If Only Farm Equestrian Center Review

I have been riding at this farm for 7 years now. The care of the horses is impeccable and the facilities are one of a kind in this area. I m always comfortable leaving my horses for a few days, knowing that they will be well cared for. There are many options when asking about lessons, from equitation to jumpers, even to dressage, I am confident that I will learn something new each time I take a lesson.

I began riding at this equine facility this January. I am an adult rider who had only participated in the equine sport world for a few months prior. I arrived at Sue Lowe's facility with a lot of fears and anxiety about riding due to an accident/injury that took place at another facility in October. "If Only" was my last resort before I made the decision to quit riding all together. However, with Sue as my trainer I was able to minimize these fears and start to advance my riding again. Sue provided me with a safe lesson equine partner who was patient, and would provide me opportunities to learn without fear for my safety. Since arriving here, I am now jumping verticals at 2'' (I wasn't doing any jumping prior), I've trained on cross country jumps, I have competed in my first horse show placing well and I have started to rebuild my confidence. Sue helped me achieve my goals and is helping me learn a vast amount about the equine world. I cannot began to thank her enough for all the hard work she has put into my riding. It is because of her I am still in this sport today.

In addition to Sue, there are also several others fantastic trainers to take your riding to the next level at this facility. I have also had the privilege of riding with Audra (Ithaca College Equestrian Coach). Audra, is also extremely knowledgeable and helps her riders learn a lot and preform well through her instruction.

The facility is home to the IC Equestrian Team and the Cornell Dressage team. Therefore, if you are a rider looking to gain a competitive edge, this facility is well versed in competition and the skills you will need to preform well.

Lastly, this facility contains everything you will need to advance your riding and achieve your goals. The facility contains two indoor arenas, two outdoor arenas, jumps in both locations, cross country course, trails and plenty of room for the equine companions to graze, run and play. The horses are extremely well cared for, you never leave worrying about the care of your riding partner or personal horse. The barn is very well organized and easy to navigate. There are several rooms to hold your tack supplies and everyone is very friendly, welcoming and knowledgeable if you have questions. I would highly recommend "If Only" as a location to board and/or advance your riding skills under the instruction of well versed educators. If you have the passion and work ethic to achieve your goals, this is the equine facility to be at.

I have been involved with this wonderful place since I moved to Ithaca in 1994 to go to vet school. My son, a second grader, loved his riding lessons at If Only Farm, and we were always welcomed with open arms to the many wonderful events. Years later I brought my beloved Connemara pony to the farm to board, and she was well cared for until I brought her home for retirement at age 30. I continue to ride there twice a week, and the excellent instruction there continues to improve my riding skills. If Only Farm is a very special place where lifelong friendships are formed and forged.

I wish I could leave ZERO star instead of one! All in all, PLEASE DONT SEND YOUR KIDS FOR HORSE RIDING CLASSES WITH THEM, AT LEAST NOT FOR Sue, the owner!! She is the meanest human being I have ever seen...She does not care about the kids and kids' safety...All she cares is money!!
My 9-year-old daughter always begged me to sign her up for horsing riding ....So I set up a 10-class package with Sue...The first two classes were OK ...But I was surprised that Sue did not really teach her all the safety issues and Sue was always late for classes at least for 20 mins even though her house is just on the farm...
Then came the disasters! During the third class,suddenly the horse jump the hurdle and my daughter fell off the horse the next second ... Sue accused my dd for the jumping as she said my dd pointed to the hurdle...Sue insisted that my daughter continue with the class...I am shocked as I could see my daughter was physically and emotionally devastated...But I did not say anything...I can see my daughter was really scared ...
I texted Sue after class and she said she will give her a shorter horse...And on the fourth class, my daughter was really tense sitting on the horse...Then the horse stopped suddenly during the running and she screamed and fell of the horse AGAIN! My heart almost stopped!!! Luckily she was not terribly hurt...
I texted Sue again expressing my concern regarding my daughter's falling off the horse twice in a roll...I began to feel very uncomfortable as Sue 's classes did not have a step to step structure and I can see that there is very few procures for the kids safety ...Especially when emergency happened, my daughter did not know how to react at all...But both times Sue accused my daughter doing something wrong and I told her that my daughter was just a beginner and that is why we came to take her classes...Safety is always the priority...She said she will give my daughter another horse in her next class...
Before my daughter's 5th class, I got a chance to talk with someone working in Equestrian store and I was told that some accidents happened before due to her poor judgement...This double confirmed my concerns...So I texted Sue telling her that we would like to postpone the class and would like to see whether we can work with other instructor...Sue was not happy and insist that we come for 5th class, otherwise we will still be charged...
when we were at the farm I told her all my concerns...She denied it saying it was all my daughter's fault in front of my daughter and other people...She was rude and very disrespectful...I told her that we did not want to have her class and we would like a refund ...Then she said she will start slowly just as the beginning with my daughter and she will try to see whether or not other instructor has availability for us but they are all busy... Since Sue already took the horse out of the stable, I decided to continue just one more class...That proved to be such a bad decision!
My daughter has another new horse and her body was really rigid on the horse back but she tried best to do what she was told...Then again suddenly the horsed stopped during a run, and all I saw was my daughter was thrown out of the horse and she flipped then was thrown like a broken baby doll on the wall of the ring then she fell on the floor...I screamed and run to her...She was terribly hurt, with bruised on my eye brow and face, she was shivering and crying on the dirt floor...What shocked me even more was that Sue told us when my daughter was still lying on the floor crying that my daughter should not do horse riding again as she just cannot do it!! I was super mad and told her to stop...I told her that we have to take my daughter to emergency immediately and Sue said there was no need for bringing my daughter to the emergency at all!!!
It has been almost 3 weeks since it happened. Luckily my daughter was Ok and her bruised all recovered...But she refused to do horse riding again and she said she is very scared and she probably could not do it for her life...

I started at Cornell in 2014 and wasn t lucky enough to bring my horse with me. From the get go, everyone was very welcoming and always willing to help. Having grown up all my life s in Puerto Rico I was not accustomed to the harsh winters. Audra and Sue have always had a guiding hand to help us understand what our horses would need. I have always felt confident leaving my horse for winters alone since they receive top-tier care. Additionally, my horse had surgery twice while bording here and each time the medical care he had received at the barn is top-notch. If Only always has the best interest of horse and rider in mind.

Posting this as a professional in the horse industry. Do not waste your time and money here.

Signed up for lessons after hearing some positives.
Thought they must be good if there is affiliation with Ithaca College Equestrian Team and Cornell. I sincerely hope that IC and Cornell will reconsider collaborating with this horse stable in future years.

Some positive...
It s a nice location. The site and barns are maintained and clean and the horses we came across appeared well cared for and mostly well trained. Most other riders we came across were friendly but not overly welcoming or helpful.

Negative...
Steer clear of this place for kids riding lessons. The owner/instructor, Sue, arrived late to lessons. She lives on site. During the majority of the lesson time while tacking up the horse, she was having in depth conversation with almost everyone around and not focusing on teaching. This took up teaching opportunities and riding time. This was well beyond making small talk!

Appreciate that they teach riders how to tack up and tack down horses though there was little teaching or concern for safety around the horses. For example, the proper way to walk around the horse was not addressed. Even if you think your horses/ponies are spook proof this is critical to teach riders.
Sue s expectations of children came across as too high and there seems to be a lack of understanding of child development as well as a lack of patience while teaching kids lessons.
She carelessly taught a child, accelerating and pushing them to a riding level they were not yet ready for, skipping many critical steps in between. Missing teaching opportunities along the way and not picking up on ways to correct and educate the rider on the reason they were struggling with the horse. It was a simple skill to work on.
Instructor needs awareness and reflection on her teaching methodology and to be more creative! If a child is not listening, it s on the instructor to be creative and assess their teaching methods. It s not always just the riders fault.
Self reflection is critical!

Lastly, and most concerning, it was credibly reported that Sue used a horse crop on a child when the child was not listening to her.

I m sure there are some excellent riding stables for children in and around Tompkins County, this is not one of them. Don t waste your time or money.

I loved my classes with Sue. I used to ride horses as a teenager. I had planned a week long horse riding trip to the Rockies this past summer and needed a refresher course. She answered me right away, was flexible in her scheduling and gave me great classes. She is a great teacher, and I was well prepared. I have since heard from friends, that their kids took lessons from her and loved them. It's a great place. I recommend her highly. I didn't even smell of horses when I came home. I guess that means the barn was clean. I always remembered a strong horse smell after riding, when I was a kid. LOL.