Kelly Clayman says the work she does runs in her family. In fact, the location of her and her husband’s horseback riding and roping school, Kelly’s Kids and The Clayman Roping School, is on the same land her family purchased in 1981 when Kelly was in eighth grade.
The land originally served as a racehorse farm where her family bred and raced horses.
When Kelly was a teenager at Georgetown High School, she said her future profession began to take off before she even realized what was happening.
“I accidentally started this business in high school with a little girl begging [me to teach her] to ride,” Kelly said. “I put her off for months because I had no idea people did not know how to ride. I just thought you were born knowing how to ride.”
Kelly said she originally went to Baylor University in Waco to play basketball but was coming back to Georgetown to teach lessons every weekend. After two years, Kelly decided to transfer to Southwestern University to be closer to her clients.
Kelly and her husband, Jim Bob, whom she met after competing in a rodeo and whose family also owns a horse ranch in Missouri, started the business in 1994.
“We realized we could both do our passions, so we moved [to Georgetown and started the business],” Kelly said.
The business, which has grown since it started in 1994, offers lessons for all experience levels from age 5 to adult, for between $48 and $68 per lesson, depending on the class. Kelly’s background in barrel racing and Jim Bob’s expertise in team roping and steer wrestling helped add to the classes offered, she said.
In 2000, the Claymans built their second indoor arena. Kelly’s staff jokes that the combined 28,000 square feet of space from the two indoor arenas allows her to never have to cancel a class.
The center is open year-round; however, Kelly said the staff takes a break in July to escape the heat and allow the center’s 20 training horses to rest.
Although Kelly and Jim Bob have two sons who are active in their business, their employees said they feel like family as well.
“I started volunteering here when I was 7,” senior instructor Lindsey Rogers said. “It really is like a family around here. I don’t know if I would have stayed with [horse riding] if it weren’t for Kelly’s Kids.”
On Oct. 1, Kelly’s Kids will host its annual Clayman Rodeo to allow competitive riders who have been taking lessons for at least a year to showcase their talent. Kelly said most of the riders will compete for a chance to win more than $14,000 in prizes.
Kelly’s Kids and The Clayman Roping School also offers, horse boarding, trail rides and summer camps, hosts birthday parties, and works with Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts wanting to fulfill badge requirements.
