Havenwood Equestrian Center

09/22/2026

Here are some great pics of three of our students last week riding Thomas, Ken and Snacks. Looking good, everyone!

09/17/2026

Here’s one of our returning students having a really nice canter on Mya. Well done! It’s great to watch the students progress in their riding.

08/27/2026

And we’re off! We’ve started another new school year at Havenwood Equestrian Center. We’re so happy to welcome back 5 returning students and excited to have 4 new ones joining us. Our new students had their first ride yesterday and did well! Our returning students are picking up the reins again and remembering their skills. They’ve all set academic goals for the semester that we’ll work to help them achieve. Here’s to a great semester together!

08/26/2026

If anyone has been wanting some Pampered Chef products, here’s your chance to get some while supporting our program. A friend of Havenwood is hosting an online Pampered Chef party where 20-30% of the proceeds will go to support Havenwood Equestrian Center. Here’s the link if you’d like to join in:

Table By Pampered Chef

07/17/2026

Our last day of summer camp was full of fun activities. Instead of regular riding lessons, the students played mounted games such as pole bending and egg and spoon competitions. While one group was playing, the other was learning about different horse sports and painting horse ornaments. We had a cookout for lunch with hotdogs and s’mores. Roasted peeps are super good! Our visiting speakers that afternoon were a pair of engineers who had a lot of good information to share about that career path. The students then got to learn how to lunge a horse and practice braiding. Finally, instead of chores, on the last day they painted patient Misty and Mya. It was a super fun week. We’ll miss our students for a few weeks until they come back for a new school year, when we’ll be welcoming 4 new students.

07/17/2026

Day 3 of summer camp: the day once again started with riding lessons. While one group was riding, the others were learning about equine behavior. After lunch, our farm Farrier and his son introduced our students to roping. Everyone got to try roping our hay bale calf. It was super fun! Then one of our volunteers made custom blizzards for everyone - yum! Our guest professional for the day was a local small animal vet. She did a great job talking to the students about her job: what it takes to become a vet and what it is like to be a vet. Really informative for our students interested in that career path. And, once again, the day ended with barn chores. Another great day at camp!

07/15/2026

Day 2 of summer camp: in the morning each group of students got to try archery with me while the other group was having riding lessons with Kim. They did great and had fun with it! After lunch we cut out and decorated horse-themed sugar cookies - always a favorite activity. And yummy, too! Then their school counselor came and spoke about stress and anxiety management techniques. She offered some really useful advice and strategies that we can all apply in our lives. And, of course, we ended the day with barn chores. The students were super efficient at the chores - I was proud of them!

07/14/2026

Last week we had a fantastic time at summer camp! Here are some pictures from our first day. Activities included riding lessons, practice learning the parts of the horse and English tack, making our own pizzas for lunch, and a guest speaker who is a writer of children’s books, and, of course, barn chores to end the day - feeding the horses and taking them out to their pastures and then mucking out their stalls and getting their hay and water ready for the next morning. Fun was had by all! Mya and Misty earned gold stars for being patient while the students put stickies all over them identifying their parts 😆. Stay tuned for more pictures of our summer camp activities.

06/25/2026

To add icing on the cake, we won $250 in a random prize drawing for submitting our photo of Snacks in his Give Local T-shirt. Way to represent, Snacks! 😁 🐴 Thanks, Community Foundation of the New River Valley, for putting on this event and giving us this opportunity.

06/25/2026

❤️ We did it!

Thank you so much to everyone who supported Havenwood Equestrian Center during GiveLocalNRV.

Because of your incredible generosity, we didn’t just reach our goal—we surpassed it, raising $6,250 to support local teens through horses, mentorship, and education.

Whether you made a donation, shared a post, encouraged a friend, volunteered your time, or cheered us on throughout the campaign, you helped make this possible.

Your support will provide riding lessons, academic support, life skills, mentorship, and a safe place where young people can build confidence, responsibility, resilience, and hope for the future.

From all of us at Havenwood—our students, volunteers, horses, and board members—thank you for believing in this mission. We can’t wait to show you the lives your generosity will continue to change.

❤️ We are so grateful for each and every one of you.