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California Riding Magazine • August, 2009 Andrea Hill Training |
It’s not too often that the country-club like Fairbanks Riding Club in Rancho Santa Fe has openings. It’s rarer still when a boarding opportunity there includes the chance to join a top-flight hunter/jumper program, such as the one Andrea Hill has been building up at Fairbanks over the last five years. At presstime, Hill was in the unusual position of having eight stalls available due to the departure of another trainer at the facility. Since returning to her native San Diego, Hill has turned a few stalls opportunity at Fairbanks into a full-service training program that caters to kids and adults who take their equestrian education seriously. The program’s core is a competition-oriented cadre that focuses on Southern California’s excellent county show agenda. A thriving riding school gives newcomers an entry point to the sport and a stepping-stone to the show world for those interested. Hill also works with a steady stream of consignment horses. Hill is familiar to many San Diego equestrians, dating back to her nationally successful junior career, as Andrea Woodburn, riding with and later working for Hap Hansen. She carries forward Hansen’s quiet and effective riding and coaching style and his tendency to let students figure out horsemanship questions themselves to the extent safely possible. “My students learn all aspects of the sport of riding,” she notes. “They learn how to work through problems. We treat horse shows as a way to measure progress and fine tune things.” Hill’s clientele ranges from walk/trotters to juniors and amateurs competing successfully in Hunters, Jumpers and Equitation. It includes a few mother-daughter riders and a handful of students who prefer not to show. Whatever their riding goals, everybody is embraced in the family atmosphere. It’s the kind of training barn where others offer their horse if a friend’s mount is out of commission and most hang out with their horses long after lessons are over. In speaking with prospective students, Hill is clear about what’s important to her. “We are really about learning how to ride, knowing your horse and being involved in all aspects of your horse’s life,” she says. Consistency is a hallmark of Andrea Hill Training. She and her assistant Chloe Dibley, along with four grooms, have been a well-experienced and harmonious team for several years. Horses and students thrive under the team’s continuity of care, coaching and training. “I believe that provides for an overall happier and sounder group of horses,” Hill explains. Horses have plenty of variety in their lives through time in turn-out and on the European walker, trail rides, hand walking and grazing. Jumping lessons emphasize ever-changing gymnastics and courses to best prepare students for show-ring challenges at every level. The county circuit is Hill’s main focus for now, but the preparation of all horses and riders is geared to A circuit expectations. As clients’ needs and ambitions evolve, Hill will mix in more A shows as needed. Meantime, the trainer is grateful to have what she describes as a wonderful agenda of Greater San Diego Hunter/Jumper Assn. rated events. At presstime, she was leading the association’s trainer high point standings, reflecting her students’ success on that circuit. Hill emphasizes a thorough horsemanship education, but as the mother of 10 and 12 year old girls, she understands fully the many demands on her students’ time. Her team handles all the details and arrangements for their clients’ horses. Students are welcome to prepare their own horses for lessons, but the grooms are always available to do this for those who are tight on time. The trainer loves being located at Fairbanks Riding Club, a park-like setting where customers “can leave their kids and know that they’ll be safe all day.” Hill corrects the mistaken idea that Fairbanks boarding is only open to those who own homes in the surrounding area. Homeowners get first priority, she explains, but openings beyond that are available to non-residents. Picnic areas, comfortable ring-side viewing areas and lots of shady trees complement three large riding arenas and a host of first-class equine amenities. The grounds are beautifully maintained by the Fairbanks homeowners association. In between her junior career and returning to San Diego, Hill spent several years galloping racehorses, where she expanded her knowledge of horse health and care exponentially. She also campaigned Grand Prix level jumpers and hunter and equitation prospects in Northern California. Those experiences give her an edge when it comes to effectively preparing her students’ horses. “My background enables me to be competitive and concise in my training,” Hill says. “I am very goal oriented and I always have a bigger plan for my group.” She is very happy with and proud of the program that Andrea Hill Training has become. She started at Fairbanks with stalls for her daughters’ ponies and a few of her own jumpers. Today, Hill’s thriving, diverse and rewarding enterprise allows many others to enter the wonderful world of horses. Regardless of what level clients choose, the program provides all the best traditions of true horsemanship.
For more information on the limited openings at Andrea Hill Training, contact the trainer at 858-775-2778 or fairbanksriding@gmail.com. |
