Twin Oaks Riding Academy

Based on my experience as a beginner adult rider at Twin Oaks, I would not recommend this organization to other beginners, especially not to other adult beginners. Although there are 3 instructors listed on the Twin Oaks website, I only ever worked with one, the owner, Mackenzie. After my experience (5 classes), I honestly believe that Mackenzie is the best type of instructor for someone who already has a foundation in riding. My main complaints about her style include:
a) She does not communicate well. For example, she never explained how lessons would be set up — she just expected me to intuit certain things. At my very first lesson, she asked me to walk my horse around the rail, then she asked me to walk the horse in a circle at one end of the pen. She did not explain what I should do next, so after completing the circle (albeit not well), I continued to do another circle to try to improve my technique. Instead of politely correcting me that she wanted me to continue on the rail instead of doing another circle, she snapped at me and said she never conducted lessons that way. Maybe this is something I would have known if I had taken lessons before, but her hostility seemed out of place.
b) She taunts instead of encourages. Throughout 5 lessons, Mackenzie had me ride 3 different horses. One of them was a very stubborn 17 year old pony (Appy) who would frequently pull me to the center of the pen or quickly stop during the posting trot. I understand she put me on this type of horse to force me to work on my seat and leg position, but it was very frustrating trying to focus on things that were not second nature while at the same time, trying to control a horse with a mind of its own. Despite that, whenever Appy would pull me to the center of the pen, Mackenzie would say things like, «Oh, I’m sorry are you done? Are you just going to stop now?» Maybe that type of taunting works as motivation for some people, but it just made it harder for me to focus on improving my skills.
c) She is not patient and is overly defensive. If I tried to explain where I felt I was having trouble (especially after she asked a question), she acted like I was just complaining or questioning her expertise. She seemed to prefer that I stay silent the entire class instead of responding to her questions or taunts.
d) She makes inappropriate comments. I’m a petite but curvy girl (5’1″, 110 lbs) and she frequently told me that my butt looked overweight when I was sitting on the horse. I get she was trying to tell me that I was sitting too far back on the saddle, but I’m sure there was a better way of expressing that sentiment. She also frequently stated that she preferred teaching children over adults. That’s an understandable opinion, but is that really something you should be telling an adult beginner who is paying for your services?
After my last lesson, Mackenzie didn’t respond to me about rescheduling my next lesson. After discussing my experience with other friends who ride, they highly recommended I seek lessons elsewhere.

Offers day camps and regular lessons. Very patient and gentle horses. The owner focus on safely and foundational skills for new riders. She also teaches cantering and complex jumps for more experienced riders.
The camp counsellors are fantastic. The camp routine includes fun activities like decorating the horses and pizza days in addition to the expected riding and horse care phases.
Note: when you’re in the middle of nowhere on a bumpy dirt road, you are NOT lost. That’s the right way.

It was the first horse camp for my child. The activities were organized very well, with the safety as a primary concern.
My son loved the camp. Every day he was very excited to go back. He definitely enjoyed all the activities, especially riding horses. Thank you!

My daughter absolutely LOVED camp this week! She went from being slightly nervous around horses, to feeling very comfortable and even controlling her own ride by the end of the week — and she’s only 5! Nancy and the staff at Twin Oaks are fantastic instructors. The week long camp was a perfect introduction to riding and taking care of horses. As a parent I felt very comfortable with their ability to control the environment, not always an easy task with lots of girls running around large horses. Thank you so much for such a positive experience. We will definitely be back!

Great fun ! My kid recently attended their summer week long beginner riding camp. The owner and staff are all very down to earth and my kid had a great time. It isn’t just plop your kid on pony they have to do barn chores and learn basic horse care, they also do horse crafts. The camp was great. The price was very good as well.
I do wish they could do a little longer day.