A horse of your own is how your riding steps up a gear — and it’s how you get in to training with Kim. There’s no set order to it: buy now, take a full lease, or ease in with a half-lease on one of our lesson horses. Whatever fits you, Kim helps you weigh it and find the right horse for your level and your goals. You’re never sorting it out alone.
Owning a horse is a wonderful thing — and buying isn’t something you have to earn your way up to. If you’re ready for a horse of your own, you can go straight there; leasing is not a prerequisite. And if you’d rather ease in first, that’s exactly what leasing is for — a way to get more saddle time and find out what having “your” horse really feels like, the riding and the caretaking both, before you buy. Neither one is the “right” way. The right way is whichever one fits where you are.
Whichever you choose, it happens in-barn, on horses we know, with a coach who knows you. Ease in with a short-term half-lease on one of our lesson horses, take on a full lease, or buy a horse of your own outright — with Kim helping you decide which is right for you — while you board and train right here whatever you decide. It links the Lesson Horse Program to the Show Team, and you get on at whatever point fits you.
A half-lease is the in-barn step between lessons and a horse of your own. You share one of our lesson horses — set riding days that are yours each week — so you get more saddle time, ride between lessons, and start to build the bond and the caretaking that come with “your” horse, without the full cost or commitment of owning one.
Half-leases are offered based on your level and what’s available — the right horse, matched to where your riding is. Kim looks at how you’re riding and which of our horses is a good fit, and sets it up from there. It’s the natural way to do more between lessons and start getting out to shows — the Novice Rider Circuit is built for the lesson kids taking their first steps, while Kim’s half-lease riders get out to the bigger shows — and it’s a short-term stepping stone by design: our lesson horses are needed for the program, so a half-lease isn’t something you hold onto indefinitely — it’s a way to get more saddle time and find out whether you’re ready for a horse of your own, a full lease or one you buy.
Here’s the part that doesn’t show up on a price list. In the Lesson Horse Program you learn to ride, and you learn it properly — but you rarely get to ride with Kim. Her coaching is built around a rider with a horse to work on, week over week. A half-lease is the door into it, and a full lease or a horse of your own opens it the rest of the way.
That’s the point where the whole thing changes. The emphasis changes, the dedication changes, responsibility takes over — and goals start getting met instead of just talked about. Instead of dreaming about where you want to end up, you start on the path there.
It’s also how riders reach the Show Team. Almost nobody steps there straight from the lesson ring — they get there on a lease or a horse of their own, with Kim coaching them up to it. If the Show Team is where you’re headed, this is the rung that takes you.
These aren’t rungs you climb in order. Some riders ease in with a short-term half-lease, some take a full lease, and some go straight to buying a horse of their own — you don’t have to lease before you buy. Kim helps you decide which is the best option for you.
Half-lease, full lease and purchase terms are worked out one-on-one with Kim — they depend on the horse, your level and what’s available, so the honest answer is a conversation, not a price tag.
The wrong horse can set a rider back years; the right one changes everything. When it’s time to lease in or buy, Kim helps you find a horse that actually fits — your level, your riding, and where you want to go.
The horse is only half of it; where it lives and who coaches it is the other half. Whatever you lease or buy, it comes home to a full-service hunter/jumper barn: a heated stall, a heated 80×180 indoor arena, a full outdoor sand arena, a grass jumper ring for summer schooling, daily turnout, and Kim’s coaching on tap. From your first ride on your own horse to your first season showing it, the barn and the coach never change — the horse is yours now, wherever you take it from here.
There’s no online form and no pressure — leasing or buying starts with a talk with Kim about your riding, your goals and your budget. She’ll tell you honestly which step you’re ready for — a half-lease on one of our lesson horses, a full lease, or looking for one to buy — and what it looks like from there. If you already ride at MC, she likely has a horse in mind before you finish the sentence.
Questions about leasing or buying? Email showteam@mcequestrian.com or call the barn at (403) 932-3341 — it’s a landline, so please call rather than text. We try to respond within 24 hours.
Whether that’s a short-term half-lease on a lesson horse, a full lease of your own, or a horse you buy outright, there’s no set order and no wrong place to start — the next step is the same: tell Kim where you’re at. She’ll help you find the option that fits you, then coach you the whole way. Instead of dreaming about your goals, you’ll be on the path to them.
