Our Story
Wellspring Riding Academy was established in 2004 and is now permanently located at Skyview Farm in Kankakee, IL. Kim Selby is the trainer and has a lifetime of experience in breeding, breaking/training, and showing Quarter Horses on the AQHA circuits in western pleasure, hunter under saddle, trail, western riding, pleasure driving, working hunter/hunter hack, horsemanship, equitation and showmanship. She has competed at AQHA shows all over the Midwest and beyond, including the Quarter Horse Congress, World Show, and various futurities such as Tom Powers and Whistle Stop. Her riders have won numerous ribbons, circuit and year end awards in youth and amateur events. Since 2001 her focus has been on hunters and jumpers. Her horses and show team compete at "A" & "B" circuit shows and local schooling shows. In addition, her middle school and high school students compete during the school year at Interscholastic Equestrian Association shows on her Hunt Seat Team (Wellspring Equestrian Team). In 2017, two of her students qualified for regional finals. Kim has also competed in the Retired Racehorse Thoroughbred Makeover in 2016, 2017 and 2018. She will be competing in 2019 and the future. She has gotten very involved with retraining off track thoroughbreds (OTTBs) and has been affiliated with Galloping Out Thoroughbred Aftercare Program in Chicago for many years, retraining and re-homing OTTBs from this program. Kim is a very well-rounded horse person having also competed in team penning, reining, and barrel racing. In addition she drove horse drawn carriages in downtown Chicago for 3 years to pay her way thru college, working primarily with draft horses. Kim is a graduate of Illinois State University with a major in Political Science and minor in Economics and has 12 + years of corporate experience in the insurance industry. While working in the corporate world, Kim continued to train and show horses, teach lessons, judge local open and 4-H shows, and give horsemanship clinics. Working in the corporate world helped develop Kim’s strong sense of customer service and attention to detail. In 1998 Kim quit the corporate world to pursue her horse business full-time. Wellspring Riding Academy was eventually developed in 2004 to offer quality, positive instruction to her students and horses. Kim has developed a philosophy of balanced riding and a more natural approach to connecting and communicating with your horse. "Ask, don't tell; soft, but firm; repetition, persistency, consistency." "God gave me a gift with people and horses. It's my goal in life to be a positive influence on the lives of the people and horses I meet."
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the Wellspring of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)
