Valley Ridge Farm
Morgantown, WV

Valley Ridge Farm, Inc is a state-of-the-art facility offering a positive, family-oriented environment in which leadership, responsibility, and confidence are nurtured. Since our founding in 1980, we have been devoted to providing valuable hands-on learning experiences for horse enthusiasts that follow a curriculum centered on horsemanship and equine care for youth and young adults. All activities emphasize teamwork and we remain committed to encouraging community service. From equine education and quality boarding to showing, summer camps, and more, you will find it all at Valley Ridge Farm, Inc. We welcome riders of all ages and abilities.

A Scenic Location Conveniently Located Near Morgantown, WV

Valley Ridge Farm, Inc is nestled on 26-acres within sublimely beautiful Preston County, just outside Morgantown, WV. The Farm is located approximately ten miles from Interstate 68, surrounded by summer’s flower-filled meadows, majestic forests, gently rolling hills, and the magnificent Cheat River. No matter the season, Valley Ridge Farm, Inc offers a quaint setting and a glorious pastoral sentiment.

Barns, Horse Stalls, and Indoor Arena

The Farm includes two buildings. Our main barn includes twenty-seven stalls and the annex barn has five stalls. The spacious main barn is attached to an indoor arena which is 60′ x 153′. The well-lit indoor arena includes sand footing.

Main Barn Amenities

The main barn includes grooming areas, a heated tack room, a wash stall with hot and cold water, a bathroom with a shower, and a washer and dryer available for the use of our customers. Additional storage is available in the upstairs of the main barn, as well. For our customers’ comfort, we also offer a heated viewing area overlooking the indoor arena. Wi-Fi is available, as well.

Outdoor Arena and Paddocks

The outdoor arena at Valley Ridge Farm, Inc is 110′ x 265′ with sand-based footing. We are continually updating our facility to provide the highest quality experience for our equine and human guests. We regularly add new cross-country and other types of jumps that we then incorporate into our lessons.

All of Valley Ridge Farm, Inc’s paddocks are enclosed with high-quality, secure fencing. Five grassy paddocks are available in the front, as well as four smaller paddocks situated behind the main barn for your use.

Barn Rules

When using our barns and facilities, please feel free to ask questions or express your concerns at any time. Although sometimes it seems that we are extremely busy (and very often we ARE extremely busy), we will always find the time to listen. Sometimes catching us with free time is impossible, but we will be happy to make an appointment with you to discuss any issue on your mind. We would much rather be aware of the matter than hear about it from another source.

Please understand that Valley Ridge Farm is, of necessity, a business first and foremost. We cannot continue to operate without satisfied customers. To that end, and to help ensure the enjoyment of all, the following rules and etiquette standards apply to everyone.

Keep the Barn Neat

This is stated again and again in the rules, but it bears repeating here: Please help us to keep the barn neat. A messy barn is unsafe as well as unsightly.

Respect the Privacy of Others

Respect the privacy of others, and of the business. Please do not enter the office area or another boarder’s trunk or stall without the express permission of the owner and/or management.

ALWAYS REMEMBER TO TREAT OTHERS (INCLUDING YOUR HORSE) THE WAY YOU WANT TO BE TREATED

Barn Etiquette

Dress appropriately for the style of the barn. It does not add class to the riding establishment to ride in torn jeans and a filthy t-shirt.

Try to be polite to everyone. Avoid forming cliques and excluding certain people. Many of us have unfortunate mannerisms because we are shy or nervous. If people feel comfortable, they are easy to get along with.

If you have a problem with another boarder, talk it over with management. They may be able to handle it tactfully so that the problem is resolved without hurt or ill feelings.

If you have a problem with management, discuss it with them. Please do not talk behind the backs of others. If you cannot find a solution, find another place.

Pay your bills on time. Stables run on a very tight budget and are expected to pay up front for almost everything. If you have a cash flow problem, try to work out an arrangement ahead of time.

Do not hang around the barn after normal closing time. Other people may not want to leave until everyone is out of the stable. If you are going to be the last, be sure you know whether doors should be open or closed, gates locked, etc. Consider that it might be your horse that gets out into the road.

Guests are your responsibility. Make sure they know the rules — and follow them. Nothing is more dangerous than someone with little or no horse experience turned loose in a stable. Be especially careful of young children in the barn, and supervise them closely.

Familiarize yourself with the stable rules on the “Stable Agreement Form.”

ANYONE CAUGHT STEALING WILL BE IMMEDIATELY EXPELLED!

DO NOT go into any stall other than your own without a good reason (i.e.: the horse is in trouble and needs immediate help). If you merely suspect a problem, tell the owner and/or management.

DO NOT take someone else’s horse out of the stall without permission.

DO NOT feed other people’s horses in a strange stable or in your own barn unless you know it is acceptable.

DO NOT leave a horse tied anywhere unattended. The horse may get into trouble, and will certainly get in the way.

DO NOT leave a halter hanging from cross ties. If a horse walking by gets caught in it, the horse will almost surely be severely injured.

DO NOT lead a horse under the cross ties to which another horse is attached.

DO NOT give direct orders to the barn staff where you board or ride. They do not work for you; they work for the farm.

DO NOT turn your horse out in the field or paddock without permission. Some horses do not get along together, and you do not want to find out by having your horse or someone else’s horse get hurt.

DO NOT borrow other boarders’ grooming tools to use on your horse, or use your horse’s tools on other boarders’ horses. Many skin conditions are contagious.

DO NOT lend anything that would break your heart to lose. If you borrow, give it back better than you got it, or return more than you took.

DO NOT give additional feed, hay, or bedding to your horse at any time.

DO NOT leave empty plastic bags that contained apples or carrots where horses can reach them. Better yet, bring apples and carrots in paper bags instead.

Keep the area around your stall as neat as possible.

If your horse leaves droppings in the aisle or wash stall, pick them up immediately, even if you are leading your horse out at the time.

If you have soda cans or cups in the barn, take them out when they are empty, or put them in the garbage can.

Keep your equipment in your trunk. Do not leave your tack in the aisle where horses may get tangled in it or may get knocked down and damaged.

Mark all your equipment clearly. It saves a lot of confusion and ill feeling to have someone else use your tack when they do not and cannot know it is yours.

Lock up anything you really care about, or leave it at home.

Wash your saddle pads, girth covers, etc., frequently. A tack room full of sweaty equipment smells much worse than an ordinary locker room.

When cleaning tack, dispose of the tack cleaning water and leave soap and sponges where they can dry.

If you borrow stable equipment (i.e. wheelbarrows, pitchforks, etc.) put it back where it belongs when you are finished.

Clean up after your horse and yourself in all situations, just as you would at home.

Do not monopolize common areas like the wash stall and grooming stall for longer than necessary.

TURN OFF THE LIGHTS

Ring & Arena Rules and Etiquette

Before considering coming to the barn to ride your horse, call to find an appropriate time so you will not be in the way of others. When entering an arena, open the door cautiously, and look both ways if you enter directly onto the track. In an outdoor ring, look out for inexperienced riders whose horses may make a dash for an opened gate. After entering, return the door or gate to its previous position. If leaving the ring while a lesson is occurring, or others are riding, please dismount, open the gate, and return it to its previous position.

DO NOT stop in the gate to tighten your girth or adjust your tack. Either do so outside, or lead the horse into the center of the ring out of the way of others.

DO NOT lead your horse up to the mounting block until you are ready to mount.
If a number of riders are preparing to mount at the same time, space the horses out in an orderly fashion. A line is best. More people are injured during mounting than at any other time.

Know the policy of the barn regarding where you ride and at what speed. Slow riders stay to the inside, at least fifteen feet off the rail, that way faster riders are not trapped between your horse and the rail.

DO NOT ride your horse at speed close to young, green horses or those being ridden by less experienced riders. If you can’t keep your cantering horse at least ten feet from other horses, you should not be cantering in company.

Avoid lunging at times and in areas where others must ride, especially if your horse is rambunctious. If there is any danger of it breaking away from you, choose another time and place. A loose horse with a lunge line attached is an accident waiting to happen.

Use your eyes at all times, both to see what others are doing, and to indicate your intended path. When there are riders traveling in both directions, be sure everyone agrees on which side to pass. Left hand to left hand is customary, but someone may request the rail if they need it.

DO NOT wait to shout “Rail” at the last moment before a head on collision. Such an incident is dangerous to both horse and rider, and is very destructive to the confidence of horse and rider.

If another rider is in trouble or in need of help, offer assistance, but don’t give advice unless asked. While it can be difficult to keep your mouth shut when someone is doing something stupid, dangerous, or abusive to the horse, it is best to let the manager know about the problem and to let her deal with it.

Know the stable policy with regard to jumping; jumping may be restricted at certain times, for safety reasons. Junior riders are to jump only with the permission and/or supervision of the management.

If you use the jumps, try not to leave the ring in such a way that the instructor has to spend half an hour moving jumps so that classes can be conducted. DO NOT set up combinations or alter distances. If you change fence heights, reset them when you are done. No one is permitted to jump without permission outside of a lesson.

Etiquette During Lessons

DO NOT endanger or terrify other customers. When lessons are being given, please ask the instructor first. Then, if it is alright for you to be in the ring during a lesson, pass slowly, or avoid the lesson area altogether if possible.

DO NOT ride a horse that is difficult to manage when lessons are being given.

DO NOT jump while lessons are being given in the ring without asking the instructor’s permission. It can be terrifying to an inexperienced rider to have a horse jumping toward or near them. If you are permitted to jump during a lesson, use common sense and avoid interfering with the lesson in any way. Do NOT reset fences or move equipment during the lesson without permission.