Talenta plains Halfing dino-rider

[Xaryo]

I'll start in a new campaign soon, set in Eberron.

I'm thinking about playing a dino-rider halfing.

the DM gives a feat at lvl 1 for everybody, no matter the race. we can play anything, all books allowed and probably the UA also.

we are starting at lvl 3.

I was thinking maybe beast conclave ranger (animal companion as mount), and taking mounted combat as the first feat.

is there other options that could be nice?
chainlock?
xanathar's cavalier?

don't care about super optimization.

[Quoxis]

I'll start in a new campaign soon, set in Eberron.

I'm thinking about playing a dino-rider halfing.

the DM gives a feat at lvl 1 for everybody, no matter the race. we can play anything, all books allowed and probably the UA also.

we are starting at lvl 3.

I was thinking maybe beast conclave ranger (animal companion as mount), and taking mounted combat as the first feat.

is there other options that could be nice?
chainlock?
xanathar's cavalier?

don't care about super optimization.

Chainlocks can only summon small beings, not any form of rideable dinosaur.
An alternative would be lore bard that snatches the „find steed“ spell at level 6 or a paladin learning it at level 5, but that’s a bit much of an investment for my taste.
If your group has a druid, you could mount them while they’re wildshaped - be the T-Rex rider you always wanted to be!
If you want your dino to be a class feature, ranger is your best bet.

Of course you can always multiclass, though that might be detrimental to your animal companion‘s strength.
Cavalier does have some features that can save your mount, paladin has auraus that your dino is automatically in, as does shepherd druid...