About
We are Jake and Theresa, a pair of horse breeders, riders, and riding teachers who take on riding students for the love of what we do and the desire to share that love with others. Our lesson horses are the horses we ride ourselves for the joy of it, horses born and raised on our ranch from champion stock imported from Brazil, our Mangalarga Marchadors. We teach basic horsemanship, Western riding, trail riding, and beginning level showmanship. Horse boarding clients get lessons at 50% off. Lessons are included for the first 6 months after a horse purchase. We have a round pen, a small and a large arena, and 20 acres for arena-based horse activities and for trail riding practice, but what really makes us special is instant access out the back gate onto 300 acres of trail riding around Lake Mathews. For me and Jake, our horse sport is GAITED trail and endurance riding. By "GAITED horses" we mean horses whose stride patterns "always have a foot on the ground". If there's no launching off the ground, there can't be any bounce when you touch back down, right? We're the right place to come to start riding for the first time or to renew horse knowledge you haven't used in a while, especially if you have health reasons for really wanting to ride a horse that does not bounce. We can show you how to ride to get the smoothest possible gait from our horses or your own.
We've ridden wonderfully smooth-gaited horses of many breeds, but now we raise gaited Mangalarga Marchadors, Brazil's premier saddle horses. These are medium-sized horses, beautiful the way Andalusian and other Iberian breeds are, but bred especially for their smooth, no-bounce gaits and their wise, willing serene spirits. Unlike other gaited breeds, Mangalarga Marchadors (including every one of ours!) must pass a rigorous inspection examining gait, conformation, and temperament, giving you a personal guarantee that the individual horse you're sitting on has the qualities in him or herself for which the breed is famous. Never heard of them? Only 335 or so in the USA, but >500,000 in Brazil. You owe it to yourself to try one.
In the heat of the summer, we try to confine our class times to mornings or evenings, usually individual lessons. Right now, lessons throughout the day are possible, but no later than 4pm start time because it gets dark so soon. Most of our students are 14 yrs old and older, but we can accomodate down to 5 yrs old in some cases and in a more limited program. In our classes, students will be shown (and will hopefully choose to learn) horse handling on the ground (catching, leading, saddling your own horse) and students will almost always ride one of our gaited horses (or your horse) in Western saddles (Jake). Lesson horses can be leased by those wishing to practice in between formal lessons. Trail rides are the goal for our riding students. We also invite our boarders to join us on trail rides, so it can be quite an adventure: anything from a tea party in the saddle to challenging cliffs and canyons and obstacles you'd encounter on a true "endurance" ride.
Please contact us for more information. Class planning is starting now.
On our Mangalarga Marchador horses, we ride the wind.
Our horses take us down the trail and beyond our limitations, connecting us with our planet and those who share it, and bringing the best of ourselves to share with our family and friends. Our ranch is a sanctuary, a place to appreciate peace and wholeness.
We ARE the work we do. Ride with us and join our family. Let us share how it feels to ride the wind.
Highlights
Details
Riding styles interested in
Have a horse
Student's interests and goals
Experience level
How often
Student's age
Photos and videos
Reviews
Lisa E.
April
Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
Student must contact us, arrange to come for an intitial interview where we demonstrate our horse(s) and learn in depth what the student believes he or she already knows.
The new student is required to show proof of active health insurance to undertake the lessons and the new student should expect to disclose information about medications, allergies, or physical (or other) problems that could potentially interfere with the process. We are not officially sanctioned to work with people with physical or mental disabilities, but we find ways to work around that, where we can.
Students are expected to wear appropriate clothing like loose or stretchy pants and, especially, boots or protective shoes with half-chaps. We can sometimes provide helmets from among our supply, but, after the first lesson, students should plan on bringing their own.
Students are permitted to bring someone to film them (not the instructor, necessarily) while they are getting their lessons.
Depending on what the group of students most needs to focus on, we have recommended textbooks to read, but we do not usually offer specific hand-outs.
There is a contract that our business insurer requires us to have the prospective student sign which includes a release and hold harmless form
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Jake Martinez has the approval and support of the representatives of the ABCCMM, our breed's organization in Brazil, as a trainer and teacher of horsemanship utilizing our Mangalarga Marchador Horses (Tiago Resendes Garcia, Chief of Judges and Inspectors, Belo Horizonte, Brazil).
Alessandra Deeriinck is a proven competitor in Endurance (AERC) and Dressage.
Both have been teaching riding and horsemanship and training horses professionally for over 20 years.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
Riding/Horsemanship lessons, usually minimum of 60-90 min per session, $60/lesson, dependent on the instructor and discounts for larger class (4 people) or being one of our boarders ( up to 50% discount), or the number of lessons paid in advance (10% discount for pre-paid lessons for 1 mo )
Guided rides out our back gate, usually 2 hrs, free for our boarding clients, $100/person on our horses, $50/person if you bring your own horse. Those riding our horses must demonstrate adequate skill level in the arena (a one hour lesson) before going out on a guided ride.
Guided rides at another location, usually for 6-8 hrs including travel time and usually includes picnic meal, $325/person riding one of our horses, $250/person if you bring your own horse. $100 for our boarding clients. Minimum of 4 paying riders or the trip won't go.
How did you get started teaching?
Jake and I got started teaching on our own paths.
Jake was the kid down the road, among neighbors with horses and acreage, who could be counted on to "ride the buck" out of an untrained horse. Jake is hin the is best self in the saddle, an engaging man with warmth and positivity to share. Teaching riding and the love of horses was a natural step, even back when he was a teen and a student himself.
Theresa has been teaching for years: usually medical students, medical residents, nurses, and hospital staff...and Pediatrics, not horses. Teaching was ingrained in her by the time she began to help Jake with teaching riding, and eventually gave beginner riding lessons on her own.
What types of students have you worked with?
Some of the riders who have come to Rancho de los Cielos have been rising competitors in their fields, whether in dressage or hunter/jumper or endurance, but, far more often, people come to us for a chance to do something they've dreamed of, but haven't tried before. Many of our students are first time riders, from young heroes of 7 or 8 to silver-haired heroes in their 60's and 70's. We teach one or two students at a time, reaching out in whatever way works, in an atmosphere of peace and privacy, on horses that want you to enjoy the ride.