I was eager to have our 4yo twins ride horses. I had enrolled them in another program that only had them sit on a pony and be lead around lesson after lesson. They weren't taught the name of anything: stirrup, reins, saddle, horn, etc. They did no riding or leading independently. At SD Riding Academy they teach English riding The 4yos. within the first 15 minutes were taught what everything was called as they learned to independently mount the HORSE! Within 30 minutes of their first lesson they learned how to start, stop and turn their horse WITHOUT anyone leading the horse on a rope! We are VERY IMPRESSED with this facility and how thoroughly they are taught. read more

Sent my kids here and just had an awful experience. Our instructor was Ines and she was just rude and had a horrible attitude. AVOID

If I could give less stars I would. This place has major issues going on with it and the rude lady who was supposed to help my kids shouldn't be allowed to handle people, horses, let alone her toothbrush. Ines, you are a mess. This lady couldn't care less or have less of a clue about what's going on. Why you specifically looked for the employee with two brain cells that are competing for third place is beyond me. Figure it out Ines! read more

San Diego riding is a fantastic riding school - the instructors Linda & Jane are kind, passionate and love what they do. Our daughter loves her time at the school and is being challenged every day! read more

San Diego Riding Academy - Horseback Riding Near Me - Lakeside, California

Absolutely unprofessional and zero respect to people plans and time. I scheduled an appointment for introductory lesson with Jane a week in advance. The day before the lesson she contacted me and asked to start lesson 30 minutes earlier, I agreed and got a confirmation. On the day of the lesson, 2 hours before it I got a message from Jane telling me (not asking, telling, with zero apologies!) that my lesson has to be rescheduled because that time got double booked. I didn't get into arguments why exactly my lesson has to be rescheduled and why no one noticed it during an entire week and how she didn't know it a day before when she was confirming my lesson, just asked for a refund. Don't waste your time and energy for people who don't care about their customers, go to any other riding school, there're plenty of them around. read more

I took my daughters here for an introductory lesson and we were so impressed with the Horses, the Instructors and the whole barn experience. The people were friendly, the horses were all beautiful and healthy, the barn was clean and the atmosphere was wonderful! The girls loved it and we are so looking forward to continuing lessons here!! read more

I have been at San diego riding academy for almost 5 years. Jane gave me my first lesson on Dolly and I have been here ever since. I can never imagine my life with out the friendships I have made here! If you are looking for a place to make the friendships of a lifetime and get the best horsemanship possible this is the place! read more

Linda can truly do it all. She can teach you to ride, teach you to help the horse learn something new, or even help you bring your unbroke or green broke horse around. She is an expert problem solver with horse-rider combinations. And if you have kids, she has the best ponies around! read more

Linda has a deep love and understanding of horses and wants to share this with others. She is patient with even the most novice riders, but still has the educated eye needed to help advanced riders. Well worth giving a lesson with her a try. read more

After reading the reviews I was excited to take a lesson here. However I never made it to this facility because when I called to schedule a lesson I never received a call back. I called on Monday 10/3 and I'm still waiting for a call. Luckily I found somewhere else to ride. read more

Today for the first time ever, I was finally able to understood how to que a horse for a counter-canter successfully! I am a VISUAL learner therefore I cannot compliment Ms. Linda enough for her ability to relay such a technique verbally to me where I could actually visualize it and apply it properly! WOW! Thank you Linda! Now I won't flub up anymore under a Judge's watchful eye! P.S. Your school horse REV is SUCH a patient boy! I gave him extra hugs tonight! read more

I started at San Diego Riding Academy as a complete (adult) beginner. I can't speak highly enough of Linda, she is a wonderful riding instructor. Calm, knowledgeable, and professional, she notices the tiniest of body movements and communicates postural corrections in easy to understand commands. I never feel uneasy or rushed working with Linda. I've been riding for two years now and I am so glad I found her! I learn something new every lesson and she has accommodated my changes in schedule and ability on every occasion. Highly recommend. read more

Horrible place. We drove out in person to check it out and my husband spoke to Jane. She told him to contact her for a Thursday pony ride for our two little daughters 4 and 5-year-olds. She never responded. We have the text messages my husband sent and two weeks later after she kept moving the dates we drove out there with our daughters super excited just to get turned down. Her excuse was she never said those days and more lame excuses. Wasted our time driving back and forth three times I am only so angry because they don't realize that they didn't hurt us but they hurt our children by crushing them the days they thought they would ride they did not. They are all unprofessional not organized and Jane seems stuck up and can't admit her mistakes blaming us saying we are liars about what she told us. First rule when you own a business. The customer is always right especially when we have proof. Learn better customer service. We found a better establishment for our girls anyway. Again, huge letdown and awful people! read more

I started lessons with Linda in July 2013. I am new to the sport and have never done anything as fun and rewarding as this ! Linda is patient and kind. She explains what the horse is responding to or not responding to. The lesson also includes teaching grooming and tacking up. Her horses are as kind and patient as she is. And the price is reasonable. I highly recommend her for any level of ridding. read more

This is the worst business in San Diego. I found them online looking for pony rides for my 2 year old daughter. After many attempts, I was able to reach Linda, who had me come out and get a ride for 20 dollars from a 12 year old girl who they were sort of employing to give help around the stables and give pony rides. My daughter loved it, and as we could never get ahold of Linda, we would just occastionally stop by and If the girl was there, we would get a pony ride and if not we would just say hi to all the horses. The last few times we were there, there was an older Mexican man doing maintenance, and he seemed very agitated. He was swearing a lot and seemed very angry. This made me feel very nervous, as there was no one else out there at the time, and I was alone with my young daughter. I went there one other time after and he was again having one of his temper tantrums close to us, he then came over and extremely rudely told us to leave. He seemed to be drunk. This place employs underage children and people with serious mental/alcohol issues. Definitely stay away from this place especially if you have children!!!!!!! read more