Strideaway Farms

We love Strideaway Farms! Nancy Hey is a local longtime respected rider and trainer. My 10 year old daughter has been riding with her for 2 years and has grown tremendously as a rider and a young woman. She loves escaping the stress off school and family into the world of horses and Horse people!
Check an article about her in Gentry August 2015…

I rode with Nancy during high school appx year 2000 – 2001. I was already jumping but wanted refinement for A circuit. I was jumping 3 feet regularly before stride away.
The school ponies only were allowed to jump 2’3″ to maybe 2’6″. When I finally shared a lease on a great A circuit Hunter owned by the Stanford riding team– my friend also age 16– ended up giving me lessons and coaching me towards a reserve chAmpion in a hunter division at my first A show ever at pebble. Because Nancy literally lost hope in me that I would be ready in time! True story.
The «family» dinners during show weeks at pebble were long– drawn out– and having to pay for a cut of all the adult beverages consumed when your 16 wasn’t classy.
Unless you are one of the chosen star students, shows were icy and catty at best– mostly from Nancy’s daughter Polly.
The finial straw was leasing a way too green — 4 ye old horse that a friend of mine that was a longtime Nancy student, couldn’t even trot her in a straight line. This horse was supposedly a perfect fit– lease fee very expensive– in hindsight an unethical way to get two juniors that could actually ride, put miles on your green prospect and pay the horses upkeep board shoes and more.
I went on to ride at Milenium Farm at PVTC and later JP training at portola farms– both highly recommended !

My daughter started riding with the Strideaway Team when she was 5 … back in 1993.
Eventually, she was successfully at an advanced level.
But competitive success was the least of what I appreciate about Strideaway Farms.
Nancy and her team (the assistant trainers, the ponies, the horses, and the grooms) not only taught my daughter how to ride, but how to care for horses and, I think most importantly, character-​building skills.
Examples of character-​building would be: To regard your mount as a being with its own needs and desires. When things don’t go as you like, how to bounce back. Another would be, when your performance wasn’t what you expected, how to sincerely cheer for a team-​mate whose performance exceeded your own.
If you want your child (or yourself!) to have a good grounding in horsemanship AND have a family-​centered experience, I’d highly recommend Strideaway Farms.

I am so utterly disappointed with the lack of response from Strideaway farms. I bought a voucher for my son’s 6^th birthday from Amazon Local to try this place. I have phoned so many times to schedule an appointment and they have not once phoned back. They have discouraged a little boy — shame on you!

I have been riding at Strideaway Farms since sept 2013. I had in mind to get my own horse but I wanted to get back in my saddle first and find the right place for my project. I am so glad I came at Strideaway first.
The team I met is wonderful. Nancy Hay offers the coaching needed to help you reach your own goals (beginner through advanced) and I found her to be a wonderful trainer and instructor. Nancy places an emphasis on good, solid horsemanship — on and off the horse — including correct equitation as well as good care of the horses. She is a stickler for proper technique which is important no matter if you are riding for pleasure or for competition.
Once I was ready, she helped me with finding my horse: Courage. I could not have done it without her and Erin, her Assistant. They were, and are completely involved in my project and I would not have this wonderful horse without their help. Their good advices, their knowledge of horses and of good people in the horse world, helped me on making the right choice.
We now worked together in training this young horse and myself: it is the beginning of a wonderful story.
They deserve 5 stars !!!