I found Bridle Up Hope as I needed to put in community service hours towards earning my Black Belt…read more I previously volunteered at a therapeutic riding program back in Maryland, so I wanted to volunteer a similar place to help give back to our animal spirit friends as well as the women in this program. I loved the mission Bridle Up Hope (BUH) stood for, so I asked to sign up for service. Bridle Up Hope provides equine therapy and empowerment for women. They have a riding program in which women learn to work with, take care of, and learn to ride horses to help with confidence and self-esteem, as well as work through challenges in life. They have great seminars and workshops open to those in the riding program including the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Yoga, self defense, and arts classes, among some of the activities and seminars. They offer scholarships for women to help with cost too, but the takeaways from this program I'm sure are priceless! My niece enrolled in a program similar to this, and she left with much more confidence! Bridle Up Hope also has a boutique for BUH accessories and clothing, as well as a beautiful event hall!

I love coming here! There's a positive atmosphere when you walk in. The lessons are to help you,…read moreand helping you gain confidence through riding horses.

We went to Schow's Ranchette Arabians for my daughters 9th birthday! It was soooo much fun! They…read morelet them brush horses, feed horses, and paint horse shoes. The kids learned so much about the care of horses. They really spent some quality time with the horses and got plenty of ride time. They taught them some really fun games on the horses. They have a fantastic party room, for the cake and ice cream! They were so good with the kids the whole time, and so kind to parents (they even let me sneak in a ride). All the party guests got really cute horse suckers, stickers, bandana, and trail mix. Two full hours of fun and very affordable! My daughter loved it so much, that were going to sing her up for lessons. We can't wait to go back! I just love this place! A very Happy Birthday indeed!

From the owner: We are a family friendly horse facility. We focus on teaching our horse program, Horsmanship for…read moreLife. We teach children and adults both English and Western riding disciplines, as well as Bareback, ground work and equine management skills. Boarding is only offered to our students. We keep costs low by involving our barn community in sharing the work load that owning livestock requires. We have been in operation for 75 years and have taught riding lessons for more than 30 years.

The trainers are very experienced and absolutely know what they are doing. It's also very clear how…read moremuch they love and respect the horses. I do think that the advertisement for 'all levels' of lessons is tailored more towards children. The adults I saw taking lessons seemed much more advanced. I had ridden on and off for years, and wanted to get back to basics because I lacked any real knowledge of appropriate technique. I was also interested in the emphasis on dressage because roughly speaking, it's about moving with the horse and using your body more than the reins. The acutal lessons itself made it clear how knowledgable the trainers were. However, every other aspect of the experience was negative. The indoor ring was busy with multiple lessons occuring at once and people tacking up the horses while trying to give appropriate space in close quarters, which is where I felt the most ill at ease. I was new to the space and the personaliity of the horses, and I didn't want to do anything incorrectly by spooking a horse or interrupting a lesson with a question. I felt like a nusience and a waste of their time. Other people seemed to be treated with more patience (like the parents of the children taking lessons and lobbying for their child to be put on a certain horse), but for some reason, it felt like I couldn't do anything right. I was there to learn and it was discouraging since I would drive 40 miles round trip for each lesson.

Southern Belle Riding and Ammie the owner are by far the best place to board and take lessons. My…read moredaughter has been through many trainers and none of them have taken the time to get to know her or even stand in the arena with her during a lesson. Ammie is very detail oriented and can fix even the toughest habits the rider or horse may have. Daily she checks the horses to make sure everything is ok I never have to worry about them or my daughter in her lesson. There is not one bad thing I could say about Southern Belle!!

I purchased a horseback riding for a one hour session for three off of Groupon and I'm attempting…read moreto book and I'm getting no response from calling or leaving a messenger message is this business legit?

Excellent experience! I have worked with Oak Haven Performance Horses twice over the years. About…read more6 years ago, my husband and I did riding lessons in their adult program. It was so fun! We both enjoyed the time with the horses and exceptional instruction. As an adult, I was worried about looking foolish or paying for what would just end up as a pleasure ride. I wanted to really learn how to ride. Under the excellent instruction of several instructors, my husband and I really found joy in new assignments, and were challenged by the instructors to master techniques in "equitation". Within his first year, the owner of the program approached my husband saying he was ready to compete in shows if he desired. It is such a different experience having a hobby to grow and work on new achievements in. We absolutely loved being able to ride together and it was a highlight in our week. About a year and half ago our 4-year-old horse-crazy daughter wanted to do riding lessons and so I looked up Oak Haven again. She is very strong-willed and often acted out. Within a few months of starting lessons with Leslee, she has experienced a total turn around in her behavior. She is sweet, helpful and obedient and constantly talks about her time with the horses. She has bonded with a few of her favorite horses (as have I) and works hard to "earn" her lessons. Additionally, she has grown in her riding skills and has developed great confidence in herself and her abilities. It is wonderful being able to see her shine with something she loves so much. Leslee is her instructor now and Leslee takes great care to make sure that my daughter is safe, confident and always challenging her to try just a little harder to achieve her goals. I highly recommend Oak Haven to anyone.