ABOUT US

For 98 years, the Flintridge Riding Club has set standards of excellence for equestrian centers in Southern California. Located in La Canada Flintridge against the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, it has been home to members of all ages and levels of experience who share a love of horses and of riding. The idea of a private family riding club began in 1922 when four prominent local families decided to create a club where they could enjoy fellowship and equestrian pursuits.

Robert Fullerton, Jr., Reginald D. Johnson, S.C. Fertig and John E. Marble located the perfect site. They then invited to dinner landowner Senator Frank Flint, for whom Flintridge is named. On that evening, the founding group purchased ten oak-covered acres from Senator Flint and then Flintridge Riding Club was born. The Club was formally incorporated on October 9, 1923. Its first President was Reginald D. Johnson, famed A.I.A. architect, who designed and built the Spanish-colonial style clubhouse two years later.

An additional thirty acres were purchased and the completion of stables, rings and a cross-country course made the Flintridge Riding Club unique among riding clubs in the Los Angeles area. Since its founding, the grounds and facilities of the Flintridge Riding Club have been constantly upgraded.

In 1969, a new wing for junior activities and an office were added to the original clubhouse. Four new barns – their unique high roofs providing excellent ventilation – were completed in 1966, and one additional barn was added in 1984. One hundred eighty horses can be stabled in stalls and corrals, each receiving the excellent care for which the Club is known throughout the country. There are currently three jumping arenas, including Ring 1 with grandstand seating for six hundred.

One of the two dressage areas is complete with a regulation ring and mirrors. The cross-country field includes natural timber obstacles and a hacking path. A trail obstacle course is a favorite club activity.

Members also have easy access to miles of riding trails, maintained and improved with support of Club members, which extend throughout neighboring cities and the nearby foothills. Over the years, the activities of the Club have varied to reflect the changing needs and interests of its members. In the early years there were gymkhanas, hunter trials, and Thursday night moonlight rides followed by dinners at the clubhouse. Today, the Thursday night dinner tradition continues as an informal barbecue on the patio, preceded by group jumping or dressage lessons. Social gatherings revolve around annual holiday events, such as the Holiday Mixer and Spring Fling. Riding activities are offered for all ages and experience levels in the disciplines of hunter/jumper, dressage, Western, and trails, including guest-instructor clinics and three major annual horse shows. The high level of show standards maintained by the Flintridge Riding Club over the decades has been possible thanks to the generous contributions of its members. The variety and prestige of the shows reflect the broad scope of competition in which Flintridge riders and horses have always participated.

The Flintridge Horse Show, formerly known as The Children’s Horse Show, begun in the earliest years of the Club, was the oldest all-junior competition in the United States, until it became open to all levels in recent years. Another long-running competition is the Flintridge Autumn Classic, held for the past 60+ years. F.E.I. Level shows – Dressage under the Oaks and more recently Dressage at Flintridge – have attracted prominent- international level competitors from across the country. Flintridge Riding Club is most renowned for its excellent instruction program. Flintridge has been the home to many prestigious national and international riders and trainers including Susan Hutchison, Kappy Howlett, Hap Hansen, Francie Steinwedell, Robert Ridland, Ronnie Freeman and Anne Kursinski. Several of these riders went on to ride for our country’s teams at the Pan American Games and in various Olympic competitions.