Empire Equestrian, LLC

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Empire Equestrian, LLC Empire Equestrian is a small private hunter/jumper lesson & training facility The farm consists of a seven stall barn with tack room.

Empire Equestrian is situated on six acres in Castle Hayne, NC within minutes of Wilmington. Since we are a smaller facility, we are capable of having more individualized programs for our students & horses/ponies. Each stall has its own attached paddock to give horses/ponies the option of being inside or out. We only feed the highest quality of grain & hay available. We also have a 100' x 190' grass riding arena conveniently located right outside of the barn. Owner/trainer Mackenzie Ring lives onsite & oversees the daily care of the horses/ponies as well as the lesson & training programs. While she is one of the younger trainers & barn owners in the area, she is very knowledgeable. She has almost 10 years of experience working in boarding facilities & caring for everything from OTTBs, show horses/ponies, to retirees. She has been riding since she was very young, but has always had a love for the hunter ring. While in middle school, she rode with Anne Sibson in Massachusetts. With Anne, she developed a solid foundation in proper equitation. When she moved to NC in high school, she began riding & working for Wonderland Farm. In the 7 years there, she became a more effective rider & began riding the green horses/ponies & tuning up lesson & sale horses. She also furthered her knowledge in the care & keeping of horses & developed her teaching skills. After her time at Wonderland, she went on to ride for O'shea Stables for a year. In that time, she continued to work with green horses/ponies, sale horses, & tune up lesson horses. She also took on two of her own projects. In the past two years, Mackenzie has successfully ran her own boarding & lesson facility. She is known for providing excellent care for both boarders & her own horses. Her lesson program caters to all levels of riders whether they wish to ride for pleasure or compete. Her show team has been successful in the local hunter shows & will be pursuing larger shows this fall.

10/19/2026

Spice and ℂ𝕒𝕚𝕥𝕝𝕪𝕟 schooling roll backs this morning!

There’s always a project to be done on the farm. Today’s farm update was upgrading the arena gate.
10/18/2026

There’s always a project to be done on the farm. Today’s farm update was upgrading the arena gate.

10/16/2026

Derby was on his best behavior for his 1st walk/trot ride since over the summer. This was only his second or third time trotting undersaddle too!

Tis the season to be buzzing down some ponies!
10/15/2026

Tis the season to be buzzing down some ponies!

Our 3rd horse show weekend in a row, took us down to Aiken for PSJ’s Southeast Regional Championship Show. The girls all...
10/05/2026

Our 3rd horse show weekend in a row, took us down to Aiken for PSJ’s Southeast Regional Championship Show. The girls all rode well and had great placings at a new to us venue. We have a couple weeks off before our next one!

A successful morning Hanover Stables schooling show!
09/26/2026

A successful morning Hanover Stables schooling show!

We had a great weekend at Sedgefield at the Park! Thank you everyone for bearing with me while I was a bit under the wea...
09/21/2026

We had a great weekend at Sedgefield at the Park! Thank you everyone for bearing with me while I was a bit under the weather!

08/29/2026

If they can’t walk and steer, they can’t trot and steer.
If they can’t balance at the trot, they aren’t ready to canter.
If they can’t go catch their own horse, groom it, tack it up and take responsibility for it, how are they supposed to lead that horse from the saddle?

Going faster does not equal getting better. Strapping your kid to a horse and sending them into the arena isn’t making them better, it’s setting them up to get hurt.

You might think watching your kid walk circles isn’t exciting. You might think they should be cantering, jumping “doing more.”

But sometimes they’re simply not ready.

And respectfully — that’s why you hired an instructor. Because knowing how and when to progress a rider is our job.

We aren’t holding your kid back. We’re building the foundation that keeps them safe and makes them GOOD.

- Author Unknown

08/26/2026

First ride in almost a month, Holden was fabulous on our solo trail ride around the farm this evening. His summer vacation is over as we prepare to further his training and get ready for the fall show season!

Address

3630 Prince George Avenue
Castle Hayne, NC
28429

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 9am - 6pm
Thursday 9am - 6pm
Friday 9am - 6pm
Saturday 9am - 6pm
Sunday 9am - 3pm

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