Sterling Riding Academy

Sterling Riding Academy is a nice place to ride. It looks a little old, but that hardly affects anything. My favorite horse here is Phantom, a chestnut Arabian horse. He seemed so big when I first got on him, but he was a very good horse with a sweet temper, and Phantom made me feel very safe. Shelley is a nice riding instructor, as with Melissa. I’d go back any time! I learned how to ride here, and they made it easy for me to learn how to walk and trot. They give helpful and safe tips. This is a nice place to ride, I would defiantly go back again. The horses are treated well and so are the riders. A safe place to learn how to ride and care for horses.

Sterling Riding Academy is a great resource for beginner riders up to experienced riders. I took lessons from Shelley and Melissa, starting in their beginner program through the city, until I graduated from high school where I was riding and competing regularly with them.
They have a very strong beginners program with many safe and reliable horses and a well rounded lesson program. Beginner riders learn about grooming and tacking up a horse, basic horse care as well as how to ride.
One of the best parts of Sterling for me, was Melissa’s commitment to making me a well rounded rider. I rode many many different horses throughout my time at Sterling, each with their own quirks and challenges. Similarly, though I competed in Hunters and Equitation, Mellissa also taught me jumper, cross country and dressage lessons. Even though they each have a different skill set and purpose this kind of «cross training» is instrumental in being a good rider.
I highly recommend any of the programs at Sterling and I really appreciate the family that Shelley and Melissa have built there.

Knowledgable and passionate training and coaching for all levels. Shelley and Melissa are long time veterans in the horse business and have competed at advanced levels of dressage, hunter/​jumpers, and eventing. When I first moved to Davis I sampled a number of local barns and settled at Sterling Riding Academy. At their barn I was able to gain valuable skill riding a number of horses in various disciplines. I also learned the fundamentals of ground work, horsemanship, and equine care. When I was a high school student, Melissa coached me and my horse to become five-​time Yolo County Jumper Champion. I went on to ride and train at a professional level in college and attribute my successes to the training, coaching, and life lessons I received at Sterling Riding Academy.

Great place to learn to ride and advance to higher levels. I began riding here as a six year old in summer camp and loved it! The atmosphere is great with tons of kids learning and older students riding which you can watch and learn from. Eventually I became an older rider and went to shows which were great! The instructors are both generous and wonderful with tons of knowledge to share and great horsemanship skills. Melissa helped me and other students when looking at riding horses in college on an equestrian team. It may not be the fanciest of barns, but I learned more about horses riding here then any other barn I have ridden at since and through high school, and the instructors and variety of horses more than made up for everything, they have gentle horses for beginners and more advanced horses for learning to jump and show! Wonderful barn all around!