S.T.A.R.S. of Horsemanship 
(Specialized Training And Riding School)

Welcomes You 
to our Website!!! 


We offer beginner to intermediate lessons for all ages in...
 
WESTERN RIDING
 (pleasure & gymkhana (barrel racing) plus local shows too)

ENGLISH RIDING 
(flat & some jumping plus local shows too)

 in addition we also have a...  
SPECIAL OLYMPICS EQUESTRIAN TEAM
(free lessons to athletes and partners but currently pending Special Olympics hiring a new AZ state equestrian director)


plus we also offer...  
LEASING, BIRTHDAY PARTIES,
SCOUTS & SPECIAL EVENTS

AND we help rescue horses...
  Over 90% of our program horses are rescued or adopted

 

ALL NEW STUDENTS MUST ATTEND A FREE ORIENTATION/SCHEDULING/FACILITY TOUR
ON ANY SATURDAY AT 10AM - NO APPOINTMENT NEEDED

Afterwards we will schedule your lessons into a regular class (grouped by age/ability)
 
which are offered Mon-Thu in the afternoons/evenings & am/pm on the weekends.  

Please see the links to the left for more details,
 the postings below for a chronicle of our program,
plus you can check out our facebook page

www.facebook.com/STARSofHorsemanshp

LATEST NEWS & UPDATES   = ]

2023/24 SHOW SEASON!!!
Excited to announce we have again chosen EVSC for the new season!  Check out their website for dates and info on their Gymkhanas, Western Shows & English Shows www.eastvalleysaddleclub.com  We will be attending most of their events this year.  All the shows have divisions for all ages and levels of riders.  Contact Danya or talk to your instructor if you are interested in joining the team; everyone is always welcome to come cheer us on and help us at the events! 

CHECK OUT OUR AZ PARENTING COVER!
FEATURING SPECIAL OLYMPICS ATHLETE BLAKE ON FANCY!

OLD NEWS JUST FOR FUN MEMORIES
2013 Show Plans
Our Saddle Club Gymkhana series was lots of fun last year; but I have decided to mix up the format for this year. We will host some Funkhanas & Student Shows at our facility throughout the year, and we will attend some outside shows and gymkhanas instead of continuing the monthly membership events. Our first outing is Jan. 27th to the Queen Creek Gymkhana at Horseshoe Park. Limited spaces are available to all students, and cost is $100 ($40 hauling, $40 coaching, $20 horse usage...$10 for leasers & $0 for owners) plus entry fees at the event; email or contact Danya for more info, 602-828-1947 (texting is best).

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated the website!  I got married =) and then the holidays, and I have been updating our facebook page, but the website has lacked attention.  Please forgive me and for the most current news, please like our facebook page at  www.facebook.com/starsofhorsemanshp  <---notice there is no "i" in horsemanship....too many letters in our name, so I left that one out.

Sat Sept 15th gymkhana is cancelled =(

The arena is flooded...sorry, but hope to see you at the next one on the third Sat of October 10/20!


BARREL RACING IS BACK!!!
8/31/12 Mark your calendars!  Sat Sept 15th is our next gymkhana, and it is open to everyone from the smallest leadline riders and beginning walk/trotters to the novice slow canter and of course the high-speed gallopers! We have a division to suit all ages and abilities, so come join the fun!  Sign ups will start at 4pm and time only practice runs start at 5pm.  Events are cloverleaf, poles & hour glass.  See our facebook page for a picture of the pattern www.facebook.com/starsofhorsemanshp

RAINY DAY LESSONS
3/13/12 The storms have made the main arena pretty muddy and may force us to work on other things for a few days...please still come out to your regular lessons....we will still be there riding in the small arenas bareback or teaching lessons about first aid, grooming, showmanship and other fun topics that are important to learn about horses....please come support our program and join in on the fun!


MARCH GYMKHANA CANCELLED
3/17/12
The National Weather Service has issued a high wind advisory from 2pm-midnight, with gusts of up to 40mph, so we have decided to cancel our March gymkhana.  Next one is April 21st

NEW STUDENTS & LIVING SOCIAL PROSPECTS
READ BELOW & CHECK OUR LESSONS PAGE FOR MORE INFO

2/16/12  Wow!  333 lessons sold on Living Social!  Can't wait to welcome all the new students to the horsey life!  Check out info below and the links to the left for the Lessons page for new student details, and the Location page for a map to the facility. 

2/15/12  New student orientation lessons on Saturday mornings at 10am are certainly packed in this beautiful February weather....plan on them lasting longer than an hour, and probably being a very large group for that first orientation/evaluation lesson; but then our regular classes are just 4-6 students and last 60 minutes.

2/9/12  Thanks so much for your interest in our program!  No appointment is needed for your first lesson, just come on any Saturday at 10am and we will teach you the basics if you've never ridden or evaluate your skills if you have ridden before, and then if you choose to continue with more lessons, you can stay and pick from one of our regular class times offered Mon-Thu or Sat/Sun.   

SATURDAYS BARREL PRACTICE CANCELLED
2/2/12 Since we've started our own gymkhana series and attendance at barrel practices is low, we will no longer be offering the practice & jackpot every Saturday night.  Mark your calendar for the next gymkhana though....Sat February 18th!  Sign ups at 2pm & racing starts at 4pm =]

DESERT SADDLERY IS SPONSORING OUR GYMKHANAS!!!
12/29/11 Great News....Desert Saddlery on Gilbert & Ray is sponsoring our gymkhanas!  Now every high point winner, in every division every month, will receive a $10 gift certificate to Desert Saddlery in addition to their trophy!!!  Please stop by and Thank them for their support!  And remember if you buy anything, mention you're with STARS and you'll get a discount!!!

GYMKHANAS START JANUARY 21st!
2012 Gymkhanas!!! Every Third Saturday of the month of Jan-May & Sep-Nov.
Cloverleaf & Pole Bending every time & one fun pattern too!
Starting Saturday, January 21st.....registration 2pm, racing begins at 4pm.

Divisions: Beg(walk/trot only), Nov(walk/trot/slow lope), 7&under, 8-10, 11-14, 15-20, 21&over.
Ribbons 1st-4th for each event plus trophies to high point & reserve in all divisions.


STARS brings in 11 Rescue Horses & Adopts 8
12/20/11  Lots of new horses in the program! Got a call from Emily, who we adopted Tank and Cherry from last year, because Emily's Rescue Ranch in Casa Grande was full. She has been receiving so many calls to help horses, she's run out of space. So Danya decided to help. In the past two weeks 11 horses were brought to STARS! Eight have been adopted by the program, and the other three still belong to Emily, but are being kept at our barn... and are up for anyone to adopt now - two are TB horses with hunter & dressage backgrounds & one is an appendix paint who even went to APHA World as a hunter and made top 5 - it's hard to believe such nice horses ended up at a rescue! The other 8 horses are being evaluated for jobs at STARS and treated/rehabed & they may be available for sale or lease soon. Please help us help Emily & adopt a horse, or make a donation, or donate time to help care for them.  Pix & profiles coming soon!

2011 Awards Banquet
12/18/20 Scottsdale Saddle Club Year-end Awards Banquet 2011 was so awesome! The English team took home two top five awards without even attending all the shows & the Western team competed in five divisions & took home five champion or reserve champion belt buckles along with lots of top five & top ten awards too!!! Congrats to the whole STARS team for all their success!!!

12/14/11  COME RAIN OR SHINE Wet weather is great for the valley but hard on our riding time...don't let that keep you away from the barn though, lessons are still happening!!!  Just bundle up & come join us for fun lessons on horsemanship to learn first aid, show grooming, leg wraps & other essentials.  Please still support us & come see the horses.....they want me to tell you not to forget the carrots!!!

12/3/11 BARRELS 12/3 CANCELLED Brrrrr.....too cold & rainy for barrel racing tonight!  Sorry for the late cancel.  No barrel lesson next week from 4-5 but we will still do time only & jackpots. Hope to see you next week! 

12/1/11 NEW RATES FOR 2012  Rising costs have led to an increase in both boarding and lessons.  Student workers, scholarships and discounts are still available so talk to Danya if this applies to you.  Fortunately, we will still be able to donate over $2000 per month to our Special Olympics team.  Thanks so much to all the volunteers, workers and donors who make this possible!

11/12/11 BARREL RACING WINNERS Weather was kind and we had a blast barrel racing!  Thanks to everyone for coming out to participate, and special thanks to all the volunteers who helped, and extra kudos to Jim for making the arena the best it has ever been!!!  Congrats to our jackpot winners!  In the 12 & Under jackpot...1D/Abby, 2D/Natalie, 3D/Heather & 4D/Elyssa = ] And for the 13 & Over group...1D/Emily, 2D/Jillian, 3D/B & 4D/Monica.  Hope everyone had as much fun as we did and will join us again next Saturday night!!!

11/07/11  RAINY DAY LESSONS info added to the lessons page - we'll be here teaching up a storm and doing lots of fun stuff, so don't skip class just because it's raining or too muddy to ride because we still have lots of stuff to teach you!!!

11/06/11 LAST SSC EVENT Gymkhana team did another amazing job at the season ending Scottsadle Saddle Club show.  Anyone that didn't get banquet awards ceremony tickets....send me an email and I'll see what I can do.

 

NEW BARREL RACING SATURDAY NIGHTS
Starting November 12th (we hope, we hope...weather permitting)!!!  Check here or our facebook page (link above) for updates. 
Open to everyone!! The first few will not be advertised, so spread the word & let's get racing Gilbert!

4-5pm Barrel Racing Lesson (regular lesson prices)
5-6pm Time Only Practice from 5-6pm ($2 per run owners/leasers or those who took the barrel lesson & $7 for other students)
6-?pm 4D Jackpot Race ($5 per run owners/leasers or those who took the barrel lesson & $10 for other students)
Jackpots may be divided by age/skill depending on the number of entries.  Also, if you are a S.T.A.R.S. horse owner/leaser, there are no fees for horse usage, but if you are a S.T.A.R.S. student and would like to participate, then you must either take the barrel lesson from 4-5pm or pay an additional $5 per run horse usage fee in order to participate in the time only or jackpot races.

10/15/11  LIVING SOCIAL HIGHLIGHT  Great success with the Living Social campaign last week.  Looking forward to sharing and introducing horses to lots of new STARS students. 

10/12/11  SSC ENGLISH SHOW RESULTS  English show last weekend was ahhhmazing!  Congrats to our two walk/trot riders, Ellie & Tatum, who competed in a class of nine and took home the Champion and Reserve titles!  Also special nods to Chris for beating everyone but the trainers in the adult class, and to Elyssa for taking the blue ribbon with Willie over fences!

10/04/11 WELCOME NEWBIES Plenty of wonderful horses have a new home with us!  = ]  Welcome to all of our new boarders and program horses!!!  Thanks for choosing our facility and program!

Coming soon......Saturday Night Barrel Racing Practices!  Planning on 4-5pm Barrels Club for a regular lesson with tips on barrel racing and practicing upcoming patterns, 5-6pm cloverleaf time only runs($2ea run), 6-8pm Jackpot 4D racing ($5ea run) with 50% payout and maybe some added prizes too.  Dates posted here and on flyers in the recreation room and around the barn soon = ]

Also, plans are in place for showing in the east valley this next season!  Let's go to the covered arena in Queen Creek and kick butt = ] Plans are also in the works for hosting some gymkhanas and maybe even O-Mok-See right here at our barn in 2012! 

 

09/04/2011 SPONTANEOUS RIVER TRAIL RIDE English show had to be cancelled, so we improvised and took a spontaneous (sorry if ya missed it...we just loaded up everyone who happened to be at the barn that afternoon...nobody else got an invitation either) fun & fantastic trail ride to Salt River. 

Last night our Western Team rose to the occassion again : ) Check out the pix on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/STARSofHorsemanshp  Congrats to all our winners and thanks so much to all the helpers who stepped up to help me coach since I was gimpy.

08/20/11  Awesome job by our Western Show Team as usual!  Special congrats to Jillian for a S.T.A.R.S. record on barrels - heading into those teens Jilli!  Brittany & Abrienne are right behind her on their speedsters : )  Beginner and Novice teams cleaned up as usual too : ) 

English Show Team is on this weekend 8/27! 

Welcome to our new horses: Zorro the pony, Officer King (ret. Tempe mounted police horse), Chance the boldly colored Appy & a few other boarders who are not in the school horse program.  We're thankful to have you all!

07/24/11:  Wow Back to School time already!!!  We made it thru another summer vacation and made some great memories!  Now if only the weather would cool off : P  We'll just keep getting wet, riding bareback in the sprinklers and heading into the air conditioning in the new rec room to hang out & cool off.  

Summer Horse Camps were a hit : D  Thanks to everyone who participated!!!

~ RIP to Salty ~

He will be greatly missed by a great many people whose lives he touched so deeply.

6/04/11:  We have taken over management of Triple L Ranch!!!  Thrilled to announce that our new office and recreation room will be remodeled this week and ready for camps and clients next week : )  We have also brought in several new horses to the facility and program....pictures and stall plaques will be up soon.  Please visit them with treats and welcome them to their new home.

05/12/11:  Special Olympics State Equestrian Games 2011 proved to be another amazing show for S.T.A.R.S. riders!!!  We took a team of 21 riders to compete in four of the five divisions offered, and we won top honors of high point or reserve in every division!  We also did exhibitions of Unified Drill Teams to encourage the rest of the AZ Special Olympics Equestrian Teams to become unified too (Unified Sports in Special Olympics pairs athletes with intellectual disabilities, alongside partners without intellectual disabilities to compete/ride as a team).  Feedback was all positive, and it looks like Unified Equestrian Drill Teams will probably be added as a new division at the next show!  Thanks so much to all the volunteers at the show (especially Abrienne & Aisling) for all your hard work!  S.T.A.R.S. donates all lessons and practice time to our Special Olympics Equestrian Team, and we really appreciate all the volunteers who come donate time, money and supplies to our team too! 

04/25/2011: What an amazing start to 2011!  We've been busy busy welcoming new horses & clients and winning up a storm at the local shows!  Springtime is here and almost gone, and summer is bringing the most exciting news ever.......I thought the highlight of the summer would be the opening of Breezy Basin, our second location, but more amazing than that.....we are taking over complete management of Triple L Ranch!  With over 30 horses in our program, we've grown large enough to lease & manage the entire facility.  No more ropers training in the arena!!!  It will be all STARS all the time!!!  And the cattle pens.....new turn outs!!!  Best of all though....beginning June 1st we will begin the conversion the home of the former manager into an office and recreation room for our clients!  Wifi, billiards & big screen here we come!!!

01/05/11: Congrats to the S.T.A.R.S. Show Team on an incredible 2010.  All year we competed at Scottsdale Saddle Club in divisions in Western - Beginner Division (against 15 riders), Novice Division (33 riders) and Adult Amateur Division (12 riders) and we swept all three divisions!!!  Kendall won the Championship Buckle in the Beginner division, Jillian won the Novice Buckle and Virginia won the Adult Amateur Buckle!  They won beautiful ribbons too and pictured are Aisling & Rebecca who were top ten in their division and they're holding ribbons for Abrienne & Rachel who couldn't attend the banquet.  Allisen didn't make the photo but she also competed in the Leadline Division, and while they don't compete for points, she did win awards too!  On the English Team side, Kaitlin Dickson took the Reserve Championship in her division for the year too!  Thanks to all our team riders and families who came out and competed and supported our team this year!  We are so proud of everyone!!!  The 2011 Show Team season starts in January!  Mark your calendars & see Danya if you'd like to join the team!  English dates are: Feb 27, Mar 6, Apr 10, Jun 11, Oct 9 & Western dates are still pending but we're expecting one this month, so stay tuned!

12/22/10: Welcome to our new rescue filly.  She was sold at auction for $35 and the buyer would only sell her to us if we paid the 15 cents a pound he would receive for her, so we did and now we're doing a fundraiser to help offset her costs until she grows up enough to be a working member of the team.  The fundraiser is a donation drawing to pick her name.  We're taking donations for the next couple of weeks and then we'll do a drawing for the winner to choose her name.  Thanks to everyone who is participating and helping raise and train our new little girl!

12/18/10: S.T.A.R.S welcomes back Sunshine and Rayban!

10/26/10: Welcome new S.T.A.R.S. horses!  Billy is a big bay Arabian gelding, Colonel is a huge (17 hands) black Appendix gelding, Stetson Sr. is a bay Arabian & Melodie is a chestnut overo Paint mare.  They are all finishing up with their evaluations and are ready for riding & leasing in November! Come out to cheer for the western show team on Halloween from 9-3 at Westworld in Scottsdale!

07/11/10: S.T.A.R.S welcomes four new horses this month! Rocky, a bay paint gelding, Bandera, a red roan mare, Nemo, a chestnut QH gelding, and Thunder, a paint gelding. Our monthly Jumping Clinic with Former Olympic Games Rider, Jyl Purdy, is a big hit with our aspiring jumping students!  First they did trot poles, then cross rails and a vertical, now they've moved up to oxers & next month they'll try a course
   


06/20/10: Our Level Up Pot Luck was lots of fun!  Thanks to everyone who attended and congrats to all our new Novice and Intermediate students!!! 


06/16/10: OUR NEW TSHIRTS HAVE ARRIVED!!!  Staff is now sporting the royal blue, and each level has it's own color... Navy is Beginner; Hunter Green is Novice I; Maroon is Novice II & Purple is Intermediate I.  Come join us at our first Level Up Pot Luck this Saturday June 19th from 6-8pm at our barn at Triple L & there will be a last chance level testing from 5-6pm.  Everyone is invited, so bring your friends & family too! 
05/25/10: Daizey, a 7yo Morgan cross is joining the program!  She has experience from trail riding to jumping courses!  And yes she is for lease!
05/24/10: Welcome to Veil, an 8yo Quarter Horse mare and look out, we may get lots more new ones in June too!!!   In negotiations are three horses & two minis (aw, new little friends for our mini, Magic) 

05/01/10: Welcome to Reba & JBar, our two newest additions to the S.T.A.R.S. horses (pictures coming soon) and HAPPY 1mo Birthday (5/4) to Paschal! Other birthdays this month are Sterling (5/3), Zach (5/21) and Magic (5/25) who has moved to the barn!  
04/18/10: What a great day at the show! Once again we competed in three divisions and took home four high point and reserve awards! Congrats to everyone on thier ribbons, especially to our first timers Rebecca & Bailey and to our division winners Kendall for reserve in beginner (she's in first for the year-to-date in her divis...ion too), Jillian for high point and Rachel for reserve in Novice (both top three in thier division for the year-to-date) and to Virginia for reserve in Adult Novice!
04/04/10: S.T.A.R.S. is proud to welcome our first baby!  Sterling brought us a special Paschal treat Sunday!  A beautiful baby boy!  Looks like he'll be a big bay like his daddy.
03/15/10: Congrats to the show team for an incredible performance yesterday!!! We competed in three divisions and took three medals! Virgina took High Point in Adult Amateur, Kendall tied for High Point in Beginner and Rachel got Reserve High Point in Novice. Thanks to everyone! Baby watch is beginning for Sterling :D Our first official S.T.A.R.S. baby is almost here!!! 
 Another new horse has joined the program! Carrera is a beautiful Arabian show horse owned by Amy Cash. Thanks Amy for bringing her to our barn!
02/17/10: Congrats to the gymkhana team!!! What a great season starter on Valentines day!  Every team member won at least one ribbon, and we won lots of first place ribbons in our three divisions (Beginner, Novice & Adult Amateur), plus in two of those divisions we won the high point reserve medals - Rachel on Zach in Novice Division & Virginia on Salty in Adult Amateur Division.  Congrats to all our riders!  Beginner Division: Ellie & Kendall; Novice Division: Abrienne, Aisling, Alissa, Jillian, Kaitlin & Rachel; Adult Amateur Division: Virginia
01/23/10: The 24th gymkhana has been cancelled due to the heavy rains. The next one will be on Valentines Day, Febraury 14th!
01/10/10: Stars students attended their first english show today! Kaitlin and Fancy took champion in the walk/trot division! The next show will be the gymkhana on the 24th. Stars also now has two more horses. Muscat and Zantasia, two beautiful Arabians. Their pictures will be coming soon!

11/11/09: We got another new horse!  Sterling is a registered QH in foal with a spring baby on the way!
11/01/09: Another Gymkhana was held today! Next will be the banquet and Gymkhana's will start back up for the new year in January.
10/04/09: The October Gymkhana at Horse Lovers was today! Abrienne and Annie took high point once again!
09/27/09: The Sept Gymkhana was today! There were plenty of ribbons. Abrienne and Annie took high point! 
09/05/09: The gymkhana has been cancelled due to rain and rescheduled for Sunday morning the 27th. Next one is October 4th.
08/31/09: The next gymkhana is this Saturday, September 5th!
08/23/09: Mouse! Another new addition to the horses Mouse is a beautiful bay throughbred.
08/15/09: Gymkhana at Horse Lovers Park!
08/11/09: Another new addition to the S.T.A.R.S Horses! A Missouri Fox Trotter mare named Foxy.
08/01/09: A new addition to the S.T.A.R.S Horses! Salty, a grey Quarter Horse gelding.