THE RIDING SCHOOL
Horsemanship & Horse Riding School In Tri-City North County (Carlsbad, Vista, Oceanside)
"It's all about the little things."
Beth Boyer, The Riding School - Vista, California
Beth Boyer
Founder & Teacher
Beth Boyer has a lifetime of equine and teaching experience.
Learning With Beth Boyer
What key professional experiences helped Beth Boyer to become a great teacher?
Beth Boyer learned how to handle tough horses, scary situations, think on your feet, courage to do and try things at the Race Track.
Race horses are tough and mean once they're there to race. They’re not there to be friends; they’re there to win.
Horse trainers sacrifice everything they have to keep their horses going. She understood the hardships of horse care and ownership right away.
What Beth's teaching philosophy?
The philosophy is that the little things made the big difference in safety, health, independence, freedom.
There are many other barns with beautiful horses - that’s true. But, because of the way the trainers and students treat their horses, they don’t last. They run them into the ground. They die prematurely.
Our philosophy is about extending the life of the horse, improving interactions between human and horse, and instilling confidence and fun into students. We show students that older horses still have so much value - value that often goes ignored by other schools.
Students will learn to recognize unsafe and unhealthy behavior, situations, and environments that cause pain, danger, and frustration.
Beth teaches students how to do things safely and correctly so that when they see what’s wrong, they can step up and be a problem solver.
What do Beth want students to take away after taking lessons from her?
Learn safety and animal skills that help children build confidence. Shy, introverted students can build confidence and stand up for themselves. Horses respect, love, and want to please a student who cares.
What do you want people to understand about your coaching phases?
Students will learn to work independently at The Riding School. This is not something many horse riding centers permit or encourage. Beth wants students to learn how to properly do a task and practice on their own in order to learn what to do and what not to do should a challenging occasion arise in life outside of The Riding School.
So, it's not unusual to see Beth with 3 to 5 students at a time, lessons overlapping, because they're all in different phases of their lesson. Beth's students all learning to become independent horsemen.
Some students are faster than others, some need hands on guidance. Everyone is learning but they're also contributing to the well-being of the horses and the flow of the stable.
Students can go on to successfully own their own personal stable or even professionally run one thanks Beth's training and guidance.
Beth Boyer's Horsemanship Story
All The Little Things Make A World of Difference
As a youth, Beth rented horses in the San Fernando Valley. Her parents knew nothing about horses, but encouraged her to explore the world of horses.
From a young age, Beth displayed a natural talent and fearless nature around horses.
The people in her life began to notice Beth's skills and veracity for learning and taught her the ways of the horseman.
While selling ads for her high school year book, she sold an ad to a 30 acre horse ranch in Hidden Hills. This serendipitous opportunity gave Beth an idea that would change her life:
Beth offered to work on the ranch in exchange for riding lessons. Her earnestness and desire to push her limits as a horseman allowed her to work on tougher and harder horses.
She bought her own horse as a teen - to a big surprise to her parents!
Beth was interest in the horse racing world. She took the bus from Reseda to Hollywood Park, watched the horses and took the bus back. She would sneak in with a family so she didn’t have to pay and watch the horses. When she figured out who the leading trainer was, she asked for a job. And that’s how her professional training career got started.
Beth had a lot of chutzpah. She had a talent for working with rogue horses - tough and mean - because people didn’t want to deal with them. She learned a lot from them and therefore was able to discover how to anticipate dangerous situations and solve problems.
Beth earned many opportunities like traveling to Japan to retire a horse. She conveyed an ability to notice a lot of little things that make a difference in the horse world. Beth insists that it’s the little things that keep you safe, the difference between a horse that nobody can ride or handle to get a horse productive and able to do things, and the difference between life and death.
Beth started working as a hot walker and then went to a groom. She dealt with many people who thought she didn’t belong on the race track. Dealing with the adversity gave her inner strength, determination, and courage to work in a difficult industry.
Beth worked long after the grooms have left to work with the horses, figure them out, and make a difference. Because of that, Bobby Frankel took the time to mentor her. He was a wonderful man to Beth, respectful, gentleman, and a great educator.
Beth wanted to learn how to increase the longevity and quality of a horse's life. She wanted to make a difference. She transitioned so that she could do more. She freelanced pony riding on her own. She worked for many years under Ross Fenstermaker.
With Eddie Truman, she worked with “RexRanger” who was the meanest horse she ever saw; one that could kill. This is how she learned many safety skills and techniques.
She worked as a groom and learned barn management skills with Tom Pratt the world of high end horses. She traveled with “Bywayofchicago” who was a challenging horse who loved Beth and required special handling that only Beth knew how to provide.
When “Bywayofchicago” couldn’t race anymore, Beth started doing her own buying and selling.
Beth then transitioned into teaching lessons where during that time she got her bachelor’s degree in communications and worked for Barry & Enright productions for almost 20 years. Backstage in production for game shows and television programs.
She started work at a barn and worked at San Marcos Equestrian center and then transitioned into running the lesson program. She was able to fine tune the program into an efficient and impactful one that made a profit. Beth then ventured into her own and started The Riding School.
And now, at this point in her journey, this is where Beth meets you to begin to continue your equine adventure.