California Riding Magazine • May, 2010

Sweeetwater Farms
Summer camps and excellent
lease horses highlight a multitude
of equestrian offerings.

Roberta Jackson’s Sweetwater Farms in San Diego County’s Bonita is one of the biggest and best-known equestrian businesses in Southern California. Founded in 1985, the program offers something for riders through every phase of their equestrian career. Many who now show successfully on the hunter/jumper circuit were introduced to horses in Sweetwater’s summer riding camps.

The camp program itself ranges from Pony Time, designed for children aged 4-7, to the Advanced Riding Camps. The latter are a great bridge for riders with a few years of instruction and who are ready to begin or continue jumping. All of Sweetwater’s camps include appropriate levels of horse care and general horsemanship instruction, ensuring the development of well-rounded riders.

Sweetwater also has terrific horse leasing opportunities. This year-round program is augmented in the summer by the availability of horses used by the University of San Diego Equestrian Team, which Jackson has coached for the last five years. These are horses that have competed in Inter Collegiate Horse Shows Assn. competition, which means they have carried an ever-changing group of riders in classes ranging from walk/trot to over-fences classes up to 3’ in height. They are ideal mounts for those who want to accelerate the equestrian education in the summer, while having a lot of fun. Some are available for a part-time lease in the fall even when the USD program resumes.

The Riding School is the entry point for many. In addition to english lessons, it also provides western and trail riding instruction. Whatever style they choose, participants are assured a good time. “What we hope our lessons can offer is a fun recreation that not only teaches you the skill of riding, but also offers great life lessons such as confidence in yourself, compassion, patience and goal-oriented solutions. For young people, being involved in riding horses is unlike any other activity or sport.”

The benefits are equally good for adults, Jackson adds. “The relationship between horse and rider is ageless. I look at any adult woman caring for her horse or beaming with joy after jumping her first jump, and I see a happy little girl. Horses can bring out the kid in all of us. Not only are they fun, they are mindful teachers.”

Sweetwater’s training barn and show team targets the Greater San Diego Horse Shows Assn. circuit. Conveniently, 10 of those are typically held at the facility, along with four IHSA competitions. That makes it easy and inexpensive to be an active competitor and also creates opportunities for students to learn about the business by helping with the staging of the show.

Located just off the 805 Freeway in Bonita, the family owned and operated Sweetwater Farms enjoys a park like setting, with lovely amenities for horses and riders and their families, as well as ample trails. Birthday parties and a busy therapeutic riding center further expand opportunities for everybody to benefit from time with horses and a wide variety of pricing packages makes the sport accessible to almost everybody.

For more information on Sweetwater Farms’ summer camps, leasing opportunities and many other offerings, visit www.sweetwaterhorses.com or call 619-475-3134.