VTR SportHorses LLC

Home
United States
Opelika, AL
VTR SportHorses LLC

Public lesson program for all skill levels. Located in Opelika, AL just 15 min to downtown Auburn.

Our program is focused around building a strong foundation for the horse and rider that can be carried over into any discipline.

11/01/2025

Too beautiful a day not to ride after teaching lessons today. I picked a Mickey ride. Always a good choice ❤️

10/31/2025

What Revvy and I used to do vs what we currently do 😅 Both are good for the soul. He’s my buddy-always ❤️

10/27/2025

2026 Lesson Program Guides/Liability Forms will be available in the green binder in the window sill of the tack room starting Nov. 1st.

Several policies regarding lesson scheduling/cancellations have been updated and a few other important changes/updates.

Please have these signed and returned to me before your first lesson in 2026. As always, please reach out with any questions.

Reminder- NO LESSONS Nov 11th-Nov 30th

10/08/2025

I am so pleased with my little Mickey lately ❤️ He’s always been an uncomplicated young pony but this semester I decided to keep my more advanced petite college girls on him for lessons and prioritize his rides with me a lot more. I had a fabulous ride on him this past weekend. Today was his first lesson of the week with .mcneill He was so open in his stride and taking the contact nicely. If I’m lucky enough to have a kid of my own that wants to ride in the future this one will be their pony 🥰

10/05/2025

Teaching Horses Emotional Control

In horse training, it’s not our job to protect a horse from ever feeling pressure, stress, or emotion, it’s our job to help them learn how to handle it.

A horse, just like us, is going to experience moments where emotions rise. They’ll feel uncertain, frustrated, worried, or even scared. If we never expose them to pressure and never give them the tools to work through it, then when life inevitably presents those moments, they won’t know what to do.

Our role as trainers is to guide them through emotion, not erase it. That means:
- Teaching them ways to dissipate their energy in a safe and productive way.
- Helping them learn to regulate when pressure shows up.
- Allowing them to feel, but showing them how to respond instead of react.

Avoiding pressure doesn’t build resilience, it builds fragility. Purposefully introducing challenges, and then helping a horse find release and peace on the other side, creates confidence.

The same is true for people: growth doesn’t come from avoiding what makes us uncomfortable. It comes from learning how to breathe, focus, and find balance when life gets loud.

09/30/2025

This is a tough announcement for me to make. My precious Louie is officially retired as of today. His performance as a lesson horse has been consistently positive. However, he has had Cushings for a while now and at 20 yrs old I am realizing that regardless of how healthy he looks- his body told me yesterday that he’s done. I watched him have a minor stroke out in the pasture yesterday evening. It was extremely sudden and there were no signs leading up to the event. This was a first for me but when I saw it happen I knew in my gut something wasn’t right. Of course I didn’t sleep checking on him twice throughout the night. This morning he’s seemingly normal, which I am so thankful for, but I am not gonna ask him to work anymore. He’s more than earned his retirement. I knew one day his body would give out before his mind. I’m not sure how much more time I’ll have with him but I know many of my students will be heartbroken to hear this news as he is one of my best schoolmaster horses. I am so grateful for having the opportunity to become his mom later in his life, for the rider and horse mom he made me and for his company and spirit that kept me going in some very hard times of my life. He will 100% remain spoiled and live out the rest of his days with me. Thank you for everything Lou Lou ❤️

09/21/2025

Thrilled that Cosmo is finally feeling strong and comfortable again 💪🏻 In March I was hauling him home from my trainer in Birmingham when someone pulled out from the highway median to cross over both lanes of traffic onto a side road. I’ve, thankfully, never been in a car accident up until this day and it was a scary experience for me as I had absolutely no control over the situation. This driver crossed the highway right as myself and the car in the left lane were about to pass the median. I had absolutely no warning and no time to avoid hitting him. My sweet Cosi was lame for a couple weeks after the incident. When I did bring him back into work he just felt tight and not fully himself. Though my vet cleared him for work a month after the accident- I felt he needed the summer to have some TLC. These past 3 weeks he has clearly shown me he’s ready to get back at it and now I regret not committing to my gym time this past month 😅 I feel very grateful he and I weren’t injured worse. Now I gotta work on myself so I can “keep up”

09/19/2025

My and Lou used to have a lot of fun together ❤️💪🏻

09/17/2025

For the month of November there will be no lessons Nov 11th-Nov 25th. I will be out of town for my wedding and honeymoon.

If you have a recurring lesson scheduled during this time you will need to reschedule for the following dates. I have opened these dates up on my booking site.

Sunday Nov. 2nd
Sunday Nov. 9th
Wednesday Nov. 26th
Sunday Nov. 30th

I’ll send this information out individually when I invoice for October. This info will also be on the white board in the barn.

09/06/2025

.kolvites aboard my boy Cosmo. This was her first time on him and I could tell she was in heaven. They were a great pairing. He really enjoyed her. Blessed to experience a horse as phenomenal as he is ❤️

08/29/2025

Reminder for those who have signed up for recurring weekly lesson slots.

Please give me at least a couple weeks notice if you will be out of town/need to cancel lessons towards the next month. I am no longer saving spots for those who wait to tell me the day invoices are sent out or payments are due.

To secure your recurring lesson spot payment is required on the 1st each month regardless of vacation time etc. I offer plenty of opportunities to reschedule. If for some reason you don’t want this option, that’s fine, but you will be removed from your recurring spot and you will need to book your lessons each week and pay when you book.

This is all laid out on the lesson program guide but with all the new students this year, and a current waitlist, I wanted to clarify the requirments for those who commit to a weekly slot.

Please reach out with any questions. Thank you!

- Vanessa

08/10/2025

Rev and I had a fabulous lesson with Zachary Brandt at Bright Farms this morning! Thankful my friend was here to video. Looking forward to working on our new homework 💪🏻

Address

Opelika, AL
36804

Telephone

+13347505933

Website

http://vtrsporthorses.com/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAabC8_v3_yrcUa-QxLM1WubhMv8Vrvei01r8-RN6czqux7EToRKLuq-GZGk_aem_ATUj

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when VTR SportHorses LLC posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to VTR SportHorses LLC:

Shortcuts

Want your business to be the top-listed Pet Store/pet Service in Opelika?