Serendipity Riding School

We teach all of the major disciplines, and all students are started with dressage basics and an understanding of horsemanship
and how it serves to make for better riders.
Whether the goal is to show or to head out on the trail,
lessons are the same - with an emphasis first on safety
and next on horsemanship, with everything else following behind.

Students learn to catch, groom and tack the horse
before they may ride.
They also learn to care for the horse after the lesson,
and many choose to spend their free time at the barn,
helping care for the horses, cleaning stalls or just hanging out.

Students begin on the longe line,
learning balance and respect for the horse.
From the beginning they are taught not to rely upon the rail for security,
but rather to interact with the horse as a partner.

We teach only private lessons,
believing that one-on-one
promotes a better learning experience.
Our students generally progress at a rapid rate
and move on to bigger challenges quickly!

Success is not measured by awards won in the showring,
but by smiles on faces at the end of the day.
Show wins are but one of the things that can put such a smile there!
The ability to enjoy one's horse
and to feel confident that not only are we asking for his best,
but we are giving him our best -
these are the things for which we strive.

The reputation of a Riding School is only as good as the students it turns out,
and so it behooves the instructor to do a good job!
Of course, that job is easier if the students are good raw material,
and at the SRS, we have been blessed with a stellar group of students!

No matter how good the students,
they are limited by the horses on which they learn.
Students of the SRS have great school horses on which to learn.
A good school horse is not the one who does what he should do
no matter what the rider says,
but who knows when to look after his rider,
and when to do exactly what his rider says, even if it's wrong!
Students learn more from horses that ask questions,
but first they have to be safe
and know how to answer those questions!
This is what we teach at the SRS.
Advanced students sometimes get the opportunity
to ride the boarded or training horses
at the request of the owner,
if both horse and student can benefit from the pairing.

At the SRS, setting goals and striving to achieve them
is an important learning tool.
Competition is a good way to measure progress,
but the conventional showring
is but one of the ways to test our skills.
For more information on the variety of things
we do to push ourselves, go here