Riding across the flourishing 50-acre facility at Harmony Grove Equestrian Center may cause some equestrians to feel as if they have accidentally meandered into a private country club. However, in the place of manicured golf greens with well-groomed sand traps, at Harmony Grove they’ll find immaculately groomed arenas with new footing, thriving green turnout pastures and a charming picnic area that offers clients a lovely view of a duck pond and wireless Internet connection for their laptops.



Located just west of Escondido in the foothills of San Diego County, the atmosphere and appearance at Harmony Grove is something that owner, Gordon Fines, and his fiancée, Marina McCoy, have dedicated the last year to cultivating. “This has been a really interesting transition year for us,” explains Marina. “Over the past year the facility has gone from being mainly for personal usage to being used only for business purposes. Everything we have been doing and improving over the past year is intended to bring the facilities at Harmony Grove to the highest level possible and to aid riders in safely enjoying the property.”
The list of improvements is an extensive one: from redoing the footing in the full-size dressage court, the 150 by 300 foot jumping arena and in both round pens, to trimming the oak trees and removing dead branches and shrubs from the miles of trails that line the property, giving the paths a park-like ambiance. Despite the large extent of the property, which has allowed Gordon to add all the little extras like a galloping track and cross county course, he plans to keep the clientele relatively small and exclusive.
“The size and quality of the facility has allowed us to do a lot and provide training in multiple disciplines—dressage, eventing and show jumping—but, I don’t intend Harmony Grove to become a large ranch,” says Gordon. “We want to provide a high level of service for a limited number of horses and riders in training. We are striving to be an above average facility for a select few.”
One of the factors that contributes to the thriving flora and impeccably maintained rings at Harmony Grove is an underground spring which feeds their well. Having their own private water supply allows ranch manager, Jim Mundt, to drag and water the arenas and property daily. Jim describes the well at Harmony Grove as one of the best he has ever seen.
The exceptional care and service offered by the staff, combined with the immense scope of the facility, is something Harmony Grove’s trainers Lisa Schreifels and Agneta Mattsson can’t say enough about.

Taking Advantage of the Training Options
“I love the diversity of the facility,” says Lisa, a multi-discipline trainer, who relocated to San Diego from Washington over 10 years ago to teach. “That we have a huge galloping track is wonderful. Horses and riders can learn to go forward and be comfortable in open spaces, which is typical of show-like situations. It also gives them a healthier attitude towards training.”
Lisa is an “A” graduate of the United States Pony Club and has evented through Intermediate level. Like Lisa, her clientele trains and competes in a wide range of disciplines—dressage, show jumping and eventing.
One of Lisa’s students has gone on to compete in the North American Young Rider Championships, and though Lisa prefers to take on students that already have some experience, she doesn’t hesitate at taking on young horses.”
“I like taking on a large range of horses from young prospects to more advanced horses. Harmony Grove is excellent for starting young horses. The openness of the facility lets you really press young horses forward and work them through any problems.”
It’s a sentiment shared by dressage rider and trainer, Agneta Mattsson, who only works her horses in the dressage arena twice a week. “I’m so happy to have finally found a place where I can have a program that I truly believe in. I think that to keep dressage horses well conditioned and to keep their minds sound you have to work them forward and outside. To me, there is nothing worse than a ring sour,” explains Agneta.
Cavelletti and gymnastic work is an important part of Agneta’s program, and she is more than comfortable riding new client’s horses through these exercises for them. Born and raised in Sweden, Agneta worked and traveled extensively with the Swedish Olympic Dressage Team. It was through her work with the Swedish team that she had the opportunity to train in Germany at the Grönwohldhof with the Rehbeins.
In 1996 Agneta came to the United States where she worked briefly for Olympic judge, Linda Zang, in Annapolis, MD, before relocating to the West Coast. Since coming to California she has been fortunate enough to work with Linda Alexander Walton, Guenter Seidel, Jane Weatherwax, Christine Traurig and Laurie Falvo Doyle.
She has been hired to school jumping horses on the flat for different stables, such as Rocky Mountain Warmbloods and for Pegasus Show Stable. Over the years Agneta has also retrained several hunters and jumpers, suffering either physical or mental ailments, as dressage horses. Additionally, Agneta is currently looking for a working student to lend her a hand at Harmony Grove.
A client of Agneta’s, Renée Ingold, a retired Grand Prix dressage rider from Santa Fe, NM, keeps two of her horses at Harmony Grove and couldn’t be more pleased with the facility and training.
“I just wanted to say something about how safe and happy the horses are at Harmony Grove,” says Renée. “I had two horses that came to her in pretty bad shape. I had raised Selle Francais horses at my farm and when I sold the facility they were all that was left of my 30 years of breeding…Agneta has just done a wonderful job with them, and at Harmony Grove they are now sound, healthy and happy.”
For more information about Harmony Grove Equestrian Center visit www.harmonygrovehorses.com, call 760-291-1129 or e-mail hgec@sbcglobal.net. To contact Lisa Schreifels call 760-822-5472 or email lucasadodo@yahoo.com. To contact Agneta Mattsson call 760-815-2379 or email agneta_m@hotmail.com.