Showgrounds Equestrian Centre

A Friendly PSA About Our Toe Cups 😂

Guys, we know we're pretty casual around here and we're generally not precious about much… BUT PLEASE STOP TAKING THE TOE CUPS OFF THE STIRRUPS. 😂

Unfortunately for everyone, some of your instructors are English, highly qualified, and were trained in a system where tack is expected to be left exactly as you found it. 🇬🇧🐴

So while Australia may have taught us to chill out about many things, apparently toe cups are where our British tolerance ends. 😂

We use toe cups for a reason — they're an important piece of riding-school safety equipment designed to help stop a rider's foot sliding through the stirrup and potentially becoming caught.

They're also surprisingly bloody expensive, so finding them abandoned on the floor around the yard does cause a small amount of British rage.

And when you take the toe cup off, you can also end up removing the stirrup tread/grip, meaning the next rider gets on and discovers they've got a lovely slippery metal stirrup instead. When you remove a toe cup, there are two small round fixing/retaining plates that attach the cage to the stirrup iron. Those pieces have now disappeared. So the toe cups that were removed are currently completely unusable until we find those missing pieces. 🤦‍♀️

Basically:

Don't dismantle our tack without asking.
Don't leave bits of it on the floor.
And please don't test the patience of the English instructors. 🇬🇧😂

We're lovely people.

But we've been trained to have standards. 💅🐴

Mike, Jet and Dani in the media! 🌟 🤩

Off the Track WA - Racing WA's Support for Retired Racehorses What happens when a racehorse's racing career comes to an end?In ...

Did you know that 13 of our 30 school horses are retired racehorses? 🏇❤️

Ned, Big Bucky, Barkley, James, Ollie, Asti, Will, Oakley, Trent, Woody, Alan, Stella and Summer all started their careers on the racetrack before finding a new purpose here at Showgrounds Equestrian Centre.

That's more than one in every three of our school horses is a retired racehorse. 🐎💙

We're incredibly proud to support Racing WA's Off the Track program and to give these amazing horses a meaningful second career. Every day they help riders build confidence, achieve goals and discover just how versatile retired racehorses can be.

And that's not to mention some of our much-loved retired legends, including Freddie, Milo, Blackie and Baz, who spent many happy years teaching riders before enjoying a well-earned retirement with us.

We believe every horse deserves the chance to thrive beyond racing, and we're honoured to play a small part in that journey. Thank you to Racing WA and Off the Track WA for supporting these incredible horses and the people who love them.

🚩 Riding Instructor Red Flags 🚩
(We did you guys... now it's our turn 😅)

✨ Before 9am or before coffee... you're basically being taught by muscle memory.

✨ Calling you by your horse's name because we've completely forgotten yours and we're too committed to the bit to ask.

✨ "So... what did we do last week? Give me your top and bottom moment." Translation: I've taught 40 lessons since then and you all blend into one lovely, slightly terrified adult rider. Please help me.

✨ "Should we just go for a trail ride today? It's beautiful weather." Translation: My neurodivergent brain has reached maximum capacity and neither of us survived last week's lesson with our sanity intact.

✨ "That's the idea!" Sounds encouraging... actually means you're somewhere in the same postcode as the correct answer.

✨ "Again." No further explanation. You know what you did.

✨ "Good." You have absolutely no idea whether that was genuine praise or just acknowledgement that you're still alive.

✨ Looking at another instructor across the arena with that 'you seeing this too?' expression.

✨ Forgetting which rein you were talking about halfway through the sentence. "...inside... no, other inside... YOUR other inside."

✨ "Trust me." Usually followed by something you definitely don't trust.

✨ "Well done, you can walk." The highest compliment you'll ever receive in a group lesson is to receive this feedback first.