Montverde Academy

The Montverde Academy Equestrian Program is designed to instruct beginner, intermediate and advanced riders in English and/or Western riding, horse care and stable management. The program is a competitive riding program competing on average of once per month September through January and March through May. Students in the riding program must be prepared to work toward competition and will be required to attend competitions either as an exhibitor or show assistant. Once riding skills have advanced to show ability, riders will exhibit horses. Participants must be committed to the program and must not confuse a competitive riding program with recreational trail riding. Horses in the program have been selected for their show ability and include World Champions and State Champions.

(Click picture to enlarge)
Avenger is a 1995 open shod ladies
amateur world champion.

Lower/Middle/Upper School (Grades 2 - 12)

Riders must be prepared to learn and exhibit proficiency in the following areas:

Basic anatomy of the horse
Parts of the saddle and bridle
Care and grooming of a horse
Stable care and management
Basic riding skills-Level One
1. Properly groom a horse
2. Stall care
3. Properly saddle and bridle the horse
4. Mount and dismount
5. Proper saddle seat-English and Western
6. Flat walk
7. Running walk
8. Pass Level One Test-written and riding
9. Exhibit horse in at least one under saddle class-no canter
Intermediate riding skills-Level Two
1. All the skills of Level one
2. Canter
3. Pass Level Two Test-riding test
4. Exhibit horse in at least two under saddle classes one of which must be a canter class
Advanced riding skills-Level Three
1. All the skills of Level Two
2. Versatility-poles, barrels, jumps
3. Pass Level Three Test-riding test
4. Exhibit horse in a least three classes, one of which must be a canter class and one of which must be a versatility class. Riders will only receive advancement in versatility after they have completed proficiency in poles, barrels and jumps
Master Level
1. Attend riding instructors school
2. Pass riding instructors test and receive certification

Lower School (2nd - 5th grades)

Riders will meet once per week between Mondays - Thursdays from 3:15 - 4:15 p.m.

Cost of the program is $75.00 per month and will be billed to the student account. Each participant will have two guide books to keep that will be billed to their student account-Cherry Hill's Horse Care for Kids ($15.50) and Horse Health Care: a Step-By-Step Photographic Guide to Mastering over 100 Horse keeping Skills ($18.00) Fees go to cover the cost of feed, hay, bedding, equine mortality and major medical insurance, veterinary care (regular vaccinations, teeth care, and deworming) and shoeing. Students participating in the program must have their own riding helmet (approximate cost $20.00 - $30.00) and will be worn at all times when on the horse and smooth soled riding boots (approximate cost $75.00 -$100.00). Jeans or jodhpurs and a t-shirt maybe worn, and girls with long hair must have their hair tied back and out of the face and eyes. Participation in the program is limited to 6 students per session. Students must commit to at least one full season (September -- November, December through February, March-- May). Riders who begin the program in season one will have preference for reenrollment in seasons two and three.

Once a rider reaches exhibition level, they will be required to purchase an English saddle suit (approximately $300.00 - $400.00) and/or western riding apparel (approximately $100.00 -$150.00) for showing purposes. Used or consigned apparel is often sold at tack stores and is perfectly acceptable. Apparel can also be found on websites such as ebay for cheaper. Proper riding attire is required at shows-without proper attire, riders will be penalized by the judge or excused from the class. Riding apparel will be the property of the rider and short of replacement for fitting purposes or damage should only need to be purchased once. Riding apparel may be purchased directly by the exhibitor; the program receives no financial gain from riding apparel but will assist with purchasing where desired. Show fees are billed according to the show schedule and range from $15.00 to $20.00 per class for regular shows and $25.00 -$35.00 at the state or national shows per class. Stall fees, where applicable, are divided equally among the exhibitors. The program receives no financial gain from shows.

Participants must have a waiver signed by their parent or guardian which clearly outlines the potential risks of injury associated with equine activities. While great care has been given to the selection of horses in the program, there is never any guarantee regarding the conduct of a horse.

Middle/Upper School (Grades 6 - 12)

Riders will meet three times per week between Mondays - Thursdays from 4:15 - 5:30 p.m.

Cost of the program is $200.00 per month and will be billed to the student account. Each participant will have two guide books to keep that will be billed to their student account-Cherry Hill's Horse Care for Kids ($15.50) and Horse Health Care: a Step-By-Step Photographic Guide to Mastering over 100 Horse keeping Skills ($18.00) Fees go to cover the cost of feed, hay, bedding, equine mortality and major medical insurance, veterinary care (regular vaccinations, teeth care, and deworming) and shoeing. Students participating in the program must have their own riding helmet (approximate cost $20.00 - $30.00) and will be worn at all times when on the horse and smooth soled riding boots (approximate cost $75.00 -$100.00). Jeans or jodhpurs and a t-shirt maybe worn, and girls with long hair must have their hair tied back and out of the face and eyes. Participation in the program is limited to 6 students per session. Students must commit to at least one full season (September -- November, December through February, March-- May). Riders who begin the program in season one will have preference for reenrollment in seasons two and three.

Once a rider reaches exhibition level, they will be required to purchase an English saddle suit (approximately $300.00 - $400.00) and/or western riding apparel (approximately $100.00 -$150.00) for showing purposes. Used or consigned apparel is often sold at tack stores and is perfectly acceptable. Apparel can also be found on websites such as ebay for cheaper. Proper riding attire is required at shows-without proper attire, riders will be penalized by the judge or excused from the class. Riding apparel will be the property of the rider and short of replacement for fitting purposes or damage should only need to be purchased once. Riding apparel may be purchased directly by the exhibitor; the program receives no financial gain from riding apparel but will assist with purchasing where desired. Show fees are billed according to the show schedule and range from $15.00 to $20.00 per class for regular shows and $25.00 -$35.00 at the state or national shows per class. Stall fees, where applicable, are divided equally among the exhibitors. The program receives no financial gain from shows.

Participants must have a waiver signed by their parent or guardian which clearly outlines the potential risks of injury associated with equine activities. While great care has been given to the selection of horses in the program, there is never any guarantee regarding the conduct of a horse.