Ray of Light Farm

Had such a wonderful time at Ray of Light Farm! Sleigh rides, carols by the fire, cookout, crafts, animals, and of course Santa! Highly recommend doing this (and getting there early — we were an hour early and it was perfect!) Merry Christmas!

My daughter and I have loved Ray of Light for almost 4 years!

I have both ridden and worked at this farm and I did not enjoy either experience. I was alienated and left to figure things out on my own. Plus the behavior of the horses is a appalling, they have no manners and no respect for people. They walk all over their handlers. But there is no reprimand for their behavior. That makes horses dangerous. I was told to just let them be animals and do what they want, I disagree. I would not recommend taking your child or yourself there for riding lessons. The training is sub par and the quality of the horses is less then great. I would recommend looking else where for quality riding lessons

I’m a student at Ray of Light. I’ve been riding for about 4+ years, and I can’t say enough great things about this place.
My instructor is Sally who is a legit horse whisperer. If you are considering coming here for lessons, I highly recommend her. She is firm but gentle when it comes to guidance, and is willing to make any reasonable accommodation to help preserve your experience. I’ve had a few falls and now am a bit gun shy when it comes to mounting my horse. No worries– Sally stands right in front of the horse so it can’t walk off from the mounting block. After my apologizing for being a needy student, Sally has repeatedly told me «Whatever you need to make this a good experience– we’ll do.» There’s nothing more reassuring than knowing your own neurosis doesn’t annoy someone else…
The horses are something to be seen. As a rescue operation, this is a motley crew; horses, ponies, minis, and there’s even a ZeeDonk which, as you might have guessed, is a cross between a zebra and a donkey (yes– it is striped). Their charge is honorable, and it’s my belief that the lessons are as much for the riders as they are for the horses. In addition to the horses, there is a host of other animals: goats, sheep, tortoises, peacocks, and chickens all find a home here.
There’s an indoor ring as well as an outdoor ring about twice its size. (Riding outside is really awesome.) This operation accommodates young students learning to jump and compete, as well as those of us regular folks who have discovered a love of horses later in life. Ray of Light is very reasonable in terms of pricing, and there are even riding packages available which provide a significant discount.
Lastly, as a nonprofit organization, there are events held to help keep everything running. Please consider attending one of these fundraisers, as they go to a really great cause. Anyone who has ever encountered the beautiful mystery of a horse can understand that places such as Ray of Light are necessary and immeasurably beneficial to so many, from those truly in need of animal therapy, or for those of us who simply consider horses a form of therapy.

My 8 year old went to a birthday party at Ray of Light Farm over the weekend. I’ve heard great things about the farm from East Haddam friends, but their children are younger so I was interested to see what an older child would think. She enjoyed feeding and petting animals, as well as getting the chance to hold a guinea pig. The big hit, however, was the opportunity to ride a beautiful horse around the indoor ring several times Every child there had a huge grin on their face after dismounting. I would definitely recommend Ray of Light Farm for a children’s birthday party, and I know that we will be back just to visit the animals.