How to get started

• Please call us at 831.624.2756 to schedule a lesson. Our office is open seven days a week between the hours of 8:30am to 5:00pm PST. Lessons are available Tuesdays thru Sundays, year-round.

Meet our instructors

Jessica Fisher

Jessica started her riding career right here at Pebble Beach Equestrian Center when she was five years old. After high school, Jessica taught lessons at Hunter Hill Equestrian Center. She then went on to work as an assistant trainer to Dick Widger in Carmel Valley. Jessica has been teaching and training at PBEC for almost five years. She Jessica is known for her enthusiastic teaching style and great sense of humor. She owns a young warmblood mare named Kayla

Janet Garwood-Troutman

Janet certainly has some stories to tell about Pebble Beach! She has been riding, training and teaching here since the early 70’s. In 1972, she was the Combined Training Leading Rider of Area 6. Janet was long-listed for the U.S. Dressage Team in the mid 70’s. She teaches hunter/jumper lessons and is our dressage instructor. She owns an Andalusian named Segovia

Stormie Hale 

Stormie Hale grew up in the Carmel Valley and riding was a way of life in her family.  She enjoyed competing in her first horse show at age four and went on to compete successfully in dressage, hunters/ jumpers, 3-Day eventing and has played polo in over fifteen states becoming one of the top rated women players in the U.S, where she has held that rating for over fifteen years.  She has over twenty years of experience teaching hunter/jumpers, general riding, polo and coached the University of Southern California men's and women's polo teams for seven years. Her teaching style emphasizes communication between the rider and their horse. She has co-owned a riding and polo club and has also managed several polo programs including one at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. The Robb Report ranked her as one of the top five polo instructors in the world. Stormie resides in Pacific Grove, California with her husband Mike and two teenage daughters Victoria and Elizabeth.

About Our Lesson Program

Here at Pebble Beach our goal is to provide our students with a fun and safe learning experience that will nurture the joy of riding and the bond between human and horse. Through our lesson program we hope to offer our students lifetime skills and lasting memories by developing the individual talent, desire and goals each student possesses.  Below is a brief summary of our lesson program.  For more information on advancement requirements from level to level, please see your instructor.     

Beginner – “Shetland”:

Here at Pebble Beach, we start our beginner students out in western saddles developing their position and learning to guide the pony or horse. Next comes the posting trot on the correct diagonal, and how to sit and balance at the canter. When the instructor sees that the student has a sense of balance and has learned to steer safely around the ring in all three gaits, they are advanced to an English saddle. This is an exciting step, especially for the youngest students and their parents, who both enjoy a sense of accomplishment. Beginner English students will start with trotting over ground poles and move up to 1' cross poles and eventually progress to the canter. We encourage students and parents at this level to learn basic horsemanship skills so they can enjoy the experience together. Throughout the year we will host “play-days,” a fun introduction to horse shows, which all levels of riding can participate in. We also encourage our young students to attend our weekly day camps.  

Advanced Beginner  – “Welsh” and Intermediate – “Polo Pony”:

By now, all students are riding in English saddles.  Students should be working on their basic hunt seat position, especially strengthening their legs and seat. They should be developing confidence in riding a variety of horses, appropriate for their level, and will be taught the basics of good horsemanship. Flatwork will consist of walking, trotting and cantering exercises with and without stirrups. They learn to recognize leads and to use the correct aids to perform exercises such as large circles, change of reins, serpentines, half turns, turns on the forehand and backing their horses. They will work up to fences 1'6"- 2’6" in height, jumping approximately 2-5 fences at a time and working up to a short course.  Students are taught how to maintain an even rhythm, using their corners and to develop a “balanced seat.” All students learn how to properly saddle, bridle and groom before and after their ride. They also learn basic barn care and are encouraged to watch instructors treat minor ailments. While students progress at their own levels, by now they are all looking forward to attending schooling shows to test their skills in a fun and exciting setting. We strive to teach all students the aspects of good sportsmanship both in and out of the show ring. 

Advanced Intermediate – “Forest” and Advanced – “Collins”:

Students should have a balanced seat and be comfortable without stirrups on the flat and over fences. Students will advance to putting their horse on the bit, collecting and lengthening gaits, and practicing lateral bending exercises. They will be asked to do turns on the haunches, flat serpentines, leg yields and counter canter. Students will be instructed to learn and jump a course of 8-10 fences at a height of 2’9" to 3’6”, and up, judging their distances between fences. If interested, students will be encouraged to attend clinics and regular horse shows and should have the ability to competently saddle, bridle, groom and handle a horse. By now students will have ridden a variety of horses and may have their own horse or are planning to purchase or lease one. Students are encouraged to work with their instructor in planning and achieving their goals.

Whatever the students goals may be at any level, whether recreational or competitive, our goal is to help our student’s progress in partnership with school, family and friends in order to realize their riding dreams to the fullest.