My daughter has been riding at Knollwood Farm since she turned 4 years old, which makes 7 years…read morenow! Many of you probably think it was stupid to put a 4 year old on a big horse and so did I. However I'm a softy for the tears and she was in love with horses so I took her there expecting a lesson or two and we would be done. WRONG!
The professionalism of the trainers, the huge selection of school horses (I think about 28) and the eye on safety over hurt feelings really set them apart from all others.
As far as the selection of horses, they start with Willie, "The Golden Sofa". Willie is the wonderful starter horse that knows what he is to do and gently carries the youngest to oldest beginners around the arena so they can get their first feel of the saddle without fear. Once when he was carrying a little girl, she lost her balance and started to slip off, before she fell, he simply stopped where he was and allowed the trainer to help her back up onto the saddle. He made it much more comfortable for my 4 year old to learn to ride (and for my nerves).
For the most experienced riders there is Baxter, Hooper, Reggie and Merlin,. These are the real (academy) show horses and a thrill for those who get to ride them. My daughter has worked her way up from Willie through all the horses to Merlin and loves every minute of it.
Safety. This is the main reason why we have remained at Knollwood for so long. The safety of my child means more to me than any stupid ribbon, a trophy or even her hurt feelings! Her first few times in the show ring off lead line, she rode an old pony named KC. She had rode several bigger better horses including Saddlebreds, but for safety, "bomb proof" KC was brought to the show just for her. Riding as a 4 year old she RODE THAT PONY and won her class against older kids (many over-mounted and unsafe) riding the prettier Saddlebreds. She went on to a fourth place finish in the championship against kids up to more than twice her age.
At shows, I have witnessed kids, from other barns, so over-mounted (horse that is too powerful and beyond the kids abilities) getting run off with, falls and flopping around like a rag doll in the saddle. I even saw a little lead line girl get bucked off and stepped on. SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY. Some barns don't want their kids to wear helmets! They think that in a show they will be judged poorly for the helmet even though it is not to be part of the judging. Ribbons before safety, that's plain STUPID!
Finally, in a lesson, if your kid is doing something that will get them hurt, it will be pointed out. If they ignore the instructor it will continue to get sterner. If they cry, the warnings continue over the tears, because the hurt feelings heal easier than bones.
After so many years around Knollwood, I could go on and on (more than I already have). Another very important thing about Knollwood is rider participation in caring for the horses. Many kids and adults volunteer as helpers at the barn, they tack, groom, feed and cleanup after the horses. They help other riders and teach other riders about caring for the horses. My daughter was taught how to groom and tack at about 5 years old. If a horse poops, some kid is going to grab a rake-like thing to pick it up and put it in a muck bucket.
I started writing this review after reading someone else's review of another barn far away, where she stated that their barn smelled, the horses were not groomed etc. etc. All I could think was, that this Little Princess would die at Knollwood because SHE would learn to care for the horses that she rides. Caring for the animals that work for THEM has countless positive impacts on a child's life.
If you're looking for a pony ride, take your kid to the zoo. If you want a safe place for them to learn to ride and the responsibility of caring for the animal, I highly recommend Knollwood.
