Hillary Ridland has long been a familiar presence on the Southern California hunter/jumper show scene, but it’s been a while since her services were available to the public. With help from her equally well-known husband, show manager and international Grand Prix rider Robert Ridland, Hillary recently re-opened her business as EquiSports International, based at the Orange County Fairgrounds. Hillary and Robert had worked at Blenheim Farms in San Juan Capistrano as private trainers for two years.
Hillary is returning to the Orange County Fairgrounds, but she is not returning to her earlier career mode of running a big training stable. “I think 20-25 horses is about the right number where I can keep the service level very high,” she explains.

Hillary Ridland Photo: JumpShot

An overall horsemanship emphasis is the priority this time around. Prospective clients are given a detailed curriculum to consider. While Hillary jokes that she and Robert “almost got a divorce” while writing the curriculum, the end result is an honest, “almost blunt” statement of what skills are needed to attain various levels of horsemanship and competitive success and what each step is likely to cost. It’s not a fast-track to ribbon winning, and parents or amateurs won’t be caught off guard by the sport’s cost.
Hillary and Robert cooked up the curriculum during an unusual six months off from training work. They spent lots of time with their two kids, 7 year old son Peyton, and 15 year old McKenna, Hillary’s daughter with her first husband Larry Mayfield. Time off for the hard working horse people reinforced their love of their profession and “gave me a new perspective on balance in life,” Hillary notes.
Top trainer Karen Healey immediately took note of Hillary and Robert’s new business endeavor. Based in the North Los Angeles area of Hidden Valley, Karen had long wished she could serve clients who live in Orange County. Several of her current students struggle to make that commute, and often wind up lessoning with Karen mostly at shows. Others have expressed interest in training with Karen, but the distance was a deterrent for Orange County residents.
Mutual Admiration
“Hillary understands my system and my program,” says Karen. “This is a way for a few serious, goal-oriented riders to be part of my program.” With so many shows at the Oaks Blenheim venue in San Juan Capistrano, Karen is in Orange County frequently anyway. She expects that she’ll be able to visit her Fairgrounds students once a week during other stretches, and she is completely confident of Hillary’s ability to provide training continuity to these horses and riders in the interim.
“She is a very good rider, and we have the same system that incorporates a lot of flatwork,” Karen says of Hillary. “And we get along really well.” Karen is also impressed with Hillary’s ongoing efforts to build on her knowledge, in particular Hillary’s trek to Florida last November for the USHJA trainer symposiums, where Karen was a presenter. (See page 8, for news on the USHJA’s September seminar in San Juan Capistrano.)
The admiration is mutual. “I can’t tell you how honored I am to be involved with a trainer of Karen’s caliber,” Hillary comments. “I could not dream of a better person to have this partnership with.” Regarded as one of the country’s top equitation, hunter and jumper trainers, Karen has coached clients to national championships for many years.
Hillary happily observes that it seems a perfect time to be running a horsemanship-intense training endeavor. As she and Robert were formulating the business plan for EquiSports International, editorials lamenting the lack of horsemanship showed up in several industry magazines. Above all, it fits Hillary’s priorities. “I ran a big business with my first husband Larry and on my own,” she reflects. “When I thought about running a business like that again I felt uneasy.”
Robert Ridland will be a major asset to the training business. Though he will be busy with the show management company Blenheim EquiSports on a day-to-day basis, Robert’s outstanding skills and experience as a horseman, international Grand Prix rider and course designer will play their part in the progress of EquiSports’ clientele. The hope is that Robert will find a new mount on which to resume his international Grand Prix career.
As a trainer, Hillary says her greatest reward is fostering and watching the progress of students that are truly devoted to the sport. It is a mode that she has personal experience with throughout her life. A Southern California native, Hillary, nee Kuhne, rode with Rob Gage as a top junior on the West Coast and national circuit. She followed that with East Coast apprenticeships with Leslie Howard, Buddy Brown and Rodney Jenkins before returning to California.
Hillary’s new business is a boon for Orange County equestrians and the tie-in with Karen Healey creates a powerful partnership. As a result, EquiSports International is on track to feed more serious riders into the hunter/jumper pipeline and provide an environment in which riders get the most from their time with their horses and their commitment to the sport.
For more information on EquiSports International, please call Hillary Ridland at 949-633-4040 or visit www.equisportsinternational.com. Karen Healey can be reached at 805-370-1941.