When Mark and Karen Keyser first purchased Vertical Ascent Farm, in San Diego County’s Ramona, they had no intentions of transforming the property into an upscale hunter/jumper facility. Fate intervened however when Karen was introduced to Leslie Schneider.
“Someone recommended Leslie to help re-school one of my more difficult horses and she was just amazing,” Karen explains. Karen was looking to move away from her eventing background and jumpers were an obvious new direction to go, yet she wanted someone focused on a solid classical flat background. “Coming from a dressage and eventing background I was very impressed with Leslie’s skills and knowledge.”
The timing was spot on as Leslie was looking to move in a new direction, and Mark and Karen had their beautiful facility sitting empty. Vertical Ascent Farm is now a full-service private facility, offering high quality care and training. Karen works hard to make sure no details get overlooked and all the little ‘extras,’ such as blanketing and supplemental feeding, are included with the price of board.
Both Karen and Leslie believe in quality not quantity. “The max number of horses I will ever have on the property is 20,” states Karen. “That way I know that all the horses are getting 100% quality care.”
Leslie concurs with Karen’s sentiments. “The horses always have supervision, and by keeping things on a smaller scale, nothing gets overlooked.”
Top quality care is paramount to top performing horses and the staff at Vertical Ascent strives for excellence. The horses are fed three times per day, and stalls cleaned twice daily and ample turnout is provided with the four 60’ x 90’ paddocks available on the property. Additional amenities include a 50’ round pen, an exercise track around the perimeter of the facility, and a 200’ x 150’ arena with a full course of jumps.
When updating the facility Mark and Karen worked diligently to add all the little extras that make both horse and rider comfortable. The facility boasts hot and cold wash stalls for horses, as well as a permanent full bathroom with shower and washer/dryer for clients’ use. A refrigerator is also available for clients to store snacks and a supply of bottled water is provided.
With all the improvements made, Karen and Leslie are now working towards establishing Vertical Ascent as a solid show barn. Currently the barn is competing at both county and ‘A’ rated shows about once a month. They are looking to continue to attract dedicated people looking to excel. Leslie is no stranger to creating winners. A seasoned competitor, there is scarcely a show in Southern California that Leslie has not seen and conquered.
Having begun showing on the ‘A’ circuit at the age of 9, Leslie experienced many successes as a junior, including championships in both hunters and jumpers as well as many mini prix and classic wins. She utilizes that experience in the show ring to bring further success to her students.
When asked about her training and business philosophy, Leslie responds, “I try to operate with honesty and integrity. I believe strongly in classical training, building step-by-step, and not skipping any of the basics. I work very hard and I expect my students to work hard and want to improve, but we also try and have a lot of fun.”
Having established an excellent working relationship, Karen and Leslie are looking towards the future. Leslie hopes to continue developing and building the sales end of the business. She spends a lot of time selecting quality, young prospects to develop and campaign, with the end goal being to resell to the amateur and junior market. Ultimately Leslie hopes to finally make the jump to the Grand Prix ring. One of her current prospects is Karen’s up and coming jumper Donnerkoenig, a 7 year old, Hanoverian stallion. Duncan is by the legendary Donnerhall and out of a States Premium mare, Comtessa (Contender/Landadel). He is schooling at 3’9”, and Leslie says he is showing immense talent to move up the levels.
 “I have been very fortunate to find such wonderful people that are offering me such huge opportunities,” states Leslie. Karen agrees, stating “Leslie and I are just on the same page, we share the same hopes and goals for the farm and have very similar views on training. We want to have a barn where everyone works as a team, at home and at shows. We all encourage one another and support one another in our ventures.”
For more information on Vertical Ascent Farm call Karen at 760-803-2075, email
karenk@verticalascentfarm.com, or call Leslie at 714-420-3380, email LesHalSch@aol.com, or visit them online at www.verticalascentfarm.com.