 1 hour trail ride. The team was friendly chatting about their knowledge of riding, experience and the horses while also acknowledging my experience. At the same they were fantastic with my children who are beginners. I also felt trust with my experience I expressed and I was able to help with how children’s ride went, which helped so much. I’ve been to quite a few riding places as well as worked within one and Woodlands was a stand out. We would love to go back again soon.

This was our first time riding horses again since childhood, and our first team hangout outside the usual city outings. We wanted to try something different, away from the typical city night out. After seeing many posts on TikTok and Instagram about various horseback riding spots, I decided on Woodlands for our first trip. It’s great because you can drive there in just 30–35 minutes from the CBD. The scenery is hot and dry in a way that feels refreshing, so make sure to bring water.

The staff were all women, and they truly excel at customer service friendly, personable, and very patient. You can tell they’re passionate about working with both horses and guests.

Our lead rider (whose name I forgot, she got tattoos) was awesome she was friendly, had some cool tattoos, and the two ladies guiding our group were equally great. They made the experience even more enjoyable with their engaging interactions. My horse, Frankie, and I seemed to match each other’s energy and pace perfectly.

This place is open to beginners, and they even offer riding lessons, which I’m seriously considering. If you’re looking for an activity that will make you appreciate horses, their pace, and the joy of riding, this is a fantastic choice for you and your friends or family.

Feedback on the scenery: I enjoyed everything, and the trail is nice. However, some customers might find the setup a bit repetitive. I’d love to see different stops along the way, possibly with added trivia or group activities. For example, at the first stop, our group leader asked if anyone had experience trotting with a horse, which is fine. But it would be great to have something specifically for beginners perhaps a quick tutorial on making your horse walk a little faster. Another idea could be a designated stop for group or individual photos, with an option to print or download them for a small fee, like $5. A stop featuring a gallery of past workshops at Woodlands or stories about the horses would also be a nice addition. The ending could include a lineup of riders for a final group photo. It might take extra work, but it would make the experience even more memorable. The place got a potential to grow and be on the very top horse riding experiences in Melbourne.

I’m definitely planning to come back, and my group feels the same way. We enjoyed every bit of it!

I had my first ever horse riding lesson today with Shen! It was such an amazing experience from start to finish. My instructor was so informative and taught me so much in just one lesson. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience and I’ll definitely be returning for more lessons!

Great family experience Extremely helpful and friendly staff and beautifully behaved horses meant our family of 2 adults and 2 children all had an amazing experience.
We're all novices but felt very safe and relaxed on the trail and appreciated the independence. Lovely surroundings and wildlife too.
Thank you

Today, I had a private trail riding with Summer. She explained a lot of knowledge about horses to me. I really enjoyed riding with her!!!! She took a lot of pictures for me. Highly recommend her!

This review concerns the administrative services, not the actual lessons or teaching. My lessons have always been very valuable and enjoyable.
My father is currently battling cancer and as a result we have to visit the emergency department quite regularly. These are visits that unfortunately cannot be accounted for in advance. I have contacted reception only twice regarding these unexpected visits and both times I have received very insensitive responses. This time I was asked to provide a medical certificate otherwise my class will be forfeited. I understand that these are the policies, however, I was hoping for some kindness, noting that this is a hard time and classes are not inexpensive for someone in my position. I love horses and I love the classes, hence why I signed up in the first place, but these responses, unfortunately taint the experience.

Kaitlyn is amazing, I've so far had three lessons and she's the best trainer I've ever had. So patient with my initial nerves, showed me how to feel confident again on horseback (I've had the pleasure of riding Bowman and
Jackson. Highly recommend) after many years between rides. She loves the horses, and knows them all so well which helps riders. Today I got to try jumping! I felt fully supported all the way. Well done Kaitlyn, you're a great trainer and an asset to Woodlands. Really looking forward to my next lesson!

Not recommended This was a disappointing experience. It was not a trail ride, more being led around a field in circles (instructors not even on horses). We paid for one hour and it was only 40min. The main leader Federica was rude. Total waste of money.

My daughter and I had a great, fun private trail ride with Shen. Shen communicated well and let us ride to our ability out in the field.
We rode lovely, responsive horses - Bluey and Clyde. We would definitely recommend!

Absolutely love this place. The scenery and the horses are so beautiful. We took a lesson from Summer. She is an exceptional horse riding instructor! Her patience, kindness, and great teaching methods made our lesson enjoyable. She even took photos for us. Highly recommend her for anyone looking for an awesome instruction in horse riding.

beautiful horses, beautiful people, beautiful place Amazing views, great instructor, beautiful and well behaved horses and a perfect time period of riding! altogether one of the best hacks i’ve gone on :). everyone is very friendly! (Toffee is the best horse everrr)

Amazing ride. Awesome people. Great horses The trail ride I did with my partner was amazing.

I rode Kabota he was a very easy, calm horse. My partner rode Toffee, he was such a good horse, my partner cantered for a bit as she was confident, and he was so good.

The instructor (Shen) was amazing, she was very clear with her instructions, very friendly and a great rider.

Amazing views and such a nice trail.

I will definitely be coming back at some point, it was amazing

I recently had the pleasure of experiencing a horse riding session, and I must say, it was nothing short of amazing. The trainer, Kiera, paired me up with a horse named Texas, who was an absolute delight. For someone who was riding for the first time, I had a multitude of questions about horses, and Kiera answered each one with such patience and depth that my curiosity only grew. Her expertise and calm demeanor made me feel at ease throughout the session.

Texas, the horse, was incredibly gentle and seemed to understand I was a beginner, making the experience even more enjoyable. Under Kiera's guidance, I came out of the hour-long session feeling confident and exhilarated by the new skills I had learned.

This experience has certainly ignited a new passion in me, and I am looking forward to continuing this journey. I highly recommend this session to anyone interested in horse riding, whether you're a beginner or have some experience. Kiera and Texas make a great team, and I'm excited to return for more sessions.

Terrible experience! My family went as a of 6 group, Paid $540 for a 1 hour session and only managed to ride for 45 minutes. The employees were fighting over which horse to take (for 15 minutes) and when we asked to trot, we were told "we ran out of time". Don't waste your money to just sit on a horse.

I’m having a great time learning as an adult beginner. The trainers are friendly and personable and have made the learning process holistic and very enjoyable. Would definitely recommend Woodlands for anyone just starting out.

I’ve been coming here for lessons the last year and really love it.
The staff are all so friendly and knowledgeable and there are many paddocks as well as the arena in use.
Always such an enjoyable time at Woodlands.

Great advanced trail riding experience Great little yard, I booked on for an hour advanced trail ride and although you no longer hack out on the national park, they were very good at catering to my ability and we did a decent amount of fast-paced riding on relatively well-mannered horses. Hailey was a brilliant guide and made the experience super enjoyable. The horses are also very well kept which was lovely to see. Do not come here expecting fancy warm bloods or complete school masters but the horses will surely give you everything you need to have a great trail riding experience! Would definitely come back again for a trail ride.

Took 3 x 9 year old girls, all autistic. One had complete meltdown and couldn’t do the ride. Imogen came and helped, using her horse to calm her down. Wonderful experience, turning what could have been a disaster into a win.

My 15 years old Son started his horse riding session at Woodlands four months ago. He is confident and enjoying every ride.
Thank you Shirley, Belinda and all other staff.
Highly recommended.

Great first experience riding a horse for my 6yo daughter and me, trying out rail riding. Sophia was a very friendly and professional guide and took us through the basics well, and made us feel confident and relaxed.

We love Woodlands Trail Riding! The service is great with friendly and attentive staff. The horses are clearly well-cared for and happy, which makes our riding experience even more enjoyable. The holiday program for kids is always a hit with my children. It has truly become the highlight of their school holidays. They’ve also had private lessons and even had a birthday party there - it was a truly magical day. We can't recommend this place enough!

Fantastic experience for complete beginners!
Really friendly staff specially Linda ????
Both my boys and my 6 years old daughter enjoyed the journey.
Would 100% recommend Woodlands Trail Riding.

Great ride with Kaitlyn. Definitely coming back for ongoing lessons. Feels so good being back on the saddle. She was the best to ride with aswell, and Frankie my horse was hilarious. Super stubborn, but full of love and so gentle. Loved it, can’t wait to come back. Thanks so much ladies

So much fun A great experience - horses a bit sluggish but it was afternoon and cold. However Sofia our guide/trainer was funny, delightful, experienced and never missed a beat when it started to rain. Never enjoyed such a beautiful moment. Highly recommend

Thoroughly enjoyed my 1 hour private ride , accompanied with Gerard from Woodlands.
Gerard is safety conscious( importantly) but ensured I had an enjoyable riding experience. Walk, trot and canter . My chosen horse was terrific!
He is extremely knowledgeable, having had a lifetime around horses and happy to share this information.
Am returning to book a private ride again with him to improve my riding ability.
Yes I can ride, but he will improve my ability.
I’d encourage learners through to very experienced riders to visit this beautiful property . Horses are all well kept , the saddles and tack are of good quality and horses are shod. The pet goat that roams around looking for food is hilarious.
Great day out !

Highly recommended, booked the intro to trail ride with my Fiancé was such an amazing experience. We had Shen as our instructor who was so calm and patient with us, such a great teacher. Perfect for beginner riders with the 30min lesson at the start and a 1hr trail walk.

I enjoyed my 1h session very much. The staff were friendly, caring and attentive. The area is pretty and so close to the city. You will also see planes flying very close which may or may not be interesting to you. It is a great activity on the weekend and I recommend Woodlands Trail Riding.

Poor customer services We went horse riding on the 30th of December for the 9:30am session.
We were so excited and looking forward to go horse riding and get our photos for that day.
Knowing that only horse riders were able to enter the stables, no one else but the staff could take any photos. Thus, we were highly expecting many photos. Once we did receive our photos we were very disappointed to see that there was only one photo of each person. We were also very disappointed as we saw on the website that many others able to get several photos but not us.
It doesn’t see fair to us at all
We hope all the staffs will be able to take more photos equally in the future.

I purchased a voucher from Groupon and booked in with my visiting family from the uk. Sent the staff an email who responded with a questionnaire which I promptly filled in, however what I didn’t realise is that it sat in my outbox and my booking was never confirmed. Turned up at the appointment time to realise this, however the staff were so accommodating they got us to fill it in there and then, but we were lucky as they had room for us - so make sure your booking is confirmed. We were greeted by the instructors who talked us through the process and then walked us down to get our helmets and introduce us to our horses. The instructors took their time with each rider to ensure that they were happy and comfortable as we had a lot of beginner riders on this trial.

We were really well looked after, and everyone was happy and confident on their steeds, and the beginners were exceptionally well looked after. The age range on our ride was between 12 and 70 years!

I would highly recommend this to anyone who would like to have a go at horse riding, the horses are very well behaved and staff exceptional.

Massive thanks to our tour guide Juliette and to the lovely Romeo who has stolen my heart a little!

I highly recommend Woodlands trail riding,
I recently booked in for a 1 hour private ride which I thoroughly enjoyed. My instructor Jarrod was a highly knowledgeable equestrian who made me feel at ease during my ride. I really appreciated his guidance and pointers which he gave me while riding as I am still building my confidence during the canter outside of an arena. After a few quick suggestions and tips I felt it made a huge difference in my confidence and building stability while riding. My horse Seb was truly lovely to ride and had a lovely temperament. He was forward moving and fun to ride. All of the horses looked well cared for, staff were friendly and amenities clean. I had a great experience, if I were local I know where and who I would to go to further my riding experience.

We booked a pony party for our 6 and 3 year olds. It was an absolutely fantastic experience for our kids. Jess and Anasee was just so great and patient with them, chatting to them the whole time about the ponies. The horses looked well taken care of which is a huge plus for us. Such a great place so close to the city. Will definitely be back.

Terrible Terrible company to deal with. The one good thing about this place is at least the horses are well kept. Everything else is diabolical.

I’ve given this lot a few goes, but each time they let me down so it’s not a single occurrence, or a bad/unlucky day.

The girl who works the reception desk is a sour thing and never friendly. She doesn’t greet or welcome you, we are quite obviously a burden on her day.

Management similarly, show absolutely no mercy, flexibility or compassion with their bookings. My daughter woke up with gastro one morning she was due to ride and management refused to reschedule. This is obviously something well out of everyone’s control but it’s just a money grabbing exercise that they were prepared to lose a long term and consistently paying client over.

The straw that broke the camels back - my last ride there (I was booked for a lesson) - the girl taking me had only been riding a horse herself for 4 months. 4 MONTHS!!! We were at the same level of riding and she clearly didn’t know how to run a lesson program let alone having any significant experience in the field. I was appalled that this company thought that this was ok.

On a side note, another reviewer commented on the state of the toilets. It’s true - such a basic amenity and theirs is absolutely filthy dirty with taps that barely work, no soap and barely any toilet paper. I highly doubt they’ve ever been cleaned.

Save your money and your experience and go elsewhere.

horse riding scam!!! Terrible terrible experience. We booked 90 mins horse riding from 11am to 1230pm. we got there at 1040am, after going to the toilet, checking in with reception and then waiting in the gate, we were picked up by their staffers etc. We finished riding just at 12pm, that's unbelievable! half an hour short of booking time 90 mins.

When we asked why 90 mins booking was only going for an hour, their reply is because your group started earlier, and you were picked up at the gate before 11am. I kind of agreed with the picking up time, which may be little bit earlier than 11am, however, we started riding definitely after 11am. Because we arrived at 1040am, after the above series of procedures, we were picked up at the gate. Then another series of procedures followed: check names of each person and horse' names allocated, hand out helmet etc. if according to their saying, that is booking time starts from when people are picked up from the gate, that means at least half an hour will be deducted from horse riding. Even though our tour should not be finished at 12pm, because whatsoever we were definitely not picked up at the gate at 11am. Not to mention their saying about booking time is completely nonsense and ridiculous!

This company is very good at promoting themselves, no idea of where so many fantastic comments are from? probably from their own operation- hire someone to write such comments. to lure people to come. however, by contrast, their real services are outrageously terrible: apart from the above-mentioned that booking time is much shrunk, 1/3 time cut off, toilet is so horrendous: so simple and messy, toilet paper is just the smallest packages. And the photo link sent to us, we do so many beautiful photos, people wave hand and poise to camera, obviously they know very well they are being taken photos or videos, however, none of these happened to us. We have never been told to take photos. And I cannot find our photos either.

We have been to a horse riding in Morning peninsular, which is way better than this woodlands. Our group had 5 people whereas woodlands had 10 (their maximum is 15), we were supervised and taught how to ride and mange horse, and we were instructed to do trotting, which was not difficult thanks to their instructions, full of fun! Thats why we wanted to have another horse riding.

We never ever expected the services of woodlands, which is such a famous horse riding and with heaps of nearly 100% comments on google review, are horrendous poor. All the good reviews are fake!

They are scamming people, they should be punished and kicked out this market.

Fantastic place - beautiful horses and lovely people Taking regular horse riding lessons at Woodlands and I'm always very impressed by the highly experienced instructors and the very well cared for, calm and extremely well trained horses. Absolutely love this place. Suits all levels of experience.

Horrible customer service, average trail ride Booked a trail ride a couple days in advance
I made a mistake and misread the text message, and didn’t realise we had to be there 30 minutes before the booking, and were instead set to arrive 15 minutes before. I understand this is inconvenient as they need to get the horses ready and give us the correct equipment etc and felt very bad apologising several times, but the attitude the lady gave me over the phone was disgusting. Firstly she abused me over the phone drilling into me how I should be there by now, and that I should have read the text message. Then I arrived and my sister and I ran to the reception area, only to be abused again by the same lady several times. She made me feel horrible, I honestly didn’t even want to do the trail ride. Thankfully the girls who worked there were lovely and made me feel a lot better, and the horses were perfect. But that lady, I think her name was Karen, should be far away from clients as her attitude is like a angry school principal, I felt like I was being treated like a child, rather then a paying customer. Mind you I will never be going back and paying $80 for a slow walk around a couple of boring paddocks again. Lucky I was there for the horses not the people, as they quickly cheered me up.

Overall I had a pretty Horrible experience.

Highly recommend. My mum and I had a 50 minute general riding lesson with Kat. She was awesome, friendly and funny, clear in her directions and pushed us just enough to step outside the comfort zone but still feel supported. We had a really great time. Would definitely go back for more lessons and to try their trail riding experiences.

I’ve started horse riding at Woodlands a year ago (with some ancient knowledge from when I was a child - and a lingering fear of the canter). Today I’ve been cantering through the paddocks on a thoroughbred. Last week I took my first small jump. Thanks to Woodlands and the truly amazing trainers - Gerard, Tamsin, Shan - and Sharon & Shirley in admin :) The horses are in top shape, truely loved and well looked after.

NOT A TRAIL RIDE-DONT PAY AND DONT GO! DON'T BE FOOLED. THERE IS NO TRAIL RIDE! It's really a walk on a horse in single file 3 times inside a paddock. There is no opportunity to trot or canter, there is no beautiful scenery, it's two paddocks and you ride slowly around the inner perimeter of a paddock 3 times. The guide on the lead horse doesn't talk during the ride and they have three girls that work there follow on foot, that's how slow you walk your ride.

It's a joke except that it costs $80 per person and we drove over 2.5 hours to participate. They ask what level of rider you are (can you canter etc) so we were expecting a trail ride with a trot and canter at times, through beautiful scenery as they publicise on their web pages. The only beautiful scenery we saw was the underbelly of the planes coming into land at nearby Tullamarine. The girls that work there were nice, that's the only thing this place has going for it, but that's not worth $80 per hours!

My daughter has been having horse riding lessons here at Woodlands for a few weeks. She started with zero experience and is now learning to trot. I feel she is always safe in the care of her trainer Caitlin, who always greets us with the biggest smile and provides feedback at the end of every lesson.

The horses are all well looked after, the property is clean and the sessions always run on time which means a lot to me.

I've also found Sharon to be very accommodating and pleasant whenever we have had to reschedule lessons.

1hr Private Trail Ride My parter and I went out to Woodlands for an hour private ride in Feb 2022 and both had a great time. The horses were lovely and looked well cared for. Our guide was a very knowledgeable horseman and catered the ride to suit our experience so we felt comfortable at all times but still got a good ride in (we both have a bit of riding experience but very rusty).
The only thing is that an hour went by very quickly, will be booking in for a 2hr ride next time!
Thank you Woodlands for the great day

I had the best time ever!! It was my first time horse riding. I was absolutely petrified but the instructors made my brothers and I feel so safe. Federica, Brook and Sharon from what I can remember were my instructors. I'm so sorry if I got your names wrong but you know who you are and I thank you for this amazing experience. I will be going again and again and I definitely recommend this place to everyone out there. This experience is completely worth the money and for the people that want to know I did the Trail ride and will definitely go for private lessons. Thank you Woodlands????????

My beginner daughters and myself as an advanced rider all absolutely loved our trail ride here. We had great assistance from Kaitlin and Maddy who were wonderful with everyone in the group. We did the 90 minute session which included a 30 minute lesson with a 60 minute trail ride. They had us all matched perfectly to horses for our experience level. We will definitely be back!

Thanks again to Kaitlin and Maddy and the rest of the Woodlands team. Such a great day.

We have been to couple of horse riding schools before but never been happy.
We came to woodland today and had the best experience ever. My girls were so happy. The horses were picked carefully to suit their experience and confidence. Definitely coming back as a family to do more lessons.