Dance At Dawn Farms Eventing

03/22/2025

Just a cute photo of our little donkeys enjoying the beautiful sunset this evening. Happy Spring 🌺

03/17/2025

SPRING IS HERE! The weather has been beautiful lately, but you know what that means… show season is right around the corner! For some if you, you’re already getting started.

If you’re looking for a coach, I am still accepting new clients. I am based out of Crab Orchard KY and willing to travel to you. Happy to coach at shows as well, but I do not require my students to compete.

I have taught everyone from brand new beginners to riders who were schooling Novice level fences. My riding/training background is centered on classical dressage, with more than half of my career spent working under another trainer. Once I branched out on my own (with my own horses), Eventing became my focus. I have experience working with young horses, green horses, and especially love working with OTTBs. My whole lesson program before I moved consisted of OTTBs I restarted for my students. I would be happy to coach you through training your green bean or youngster, and happy to hop in the saddle myself if you’d prefer that as well.

I have relatively open availability on week nights (Monday-Thursday 5:30pm or later) and wide open availability for Friday-Sunday so long as I have not already been booked for other lessons or shows.

You can DM me personally Kayla Robinson or DM this page to chat/schedule a lesson. You can also shoot me a text if that’s better for you than Facebook! Contact # is on the page and website DanceAtDawnFarmsEventing.com

Pictured - one of my former students riding lesson horse Tod (Tale of Dixie) and myself on my homebred Oldenburg mare Tiny Dancer at a schooling outing last spring at Windurra

02/18/2025

The weather has been miserable, but don’t let that stop you from reaching your goals this year! I would love to help you get your horse back in shape and ready for show season or help you prepare your horse for the next step in its training.

I am located in Crab Orchard KY and accepting new clients for coaching and training. Many of my students (before relocation) were schooling at the Beginner Novice/Novice levels, but I had several dressage only clients and have taught everything from a brand new beginner to an advanced rider looking to try out Eventing. I will come to you (within reasonable traveling distance) and am available most evenings and weekends.

Lessons/training sessions start at $85 (price would only go up for locations 45+ minutes from me) for a 45 minute private session.

Happy to book multiple lessons or training rides at one farm if there is interest. We can setup regular/recurring lessons or just a one off tune up.

DM this page or Kayla Robinson to schedule!

More information on my background and qualifications can be found on the farm website danceatdawnfarms.com

Throwback photo from last years St. Patrick’s Day Derby with my mare Fondtastic.

12/30/2024

Kerry was one of my clients before we moved to Kentucky. She is an incredible person and one of the kindest and strongest people I’ve ever met. She and her family could use all the support they can get while they deal with this absolutely heartbreaking diagnosis. Please consider donating if you can or at least sharing their story if you can’t. Every little bit helps and I know she will be incredibly grateful for the support. ❤️

My name is Dora, and my friend's husband was diagnosed with brain cancer in September 20… Dora Markle needs your support for Assist a Family in Cancer Crisis

12/28/2024

Using one of my favorite photos from this year to share that we FINALLY got our website updated and will start fielding new clients now, but we will not be offering lessons or training until January 3rd. Our full list of offerings are below. Please see the website for more details including Kayla Robinson background & experience. You can message this page, or her to schedule/discuss.

Riding Lesson/Coaching - $85 per 45 minute session at your farm or at a schooling venue. (Price may increase for locations beyond a 45 minute drive from our farm)
Coaching at Horse Shows - starting at $85, price depending on location, show type, etc. Available to clients I have taught at least once prior to the show. Hauling also available if needed. Please PM for details.
Horse Training - $85 per session at your farm or at a schooling venue. (See travel disclaimer above)
Full Time Training (at your farm) - $1000 per month - 5 sessions per week making 20 in total per month.
Part Time Training (at your farm) - $600 per month - 10 sessions total for the month. 2-3 per week

Horse/Farm Sitting - Price based on work required and distance. All pricing is per visit, not per day. References available upon request, please reach out. Sticking to a 30 minute driving radius from Crab Orchard KY.

12/21/2024

We’re finally getting settled here in Kentucky!

I will begin taking new clients on January 3rd in central KY. I’ll be offering both horse training and coaching, or a combination of the two if you’d like a little bit of both. I’m based out of Crab Orchard (1 hour south of Lexington).

Coaching/lessons will start at $85 per 45 minute private session. If there is an arena or schooling fee, you would also be responsible for that. Anything more than 45 minutes from my farm might incur more of a travel fee unless there are more than one lesson/rider. While I am not certified yet, I am working on getting my ECP through the USEA and hopefully will have that by the end of 2025 if all goes well!

Training will also start at $85 per session for up to 60 minutes. I say up to, because depending on where the horse is at with it’s training or retraining, sometimes less is more. The same travel fee may apply for anywhere farther than 45 minutes from my farm. Please reach out to discuss. I don’t have a specific “training program” I stick to with each case. Each horse gets their own unique plan once I’ve evaluated them and you’ve told me your goals.

I specialize mostly in retraining OTTBs, but have started youngsters, and trained various other breeds as well over time. Open to working with anything except horses with serious behavioral concerns or excessively dangerous horses (those that rear, buck excessively, etc). I just have too much going on myself to risk the injury that comes with those cases.

In the spring/summer I *might* offer limited boarding opportunities or on farm training options but that is to be determined and we’ve got a lot of work to do here before that can happen.

Availability:
Monday-Thursday 5:30pm or later
Friday-Sunday anytime so long as I am not at a show or otherwise occupied (farrier, vet, etc).

Please feel free to message the page or shoot me a text. My phone number is on the page and the website. I don’t answer phone calls (too many scams) so if you prefer to call just leave me a voicemail and I’ll call you back as soon as I’m able!

Photo for attention of my 2023 RRP mare Fondtastic, who placed 4th in both Dressage & Eventing Broodmare Divisions.

12/18/2024

Tale of Dixie (Tod) is a 2017 OTTB Gelding standing at approximately 15.3h, though I have not sticked him to confirm.

He’s been a favorite of all of the students in my lesson program before we moved to KY. He is now available for on farm lease or to his new forever home.

🐎 Beginner Friendly
🐎 More Woah than Go
🐎 Schooled through Novice Eventing
🐎 Shown through Starter Eventing
🐎 Sound & Sane
🐎 Lesson Program Friendly (but he does get lazy!)
🐎 Would probably thrive as a hunter horse
🐎 Trailers well, cross ties, good for farrier, an all around good horse.

No cons that I’m aware of, but he is the Alpha in the group. Currently shod all around so we could put studs in at events if needed, but could be barefoot if you wanted.

Currently asking 10,🥕🥕🥕. Open to offers for the right situation. References will be required.

If you’re interested in leasing, please PM the page or Kayla Robinson for details. I will NOT do a lease to own.

Located in Crab Orchard KY.

More photos & video available upon request.

12/12/2024

First of two horses we have available:

Rigged Election, barn name Riggins

2017 OTTB Gelding standing at approximately 16.1h

🐎 Amateur Friendly
🐎 Sound
🐎 Sane
🐎 Easy Keeper (out 24/7 currently)
🐎 W/T/C and has lovely movement
🐎 Has schooled Training and some First Level movements, but is out of practice now
🐎 Cross Ties, does well for farrier, loads & trailers well
🐎 Very Docile and can go in any herd (mares, geldings, doesn’t matter!)

Cons:
Cribber
Has old splint injuries (they do not affect his soundness)
He is NOT for a beginner
Needs to have one dedicated person/rider - he will not do well in a lesson program with beginners or young kids. If you primarily teach intermediate riders/adult amateurs he might do okay. I have used him recently with 2-3 students before we moved our farm to KY.
He is Dressage Only. He can do little baby cross rails but I personally would not jump him beyond that. That isn’t to say he can’t, but I’m not selling him as a jumper.

Located in Crab Orchard KY
4,🥕🥕🥕
Accepting Offers for the perfect home.
PPEs welcome and encouraged.

Open to an on farm lease as well, please reach out for more information. I will NOT do a lease to purchase.

Perfect for a pro looking for an affordable horse to work up the levels or an ammy looking for an affordable mount! Even after three weeks off because I couldn’t find time to work him he was still very well behaved. He was leased by one of my students (an AA) for nearly a year. He’s a sweet guy who just prefers to have one person and I don’t have the time for him right now!

Please PM for videos or more information. You can either PM this page or Kayla Robinson.

12/09/2024

It has taken us a little longer than we would’ve liked to end up in Kentucky, let alone get settled, but we made it!

We wanted to post a photo to the page just to let everyone know that we WILL be accepting clients in the Lexington area starting January 1st! We will be finishing out the year getting all of the horses settled in, cleaning up around the farm, and making our plan for 2025.

If you’re looking for an Eventing coach/trainer in the southern Lextingron area please reach out! Prices, offerings, etc will be updated here and on the website by 12/26. We will have two horses available for on farm lease or available to their new forever homes as well. Please click through to Kayla’s personal page (linked below) for more information on both horses. A formal post for each will be made here this weekend.

Proud to announce as well that Kayla Robinson is actively working on becoming a USEA ECP certified coach. More to come as that progresses!

Thank you all for your continued support throughout this journey and for our next steps. Lots of exciting news to come. Stay tuned 🐎

10/02/2024

We are very excited to announce that Dance At Dawn Farms Eventing is moving!

If you follow our owner/trainer Kayla Robinson you may have already known about this, but we wanted to make an official announcement on this page. Here’s the full message from Kayla:

I am so, so incredibly thankful for every single one of my supporters, clients, friends, and found family in Pennsylvania. When I bought this farm, I had no idea what it would turn into. I didn’t expect to end up with a lesson program that very quickly overtook my life outside of my “day job.” I have met so many incredible people and have made so many connections that it’s almost hard to consider leaving. I’ve helped people find their passion for riding again, helped brand new riders grow into incredible horsemen/women, and helped others improve their riding to reach their goals.

My husband and I have always discussed moving a little farther south, though we never really knew where we’d end up. We’ve finally settled on Kentucky, and are working on selling our farm/purchasing a farm near Lexington so I can continue to grow my program and pursue my personal goals of moving up the levels of eventing with my horses!

My program will change drastically with this move, but I’m hopeful that this will be the right move for us and for me to reach my goals one day. I won’t lie that it’s a little hard to post this, and I am very sad to leave my current clients, friends, and found family behind, but I am SO excited for this next chapter.

I want to thank you all for your support. I wouldn’t be here without every single one of you!

At this time, I will no longer be taking on new students until we’ve settled in at our new place. My final “official” day of regularly scheduled lessons here in PA will be October 24th.

Stay tuned later this year for updates about our new farm, and new training programs I’ll offer out there.

Included are a handful of some of my favorite photos/memories with all of my students, coaches, and mentors here in PA ❤️ I missed a few photo opportunities with other students, but if I had photos, they’d be in here too!

06/28/2024

Super proud of our student Gabby who took her little pony Kora to their first ever show together today! She brought home a BLUE RIBBON in the Optimum Time Poles class, and rode like a champ!

It’s always amazing to see my students move past their fears and crush their first show. Can’t wait to get them back out at another show sometime!

As always, thank you to Ship's Quarters Farm for hosting these amazing schooling shows that are the perfect first outing for all levels. 🖤🐎

06/16/2024

A fun day of schooling today at Windurra USA! Tale of Dixie and Tiny Dancer are besties (obviously) and both did incredible today! Happy to have gotten this in before the heat wave.

05/27/2024

Finished out the weekend with an XC clinic with Boyd Martin where we got to try out a sunken road which was not quite as terrifying as I expected it to be! Unfortunately I don’t have any video because I didn’t have a groom today but it was super fun and a great learning experience for both of us!

05/27/2024

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

We’re spending it with our horses of course. And what a memorable time it has been!

From a clinic with Brendan Wise on Friday, which one of our students and Kayla Robinson had a wonderful time at, to the The Maryland Horse Trials Highland Trials both Saturday and Sunday it has been such an incredible weekend! And now today, we are heading out to the Boyd Martin clinic at Windurra!

But first, here are some photos from our weekend so far. ❤️

Fondue (JC: Fondtastic) did absolutely incredible at her first ever NOVICE horse trial. Leaving Kayla in tears of joy for just how well she did. She’s the red bay in the photos below.

Cali (Tiny Dancer) went to her first ever horse trial this weekend and we decided to “go big or go home” and just jump straight in at Beginner Novice. The bar was set very low for this youngster because show environments previously REALLY stressed her out and we had to send her out for some much needed training with Brendan. She came home a completely different horse, and yesterday she was an absolute dream! More happy tears were shed when she cantered through those finish flags.

The journey with every horse is not always fun. Sometimes it’s filled with tears, frustration, and even a little doubt, but you’ve gotta appreciate that journey when it all finally comes together. It is SO rewarding. And now we keep working on the next milestone… better dressage tests, more confidence through every round we do, and eventually, when the horses are ready, their next level. No matter how long it takes ❤️🐎

As always, very thankful for Erin Gilmore Photography for getting such amazing shots of my girls ❤️❤️

Thanks to our sponsors, and the brands that keep us looking fancy for all these events 🐎

Arion Sellier USA
Esprit Equestrian Wear (discount code in comments)
Grand Impression Design Co.

03/25/2024

You know I couldn’t resist getting some dressage shots too to show off our fancy new dressage ensemble thanks to our incredible sponsor Arion Sellier USA! We look like super classy professionals now that we don’t have to use my monoflap for the dressage phase 💁🏻‍♀️

Nevermind the fact that I forgot my gloves for dressage because I was rushing a little bit yesterday morning. She did such a good job in the test, even if the score didn’t reflect it. I think it was our best ride yet!

Dance At Dawn Farms Eventing
Esprit Equestrian Wear

03/25/2024

I’m going to start off with the exciting stuff first. We finished 6th yesterday, with one unfortunate rail in SJ which I think was just because we just got a funky distance.

Our dressage was okay, not what I hoped for but better than other tests we’ve done for sure!

We ran clear through XC despite Fondue’s protest at my request for a slow and steady pace. It was only BN after all, we didn’t need super speed! She’s such a lovely mare, but she likes to take over sometimes out on course and we need to find a happy medium where I don’t micromanage too much and she doesn’t push for what I call “Mach Jesus” all the time. It’s a work in progress, but we’re getting closer! And our up bank was by far the best we’ve ever done, so I am thrilled with that for sure!

Dance At Dawn Farms Eventing
Arion Sellier USA
Esprit Equestrian Wear

03/11/2024

That face you make when you clear the fence that scared the absolute 💩 out of you 😅🤣

Sponsor shout-out
Arion Sellier USA
Esprit Equestrian Wear

Thank you Maya Kuntze Photography for capturing this shot, despite the miserable weather so I had an epic photo from our first Novice round!

Dance At Dawn Farms Eventing

03/10/2024

It was a wet and wild ride yesterday at The Maryland Horse Trials Go Green Derby! Fondtastic and I took on a Novice course for the first time ever and not only went clear but also had one hell of a fun ride! We were a tad slow, so we had time penalties but honestly I am 100% okay with that for our first attempt at this level. We’ll still be starting our real season with BN a few times before we move up at a horse trial so we can continue building her confidence. This mare is just perfect ❤️

We wore the Sage Green Esprit Equestrian Wear breeches, which I absolutely love! Use my code DanceAtDawnFarmsEventing to get 5% off your first order if you’d like to get a pair of your own! They’ve got loads of other fun colors too 😉

And of course, we had our Arion Sellier USA bridle.

We used the saddle blanket I got with Crazy Wild Bill two years ago at Canter for a Cause (they ran out of pink ones and who knew this would come in handy for a GREEN derby! 😃)

Special shout-out to my coach Angie Francart / Sleeping Fox Farm Eventing for all her coaching and advice to help get me to this point.

And of course, where we got Fondue from - After The Races and Aftercare Charles Town - Equine Encore Performance at Charles Town

The farm that After the Races has been renting for the last several years will be going up for sale and they are trying to purchase it so please consider donating to their cause to save their home! Donation link on this post OR you can go to their page directly and donate there also.