Business owner Julie Holmquest said riders typically lean toward being a hunter or jumper based on individual interests.
“Hunters are judged on style, pace and how pretty everything is. Jumpers are judged on speed and faults,” Holmquest said. “Some of the kids [jumpers] like to go fast and make the turns, and some of them like to be fancy [hunters].”
Meet the students
Stony Glen Stables offers lessons to students as young as 6 years old. Currently, the oldest student who participates in shows is 55 years old.
Holmquest said successful students need to be teachable, dedicated, competitive and love horses.
“I've got a kid that when she first started, she had very little talent and her parents weren't super supportive. Now, she owns her own horse and her parents are super into it,” Holmquest said. “It's because she really wanted it, she's so teachable and listens so well. One thing I love about horseback riding is even if you don't have the natural talent—if you want it, you can achieve what you want to achieve.”
Student skill levels range from beginners to advanced.
“I have 6 year old kids that are just learning to trot, and I have riders that went to pony finals in Kentucky this summer,” Holmquest said. “We have a whole lot of local level kids that do the Dallas Hunter Jumper Scholarship Circuit.”
The setup
Holmquest originally opened Stony Glen Stables in Frisco then moved the business to Aubrey until seven years ago when the business moved to its current Celina location. When building the barn and arenas from the ground up, Holmquest made decisions based on her 30-plus years of equestrian industry experience.
The 110- by 220-feet covered arena is purposely situated in a north-south direction to allow northern and southern breezes to drift through the structure. There is also a 100- by 225-feet outdoor arena.
In addition to 25 horse stalls, the barn also houses an office, break room, tack rooms and wash rack.
Individual lockers are available in the student tack room which Holmquest sees as a big improvement over the Aubrey location.
Another perk to the Celina barn is the indoor wash rack complete with hot and cold water.
Students can board their horses at Stoney Glen Stables or they can haul them in for lessons. Holmquest also boards a small number of her own horses onsite that are sometimes used for lessons.
What’s happening
Holmquest, who co-owns the business with her husband Chuck Holmquest, said there are three other full-time instructors including Holmquest’s daughter Taylor Young.
Typically, students take classes three or four times a week and can participate in the shows that happen at Stony Creek Stables and elsewhere. Summer camps are also available.
Quote of note
Holmquest said it is common for her to have students start riding with her when they are 6 years old and continue taking lessons through high school.
“They started trotting cross rails and we ended up in Colorado at the Juniors Jumper finals. I love that,” Holmquest said. “We don’t have a lot of turnover at our barn. I love that they feel confident enough that we can teach them from the cross rail position up to the real horse shows.”
- 6100 CR 134, Celina
- www.stonyglenstables.com
