FOR OUR 2026 SUMMER CAMP FAMILIES
Your camper is just getting started
Five days at camp taught them to catch, groom, saddle, and ride. The Rider's Journey goes a lot further, and it is a good life. Here is how to keep going.
Minutes from San Francisco
The only horse ranch in the San Francisco metro area, on the coastal bluffs of Daly City, where the pastures meet the Pacific.
A real certification path
Level 1 skills are checked off by certified instructors, and nothing counts until your rider can do it without assistance. That standard is the whole point.
The vaquero tradition
Natural horsemanship in the lineage of Tom Dorrance, Ray Hunt, and Buck Brannaman. Soft hands, clear asks, willing horses.
What comes after camp?
A lot of families ask the same thing at pickup on the last day: what now? There are three ways to keep going, and they work best together. No pressure, and no wrong answer.
01
Ride
Weekly lessons on the same Level 1 foundation camp started, pay as you go or on a membership.
02
Learn
Four free online courses with real certifications, the same curriculum the barn teaches, at home.
03
Belong
Potluck BBQs, group clinics, club shows, and a volunteer path your rider can earn a place on.
The lesson program: Level 1, done properly
Our teaching is built on one Level 1 foundation, the same natural, vaquero-tradition horsemanship your camper started this summer. Groundwork first, then riding: reading what a horse is telling you, asking clearly, and earning a soft, willing response instead of forcing one.
The path runs from barn safety and catching through grooming, tack, riding basics, and trail readiness, and every skill is demonstrated without assistance before it counts. Riding four lessons a month, most students complete Level 1 in about a year; at eight a month, six to nine months.
Two ways to ride
Keep it simple and book as you go, or ride regularly on a membership. Tell us how often your child wants to ride and we will point you to the right fit.
Pay as you go
$160 / one-hour lesson
A one-hour Foundational Horsemanship lesson, booked whenever it suits you. No commitment, no membership, just pick a time and come ride. The easiest way to keep the momentum from camp going.
Lesson Club membership Best value for regulars
Ride weekly
Monthly lesson points land in your account and you apply them when you book, from a couple of rides a month up to most days of the week, private or small-group. Plans flex as your rider grows.
The online academy, free
The full Level 1 curriculum is online: four self-paced courses with quizzes and a real certification exam at the end of each. Riders earn a certificate for every course they pass, a great fit for older kids and teens between lessons.
COURSE 100
Equine Science & Care
Barn safety, grooming, saddling, and after-care.
COURSE 101
Ethology & Safety
Reading body language, the catch, leading, tying, bridling.
COURSE 102
Ground Mechanics
Flexion, moving the feet, backing, desensitizing.
COURSE 103
Applied Equitation
Mounting, seat, steering, transitions, and trail.
Earn a place on the team: Student Assistants
This is one of the parts kids love most. Once a rider has fully passed Level 1, or earlier, if an instructor sees they are ready and gives the go-ahead, they can join our Student Assistant program: helping younger riders, learning the barn from the other side of the lead rope, and earning their way toward more saddle time.
It builds responsibility and leadership as much as horsemanship, and it is a genuine point of pride for the kids who reach it.
“Soft is strong. Clarity is kindness.”
The Leyden Way, from our book Soft Is Strong
Our barn family
The part that is hardest to put in a brochure is the one that matters most. We host a couple of potluck BBQs each month, we run group riding clinics, and when students are ready we head out together to local club shows.
Families come, kids ride, and the barn feels like what it is: a community, not just a place you drop off and pick up. Your camper is already part of it.
Questions parents ask us
Anything else, reply to your camp email or call (415) 969-1223.
No. Level 1 is where every rider starts, and camp already covered the first steps. Their instructor meets them exactly where they are and builds from there.
Long pants and closed-toe shoes, plus layers: we are on the coast, so it is usually cooler and windier here than in the city. Helmets are provided and required.
Your plan adds lesson points to your account each month, and you apply them when you book online. Plans run from a couple of rides a month up to most days of the week, private or small-group, and you can adjust as your rider grows. See the plans here.
It depends on frequency. At four lessons a month most students complete Level 1 in about a year; at eight a month, six to nine months; riding twelve or more a month, four to six months.
Once they are fully past Level 1, or earlier when an instructor sees they are ready and gives permission. It is earned, which is exactly why kids are proud of it.
Ocean View Stables, 2152 Olympic Way, Daly City, on the coast just minutes from San Francisco.
Ready to keep your rider going?
Reply to your camp email, call us at (415) 969-1223, or book a first lesson. Even one lesson to keep the spark alive is a good one.