Horseback Riding Columbia, SC
Pony Gang Equestrian Services offers horseback riding lessons in a safe and relaxing environment. Our lessons horses are well trained and can teach beginner to advanced riders at our beautiful 28 acres Equestrian Center in Hopkins, SC. In our outdoor dressage and jumping arena our students can ride and practice their skills rain or shine.
So if you are looking for "horseback riding lessons near me" don't look any further because you are at the right place for riding western or riding English. We offer it all to you!
Our History
Many years ago…
....there was a little girl who lived in a small town near Frankfurt/Germany and spent all her free time
around the riding stables in her area. She fell in love with horses and dreamed about someday having a place where she could teach kids to ride and to be around horses and farm animals. She never
gave up on that dream and shared it with her husband and her two horse crazy girls. Her girls and her started working with horses and children in a small lessons program at a boarding facility in
Germany and then their dream of their own place became a reality in November 2012 when the family moved from Germany to Camden South Carolina and purchased a small ranch house with pasture land
attached to it. They chose the location because it was within driving distance from the workplace from her husband and still secluded from the hustle and bustle of the large city of Columbia.
They worked hard to build up the place they dreamed off to offer lessons for children and adults of all ages again. End of 2013 they reopened their Riding school Program “Pony Gang” but this time
far away from where the program was originally created.
They offered a year around lessons program with their 9 horses and ponies that had moved with them from Germany. During the Spring and
Summer breaks they offered Day Camps for children and in 2016 they hosted their first Overnight Camp experience for Girls.
In 2022 has moved from their location in Camden to a larger location in Hopkins South Carolina, where they not only are able to offer their
horses more space but also are able to serve their students and campers better.
Today Pony Gang has grown to 44 horses, ponies, mules and donkeys that call the new Pony Gang Farm their home, but only 28 of them are used for
lessons and summer camp.
Pony Gang has approximately 30-45 students that take lessons here at the farm and around 100 Campers spend their school breaks here at the different Camp sessions that are offered during the year and with each year the number of participants continues to grow.
Throughout the past years Pony Gang Farm continued to expand and improve their program and facility. Working under the leadership of the Pony Gang
family, their staff continues to pass on the joy of horses and horsemanship to children.
At the 28.5 acres Farm in Hopkins, a charming cedar tree house is the personal space of the Terebayza family that offers a large sunroom that
is used as a campers dinning hall during camps. The remaining of the farm offers - a wood cabin build in 1910 that has been transformed into a campers paradise with 3 bedrooms and a fourth one in
planning and 2 full bathrooms,
- 2 barns with 25 stalls are already on the property and for 2023 is it planned to turn the existing stalls in the barns into 18 paddock boxes, to give the horses shelter but also room to move.
- It is also planned to build 11 more paddocks with attached 12x12 stalls, which then gives all of the horses, ponies, mules and donkeys an area for themselves.
- large Haybarn that will ensure that the Hay for the horses stays dry.
- 100 x 200 jumping arena and a 20x40 Dressage arena with mirrows two riding arenas
- Dry lot pastures are in planning and the grass pastures are getting reseeded and cleaned.
The farm is just 8 miles from Columbia and 80 miles from Charlotte, NC.
The Farm is set away from the hustle and bustle of the hectic city life and caters to a variety of interests by offering a range of activities in addition to the excellent horseback riding program.
Pony Gang offers Hunter, Jumper, Western riding all year around for ages 2.5 years - 99 years. During Camp they offer also Beginner Vaulting / Beginner Trick riding and for advanced Riders Trail rides through trails in their area, crafts, field activities, Ball games and more. Most important the freedom to run, romp and be young!