10 places
British Horse Society-accredited lessons in the largest indoor arena in the Middle East, structured as a course that ends in a graduation exam.
Daily group and private lessons beside working polo fields, with a pony club for younger riders.
Eight polo fields and a 2,000-seat grandstand on 300 hectares of grass, the emirate's centre of polo.
The only British Horse Society-approved riding centre in the Middle East, with lessons in the arena and desert hacks out into Al Marmoom where oryx and gazelles turn up.
The capital's racecourse also runs a riding school for all ages, in the middle of the city rather than out in the farms.
A family-run endurance stable of more than 120 Arabian horses that takes complete beginners on hourly desert hacks through the Al Marmoom conservation area.
A large air-conditioned indoor arena, so lessons carry on through the summer when outdoor yards stop.
A ranch among the Al Wathba dunes with 90-minute desert hacks and trick-riding lessons, alongside ordinary lessons from age four.
Al Ain's main riding club, with an indoor arena, a show-jumping ring and six black-sand arenas for lessons at every level.
Beach rides at sunrise and sunset on Hudayriyat, and a female instructor among the trainers.