Checkmate Equestrian — Local services in Heath

I used Checkmate's services for a little under a year. During that time, they were terrible with scheduling and training in multiple ways.

First, their horses are not good for training new riders. They had one horse who was good, but was obviously overworked because everybody wanted to ride him. All the other "training" horses aren't actual training horses. They're retired or sick or old or have unruly temperaments. One of them bit my student. This is not a good place to START riding lessons. This was a constant problem, as horses were always going in and out. No stability.

Second, as a business they are poorly organized. Some of the individual trainers are great, I do not want to knock the trainer/employees and how they work. However, on more than one occasion I had confirmed my appointment and drove 40 minutes out to Forney, only to find there was nobody assigned to train us that day. No cancellation, no notice, nobody even there to answer the phone. I had to find out later they ditched my lesson and went to a show instead. Also, while we were paying for "private" lessons, they frequently made us ride with other people because they were disorganized and scheduled lessons on the same day. Again, individual trainers are good at their job of training, but the organization cannot function.

Third, Lija the owner was awful to my student. Embarrassed her in front of other students and made her cry simply because the student was scared and Lija couldn't control her frustrations. Lija single-handily ruined horses for our student, and gave us an awful experience. This wasn't the only thing though, there were several instances during our year at Checkmate where we felt generally unwelcome for some reason, but making our student cry was over the top. Maybe it's her training "style", but it was a big miss for us. Again, they aren't nice to new riders.

Finally, Lija and Checkmate still owes me over $250 for lessons that we paid for, but never actually received (because of her mismanagement from item 2 above). So they took my money, made our student cry, and ruined the idea of horseback riding forever.

Do not go to...

Lija is the best instructor you could ask for! She is incredibly patient and positive in how she deals with her students. She absolutely corrects them when needed, but in ways that still highlight all the good the student has been doing - while also clearly getting across what needs to be done differently or refined more. She also takes excellent care of her lesson horses and makes sure they are getting everything they need to be happy and healthy. She is also all about a well rounded horse person - not only learning to ride, but about the tack, grooming, health, and everything in between for rider and horse. I can't say enough good things. My daughter started just after turning 7 years old and she has been having a wonderful experience. Every other student we have seen also seem to love her as their teacher. I highly recommend Checkmate Equestrian...

Checkmate elevated my riding like no other place could. It truly is such a special environment with a family-like feel. Everyone truly cares for the horses and never lets anything slide. Lija truly made sure to give the time needed to her students, even if that was rewatching videos or debriefing after a lesson. It was never about how many riders Lija could get in a week, but instead about making sure to see true personal growth throughout each rider. She balanced it perfectly, creating an independent, free-thinking rider, but also allowing people to voice their mistakes without being shamed. If you have the opportunity to go to Checkmate Equestrian, there should be no doubt in your...