Today I wanted to take a walk back in time and revisit a place important to my riding journey. With the fires raging in my hometown, I thought it would be a good idea to bring us back to Los Angeles for today’s post.

Back in 2015 and for some time after, I was taking intermittent riding lessons at a barn called Sagebrook Farms nestled deep in the Paddock Riding Club.

I remember my time there very fondly. I so miss working their summer camp, learning to canter on their lesson horses, and spending time in the safe space the barn created. During my time working there I fell in love with a horse named Dallas. He’s been featured often on my feed just because of how stunning he was. He boarded in a stall that neighbored a lesson horse so we grew acquainted quickly during chores. He was a goofy true dun gelding, and he was up for lease for $350/month. I begged my Dad for weeks to let me lease him since I was just done with soccer following my hip diagnosis. Seeing as Capone was my first lease, I think you know how persuasive I was. (I was not.)

That being said, here’s a little history about the Paddock Riding Club.

Back in 1930, someone decided to buy a nook of land near the LA River in the Atwater Village Equestrian Historic District, one of the last few remaining equestrian integrated neighborhoods in Los Angeles. It neighbored the Los Angeles Mounted Police unit, which still rests there today on Rigali Ave.

The owner placed an adobe style home on the property to match the rest of the barn and local architecture. Overall, this lot takes up an expansive 20 acres dedicated to equestrian use. Since being built it’s been through three owners, all families, and has continually operated as a boarding, training and filming location. For the last 15 years the current owners have managed, upgraded and sustained a great environment at the Paddock Riding Club. It’s since been named a “multipurpose compound” for equine activities and weddings/ events. They still have openings to this day for bookings, you just have to visit their website, or give them a call.

The gated community we call Paddock Riding Club or PRC is made up of boutique style barns, most English, but some cutting and western trainers can be found at PRC. I’m usually against a gated community vibe for a barn given how exclusive it begins to feel, however it helps maintain the purity of the barn feel once you’re in the gates. The vibe of the stable is so peaceful, slow in comparison to LA life and contributed to my love of barn management. It’s truly a wonderful experience just to walk around the place, I can see why it’s a wedding and film venue.

It has 2 grazing pastures, 7 arenas which have lovely footing, lights, and are managed with rain and other bad weather. They have at least 2 set dressage courts, a handful of misc arenas without fences, and least 2-3 with fences at any given time. One of the empty arenas has a flag system to practice cutting and cattle work for western riders. That was always a fun thing to watch back when I rode there all the time. There are 10 trainers or riding programs on site for you to choose from, and grooms to help and support you too. They have a Eurociser, a hot walker and a Vitafloor on site for boarders and leasers to use and reserve. All of which are great things to have access to in a boarding situation. There is also access to 60 miles of equine friendly trails, which makes it a hot spot for me boarding wise.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, check out Paddock Riding Club. Keep your eyes peeled for posts about my experiences at Lincourt Stables and Sagebrook Farms. Until then, know this place is so good I recommended it to a friend of mine when she moved to LA, and she immediately committed to boarding her senior equine companion there. It’s no joke and offers many great things to our equine friends to alleviate the pressure of barn life in a city environment.