What are the opening hours?

Tuesday 9am - 6:30pm Wednesday 9am - 6:30pm Thursday 9am - 6:30pm Friday 9am - 6:30pm Saturday 9am - 6:30pm Sunday 9am - 6:30pm

Pony Paddock

Full Services equine facility. Offering Horseback Riding Lessons and Boarding

Pony Paddock is a full service equine facility offering boarding, training, lessons and summer camp for all ages.

05/28/2026

Summer schedule starts next week. Morning lessons Monday through Friday.

04/15/2026

Connecting the Dots: Lunging can be a Game-Changer for Riders
In the world of equestrian training, it’s easy to view lunging as just a way to "burn off steam" before a ride. But for a student, a lunge line can be so much more than a leash—it’s a high-definition classroom.
If you’ve ever felt like the concepts of contact, connection, and body language were a bit "foggy," lunging maybe the lightbulb moment you’ve been waiting for. Here’s why we believe every student should master the art of the lunging.

1. Making "Contact" Visible
One of the hardest things to learn in the saddle is what proper contact feels like. When you’re riding, you’re trying to feel something you can’t see. Lunging flips the script.

• The Visual Link: You can see the straightness of the lunge line. When the line is taut but steady, that is your visual "anchor." If the line is loose and sagging on the ground there is no contact.

• The Feel: Because you aren't worried about your seat, your diagonals, steering, your balance or 50 other things your instructor is yelling at you, you can focus entirely on the weight of the horse in your hand.

• The Softness: Seeing the line slacken or become rigid helps you realize just how subtle and soft your rein aids need to be to maintain a conversation rather than a tug-of-war.

2. A Masterclass in Body Language
Horses are masters of non-verbal communication, and lunging puts you under the microscope. It teaches you that intent follows energy.
Have you noticed how a single step toward the horse's hip can send them forward, while a step toward the shoulder can slow them down? Lunging forces students to become aware of their own body language. You learn that your shoulders, your hips, and even your gaze are aids. If you aren't clear with your body, the horse's response will reflex your body language. Just step infront of that shoulder and see what happens.

3. Visualizing "Back to Front" Connection
We hear it all the time: "Drive him from behind into the bit." But what does that actually look like?
On the lunge line, you have a front-row seat to the horse’s engine. You can clearly see the difference between:

• The "Plod": A horse moving flatly, dragging their toes, with no energy reaching the bridle. Without engagement, there is no "back to front", there is no long neck, there is no balance—the bridge is broken.

• The "Connection": When the hindquarters engage, the energy travels through the back and reaches the bit. It is easy to see. This connection is identical whether you are standing on the ground or sitting in the saddle. If the engine isn't running on the lunge, it won't be running when you are riding.

The Takeaway
Lunging isn't a chore; it's a diagnostic tool. It allows you to step back and witness the mechanics of riding from the outside in. By connecting the visual of the line, the feel in your hands, and the result of your body language, you become a more empathetic and effective rider.

03/26/2026

Taking the Reins: Self-awareness🐴✨️

In this final week of the series, we’re highlighting self-awareness. Participants shared how their horses helped them identify their strengths and weaknesses. They shared a positive mindset when describing their weaknesses as “something to work on” rather than flaws. They also reflected on how their horses helped them grow from their weaknesses and build on their strengths.

Check out their reflections below to hear about self-awareness in their own words!

Photo 1: “Me slowly tacking up Roomie.”

Photo 2: “My trainer was helping me practice balancing without stirrups. I’m good at cantering, but I need to keep my heels down.”

Photo 3: “Me and Dale rocking the dressage ring.”

Photo 4: “Kirby and I at a dressage show in April, about to begin a test.”

Photo 5: “Barry and I were going over a couple of jumps after we had a fall a couple days before, you can see me tense up in the middle of the jumps.”

Thanks for reading and sharing this series each week! I’m so grateful to everyone who has liked, commented, and helped spread the word. A special thank you to the participants for sharing their creativity and experiences, and to Molly for making this study possible. I’ve really appreciated the opportunity to take over the account and highlight this work. 💙🧡🐊

If you have any questions about this research or want to learn more, feel free to reach out!

PI: Caitlin Lunzmann

03/19/2026

Taking the Reins: Nonverbal Communication🐴✨️

This week, we’re highlighting nonverbal communication. Participants shared how they learned to feel what their horse was telling them through their movements. They also learned to use their bodies to communicate with horses without words.

Check out their reflections below to hear about nonverbal communication in their own words!

Photo 1: “A lot of horse riding is nonverbal communication. You use your arms and legs and body to tell the horse what you want him to do. Every horse is different, so you need to know your horse pretty well to ride him well.”

Photo 2: “This is a dressage lesson with Vespa, working on suppleness and lateral work at the trot.”

Photo 3: “Silently tacking up Roomie.”

Photo 4: “In the middle of the in and out, I tense my body to tell Percy to slow down a bit so we can make the jump instead of going too early or getting left behind on the jump.”

Photo 5: “Me and Strudel finishing up a great ride in the ring.”

PI: Caitlin Lunzmann

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03/12/2026

Taking the Reins: Sportsmanship🐴✨️

This week, we’re highlighting sportsmanship. Participants shared how they showed respect, kindness, and support for others, regardless of species. Even when competing with each other, they felt positive about their sportsmanship.

Check out their reflections below to hear about sportsmanship in their own words!

Photo 1: “This photo means a lot to me because it’s me laughing with my friends not worrying about the results of the show.”

Photo 2: “Percy and I showed sportsmanship by working together to get over a jump we both were hesitant on and achieving a common goal.”

Photo 3: “This picture was at a dressage show with Kirby. It was one of my first recognized shows and one of my first shows with Kirby.”

Photo 4: “When I go to a competition, sometimes there are other riders from my barn in competition with me. I always cheer in support of them and hope they do well. Even if it means they might beat me.”

Photo 5: “Hosing down Roomie.”

PI: Caitlin Lunzmann

03/05/2026

Taking the Reins: Partnership🐴✨️

This week, we’re highlighting partnership. Participants shared how being a good partner requires working well together through good communication and trust. They described how it required the horse doing what they asked, but also that their horse trusted them.

Check out their reflections below to hear about partnership in their own words!

Photo 1: “Percy and I showed partnership by working together to get over a in and out, Percy is known to stop, and I haven’t jumped in a while, but we worked together to achieve the goal of getting over the jumps.”

Photo 2: “Tacking up Roomie.”

Photo 3: “This pony had never jumped before, and I took him to the show, and he did everything I asked.”

Photo 4: “Having a good partnership with my horse Grady is important. We can run good, fast times or we can miss a jump and miss out on getting the blue ribbon. He likes to work hard and go fast and so do I. It makes us good partners.”

Photo 5: “This is from a dressage lesson on Kirby, working on being able to collect and extend his trot.”

PI: Caitlin Lunzmann

02/26/2026

Taking the Reins: Confidence 🐴✨️

This week, we’re highlighting confidence. Participants shared how their confidence is tied to achieving success with horses. They described how “horses gave them confidence” when they succeeded in achieving a new goal with a horse. They also wrote about how horses needed them to be confident in order for them to be successful.

Check out their reflections below to hear about confidence in their own words!

Photo 1: “This video was from the first time I’ve ever jumped 3’9”. It meant a lot because I hadn’t been able to jump over 3 feet in a long time.”

Photo 2: “I was doing cantering transitions, and I got my longest canter yet.”

Photo 3: “This is Harley and I schooling cross-country, which was a very fun experience and something I would love to do again.”

Photo 4: “This day I fell off when we refused an oxer on the practice jump for our jumping competition. In this picture we had just been disqualified for XC. He refused a jump. But we finished the course. We went back over to the jumping ring and did our course even though we were disqualified. I didn’t want to go home without having tried. He was just having a bad day. That happens sometimes. Confidence - being self assured in your own ability or qualities. I was not confident when I first jumped an oxer at my show and I fell off. So, I missed my jumping time. And went to my XC course. At my next lesson my trainer and I practiced oxers, and I kept trying until I was confident enough to jump oxers on my own.”

Photo 5: “This video shows Percy, a horse I’ve been helping learn to jump again. He’s known for stopping but he’s finally mustered up the confidence to jump over smaller jumps again.”

PI: Caitlin Lunzmann

02/19/2026

Taking the Reins: Adaptability 🐴✨️

This week, we’re highlighting adaptability. Participants shared how riding a new horse or facing unexpected challenges encourages them to adjust to what the horse needed, how they communicated, and find new solutions to problems.

Check out their reflections below to hear about adaptability in their own words!

Photo 1: "This was my first ride on Vespa. She was a very different ride to what I was used to, but I had a lot of fun."

Photo 2: "Adaptability - meaning to adjust to new conditions. I can definitely say I did a lot of adjusting when I started riding my pony, Grady. He likes to go fast, and I had to really think about everything my trainer taught me so I would not fall off when we were jumping. The first time I fell off of him I was not surprised. He is not very tall, so it didn’t hurt that much. But I learned from my mistake. We have been riding and jumping for a year, and I have only fallen off 5 times. I try to have 2 or 3 lessons with my trainer a week."

Photo 3: "Changing from Chippy the pony to my first time riding Jack the pony."

Photo 4: “Me and Buddy adapting to find our spots up to the jump.”

Photo 5: "Revenge was a one-eyed horse and needed some extra help and adaptability to be ridden and jumped."

PI: Caitlin Lunzmann

02/12/2026

Hi everyone! I’m Caitlin Lunzmann, an anthrozoologist at the University of Florida studying how youth horse experiences help shape leadership development.🐊

Over the next few weeks, I’m excited to be taking over Pony Paddock’s social media to share a special research project called “Taking the Reins.” This participatory arts-based project invited youth to capture photos and videos showing how interacting with horses helped them develop leadership skills, social skills, and emotional intelligence. Each post pairs their images with their own reflections on what they’ve learned.

Each week, we’ll highlight a different skill youth are building through their experiences with horses. Stay tuned — I can’t wait to share their stories with you! 🐴✨️

12/30/2025

15 year old pony mare looking for person. 13.2ish. Great ground manners, up to date on everything. Needs her own person as she is anxious with new riders. Not appropriate for lesson program. Great on trails, show miles in jumper ring, schooled cross country. Pm me for more information

Address

704 NW 202nd Street
Newberry, FL
32669

Opening Hours

Tuesday	9am - 6:30pm
Wednesday	9am - 6:30pm
Thursday	9am - 6:30pm
Friday	9am - 6:30pm
Saturday	9am - 6:30pm
Sunday	9am - 6:30pm

Telephone

+13868530615

Website

http://www.pony-paddock.com/

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