Vogt Riding Academy

Vogt Riding Academy is a great lesson facility in the Atlanta area. It has a great environment for learning to ride dressage. The barn is well equipped with security cameras and is run smoothly by the owner and other instructors. Turn out of the horses is weather permitting but done as often as possible. You can begin lessons from age 6 with vaulting lessons which is very effective in becoming comfortable around horses and the barn. If over the age of 8 you may begin private lessons where you are taught the basics of riding. You may begin group lessons when the instructor feels the student is ready. Part of learning to ride is also knowing how to handle a horse when you are not mounted. It is expected that you will arrive roughly an hour before a group lesson and stay an hour after to tack/untack, groom the horses and perform barn chores. Barn chores are a great way to become more comfortable around the horses and are mandatory for the full equestrian experience. Barn chores may include cleaning/filling water buckets, picking stalls, and general horse care. The owner and instructors are very understanding about scheduling. You are able to meet with your instructor and plan a schedule of when you will ride which can be anywhere from one to six times a week. Vogt is also flexible with schedule changes and makeup lessons if there is a day you cannot attend your lesson as long as it is planned in advance. Vogt is a great place for riding lessons ranging from beginner to advance, boarding, leasing, and competing in Dressage shows. You can lease a horse from vogt and ride that horse for your lessons instead of riding a different horse every lesson. If you are at the Advanced level and you lease or own a horse you may compete in shows with Vogt riding academy. Vogt hosts two shows a year in which the students are able to compete in classes on the school horses. These shows are friendly competition and are greatly enjoyed and anticipated by the students. Anneliese the owner is a very experienced Dressage rider who has competed with many different horses even at the Grand Prix level. She is an excellent instructor who can provide you with a great equestrian experience. You may take a private lesson, a semi- private lesson or a group lesson with Anneliese. She is very serious about her riding and her students success in riding. If you are willing to put in the work and are committed to riding you will be successful at Vogt whether you are only taking lessons or have a goal to compete in dressage shows. There are many students at Vogt with varying ages. A large majority of the students are from ages eight to eighteen. Many students enjoy spending a great amount of time at Vogt watching lessons, doing barn chores and caring for the horses, and riding. It is normal for there to be a large amount of kids and teens at Vogt whenever you go however it is a very controlled and welcoming environment. Sunday is the school horses day off and they are taken care of by the students that volunteer to come and help. If you are willing to work hard there is much to be achieved at Vogt and it is well worth the visit if interested! more

Vogt Riding Academy is by FAR the best place to go to to take lessons or ride. There have been so many rumors about how badly we treat our horses, and how all the kids are treated by Anneliese. All those rumors are not true. The horses are turned out every day in the summer, and they get all they could possibly ever want in terms of love, care, and attention. We try to space out the lessons that each horse goes in so that each horse goes no more than twice a day. As far as the stuff about Anneliese not treating her students well, that is totally WRONG. She is very nice to all of us, and she is very fair with distributing chores to all the students. All the students are expected to do their part in taking care of the barn, which is a HUGE plus. There are so many barns that don't teach their students how to take care of their horses, which is stupid, because then the student goes off and buys her own horse, and she has no idea how to take care of it! I also really like this barn because it is a community. Every one knows each other at this barn, unlike lots of other barns. There have been a lot of friendships formed here, and I have some of the best friends that I have ever had here. To sum things up, Vogt Riding Academy is the best place to go. more

Vogt Riding Academy is no place for children or horses. AVH is by far the most unprofessional person I have ever met. She she is a disgrace to the equestrian community. Horses are poorly treated, never turned out and the children are yelled at and ordered around. Any parent that allows their child to go there should be evaluated and any equestrian that keeps their horse there should not be an owner. more

This is a very good expierenced barn that teaches you how to groom,tack and ride the horse. The instructors are very good teachers and are as good as grand prix! The lessons are fun and the teachers make sure you improve multiple things during the lesson! The students are very polite and always include eachother. The horses get turned out probably every day in the summer and always groomed. more

This is a barn I have very mixed feelings about. I am surprised to see such positive feedback. I rode there for over ten years, and when I left, I kicked myself for not leaving sooner. AVH is a great rider, sometimes a good teacher... but on other's horses I would see her be quite crewel, and with her clients downright rude. AVH is one of the most awful people I have ever met. Students would refer to themselves as her slaves; she never asked you to do something, you were told. Good luck getting anything back that you put in, as far as duties around the barn. The way she would argue (regularly) in-front of clients with her parents or sister was embarrassing. I won't even discuss her horrible nature towards Bill the stablehand, who loved the horses more than their owners. In my opinion, if you like to be tortured, you like tough love and you want to be put to work every time you step onto the property, ride here. Or, if you have a child that won't behave and they need discipline, Vogt is a good place. Otherwise, drive a little further to friendly horse people who will let you ride bareback, or get out of the ring and do what real horse people do. (all the horses are ring sour and get very little turnout) Pros: in-town Cons: AVH, no turnout, overworked school horses, you get treated poorly, etc more

I've been riding for many years but once I came here to 'touch-up' my jumping skills I realized how much more this barn could offer. I was a bit intimidated to be in mixed classes with many different age groups but the instructors really individualize their lessons to help you. If you ask for help and have a positive attitude you will go very far here. It is very rigorous which I loved as I was trying to get in better shape for an equestrian team in college. The focus is all about your form and a dressage base. The jumping classes are focused mainly on core strengthening and positioning not on the height of the jumps which, I belive, is way better for you in the long run. Pros: Great trainers, range of horses, range of class levels, friendly, give plenty of advice and are patient Cons: none :3 more

This is absolutely the BEST riding facility. The children are immediately made to feel welcome and included. They are expected to help with the chores (a big plus) and given many opportunities to learn about horse care each week. The teachers are focused and give needed criticism to improve. I can't thank the teachers and owner enough! Pros: plenty of time to get acquainted with horses great teachers more

this is the best barn ever. we have the most qualified instructors in the world because some of them are grand prix level and anyone who knows anything about horses will say this is the best ever!!! we have so many great horses here too they are all amazing Pros: best, best, best Cons: none, none, none more