Prince Equestrian Sports, Hilliard FL

I could sing eternal praises about Prince Equestrian. I have moved a lot in my life, and as a result, have been at many barns and have had to visit/trial-and-error barns. Finding this barn when I moved to Jacksonville, FL of all places was the biggest blessing in disguise. A lot of places didn't want to bother with me if I wasn't looking to buy or lease/half-lease a horse.

Alaiya and Kirstin are, for one, amazing instructors who are continuing their education. Neither of them slack off. Both of them go to seminars to continue learning from others, take lessons, read books, compete, and are actively improving themselves and making sure they are providing the best and *correct* information to both their students and the horses they train. Both of them are also very attuned to their horses - treating them as the athletes they are, the needed nutrition, and overall care to make sure their horses are living a phenomenal life.

The lessons themselves are also top-notch. I had felt stuck in my riding for years, and after some less-than-desirable lessons at other barns, PES was my last try before I was going to take a break from riding because I was starting to hate it. I tried my best to not get my hopes up, but PES made that very difficult. Alaiya and Kirstin both provide valuable and understandable information, advise on at-home exercises, have amazing understanding of horse-rider biomechanics, and make every lesson count - even the ones where it's more low-key to work on basics again. They have lived up to every hope that I have had, and I fell in love with riding again. I have goals for my riding now and am working towards my Bronze medal in dressage - because they're actually within reach, and I have some of the best horsepeople at my side supporting me.

The barn itself has a fun, loving atmosphere. From the adults taking lessons to the tiny kiddos, everyone is enjoyable and respectful. I've made a lot of friends and thoroughly enjoy talking horses with everyone that comes through. Everyone at the barn learns how to take care of horses in more than just the tack-up-ride-un-tack manner. Shows, even with all the students, are fairly organized and smooth-going. Everyone helps out everyone else, and it's always a blast.

My advice? Take lesson at PES. It's worth it. Alaiya and Kirstin are worth it.