Afton Stables

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Afton, VA
Afton Stables

Full service Dressage Facility. Training, Coaching and Boarding available. Open for trailer in lessons now.

06/16/2026

FOMO -
“Fear Of Missing Out”. We’ve all felt it. I have been worrying that I’ll be feeling it acutely this weekend in Culpeper.

The Afton Stables show season is off to a late start due to Deep Run rescheduling, and I had high hopes for HITS. However, during this time we have discovered that the left side of 🐴Yunque’s castration scar needs repair, so I won’t push him through a test until that’s fixed… Even though he’s going ✨better than ever✨ the pain still bothers him in his right lead. Eoghain🦄 has developed seasonal heaves, and doesn’t need to go do a test while he can’t catch his breath.

I’m still going to coach my wonderful students, but I know I’ll miss going down centerline myself (selfishly). So I’m planning to use this as an opportunity to be inspired, and slow down. Without the pressure of riding I can really watch other riders I admire and learn from them. For so long I’ve pushed my horses to get ready to show, because I’ve been blessed to have something to ride for so many years with Afton Stables. But showing isn’t the be-all end-all for my program, so I have to practice what I preach and slow down and make the right choice for my mounts.

I know for sure I’ll enjoy the company of our team while I focus on coaching, and making it a fun experience for
everyone… and of course tacos 🌮👌🏻 📸 TERRI ISENHOUR

06/05/2026

✨One of those magical days on the farm that makes up for the winter cold and the coming summer heat 🌿

Wildflowers are blooming, our bees are making honey, the woods are lovely, and everywhere we look around here we see beauty. We hope that you are able to get out in nature and enjoy this early summer magic as well ⛰️🦄.

06/01/2026

📣🎉🥳 The The Dressage Foundation Century Club recognizes dressage riders and horses in the United States whose combined ages total 100 years or more. Horse and rider perform a test of any level and are scored by a dressage judge. Afton Stables is proud to present the newest members, Marti Szczur and Toby!!!!

Thank you Nancy Lowey for judging, Barbara Greber for scribing, and everyone who came out to celebrate Marti and Toby. The entire Afton Stables family is inspired by their journey and partnership.

05/30/2026

Afton Stables is beyond happy to host Marti and Toby for their The Dressage Foundation Century Ride!!

Dressage is the sport of a lifetime. To celebrate this, the United States Dressage Foundation has created a special club for riders and horses whose combined age is 100 or greater. Horse and rider pairs must complete a test scored by a judge to join this elite group. This weekend, we will host Marti and Toby‘s evaluation, and celebrate their lifetime together.

05/21/2026

and Nino 🦄 have come so far together this spring ✨

They are comfortable and confident with each other, which makes all the difference. This kind of companionship is hard to find, and they are lucky to have each other 💗 Also, how much do we love Lusitano’s you guys???

05/19/2026

Just like human athletes, performance horses can be left feeling chronically sore due to the cumulative effects of aging, previous injuries, and the wear and tear associated with doing their jobs. Fortunately, when it comes to mitigating chronic discomfort in the equine athlete, a modern-day veterinarian has many more tools in her arsenal beyond “take two grams of bute and call me in the morning.”

Today, keeping equine athletes feeling their best is generally the result of an approach that combines pharmaceutical, therapeutic, rehabilitative, and complementary modalities.

Read on at the link in our comments — available with a COTH subscription.

📸 Arnd Bronkhorst/Arnd.nl

05/16/2026

💙We are so proud of and her beautiful mare, Freyja 🐴. They competed yesterday and won their First Level class. Freyja handled shipping in and out like a seasoned pro, and showed us that she is more than capable of working off the trailer at a big event. Chelsea rode accurately and elegantly. We are excited to be part of this pair’s journey, and can’t wait to see how far they go…

05/08/2026

Anesia and her thoroughbred Benny, at their boarding barn .equine 👌🏻✨🐎

We are so lucky to have Anesia on our team! She is particularly talented with sensitive horses (like Benny) and young horses. She is available for lessons and training rides

05/06/2026

“Feel” is a small word with big meaning in dressage. Riders go from being told how to execute a particular movement to feeling it for themselves. I’m lucky enough as a coach to watch riders develop a sense of feel as adults. I caveat “as adults” because it is different for children, whose maleable brains are used to trying and failing. When we learn new things as adults, we experience the discomfort of failure or confusion more deeply than we do as children.

There are a few funny reels going around of women watching their male partners learn how to ride and getting the “ick”… IYKYK. As adults, none of us want to look icky. Especially us women, who want to channel our inner DQ and gracefully and effortlessly dance with our horses. There is no way to develop that feel without failing. As children we can swallow our pride and push through till we get it. But as adults, well we just have to live with it long enough till it feels good.

Everytime you learn a new technique or ride a new horse you will fail. I fail every day with Yunque. He makes me feel like I’ve never met a horse before, but I absolutely love the moments when we can dance together, and it’s worth all the pain required for growth as a rider.

If I could say one thing to adults learning dressage, it’s that you can’t be afraid to fail or to flail or to feel icky. If you surround yourself with the right people you will all laugh at yourselves together when you get it wrong, and cheer for each other when you get it right.

Address

7451 Dick Woods Road
Afton, VA
22920

Telephone

+12027705697

Website

http://www.aftonstables.com/

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