Lessons, instruction and schooling — find a yard to learn the ropes or bring a horse on.
Kate McComas Training is an equestrian yard in Temecula, California, focused on classical equitation for hunter/jumper riders. It offers full training, clinics, collegiate coaching and haul-in lessons. The yard also runs programs for starting young horses, ponies and off-the-track thoroughbreds. Boarding is available in Barn 7 with bedded stalls, and the facility has arenas, a gallop track and cross-country jumps.
KRE Show Horses is a training and coaching yard in Temecula, California, led by National Champion trainer and coach Katherine Rich-Elzig. The yard offers customized training plans for horses, including schooling and performance work up to advanced dressage. It also provides conditioning programs for young horses or those needing fitness work, using lunging and exercise rides. Riders can take guided lessons with professional coaching.
Gardenia Riding Academy is a family-owned equestrian facility offering horseback riding lessons for all ages, from beginners to experienced riders. Lessons last 55 minutes and include time to tack up and tack down the horse, with a longer assessment lesson for new riders. The academy also teaches horsemanship, including grooming and caring for horses and their equipment. Students move from private lessons to group or semi-private lessons once their trainer considers them ready.
Encore Equestrian Vaulters is a non-profit club whose members compete in the sport of vaulting. Vaulting combines dance and gymnastics performed on a moving horse. The club is open to vaulters from age 3 through adult, from beginners up to Gold level. It offers instruction and coaching in all aspects of the sport, along with basic horsemanship and safety skills. The club is hosted by Monterey Bay Academy in La Selva, CA.
Sorella Farm is a hunter/jumper show barn in San Juan Capistrano, California. It offers full and half training programs in which horses are ridden and cared for several or three days a week. Riders receive one-on-one lessons and coaching in equitation and the show ring. The barn also provides competition preparation, performance monitoring and horse care such as grooming, feeding and stable management.
All About Horses OC is a horse riding business offering private and group lessons in Western and English style riding. Its training covers groundwork, showmanship, anatomy, and grooming. The business also offers trail rides, group events, and summer camps. Its stated focus is horsemanship, including building self-confidence and responsibility in caring for horses, in a relaxed, family-like environment.
Shady Maples Farm is an equestrian center in San Juan Capistrano, California. It offers riding instruction in Western, trail, ranch, hunter/jumper and dressage riding for riders of all ages and experience levels. The farm also provides horse boarding with covered stalls and box stalls. Trainers at the farm offer dressage, Western and hunter/jumper training. Riders have access to local trails and facilities including arenas, a dressage court and round pens.
Bridges Training Stable is a full training and grooming barn in San Juan Capistrano, California. The stable focuses mainly on show jumping, hunters, equitation and ponies, with a personalized training program. It competes at local and national horse shows and supports several show organizations. A small lesson program uses the barn's own lesson horses and pony for riders who do not own or lease a horse.
Johnny 6 Stables is a family-run equestrian program offering Western and English riding lessons for youth and adult riders at all experience levels. The stable provides professional training rides, show preparation, and horse leases and sales. Its training is rooted in Saddlebred and gaited-horse work, with instruction in saddleseat, hunt seat, and western riding. The program emphasizes correct horsemanship, safety, and individualized instruction.
Pacific Star Equestrian is a full-service equestrian competition barn based in Southern California. It offers lesson and training packages, including full training, half training and tack-up service, along with day care and lay-up care. The barn focuses on hunters, jumpers, equitation and eventing. It also sells horses and offers training and consignment services for sale horses.
Amber Smigel Dressage offers classical dressage training and instruction for horses and riders of all levels, from beginner through advanced. Services include lesson programs, training programs, clinics, and care and nutrition programs that complement any equestrian training style. The business is led by USDF Gold Medalist Amber Smigel, who is active in dressage shows in the Southern California region. The business is moving to Peacock Hill Equestrian Center in August 2025.
OC Equestrian Vaulting is a community youth sports club built around equestrian vaulting, a sport combining horsemanship, dance and gymnastics. The club keeps its own horses and offers classes for all levels, with no previous riding or gymnastics experience required. It is a non-profit organization run largely by volunteers, and its dues and tuition support the horses, volunteers and members. The club focuses on character, teamwork, service and work ethic through horses.
Connected Equine is a dressage training business that builds partnerships between horses and riders. It offers full and partial training programs, private lessons, clinics and show coaching. Its trainer, Macki Hamblin, is a USDF Silver medalist with over 25 years of riding and competition experience. The approach is based on classical dressage principles, with training adapted to each horse's needs. Western dressage is also offered.
The Temecula Polo Club is a polo club in Temecula, California. It offers polo lessons for kids and adults, including single-lesson Polo Basics and a Polo Side Experience. The club also hosts polo matches and social events, and offers a players membership. Its site is focused on the polo experience alongside wine-country events.
Bates Barrel Horses is a mother-daughter team offering horse training with a focus on barrel racing. They train horses and also teach barrel racing lessons to younger riders and amateur enthusiasts. The business sells trained horses and lists horses for sale on its website. According to the site, the team has started a breeding program. The team aims to build a strong partnership between each horse and rider through personalized training.
Orange County Polo Club is a family-owned arena polo club in Silverado Canyon, California. It hosts polo matches, ticketed events and private events for spectators and guests. Private and group polo lessons are offered to first-time riders as well as experienced players. The club also runs horsemanship experiences such as horse camping, cattle sorting and beach rides.
Urban Horseman offers riding lessons for children, first-time riders, riders returning from a fall or injury, and fearful riders. Lessons cover grooming, tacking up, seat position, longe line work and safe horse handling, in both arena and trail settings. The business also runs spring and summer horse camps for children aged 5 and up, teaching basic horsemanship and riding skills. Riders can learn Western pleasure, English hunt seat and gymkhana on several breeds.
Jigsaw Farms offers English and Western riding lessons for beginning riders, with a focus on horsemanship, safety and developing confidence. The farm also offers trail rides and therapy with horses. The menu lists parent and child sessions, day camps and pony parties. The site describes the farm as rebuilding at Will Rogers State Park after the ranch was reduced to ashes in January 2025.
Hidden Canyon Riders offers horseback rides through the canyon for visitors and riders of all ages and skill levels. The business also runs riding lessons focused on horsemanship, trust and communication between horse and rider. Summer camps for children are part of its programs. The emphasis is on building partnerships between horse and rider in a natural setting.
Compton Jr Equestrians is a not-for-profit equestrian program based in Compton, California. It offers English and Western riding programs alongside horsemanship education. Programs include afterschool sessions, summer camps and field trips for youth aged 8-18. The horses are central to the youth development programming, which also covers riding skills and horse care.
Griffith Park Horse Rentals offers guided horseback trail rides in Griffith Park in Los Angeles. Trail rides are offered for adults and children, and the business also provides hand-led pony rides for young children. Rides are led by guides on the business's own horses. The business also facilitates rides for large groups and adapted rides for riders with special needs.
Old Canyon Stables is a family-run horse ranch in Topanga Canyon, California. It offers horse boarding, riding lessons and horsemanship training. It also runs horse and human experiences, including an equine therapy program that is part of its nonprofit work. The stable takes in rescue horses and gives them rehabilitation and a second chance.
GrandView Farms is a hunter/jumper barn located at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank. It offers hunter/jumper training and lessons for riders of all skill levels, from beginners to serious competitors. The barn specializes in hunters, jumpers, equitation and ponies. Services also include show training, catch rides and horse sales and purchases. Owner and trainer Karen Perlow started the farm in 2007.
Step Aside Stables is a horse training barn in the Los Angeles area that specializes in training flat shod Tennessee Walking Horses with dressage techniques. The barn offers full training, where horses are ridden, lunged, turned out, or given lessons five days a week, and a part training option for owners who handle daily care. Riding lessons are available for beginners and experienced riders, either on the barn's lesson horses or on the rider's own horse. The stable also provides grooming and show preparation services.
