Pemberly Oaks Equestrian

06/23/2026

Relaxing on this rainy day.....

06/22/2026

Its a OTTB BFF kind of rainy day!

06/22/2026

You drove forty-five minutes each way. You packed the snacks. You wrote the check. And now you are standing at the rail watching your child stare at the horse while simultaneously watching a video on their phone, half present in a place that deserves their full attention, Parker Worthington writes.

Sound familiar?

The barn is one of the last genuinely analog experiences available to a child these days, and that is not an accident… It’s a feature. Horses do not respond to distracted riders. They do not care about follower counts. They demand presence, patience, and the kind of slow, attentive observation that is increasingly rare in the life of a ten-year-old who has been raised in a world of instant feedback and infinite scroll. Here is how you, as the adult in the car, can help make the most of this irreplaceable time.

1. Take the Phone the Moment They Hop Out of the Car

Not later. Not after they check one more thing. The moment the car door opens and the barn smell hits, the phone goes into your bag. Do this cheerfully, consistently, and without negotiation. Replace it with an analog dial watch — a real one, with hands, that they have to actually read — so they can track their lesson time and their chores without being tethered to a screen. The watch is not punishment. It is a tool that teaches them to orient themselves in time without a device doing the thinking for them. It also makes them feel enormously grown-up, which, at ten, is most of the battle.

2. Teach Them to Arrive Early and Walk Around

The thirty minutes before a lesson are not downtime. They are the lesson before the lesson. Teach your child to arrive early, walk through the barn quietly, look at the horses, notice which ones seem energetic and which seem settled, check the water buckets, observe the general atmosphere. This habit builds the kind of ambient awareness that separates a rider from someone who merely sits on a horse.

3. Let Them Carry Things

A ten-year-old can carry a saddle. They can carry a grooming bucket, a water bucket, a hay net, a stack of wraps. Let them. Do not carry things for your child at the barn unless they are genuinely too heavy or there is a safety reason to intervene. The physical experience of caring for a horse, including the weight of the tack and the logistics of the grooming kit, is part of the education. Children who are carried through barn chores grow up to be riders who don’t understand why things take as long as they do.

📎 Read more tips at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2026/06/21/ten-things-you-can-do-to-actually-help-your-ten-year-old-at-the-barn/
📸 © Heather N. Photography

06/16/2026

As I celebrate 12 years at Pine Ridge Farm, I'm reminded of the power of embracing the unknown. My Aunt Lorraine's insight led me to this farm a few doors down from her home; a place where my horses and I found solace after leaving another facility where I had been teaching. What began as a simple plan to board my horses and be near my dad and family, evolved into the creation of Pemberly Oaks Equestrian after a few of my students followed me to the place where small dreams began to take root and grow. The name
"Pemberly Oaks" reflects my personal journey from sadness and adversity after my divorce to finding happiness and strength. Pemberly Oaks was never my plan but I followed my heart and the path that God laid in front of me! It has been my greatest gift! Here, we support each other, learn and grow through the years just like the mighty oak trees that stand tall around my farm. They symbolize strength and resilience as Oprah Winfrey quoted;
"We are the oak within the acorn"; This deeply resonates with me. I'm grateful for the friendships with families and children, even those who have moved on to continue to grow and learn.... you are all very special and have all enriched my life.
📸 of the first day at the farm with friends Heather Astley, Emily Desmond, Emma Dooley and of the farm tonight!

06/14/2026

Congratulations to all our students for an amazing day at the Hanover Hunt Riding Club Show at Briggs Stable!
🌟 💙❤️💛 Lena and Stay Gold "Bandit" excelled as Champion 🥇and Reserve Champion 🥈 in the Walk Trot 10 and under EQ and PLEASURE divisions and also impressively won 🥇 in the SSHC Walk Trot Medal qualifying her for finals!
🌟 ❤️💛🤍Maddie and her new pony Caraway Piper made their show debut together and earned her first blue 💙🥇ribbon in equitation in the Walk Trot 13 and over! She also placed 3rd in the championship class! In the Pleasure division she took a 3rd on the first class and improved her ride on her "go pony" bringing home RESERVE CHAMPION. She also received 4th place in the SSHC Medal Class! We are very proud Maddies confidence and riding Piper in her first hunter show! Well done ladies!!
🌟 💙🥇💙 Jenn celebrated her triumphant return to the show ring after 7 years with her new partner; an OTTB JC name Smart Two A T (Smarty Jones prodigy) "Hennessy". This was his first show and we brought them both to have some fun and for the experience off property. Jenn is a 4 time cancer survivor and just finished treatment so this was a major accomplishment for both of them. Her smile said it all when Jenn and Hennessy received their first 💙🥇💙 blue ribbon in the Open Schooling Hunter U/S class! I cannot wait to watch their future unfold! I am so proud of both of them!
As always a HUGE THANK YOU to Mac and Marianne for holding down the barn and all my lovely boarders who are always checking on everyone! I am so blessed and grateful to have such caring clients! Thank you to our parents and rockstar students who came to support their barn mates..... 💙❤️💛, to Nora for being a ribbon runner, Sara Lennon for shipping and keeping our precious ponies/horses cool with fans when they were on the trailer! Thank you to HHRC and Briggs for an amazing day full of smiles and memories ❤️ Althea Angel Val Stone

06/07/2026

06/07/2026

Great read!! I agree 100 percent!!!! A Correct foundation is everything!!!

06/06/2026

Lena and Stay Gold 'Bandit' had a fun, successful morning at Next Venture Farm Show Series! As is customary, we celebrated with a brunch at James' Restaurant, and now we are heading to Smartpak for retail therapy!

06/05/2026

𝗨𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 American Horse Council:

‼️Please read this urgent notification from USDA-APHIS regarding New World Screwworm (NWS) in Texas. ‼️

📣 The AHC has been participating in stakeholder listening sessions with USDA-APHIS in the development of the NWS Playbook. Please stay tuned for further communications from us and other industry partners as we work to keep our national herd safe and our horse shows running. If you have any questions you can contact the American Horse Council at [email protected], or USDA-APHIS directly at screwworm.gov.

You can read the full bulletin at kentuckyhorse.org/news