FAQs

Are you a therapeutic riding facility?

This is a question we get a lot when we tell people we’re a horsey nonprofit. The answer to this is no. While therapeutic riding is awesome, that is not what we do. Therapeutic riding focuses on riders with mental or physical disabilities, sometimes quite significant disabilities, and helps them with horses. We have great respect for therapeutic riding, and some of our para-equestrians got their start in therapeutic riding. However, we leave that work to those kinds of facilities, as we have neither the horses nor the equipment to do that kind of work.

Are you a horse rescue?

This is another common question we get when we say we’re a horsey nonprofit. The answer is also no. However, much of our foundation stock was rescued. We work quite a bit with the Lipizzan Rescue Foundation to find breeding stock and potential lesson horses, and we also help point potential adopters toward reputable rescues. However, our rescues stay with us for life and serve a purpose in riding, breeding, or mindfulness, and we only take in horses that fit our program.

What kind of nonprofit are you then?

We’re more of an arts organization that goes a step further to show the world what our art can do to benefit humanity, both physically and mentally. We show the public the art of classical riding (which is different from the sport of dressage in its other expressions and other cans of worms), but we also take the philosophy and parallel historical horse husbandry techniques and apply it to regenerative agriculture, rare breed conservation, biomechanics/physical wellness (for both people and horses), and mental wellness (for people and horses). We also recognize the lack of systematic schooling and access to affordable education for future riders and hope to provide a solution.

Do you offer public trail rides?

Because of the sensitive and highly trained nature of our horses, we do not offer public trail rides. Horses that give trail rides to people who’ve never sat on a horse have to be incredibly tolerant; classically trained horses have to be incredibly sensitive to the slightest shift in weight. However, we can give private lessons to visitors to the area who want to give classical riding a try.

Do you offer children’s pony rides?

While we have child-safe ponies, we only offer their use in one-on-one lessons (or group lessons once the children are advanced enough).

I’ve got a friend/relative that is really good with horses; would you hire them as a trainer?

While we appreciate good horsemanship and talent, in order to preserve the systematic approach to training developed by the Old Masters, potential trainers who want to work with us have to go through the systematic education. Otherwise, we lose the very thing we’re trying to preserve. Each riding discipline is different, just as tap or jazz dance is different than ballet. If you want to be a trainer with us, we’re happy to go through that systematic education with you and help you become a trainer of our same art.

Can visitors drop by to see the horses?

Visitors are welcome in farm tours or by appointment. As much as we love sharing our horses, we ask that you check in before dropping by, as we may be in the middle of lessons, other meetings, or other life necessities. If you’d like to get an overview of what we’re doing, please sign up for a farm tour! They help us find our construction and other ongoing expenses, and you’ll get your money’s worth of information and chances to ask questions.

Do you have horses for sale?

While we are still building and don’t have a lot of inventory, we often have young horses that haven’t been listed yet! It’s very rare for us to have horses under saddle for sale, and when we do, they are actively advertised. We sometimes list client horses as well, and while they may not be bred by us, they’re in our training program.

Are there opportunities for people to be involved who like horses but can’t/don’t want to ride?

Absolutely! We have a perpetual list of projects that can always use extra hands, and any help with those is welcome. Running an established facility is hard enough, but building one while offering programs is exponentially harder.

Where do donations go?

Donations go toward several things: construction, ongoing expenses, and programs. If donations are not earmarked for something specific, they go toward construction and ongoing expenses. If they are marked for something, they go toward that! We do quite a bit of unofficial work making riding opportunities more accessible, such as letting passionate individuals work off lessons if they can’t afford them otherwise or giving underprivileged students free equipment (like boots and helmets), and donations help us help them. While donations help fund employee payroll, very little if any goes toward administrative costs (none to actual administrators).