Fundraising
Other fundraisers have included a used tack sale in conjunction with our horse shows and OperaCadabra, a magic-variety show produced by internationally known magician David Williamson, a local resident.
Thanks to the generous receipt of grants, private donations, and fundraisers, the Riding Centre has been able to upgrade its facilities, build outdoor shelters for our school horses, buy new equipment, improve our outdoor riding ring, install a new SureHands lift to aid therapeutic riders, and start an endowment fund.
If you would like to make a donation, you may send us a check or money order or use the convenience of Paypal. All donations are tax deductible!
Membership and Prices
Riders who are not members of the Riding Centre but who wish to use the riding facilities on their own horses may purchase one-day membership passes for $10 per day and must fill out a liability release form. Please contact us for more information.
Become A Member
Supporting Membership:
Lifetime $500
Corporate $1,000/year
Blue Ribbon $200/year
Supporting $25/year
Riding Membership:
Family $100/year
Individual $75/year
“MARY ANN’S FUND” TO BENEFIT RIDING CENTRE
Mary Ann and Little Farm’s Herman, circa 1993
To honor the life of former village resident Mary Ann Alexander, a fund to benefit young equine enthusiasts has been set up at the Yellow Springs Community Credit Union. The purpose of the fund is to assist budding equestrians, who may otherwise not be able to afford it, in starting or continuing riding lessons and coaching sessions from the capable staff at The Riding Centre.
Mary Ann, the daughter of Roberta, Jim and Virginia Alexander, had a life-long passion for all creatures, but in particular for horses. She began riding lessons at The Riding Centre under the watchful eye of Louise Solberg in the early 1960’s at the age of 8 or 9. By the time she was a pre-teen, she had her own horse “Colt,” who was the mother of “Billy,” one of The Riding Centre’s long-time lesson horses and a student favorite. In young adulthood Mary Ann worked for many equine facilities in the area, including Whitehall Farm, Gayhart Farm, Bill and Elaine Brown’s stable, Glenview Farm and the former Windy Knoll Farm. Her calm and quiet demeanor as well as her meticulous record-keeping and keen eye ensured that any horse in her guardianship would get the best possible care and attention it deserved.
Mary Ann left the Yellow Springs in the early 1990’s, heading to the Millbrook, New York area, once again to pursue work with horses. Millbrook is well known as a “horsey” community with many prominent dressage and hunter-jumper farms, and Mary Ann and her friend Trish Helmer quickly fit in and made many new friends. They even traveled with a client’s horses to Holland for several months, of course taking Mary Ann’s beloved German Shepherd Mikey with them in their adventures overseas.
Mary Ann’s life was tragically cut short by illness in January of 2001. Her many friends in Yellow Springs and Millbrook would like to honor her life by setting up a benefit fund that will hopefully impact many young area horse lovers as they begin and hone their riding skills as Mary Ann did 40-some years ago, at The Riding Centre in Yellow Springs, Ohio.
Donations may be sent by check, made out and sent directly to The Riding Centre, 1117 E. Hyde Road, Yellow Springs, Ohio 45387. Please add a note to designate the donation “for Mary Ann’s Fund.” All donations are tax-deductible and a receipt will be sent to the donor.
For information or comments, please contact Lynda Hardman at (937)323-3234.
Donors
We’d like to express our deepest gratitude to the following foundations and service organizations for their kind and generous support over the years:
The Turner Foundation •The Springfield Foundation •The Springfield Rotary Club• The Yellow Springs Community Council (United Way)• The Yellow Springs Community Foundation •The Yellow Springs Instrument Foundation• The Tack Trunk •The Tacky Horse