About our School and our Program

AZ Riding Academy promotes fun and safety for all our campers.  Each day the campers will have riding lessons instructed by a CHA certified riding instructor.   During our riding time, we not only learn safe practices handling horses, but campers will play games on horseback as well.  In addition to riding, we learn how handle the horses from the ground and do an obstacle course relay race while leading the horses.  Everyone will have a horse to care for and will learn to feed, water, and clean up after them.  Each week, we will groom and bathe the horses and even have a demonstration from a farrier.  We also do activities like arts and crafts and a scavenger hunts.  We even have the opportunity to paint our horses like the Native Americans have done.    

Every Friday afternoon, we invite parents out for Parent’s Day!  Show your parents all that you have learned and take them for a tour around the farm!!

About our Instructors

Miss Kate has 40 years of horse experience and has been giving lessons for 15 years.  She is certified by the Certified Horsemen’s Association (CHA), as an instructor at level III English and level IV Western.   She has also held an Illinois Horse Judges card since 1997 and is rated in Colorado for 4-H ratings at Level IV for the written and demonstrating component of the testing, both English and Western.  In addition, Kate has been a guest clinician for the DuPage County Horse Committee and has judged a variety of horse events. 

Miss Kate’s formal education includes graduating suma cum laude, teaching High School history for 15 years and has 20 hours of graduate work in counseling.  She is currently the Social Studies Department Chair at a local High School, and is listed in Who's Who Amongst America's Teachers for the 2005/2006 edition .

Miss Melissa has 15 year experience raising, training, and showing Arabians.  She has shown up to and including Regional level in class A shows in multiple disciplines, including dressage, show hack, native costume, hunter pleasure, western pleasure, country English pleasure, halter and sport horse in hand. 

Melissa is currently the vice president for the Colorado Egyptian Arabian Horse Alliance for the second consecutive year and is a past president of the Rocky Mountain Area al Khamsa. 

Outside of the equine industry, Melissa has a Bachelors degree in Geography and Environmental Studies and has spent 8 years as a cartographer.

All of our instructors are certified in First Aid and CPR, and between them, are members of many equine organizations.  These organizations include, the Certified Horsemen’s Association, the  Colorado Egyptian Arabian Horse Alliance, Colorado Horse Council, the Illinois Horse Council, the Wisconsin Horse Council, the American Riding Instructor’s Association, International Arabian Horse Association, Colorado Arabian Horse Club, American Horse Show Association, the Pyramid Society,  International Andalusian & Lucitano Horse Association, United States Equestrian Federation, United States Dressage Federation, and Rocky Mountain Dressage Society.