Book A RIDE!!

  I can tell you that what your child will receive is far greater than what you can imagine. Confidence, empathy, perseverance, friendships to last a lifetime with like-minded people, responsibility, a work ethic like no other. How about the physical side? Strength, balance, stamina, coordination. Dare I say unmatched GRIT and determination? That's just for starters.

Our Community Riding Program is designed as a low-cost, low commitment way for families to enjoy horses whether it is for occasional lessons to learn about horses or just a nice afternoon of family fun at the stable. 

Our Club Membership is for riders and families dedication to learning the art of riding and horsemanship who are able to make a commitment to learning each week. These riders progress through a series of goals as they move up through the levels of riding and horsemanship.  Some may decide to lease or purchase a horse at some point in their journey, many will not. 

 Unlimited make ups are allowed, based on availability, for horse owners and those who lease horses.  However, our regular lesson horses who teach most of our riders are the foundation of our business.  Each one has a tailored work week that includes an appropriate level, type and amount of work.  Each lesson horses expenses remain the same regardless of how many lessons they give each week or if anyone misses a lesson. They still require feed, daily care, veterinary care and farrier care.  If a lesson horse was required to give make up lessons to students who are unable to attend their lesson for any reason, that would require that horse to work overtime to give that lesson. Working overtime would be an unfair expectation on our lesson horses which is why we only offer make up lessons on the rare occasion of planned cancelations. However, holidays and lessons that are cancelled on our account (which is almost never) are made up. Usually, this is three times a year, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and Easter Sunday.  

 We have created affordable options available to test the waters and/or just to enjoy the occasional afternoon at the barn! We call that our Recreational Riding Program. Group riding with no commitment at an affordable price point. 

Yes, we also offer education with the best curriculum available across the globe, which is our Pony Club, PC Junior and PC Horsemasters programs.  This is our regular riding program for all ages and abilities. Our membership program is designed for those who are committed to developing their skills as equestrians. Our comprehensive education program is second to none.  Our mission is to develop skilled, thoughtful riders who are true horsemen, always putting the needs of their horses first and foremost, always in the pursuit of excellence.  

Our Trail and Combo lessons were created for the purpose of an occassional day at the stable.

 The basis of our programs is our dedication to equine welfare and ensuring our herd is living their best lives. We dont adhere to horse keeping in the usual way, visit our homepage to learn how and why we are different. Safety and the happiness of our horses come first. Our lessons are tailored so the horses themselves also enjoy the lesson rather than prioritizing momentary enjoyment of riders. We believe the best lessons are those that both the horse and rider enjoy their time together. Another promise to our lesson horses is that they will never be sold or rehomed, instead they will live out their lives at our beautiful facility. Even with good intentions when lesson horses are originally sold or rehomed, many, many, many end up in terrible situations,  either in what we call the slaughter "pipeline", or in uneducated neglectful homes. Not our lesson horses. We cherish what our horses give to the community and the industry. We honor them for helping teach the current and next generation of horse enthusiasts.  Many of our horses have taught dozens of students over the years, preparing them to potentially own or lease their own horses some day, ultimately bettering the lives of horses around the world through education, one person at a time, one lesson at a time.  

 We believe that certification, in one form or another, does matter as do decades of  experience, excellence in horse training ability, teaching ability and exemplary horsemanship skill and talent. All our instructors work under the leadership of our head instructor who carries multiple advanced level teaching and training certifications through many respected organizations, across multiple disciplines. The pursuit of excellence matters in anyone teaching others and is one of many things that sets our school apart.  

  It is natural to see a large fluctuation in cost with instructors having varying degrees of expertise, experience, certifications and other things.  The cost of the facility and level of horse care also factor into costs. Generally speaking, in life, as we all know, you do often get what you pay for so if the lowest cost is your primary consideration then choosing another program over ours is going to be a better fit for you. 

  Instructors at many riding schools have one area of special interest or experience therefore they tend to offer a program that encompasses that one discipline. Although jumping is our passion, we have extensive experience in top levels of multiple disciplines.  It's our strong belief to give a well-rounded education to our riders rather than a one-dimentional outlook in the equestrian world which often leads to prejudice and handicaps in riders, in our opinion. We teach the "Balanced Seat" in multiple disciplines.  We do not teach one way to Western riders and another way to English riders.  Balanced, correct riding is done Western, English or bareback and it is taught to all of our beginner riders. As they develop, we support them as they naturally gravitate toward the discipline of their interest.  

Yes, riding and handling horses is considered a rugged sport and recreational activity. You should be concerned, as any good parent would be.  Equestrian pursuits (including all handling, unmounted and mounted work)  are more dangerous than football, baseball and basketball combined. It accounts for more head injuries than military personal in combat. So what should a parent of a horse-crazy kid do?  You could not let them ride and protect them from possible danger, that is one option.  Those same kids usually grow up and ride later in life though (many with tales of how their parents didn't let them ride).  When you have the bug, you have the bug.  Nothing cures it. My strong recommendation, if you have a child such as I have described, is to find them the safest program you can and let them follow their dreams. I know, I WAS that kid once and I have taught hundreds of those kids.  How do you know what determines a higher degree of safety?  Well, that goes back to the instructor. How many decades have they been teaching and training horses?  Notice how I didn't say years, I said decades. How many certifications do they have, how are they getting their ongoing education? How about their philosophy? Are they fully insured?  Do they have a high degree of horsemanship expertise and ethics? How do they view and treat their lesson horses and ponies? Do they see them as disposable/replaceable tools or do they invest in their animals for the long haul with ongoing training and excellent care?  How do you, as the average non-horsey parent, even know? 

Building wisdom and good judgment in anything requires decades of work, decades of pursuing excellence.  Make sure your instructor is someone that has the knowledge and experience to keep you or your child as safe as possible in an activity that carries exceptional risk. This is not the time to be shopping for bargain basement prices. 

For our Club Membership, yes, riders are expected to purchase a helmet, safety vest, riding pants and riding boots.  

For our Community Riding program, we are happy to supply helmets but encourage each rider to purchase their own.  Boots with a smooth heel and comfortable pants are recommended. 

We are a private facility and do not offer tours and visits for the public however we do, on occasion, host open-house public events for families to visit our farm including our horses, donkeys, barn kitties, ducks and chickens.  Those public events are listed on our "book a ride" tab. 

We have been told on occasionthat our prices are "too expensive". I recommend scrolling up and reading through the other answers about safety. Also, to help the public understand the factors that go into the costs of lessons, below is a list of our actual annual expenses. It is not the 1 lesson hour that you are paying for, it is the hours upon hours upon hours that go into making that one hour possible for you as a member of the public rather than you purchasing a horse and being responsible for100% of those costs, a riding school amortizes that expense with hundreds of riders per month. 

Facility & maintenance $258,618.27

Horse Care labor $89,032.47

Hay, feed, supplements $112,378.48

Vet care $25,289.56

Farrier Care $7040.00

Business expenses, insurance and taxes $56,515.22

Total: $548,874.00

In addition to the above regular expenses, our horse purchase expenditure was $42,000.00 last year.

***The owners/managers do not receive a salary or any compensation in spite of doing a majority of the maintenance work, nearly 100% of the teaching and a large portion of the horse care.

We currently have over 20 lesson/therapy horses and ponies on staff. All unique with special things to offer.  Each are loved and celebrated as they teach the current and future generation all things equine. 7 are available to members for full or half lease,  14 are available for sponsorship. 

Our program promotes happy, healthy and relaxed horses, living their best lives! This quality and emphasis is the mark of true horsemen.