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Tuesday 8am - 6pm Wednesday 8am - 6pm Thursday 8am - 6pm Friday 8am - 6pm Saturday 8am - 6pm

Great Scot Riding & Training

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Spotsylvania, VA
Great Scot Riding & Training

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Welcome to Great Scot Riding & Training where the focus is on the horse. I believe if the horse is the forefront of everything we do, we will get it right !

My passion is teaching and getting it right. When we know better, we do better. The horse knows! The main focus is mental coaching and goal setting. The sport of horseback riding is much like golf, it is very individual and is 80% mental. Though we are riding on a horse, the success achieved is not only on the skill of both horse and rider but on the focus that goes into the methods being learned. Whether for competition or for pleasure the joy and beauty that comes from this sport is truly what you as an individual puts into it. My greatest pleasure as a trainer and coach is watching many hours of hard work come forth from a cheek to cheek smile by achieving a canter for the first time or a first time ribbon won in the show ring. Elisabeth (Lisi) Swanson, Owner/Trainer I have grown up in the industry, working very hard to climb the ladder. I have been blessed beyond measure to have trained and shown under many great professionals, taking theories and methods that worked for me and carrying them into my own programs. I take great pride in my teaching and training to not only develop great riders, but in building students and horses that love what they do. Elisabeth (Lisi) Swanson, Owner/Trainer
I have grown up in the industry, working very hard to climb the ladder. I also am very close to earning my small “r” license to become a licensed judge. I feel this will make me more valuable to my students who are more serious about showing and being more competitive in the show ring. As much as I love the teaching and riding portion of my job, I find myself drawn to the horse/barn management side of my business. It is so rewarding to hear the nickers at feed time or the pawing when they know turnout time is near. It is humbling for me to have the privilege of being entrusted to care for my clients horses and keeping very high standards at Great Scot. As a business our number one goal is having happy horses.

10/31/2026

Your horse life is allowed to look different from someone else’s. ❤️

Some people have Grand Prix goals.

Some people have “I’d just like to walk around on my horse and enjoy the sunshine” goals.

Some people dream of breeding the next great sport horse, some want to jump bigger jumps, some want to explore trails, and some are perfectly content spending an afternoon grooming a horse they have no intention of riding.

And I think that’s wonderful.

I have some pretty ambitious goals for my own horses and my career. I love training, competing, and seeing just how far we might be able to go together.

But I don’t think that makes my version of loving horses any more meaningful than someone else’s.

I hope the person chasing a Grand Prix dream finds just as much joy in the pursuit as the person whose favorite part of the week is a leisurely walk around the farm.

I hope they’re both equally excited to pull into the barn driveway.

I hope they both go home smiling, thinking about how lucky they are to have horses in their lives.

And I hope neither feels the need to justify their version of happiness to the other.

Because at the end of the day, I don’t think the level of our ambition should determine the amount of joy we’re allowed to find in our horses.

As long as we’re being kind to them in the pursuit of what makes us happy, let’s not be terribly concerned with how differently that happiness might look from one person to the next.

There’s room for all of us to love horses in our own way.

*Cox Sport horses

10/29/2026

Capture this 🤣

10/26/2026

If you ride with me you know: Horse first. When we base everything around the horse other things we thought were important become so insignificant. Horses are such an amazing gift that are on loan to us. There is no room for pride or entitlement . In my years of doing this the horses have taught me to have no timeline. Each horse and each student learns and grows at their own pace. It's a long and beautiful, sometimes very emotional journey.

5 Things As a Horse Trainer I Will NOT Apologize For.

1. Putting the horse first.
Your goals, your timeline, and your ribbons will never be more important than the horse standing in front of me.

2. Telling you what you need to hear, not necessarily what you want to hear.
You pay me for my knowledge, experience, and professional opinion. Sometimes that means having uncomfortable conversations.

3. Expecting accountability.
Progress requires effort outside of your weekly lesson. You cannot expect extraordinary results from ordinary commitment.

4. Protecting my time.
My time, just like yours, has value. Boundaries, schedules, and policies aren’t personal. They’re part of running a professional business.

5. Refusing to rush the process.
Good horses aren’t made overnight. Neither are good riders. There are no shortcuts around patience, consistency, correct training, and putting in the work.

**From

10/18/2026

Our annual Harvest Party was in full swing this beautiful fall afternoon. Thank you all who came and participated 😍🥳 we ate lots of tacos and drank margaritas and were entertained by some fantastic costumes this year. It's important to me that I stop and play with my students and visit with the families that support these crazy horse people. Having genuine relationships makes for a strong program.

10/11/2026

We finished up our kind of non existent show season yesterday. I'm proud of my students for being patient through the process. When I moved here I honestly thought showing would be the easiest part. I now see I was VERY spoiled in California and my standards are much higher than I thought 😅 no but joking aside here's the 4-1-1 on showing with the "riding school" in mind. We bring school horses, who at most jump 2'3. So there are very few classes to put them in, I'm noticing. These horses carry up to three riders in one show sometimes so there are tack changes and rider changes. We are bringing MOSTLY beginner riders or riders learning all the in's and outs of showing and divisions and points along with their parents. So I'm looking for friendly staff to be patient when parents come into the office, I'm looking for friendly gate people who can talk us through the system of warm-ups at these shows , for any "new" people they should always feel welcome, not feel like we are interrupting something that has been run one way for this long.... I'm looking to be directed to parking and restrooms and office. That hasn't been the case at many of these shows. Sadly. But this year some stood out, Julie Sullivan Leitch is so so friendly and informative in her office. Tamara Tucker very communicative and running beautiful decor and welcoming vibes with Newmarket show. VRSVA and Holly Uhler getting their jumper series going ,very friendly and organized, great restrooms! These are important to me. If I'm going to bring eight, nine ,ten, fifteen students and multiple horses. If I'm going to go to a show instead of stay home and teach eight lessons, I want the day to be worth giving up those lessons for. I can't tell you how many hours we sat watching a ring shut down for ONE Rider to jump a certain height or a ring to come to a complete stop because ONE trainer had a student who hadn't learned their course yet. When you allow it, it becomes normal behavior. I come from the shows that say we start at 8 am NO MATTER WHAT and we end at 3pm or earlier NO MATTER WHAT. And you put a team together and have barns that have this same mindset come 🫴 it's possible, I did it for over 20 years before I moved here. At the end of the day showing should be about supporting each other as trainers, as parents, as riders, as lovers of horses. At the end of the day we should be excited for the next show to see all the improvements and new rides coming into the ring.

10/09/2026

Some food for thought for my students. I know you are all grateful for the unicorns and I've worked hard in my career to collect ones for every level and every season but at the end of the day A HORSE IS A HORSE IS A HORSE. There is no magical carpet in this sport. Unless you put the work in and you love the horse and the journey you will never understand why you "aren't getting it" and everyone's IT is different. It absolutely takes a lifetime to master the trust of a thousand pound animal to a jump, around a course, into an unknown show ring, out in the woods, through a creek, into a trailer....

Horses need horsemen. It's that simple. I get asked the same questions over and over again and nobody gets it. What level rider is this horse suitable for? I'll tell you, the best one she can get, the best horseman that's willing to buy her. The horse will only ever be as good as the rider. It doesn't matter if it's trained to jump hoops of fire, you're gonna bring it down to your level in no time. Your kid doesn't need a $15,000 horse if they haven't already had $15,000 worth of lessons. You can't buy a violin that will gift you the skill of playing. It's the same for horses. There is no magic horse, only a love for the animal, and a commitment to learning.

Most of you are so unfair and demanding of the horse you miss the forest for the trees. "I want a horse that rides out alone!!" well guess what, you better be ready to spend a year developing that relationship, that bond, that trust, she's not a bike, you can't buy trust.

"I want a horse that can sit and be the same after time off" well friend, this is a commitment to a relationship, not a classic car you take out of the garage twice a year. You can't buy what your looking for.

"I want a horse my kids can ride" you better be ready to teach your kids how to be horseman, because if the horse has to do it, you'll likely see the inside of an ambulance, or a morgue.

You can't buy trust, you cannot buy what comes with building a relationship with an animal over years of dedication.

(Shared from Brittnee Woodward-Whitehead)

10/05/2026

One thing about me is when I make a commitment I very much keep it, I wanted to support this new series and they only run two shows a year so when the weather forecast showed not ideal reports I had to say well here we go. We will show up even if that means rain and muck and horses
I'm SO PROUD OF THIS GROUP. They showed up ready for the assignment. We had a few hiccups but we mostly had a good time. After doing this for almost thirty years now I thought I was done playing in the rain 🌧️ but it's Virginia 😂 I'm sure there may be another ( I mostly only show when it's lovely out because well I'm old and I can ) but now we know it's not our favorite but we didn't die.

09/27/2026

Introducing new unicorn 🦄🦄. Miss Dottie found her way to Great Scot via one of my students who's always looking for me and I'm always saying no 🙂‍↔️ but once I met this one and watched her go around I said ok let's give it a go ! She fits right into the fleet with manners and grace and style points to boot. She's a very lovely mover for being an Appaloosa AND she has a tail ha ha. Her only fault is she's not a bay 😆😆 but everyone is enjoying a new color out in the pastures
We thank the Zambri family for sharing her. Welcome Dottie I hope you enjoy yourself here.

Address

8736 Lawyers Road
Spotsylvania, VA
22551

Opening Hours

Tuesday	8am - 6pm
Wednesday	8am - 6pm
Thursday	8am - 6pm
Friday	8am - 6pm
Saturday	8am - 6pm

Telephone

+19517751197

Website

http://www.greatscotriding.com/

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