Golden Isles Riding Academy

🎉🎂 When the Facebook reins get handed off, we get one very important job… making sure we celebrate our fearless leader, Kelli! 🎂🎉

(Yes, Kelli… you only get one official spotlight a year, so we’re making the most of it. 😉😂)

Today we’re celebrating the woman behind Golden Isles Riding Academy —the one who manages to keep things moving, solve problems before most of us even know there’s a problem, and make it all look way easier than it actually is.

Kelli, thank you for your dedication, your hard work, your patience, your humor, and for creating a place that feels like so much more than just a place to ride. GIRA is a family because of the heart you put into it every single day.

So today, we hope your birthday is filled with laughter, love, and a little time where nobody needs anything from you. (We know… that might be the biggest birthday wish of all. 😂)

Help us wish Kelli the happiest birthday! 🎉❤️ We hope you have a wonderful day —YOU deserve it!

Happy Birthday, Kelli! 🥳🐴

Amazing boys ✨💙

do you see them all? 😆

☀️🐴 Week 5 Summer Horse Camp Recap... and that's a wrap on Summer Horse Camp 2026! 🐴☀️

What a way to finish the summer! 🥵 It was HOT... like "the horses were looking for air conditioning" hot! But our campers powered through like champs and made our final week one to remember!

This week we learned all about horse care, grooming, tacking up, parts of the saddle, proper horse lingo and more before saddling up and riding our hearts out! ❤️🐎

Our horses enjoyed some much-deserved spa days with refreshing baths 💦, and they were also treated to their very own version of "sweet tea!" 🥕🍎 Each day, our campers helped make this special horse treat, and let's just say it was a barn favorite! The horses looked forward to their daily "sweet tea" and were thoroughly spoiled all week long. We also had some fun painting a few of our beloved horses and boy oh boy was that a hit! 🎨

Our campers enjoyed LOTS of popsicles (pretty sure they became an official camp food 🍦😂), and we took the fun inside the barn for an obstacle course where riders practiced steering, maneuvering, and guiding their horses through different challenges.

Through the sweat, laughs, horse hair, sunscreen, and countless memories, these campers worked hard, built confidence, made new friends, and grew into better horsemen and horsewomen. We couldn't be more proud of each and every one of them!

A HUGE thank you to all of our camp families for trusting us with your kids this summer, and to everyone who donated sweet treats and popsicles to help make camp extra special. We appreciate your support more than you know! ❤️

To all of our campers—thank you for an unforgettable summer filled with smiles, laughter, learning, and lots of horseback rides. We hope you had as much fun as we did, and we can't wait to see you back at the barn soon!

Until next summer... stay cool, keep chasing your horse dreams, and remember... life is always better at the barn. 🐎 🐴

And, follow along to catch our horse camp days throughout the school year!

🐴☀️ Week 4 Summer Horse Camp Recap! ☀️🐴

Whew… Georgia definitely turned the heat up this week! 🥵 But our campers were absolute troopers, kept smiling through the hot days, and still managed to ride, learn, laugh, and make some incredible memories!

Here's what we were up to this week:
🐴 Learned how to properly halter, lead, and tack up a horse, along with learning the parts of the saddle.
🛁 Gave TWO horses a refreshing bath (and somehow everyone managed to get a little wet! 💦)
🩹 Learned about basic horse wound care and why it's so important to keep our equine partners healthy.
🩺 A visit from the equine vet and got a firsthand look at what goes into keeping our horses healthy.
🥤 Made our horses their very own "Horse Sweet Tea"—and let's just say it disappeared FAST! They absolutely LOVED their special treat! 🐴❤️
🎭 Put on another crowd-favorite Feed Bag Fashion Show, proving once again that horse camp fashion is in a league of its own! 😂
🐎 Rode our hearts out every chance we got, building confidence, improving our riding skills, and having a whole lot of fun!

And can we talk about the POPSICLES?! 🍧🍦 They were definitely the MVPs of the week! A huge THANK YOU to everyone who donated popsicles to help keep our campers cool. They were enjoyed every single day and were such a thoughtful treat in this summer heat. Your kindness means so much to all of us! ❤️

We're so proud of these campers! They worked hard, encouraged one another, took great care of the horses, and never let the heat steal their smiles.

Week 4, you were HOT... but you were a blast! 🔥🐴

See you in a few weeks for Week 5!🤠

🇺🇸🐴 Happy Fourth of July from Golden Isles Riding Academy! ❤️🤍💙

Today we celebrate the freedoms we cherish, the courage of those who have served our country, and the joy of spending time with the horses we love.

Wishing all of our GIRA families a fun, safe, and memorable Independence Day filled with laughter, good company, and patriotic spirit!

Happy 4th of July! 🇺🇸✨🐎

🐴 Week 3 Summer Horse Camp Recap! ☀️

Another fun-filled week at GIRA! We always adjust our learning to each camper's skill level so everyone is challenged while building confidence and having fun.

This week we:
🐎 Learned how to safely approach a horse and properly halter them.
🦶 Learned all about hoof care and how to correctly pick out hooves.
🔍 Sent our older campers on a farm scavenger hunt that tested their horse knowledge and observation skills.
🐴 Enjoyed TWO ba****ck rides!
🎨 Learned about different horse breeds, horse colors, and even practiced using proper horse lingo! 😁
🎯 Played fun horse-themed games that taught horse care, tack identification, and the difference between natural and artificial aids—then applied what we learned while riding.
🧶 We decorated horseshoes that each camper could take home. 🐎
🏇 Competed in our hobby horse relay races and individual timed hobby horse races...and let us tell you, these kiddos are FAST! 🏁 They gave it everything they had, and the friendly competition brought lots of laughs and cheers!
🍧 Cooled off with lots of popsicles during the hot afternoons!

One of our favorite lessons this week was introducing our campers to the Hunter/Jumper discipline. Campers learned how jumping courses are designed, how riders navigate them with accuracy and rhythm, and had the opportunity to watch our advanced riders put those skills into action. It was exciting to see how all the pieces come together!

A huge thank you to Pinah, Ms. Lori and Brooklyn (Matt N Jen) for always "treating" our campers so well! 🍧🍿 Your kindness helps make camp even more special.

Every week these campers continue to grow—not only as riders, but as young horsemen and horsewomen. We are so proud of everything they've accomplished and can't wait to see what week 4 summer horse camp brings! ❤️

✨Wishing all our barn dads a wonderful Father's Day — filled with family, laughter, and time spent doing what you love. Thank you for all you do!

Happy Father's Day!

❤️ GIRA 🐎

🐴☀️ Week 2 Summer Horse Camp Recap! ☀️🐴

What a fun-filled week at camp!

This week, our campers learned all about horse grooming and the tools we use to keep our horses looking their best. We explored the parts of the saddle, practiced tying quick-release knots 🪢(and learned why they’re so important around horses), and put our skills to the test with a horse gear relay race!

We also got hands-on by bathing three horses, learning the parts of the hoof, and discovering why cleaning our horses’ feet 👣 is such an important part of horse care.

One of the week’s highlights was learning how horses travel! Campers got a firsthand experience with a trailer ride so they could understand what it’s like for our equine friends when they’re on the road.

We also learned about desensitizing horses and practiced leading them through sprinklers. Some of our horses thought it was the best idea ever, while others weren’t quite convinced! 😂

To wrap up an amazing week, campers enjoyed ba****ck riding and cooled off with some sprinkler fun—because nothing beats horses and water 💦 on a hot Georgia summer day!

We were also spoiled by Lori with some sweet treats from the Crumbl Cookie 🍪

Also, a quick shout out to those that spoiled us with endless popsicles!

We can’t wait to see what adventures Week 3 brings! 🐎❤️

🐎✨ Week 1 Horse Camp Recap! ✨🐎

What a week!!

We learned the parts of the horse, practiced grooming and horsemanship skills, made horseshoe keepsakes, went on a farm scavenger hunt, played Horse Bingo, a horseback egg relay, and showed off our creativity during the always-entertaining Feed Bag Fashion Show and so much more. We even had a special visit from the farriers!

Most importantly, we spent lots of time in the saddle building confidence, making new friends, and having fun with our favorite four-legged teachers. By the end of the week, everyone was trotting along like pros! 🐴❤️

There were plenty of laughs, a little bit of horse hair, lots of sunshine, and memories made that will last long after camp is over.

🌟 Week 3 still has a few spots available! If you have a horse-loving kiddo who would like to spend a week learning, riding, creating, and making horse-crazy memories, we'd love to have them join us!

Send us a message for more information!