Mission Bend, TX Outdoor Activities

Steve and May Chadick both grew up surrounded by American saddlebred horses, making their rounds as competitors in the southwest circuit before becoming trainers as adults. The pair channels more than 50 years of equine expertise into Vantage Point Farm. They and their highly trained staff devote themselves to priming green riders and steeds for recreational trots around arenas as well as struts in front of show judges. Riding instructor Amy Wagoner Cain, a pupil of nationally renowned teacher Dorothy Dukes Ford, leads lessons for equestrians aged 5 or older. Amy helps novice riders to mount gentle, reliable horses and progress from private sessions to group instruction, and her more seasoned students canter atop less compliant steeds.

At day camps held during winter and summer breaks, kids enjoy daily rides and tackle responsibilities in the barn including grooming and tacking. Overnight camps for advanced riders culminate in an end-of-week horse show. The farm also boards horses in stalls spacious enough to also accommodate the ventriloquists who speak for them.