We are very blessed to have a very large program and as a result, we end up having a lot of people reach out on a daily basis with questions and inquiries. We’re so thankful for all of you that reach out! Sometimes it can be tough for us to stay on top of responding to everyone as quickly as we’d like, so here are a few of our most frequently asked questions. Hopefully this helps to answer any questions you may have prior to reaching out!

We will update this often and continue adding to this list, so check back any time you are curious or have a question about something just in case it’s been added!

Do you do riding lessons?

Yes, absolutely! In fact, our program is built primarily upon the dedication of our weekly and bi-weekly riding lesson students. We do riding lessons year round in our indoor riding arena, outdoor riding arena, and riding trails. You can see more information on our riding lessons on our “Services” page.

Lessons are typically done in a 2-6 rider group format with other riders of similar age and riding ability. We’ve found that this is also a great way to help encourage a supportive community of riders that very quickly become good friends with the other riders in their group!

Due to our very personalized and thoughtful scheduling system, you cannot get on our schedule for regular weekly or biweekly lessons via the website. You must reach out by calling Mary at 612-386-0279 OR emailing us at enchantedhollowstables@gmail.com.

Our lesson schedule is typically full — it is not unusual for us to have 60+ lesson students riding with us each week. However, we do always try to find a day and time for anyone that wants to ride with us, so please do not hesitate to reach out!!

How much do riding lessons cost?

Group riding lessons with 2+ riders start at $50 per rider, per one-hour lesson. Private lessons start at $100 per one-hour lesson.

Do you do riding lessons in the winter time, too?

Yes, but since our facility is not currently heated (but we are working on that!) when temperatures are below 15 degrees we cancel riding lessons because it is too cold for the riders to get the full benefit of their experience and it is harder on the horses respiratory systems. The health and wellness of all our riders and horses is our number one priority!

What are some other circumstances where lessons might be cancelled?

If there is a heat advisory we cancel riding lessons, also for the health, safety, and wellness of our riding lesson students and horses. Occasionally, there may be personal family conflicts or emergencies that may disrupt our schedule as well, though they are far and few between. We have a very large program with a good sized staff but we are still just a small family operated business!

How old does my child need to be in order to do riding lessons?

This really varies child to child, because some are more mentally or physically mature than others. Generally, our rule of thumb is that they at least need to be old enough to already be potty trained before they can do a riding lesson or day camp.

We do offer “Little Kid Camps” that typically go from 10am to 3pm and are horse camps specifically for any riders under 7 that are at a beginner level, and those are a great option for our littlest riders to enjoy the horses and a day at the barn! Check out our “Horse Camps & Classes” page to see if we have any coming up, or email us at enchantedhollowstables@gmail.com to request that we put more on the schedule.

Can I rent a horse?

We do not do one day renting or leasing of horses. However, we do occasionally offer monthly leases on horses! Availability depends upon whether or not we have a horse available that is a suitable match for your riding abilities and goals. Leases are great for anyone interested in horse ownership but that are not quite ready for that kind of commitment! Contact Mary at 612-386-0279 for details.

Do you do trail rides?

The simple answer is, YES! We incorporate our 1.5+ miles of trails and fields into many riding lessons, camps, and classes. They are an integral part of our program and we try to utilize them as much as possible.

If you are interested in a one-time trail riding experience with the horses, you can choose to organize a one-hour or two-hour riding lesson that can also include a trail ride for multiple people (weather permitting). We do not allow people to just come rent a horse and go out on a trail ride unsupervised – but we can organize a trail ride that starts with a riding lesson to ensure that you have the skills necessary to go outside prior to leading you on a guided trail ride on our private wooded trails and fields.

Contact Mary at 612-386-0279 or email us at enchantedhollowstables@gmail.com to get something on the schedule.

Do you do boarding?

Yes! We are currently full but you can contact us to be out on a waitlist for boarding. Pasture board is $300 per month and indoor boarding is $475 a month. We do have some stall boarding options available as well. Reach out to Mary or email us at enchantedhollowstables@gmail.com for details.

There are no lessons, horse camps, or official Saddle Club Days during the week of September 6th through September 13th, 2020. We hope to be back to our regular schedule starting September 14th, but please understand that this may change.

Mary Sansevere suffered from a traumatic brain injury on Saturday, September 5th, 2020. She fell from a horse trailer onto her head on a driveway. She has been suffering from severe concussion symptoms such as vertigo, headache, dizziness, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound.

We are taking this week off to focus on her care. We will post updates here and in our private Facebook group, “Enchanted Hollow Stables Family Private Group.” If you are a current lesson student, boarder, or leaser at Enchanted Hollow Stables please text or message Sam to request to be added to that group for more private updates.

Here is a post from our Facebook page with more information.

Sam provided an update in another post a couple days later.

We are trying to be sure to reach out to all lesson students prior to their regularly scheduled lesson time, but we do ask that you continue checking our Facebook page for the most recent updates.

You are responsible for confirming your lesson time after September 14th and making sure that lessons are back on track!

Thank you so much to everyone for all of your kindness, understanding, support, and love in this stressful time.

We are considering the opportunity for parents and riders to have their child join us at Enchanted Hollow Stables during the school day if they are choosing to do distance learning, homeschooling, or even the hybrid learning method. These opportunities can be scheduled on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. They can come to the farm at regular school day times, complete online schoolwork, earn important life skills caring for animals at the farm, and ride under our supervision and instruction. 

Our family successfully  homeschooled for several years and we understand the challenges that parents face. The owner of Enchanted Hollow Stables was a homeschool parent for many years. Her two oldest children were homeschooled for the majority of their childhood. Samantha our barn manager and head riding instructor was homeschooled through high school.

One of the biggest concerns we had was making sure our children socializing with other children their age. Enchanted Hollow Stables is offering this opportunity for homeschooled, hybrid and distance learning students to have that chance to socialize, spend time outdoors on a farm and be around horses and our other animals in addition to study and homework time.

This is an excellent and flexible option for parents concerned about child care, a steady routine, and social interaction for their child.

Options & Pricing Information

We have had an amazing 2020 riding season with more horse camps, lessons, classes than ever before. It has been such a wonderful summer, and we’ve been honored to be able to provide the experiences that we do at Enchanted Hollow Stables.

We have been dreading the start of the school year because we are going to miss seeing our riders and Saddle Club members so often! With members of the Sansevere family still being in school as well, we personally know how tough (and lonely) it can be to adjust to distance learning, hybrid learning, or homeschooling.

We understand the challenges and complexities that families are facing with homeschooling, hybrid learning and distance learning. Openings are limited to ensure we can adhere to all social distancing guidelines.

These are uncertain times and things can always change, but we wanted to send out information about the possibility of this option. We see this as a great opportunity to continue providing our riders with a steady and supportive environment to thrive in!

For the months before temperatures get too cold (around November), we will be able to provide this opportunity at Enchanted Hollow Stables. In that time before winter hits, we will be working to insulate, heat, and remodel more parts of our facility so that we can continue through the ENTIRE winter and school year!

We are so excited to be considering this idea, which we’re calling Saddle Club & Study Time!

Saddle Club & Study Time Application

Please fill out the form below to express your interest in this program and to get on a waitlist for more information.

After being in quarantine and under a “Stay at Home” order for months now, we are so excited to be returning to regular operations — with your safety at the top of our priorities!

After June 1st, we are slowly reopening our program and services!!

In this post, we will lay out some of our temporary adjustments to riding lessons, horse camps, and classes for the foreseeable future. We will plan to stick to these practices until at least July 1st, but will modify or adjust as needed.

Thankfully, our facility is very open with excellent airflow. Any activities that don’t occur in our outdoor arena or on our riding trails in our woods will occur in our arena or barn, which is also very well ventilated and wide open. We will be doing several things to ensure that we are providing the safest environment possible for our riders to do what they love in their favorite place!

We have put a lot of thought into our plan moving forward. We are looking forward to SAFELY getting everyone back at the barn!

Please bear with us, because we have had a LOT of wonderful people inquiring about getting on our schedule. We will do our best to get everyone out at the barn for camps, classes, and lessons ASAP while still being as safe and organized as possible!

Before entering the facility, we are requiring all students to sign a new waiver for the 2020 riding season. You can download it here, print it out, and bring it along with you to the barn! You cannot enter the barn without a signed copy of this new waiver.

Saddle Club Days *NEW!!*

We are very excited to be offering a new option for our most dedicated riders this year!

Saddle Club Days are opportunities for some of the older and more experienced riders in our program to join us at the farm for the day and help with different chores, tasks, and projects before they have an opportunity to ride later in the day.

You must be a member of our saddle club to participate in Saddle Club Days. Please click here to learn more about Saddle Club Days and joining our saddle club!

Group Riding Lessons

• Hand sanitizer will be provided for use upon entering and exiting the facility.
• Temperatures will be taken upon arrival. If the rider has an above normal temperature, they will be asked to leave.
• Face masks are required to have on hand due to the Statewide Mask Mandate, and all riders are welcomed and encouraged to wear them. We will have cute cloth face masks available for purchase at the farm in our new gift shop!
• Please respect social distancing and maintain a minimum of 6 feet from other people when possible. Instructors and staff will occasionally need to get within six feet from riders to assist and help them, but we ask that riders and parents keep their distance from each other.
• We are asking parents to please limit their time in the barn. This is in order to minimize how many people are coming and going through the barn and coming into contact with each other even in passing. We do understand that if your child is a new rider with us that you will want to come in and look around and chat with us (from a safe distance of course), and that is okay. For this temporary period while we are trying to adhere to safe protocols, we just ask that time spent hanging out in the barn is limited.
• If you are potentially infectious, we will be happy to work with you to reschedule your lesson. If you or someone you come into contact with has tested positive for COVID-19, please do not come to the farm. Please DO NOT come to the farm if you have symptoms or have been around anyone that has symptoms, or if anyone in your household has symptoms or has been around someone with symptoms. If you have traveled out of state or country recently, please do not come to the farm. And, of course, if you or someone you come into contact with has tested positive for COVID-19, please do not come to the farm.
• Riding lesson group sizes will remain regular.

Please note that adjustments have been made to our riding lesson protocols since this was originally posted. We originally tried to adhere to 45 minute lessons with 15 minutes in-between to allow for minimized contact in the barn, but after resuming operations for a couple of weeks we have become more confident with our facility and our system so that we are comfortable resuming hourlong lessons.

With how good our airflow in the barn is combined with keeping equipment clean and sanitized between uses, we are comfortable resuming our regular hourlong lessons. We are still requesting respectful social distancing and good sanitary practices from everyone at the facility.

New Riding Lesson Students

As always, we try to do one-on-one hourlong lessons with new students that have not ridden with us before. This will continue to be the norm. A student’s first introductory lesson will still be done privately, and will still be one hour long to allow for plenty of time to get acquainted, answer any questions, and help them get a good start with their lesson horse.

Summer Horse Camps

Our summer horse camp schedule will proceed as planned, with the same careful sanitary and social distance practices in place as any of our other activities.

These horse camps are, by nature, more hands on than the shorter format riding lessons. If you are registered for a horse camp but would prefer to apply that registration fee to riding lessons instead to minimize your rider’s contact with a larger group of children for a prolonged amount of time, we absolutely understand and can make that happen. Just reach out and we will be able to get you on the schedule!

• Hand sanitizer will be provided for use upon entering and exiting the facility.
• Temperatures will be taken upon arrival. If the rider has an above normal temperature, they will be asked to leave.
• Face masks are required to have on hand due to the Statewide Mask Mandate, and all riders are welcomed and encouraged to wear them. We will have cute cloth face masks available for purchase at the farm in our new gift shop!
• We are asking parents to please limit their time in the barn. This is in order to minimize how many people are coming and going through the barn and coming into contact with each other even in passing. We do understand that if your child is a new rider with us that you will want to come in and look around and chat with us (from a safe distance of course), and that is okay. For this temporary period while we are trying to adhere to safe protocols, we just ask that time spent hanging out in the barn is limited.
• As always, drop off for a horse camp that begins at 10:00am can happen no earlier than 9:55am.
• Pick up is at 3:00pm sharp, unless discussed beforehand with Mary or Sam. Please wait in vehicles for your child at pick up time.

As always, please DO NOT come to the farm if you have symptoms or have been around anyone that has symptoms, or if anyone in your household has symptoms or has been around someone with symptoms.

If you have traveled out of state or country recently, please do not come to the farm.

And, of course, if you or someone you come into contact with has tested positive for COVID-19, please do not come to the farm.

During our very first Enchanted Hollow Stables ZOOM party last week, we announced that we are doing a T-shirt design contest! Here are all the details:

• Draw ANYTHING related to Enchanted Hollow Stables! It could be your favorite lesson horse, the goats, the chickens, Pig Newton the Potbelly Pig, your favorite spot on the farm, the barn, all your friends… ANYTHING!
• There is no limit to how many entries you can do. Send one drawing, or send ten!
• Anyone can submit drawings! You do not need to be a past, present, or even future rider at EHS to enter. You can be anyone, anywhere, and any age!
• All drawings will be printed and hung up in the barn – whether they are selected to be printed on a t-shirt or not!
• The winner(s) will be digitized and printed on Enchanted Hollow Stables t-shirts.
• We may pick multiple designs, and have multiple different t-shirts. So there’s a chance for multiple winners!
• Can be colored or not. You can either color in your drawing, or just send a line drawing!
• If your drawing is selected to be put on a t-shirt, you will get a FREE t-shirt with your drawing on it.
• You can submit your drawings via text, email (enchantedhollowstables@gmail.com), or mail them to EHS. Our business’s address is located at the bottom of this page.
• Please submit by Sunday, May 24th.

We did have a few kids on the ZOOM call express that they don’t think they are good enough at drawing. I disagreed, because I’m sure they’re great drawers, but I also told them. that ANYONE who wants to submit a drawing can and should, and not worry about whether or not they think they are a good drawer — because any drawing is going to be treasured here!!

But, in case someone doesn’t feel comfortable drawing something original, I would still love to receive a drawing from them! So, as an alternative option, they can mail us a coloring page that they color to look like their favorite lesson horse. These coloring pages can be mailed to us at any time, or brought to us once lessons and camps resume. We will hang them all over the barn!

As with the t-shirt contest, you do NOT need to be a current, former, or future lesson student with us. ANYONE can submit a drawing or coloring page and we will proudly hang them in the barn!

Here are some links to websites with great printable coloring pages:

• http://www.supercoloring.com/coloring-pages/mammals/horses
• https://www.bestcoloringpagesforkids.com/horse-coloring-pages.html
• https://www.free-coloring-pages.com/horse.html

Here is our business address for anyone to mail their drawings or colorings to us to be hung in the barn and potentially used in a t-shirt design:

5164 County Road 33 SE

Buffalo, MN

55313

There are a lot of changes and closures happening around the country, including our very own riding program suspending regularly scheduled riding lessons for the rest of the month. For the time being we will be unable to conduct our regular business operations. Just like many industries and individuals that will be feeling the economical and financial impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, Enchanted Hollow Stables is definitely expecting to have a tough couple of months! Every business will go through some hardships during this time. Every individual will, too.

Even when we aren’t able to conduct our business, our horses still need to eat. With over 50 horses on the property, they eat A LOT! We are admittedly a bit worried about whether the feed supply stores will have enough grain or forage in stock within a few weeks due to production being slowed by this novel coronavirus outbreak, so we are working to stockpile as much grain and forage as possible right now.

Most of our beloved riding lesson horses are seniors that were rescued and rehabbed before being integrated into our program. They have special dietary needs that include supplements, senior grain, and hay cubes — some of them can’t eat traditional hay and rely completely on hay cubes and soaked mashes.

We will be trying to stock up on all the hay cubes and grain we will need to get through a couple of months to ensure that our horses will remain fed during this time. Being unable to conduct our regular business activities heading into a season when things usually start to really pick up will be a struggle!

We know that our struggle is not unique. Small businesses across the country are struggling right now. Individuals unable to work are, too! This is a tough time for everyone, and we absolutely understand that. But for anyone interested in knowing how they can support our small business aside from riding lessons, we thought that we would put together a post like this with a few ideas!

Despite being unable to stick to our regular riding lesson schedule, there are other ways that you can support our farm and help keep us operating through this tough time. Check out some of the things you can do!

Register for a horse camp!

We are expecting to be able to return to regular functions by the time that our Summer 2020 horse camp season begins. Please consider registering for one of our horse camps in June, July or August! Check out our horse camps page for more information on registering.

Buy a key chain that looks like your favorite lesson horse, or an adorable unicorn!

These key chains are adorable and look great on a set of keys, backpack, helmet bag, hanging on the wall, or anything else you want to clip them to! All of these keychains are made in Buffalo, MN, so you are truly supporting small local businesses by purchasing. See more options on our Keychains for a Cause page!

Lease a horse!

If you are a current riding lesson student at Enchanted Hollow Stables, consider leasing or half-leasing your favorite horse. At this time, our riding lesson program is on hiatus but we are still allowing boarders and leasers out at the barn to ride, so this also offers an opportunity to continue riding through this time. Contact Mary and Sam at enchantedhollowstables@gmail.com to inquire!

Donate!

For those that want to help but don’t necessarily want a product or to register for a horse camp. These donations are NOT tax-exempt, but they do benefit adorable old lesson horses! Donate via PayPal by clicking this link: paypal.me/enchantedhollows

Share this post!

If you are not in a position to contribute monetarily at this time but want to help in some way, you can share this post! We deeply appreciate your desire to help and it truly is a huge help to simply share this post.

Thank you, and please, stay healthy!

Early last week, after President Trump declared a National Emergency for the COVID-19 outbreak and Governor Walz declared a Peacetime Emergency, we posted a statement on Facebook to share our thoughts on potentially pausing activities at Enchanted Hollow Stables.

Since then, as most people know, there have been some major developments in the situation.

Governor Tim Walz declared on March 15th, 2020 that Minnesota schools will close from at least March 18th to March 27th as a result of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak continuing to spread around Minnesota. There is a very real possibility that those school closures could last beyond the end of March.

Following that news as well as the news of a positive COVID-19 test result in Wright County, we had to take a very serious look at our plan for the next couple of weeks. While it will certainly be a struggle for our family’s small business here at Enchanted Hollow Stables, we feel that for the health and wellness of our beloved clients and their families that it would be in everyone’s best interest for us to make some temporary changes.

Lesson Students

This was a very difficult decision for us, but we are doing it with the health of our family and our clients in mind. We will follow in Governor Walz’s lead and not be having lessons during the weeks of March 16-20 or March 23-27.

We are exceptionally blessed to have a very active and busy lesson program, but that does mean that there a lot of people coming and going on a day to day basis. This leads to our instructors interacting with and being exposed to a lot of people. We do not have any interest in playing a role in causing any COVID-19 infections!

For that reason, we do feel that it is in the best interest of the health of our clients to not hold regularly scheduled riding lessons for a couple of weeks. We plan to be back to our regular lesson schedule after March 27, but this may change depending on the state of things in our community in a couple of weeks.

Horse Camp Participants

Our Spring Break 2020 Horse Camp that was planned for March 30th to April 3rd is canceled. We will work privately with those that were registered for that camp to have their camp fee applied toward one of our summer camps.

Boarders and Leasers

Boarders that keep their horses with us and leasers that lease horses from us will still be allowed to see their horses and ride. We do not feel at this time that it is ethical to not allow those individuals to see their horses that they own or lease. With that being said, we do have some guidelines we would like them to follow for the foreseeable future.

• Please thoroughly wash your hands prior to coming to the barn.
• We have hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes in various locations around the tack rooms, lounge, and barn. Please use them before and after handling any tack, grooming tools, cleaning tools, or any other equipment around the barn.
• Please do not have physical contact with anyone. No hugs or handshaking.

Most importantly, these rules below apply to ANYONE entering the property.

• If you have any related symptoms at all — DO NOT come to the barn. We reserve the right to ask anyone that is exhibiting any symptoms to leave the property.
• If you or anyone you have interacted with has shown any related symptoms or has tested positive for COVID-19 — DO NOT come to the barn.
• If you or an immediate family member have recently traveled on vacation, been on a cruise, or attended a large gathering of 100+ people within the last two weeks — DO NOT come to the barn.

We are doing our part in cleaning surfaces and disinfecting as much as we can on a regular basis. Please do your part by following the guidelines above.

We reserve the right to invite anyone onto our property that is not a boarder or a leaser, but will exercise caution when doing so.

Please don’t be offended if we ask you a lot of questions before determining whether you will be allowed on the property (such as those outlined above, like whether you or a family member have traveled recently). A couple of members of the Sansevere family are considered high-risk individuals.

Please do your part in trying to help keep everyone safe and healthy.

This difficult time will come to an end!

We look forward to resuming regular activities as soon as possible.