The Farrel-McWhirter Riding School is a place where two-year-olds can learn how to brush ponies, teens can perfect their riding posture, and adults can practice yoga on horseback.

“We’re affordable and bring our programs to the community,” Farrel-McWhirter Park farm coordinator Pamela McMahon said.

The riding school offers a number of classes, camps and programs during the summer — and even a horse show.

Farrel-McWhirter Park has supported a year-round riding program since the 1970s and has upgraded it to a comprehensive riding school this year.

The newly expanded school is better able to track riders’ progress and keep class levels more consistent.

“Now the kids have benchmarks and goals to achieve before they actually get passed on,” McMahon said.

Eight-year-old McKenzie Lee cantered for the first time this year and will perform at the 2011 Benefit Schooling Show on July 10. Her mother said learning this skill was a breakthrough and got her hooked on riding.

“It’s like the wind blowing in your face,” McKenzie said. “I just love working with horses. They’re my favorite type of animal.”

Her classmate, Ava Kimmel, shares a similar sentiment about jumping.

“You feel like you’re flying, and you just feel like you’re free,” she said.

Her mother, Becky, first took Ava to a mom and me pony class at Farrel-McWhirter when her daughter was two. She said her daughter’s confidence has grown as Ava learned to control an animal much larger than herself.

“They see their success after working hard,” Becky Kimmel said. “It’s not something they can just pick up.”

Ava’s 11-year-old sister, Samantha, participates in the Riding Club. In addition to attending meetings and planning activities, she and other Riding Club members earn credit toward free riding lessons for every hour of service they perform.

Samantha said she grooms horses and helps instructors teach younger children. After six years of riding, she knows how to handle stubborn horses and encourages younger riders to persevere. She said horses sometimes forget they are being ridden and don’t listen to their rider’s commands.

“Just don’t give up and keep on trying,” she said.

The instructors stress safety in all classes. Preschoolers learn to keep their distance while walking around horses, and older riders learn to keep a proper grip on the reins.

The riding school selects horses with calm dispositions so they cooperate with beginning riders, McMahon said. The school provides horses of all sizes, even a pony three feet tall for preschool-aged learners.

Teachers bring years of experience and enthusiasm to the lessons. Instructor Ali Hull learned to ride from her parents, who trained thoroughbred racehorses. After competing for the University of Washington equestrian team, she has spent the past four summers sharing her passion for riding at Farrel-McWhirter.

“It’s a therapy,” she said. “You forget about everything you were doing that day and whatever you have to do.”

The riding school plans to build a covered equestrian arena within the next five years to keep the program running strong during winter months.

“The covered arena will help us run programs later in the year because once we lose daylight, we’re unable to continue our after-school programs,” McMahon said.

To pay for the arena, the school plans to apply for bond funds in 2012. The riding school relies on community support and general funds from the City of Redmond to keep its gates open.

To register for classes, go online at www1.redmond.gov/econnect/Start/Start.asp or call the riding school at (425) 556-2309. Redmond residents receive a 20 percent discount.

Amy R. Sisk, a sophomore at the University of Montana, is a summer intern for the Redmond Reporter.