Like all domesticated animals, horses require human guidance to keep from brushing against barbed wire, eating poisonous rocks, and galloping triumphantly into the ocean. Take the reins with today’s Groupon to Wichita Riding Academy in Derby. Choose between the following options:
- For $15, you get a 60-minute group riding lesson (a $30 value).<p>
- For $37, you get a 2.5-hour holiday riding session (a $75 value). Click here for the holiday schedule.
Helmed by Cheryl Manahan, an alumna of William Woods University’s equestrian-science program, Wichita Riding Academy and its certified instructors help students learn the mighty hooved ways of the academy’s champion-quality horses. Saddle surfers of all experience levels can pick their lesson style—be it Western, saddle seat, hunt seat, or ethereal elf-maiden—and take their quad-footed equicycle for a test trot as they learn how to guide, ride, and pick up FM radio signals with its ears. On select holidays throughout the year, Wichita Riding Academy hosts intimate, seasonal riding sessions for small groups of 12 aspiring riders. During morning or afternoon classes, novices as young as 8 years old explore the wonderments of equine grooming and saddling before trotting off on riding activities. There is a 225-pound weight limit for the safety and health of the animals.