Stribling Farms previously Liz Sanchez Training Stable

★Kailynn Gerstenberger

I do not recommend this place to anyone who wants a safe, fun and kind environment to learn the necessary skills for riding. I attended her lessons a few times when I was younger and had consistently bad experiences, which I have discussed with a friend who also experienced similar and WORSE attitude. The behavior of the stable hands was okay, none of them are at fault, however Liz herself was repeatedly demeaning and abrasive to her students, refusing to teach us anything more than to walk and frankly how to improperly post for a trot, claiming we were “bad at it anyways”. She keeps her abusive attitude silent and out of earshot from the parents unless brought up directly. When I went for a lesson with a friend, as a beginner mind you, she made rude comments when I wasn’t sure how to do what she asked. We were told to wear masks as this was during covid. Because of this the horse I was on, Bonnie, big sweetheart, couldn’t hear me giving the verbal cues no matter how loud I was. This was not her fault and it was not mine, it was just a frustrating situation. Liz got mad immediatly, storming over to say, and I quote from her mouth, “you don’t know how to do anything do you?”. We were eventually allowed to remove the face masks and I could audibly give Bonnie the cues. The rest of the lesson she was cold and rarely spoke to me. I didn’t feel comfortable or safe and just wanted to go home. My mother was sitting just out of earshot on the benches outside her arena and couldn’t hear anything, but could see my reactions. In front of my mother, Liz acted like nothing was wrong. I was 13 then and that killed my confidence in learning how to ride for a few years. I was not made to feel as though it was a safe place to learn without judgment. I’m now 19 and I thankfully had the opportunity to truly learn, grow, gain my confidence back, and correct the bad habits she instilled in me with a different trainer. Prior to even that I went for a week-long vacation with a variety of other students and we were paired with different horses. One horse that was paired was named diamond and she was NOT suitable for new riders. She is difficult to handle and notorious for being incredibly fiesty. Despite being aware of this from prior incident, concerns and complaints Liz refused to let the student switch out for another safer horse which resulted in an unsafe environment for everyone involved. Do not bring your kids here if you want them to be treated kindly while learning the right skills.

★★★★★DT Rolls

My 7 y/o granddaughter is a horse and animal lover with no riding experience until this week with Liz. Wow! Liz took her under her wing, gently teaching her how to behave around horses, care for them and gain trust for her first ride on a pony. I liked that Liz is physically in contact with both my granddaughter and Shadow, the pony, and that safety is a priority. Liz also referred us to Dan's Boots and Saddles for a (discounted) purchase of paddock boots and riding helmet. Thank you, Liz! We're excited for more time with you at your wonderful horse stable and riding arena.

★★★★★Mialina Moreno

I have been riding at this stable for 3 years now. It’s the place that has taught me all that i know today. Liz is an amazing and extremely well educated trainer and has helped me so so much! The barn is well organized, safe, and fun. I went from my first ever time riding a horse there to being able to jump bareback all because of Liz. I look up to her so much and i’m so grateful for all the fun opportunities here. I will always recommend this stable and its employees such as Audrey. If you’ve met Audrey you will know she is the most sweetest and smart person. Audrey has helped me with confidence and understanding to this sport. If you need a place to learn, Liz Sanchez Stables is 100% the place to go!

★★★★★Audrey Bauer

I have ridden at Liz Sanchez Stables for 8 years, and I have boarded a horse with her for 3. I cannot recommend this stable enough. Liz is extremely knowledgeable and takes exceptional care of the animals. The lesson horses are gentle and good teachers. Her facilities are very nice and well kept as well.

★Monika Myers

We scheduled a first lesson for my 11-year-old child, who is a beginner. During the lesson, Liz left my child and another child, a 9 year old, alone for between 2 and 5 minutes (the first time Liz reported the story, she said 5 minutes, the second time, she said 2) while she went to get kleenex. During that time, she asked my daughter and the other child to walk a horse to the arena. The children did as they were asked, and then my 11-year-old, not knowing what else to do, let go of the horse. The horse rolled around, getting its leg tangled in the reins. When Liz returned, Liz berated her for letting go of the horse, told her that she is responsible for the animal's safety, and that her behavior was dangerous. After the lesson, she reiterated to me that my daughter's behavior was dangerous and that she must act responsibly for the horse's safety. I asked her how my daughter was supposed to know how to handle a horse in this situation, because it was her first lesson, and Liz told me that it is "common sense" to keep holding the horse after going to the arena. (I don't know how a new rider would know this--I didn't know it). When I asked why she left my daughter alone with the horse during her first lesson, she said she didn't leave her alone, because my daughter was under the supervision of the 9-year-old, who was an experienced rider. I asked if she routinely leaves beginning students alone with the horse while unsupervised or under the supervision of younger students and she reiterated that she was only gone for 2 to 5 minutes. I asked if she was going to continue to leave my child alone for 2-5 minutes with a horse, responsible for its safety as well as her own, during her very first lesson, if I could at least come and supervise her in case she had questions (like what to do with the horse after getting to the arena). She said that parents are not allowed to supervise the children during the lessons and they must remain in the parking area. In other words, it sounds like it is a regular practice here, even during a child's very first lesson, for a child to be left alone with a horse and responsible for it, doing an activity with a horse that they've never done before, without supervision from an adult, and without their parent allowed to help, for 2 to 5 minutes. A lot can go wrong in 2-5 minutes, including a horse getting spooked, getting tangled (as happened here), bucking, kicking, etc. I believe they should have a 100% direct supervision policy for children who are beginning riders, who cannot ethically be left responsible for managing a 1500 pound animal without an adult close enough to assist, literally 100% of the lesson, at least for the first lesson. Alternatively, if the stable is not going to supervise beginning children 100% of the time, it must allow parents to do so. From this experience and reading other reviews, I believe the trainer needs to have another adult they can trade out with when they have to step away for a small issue (to open the gate, answer a call, greet a parent, get kleenex). While this incident ended in relatively minor consequence (the horse was fine), my child could have been seriously injured if the horse had gotten scared after getting tangled.