Close your eyes and think about a stable. What does it look like when you turn into the property and head down the driveway? While the facilities for properties specializing in a given discipline or breed may vary, for many a typical scene would involve acres of sprawling land, rolling hills, and horses dotted across pastures in a rural area. Picturesque, to be sure, but it is not the only option for people interested in owning and working with horses. Urban horsekeeping might not typical for equestrians today, but it certainly is doable and can yield benefits for both the horses and the local community. Cities offer a unique set of challenges for barns, from government regulations to the increased importance of being a good neighbor in close quarters, but they also offer unique opportunities. We asked three experts what it takes to maintain high standards of care for horses and run a successful riding program in urban areas. // INSIDE THE BARN According to Erin Brown, executive director of the Philadelphia Urban Riding Academy in Pennsylvania, urban horsekeeping is absolutely possible, you just might need to get a bit creative. Brown grew up in Philadelphia, and that’s where she learned how to ride and care for horses. “When people find out that there are horses in the city, and not only in the city but in a residential neighborhood, it’s alarming at first—but not in a bad way,” said Brown. “A lot of the inner-city stables in Philadelphia were old warehouses and garages first, so they have a different kind of structure that we have to work with.”
PURA currently is converting an old recreational center into a barn for its horses and developing the property so that it fits PURA’s riding lesson program. “It’s a unique lot, because it’s in a residential neighborhood, but it also backs up into Cobbs Creek Park, so it has woods and trees behind it,” said Brown. “Once it’s finished next year, I think it’ll be the most unique stable in the city, because we get the best of both worlds.” In addition to being a top trainer and USEF ‘R’ hunter and hunter/jumping seat equitation judge, Susie Schoellkopf is executive director of the Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center in Buffalo, N.Y. Once known as the Saddle and Bridle Club, the BTRC was built in 1922 on the site of the 1901 World’s Fair, because of its proximity to Delaware Park. Now in a highly developed residential area, this urban equestrian property is tucked away in between the surrounding neighborhoods. Schoellkopf grew up riding at the facility and when she returned to grow her own training business, SBS Farms, the indoor spaces needed significant rehabilitation. “The ring is 200’ by 120’ and was flooded,” Schoellkopf said. “The ceilings are very high and were falling apart. Kids were throwing rocks and breaking panes of glass on the building.” There was a lot of work involved, but this enabled Schoellkopf and her partners to create exactly the kind of facility they now need, almost 100 years since the original construction. “I luckily had a group of people that came together, some pretty heavyhitters of business in Buffalo, and they wanted to preserve this place,” Schoellkopf explained. “So we started from the ground up. We have 110 stalls, an outdoor ring, and paddocks and were eventually able to start our own therapeutic riding program with all this well-designed space.” USEQUESTRIAN.ORG 67
