A Rising Star Equestrian Center

I love this place! I've ordered landscaping and gardening materials from them and am happy each time. They have quality materials for gardening and landscaping, are affordable, and are so nice to work with. Highly recommend!

Boarded here for a few months until my horse found a full off site lease, and I had a wonderful experience here. The horses well being is truly their priority. To top it off the other boarders are very pleasant and everyone co exists very well. If I could change one thing it would be that I wish there was better footing in the outdoor, but it's not bad. I would absolutely board again here one day.

Kathleen is appalling. I contacted her to inquire about training, and she never for a second took the time to listen to my needs. When I met with her, she literally, in her words "put me to work", had me turning out her horses and feeding her cats. I did this because I figured it may have been an off day for her, she was short handed, and I'll help out until we have time to chat. But she never showed interest in learning my needs, she was only interested in trying to get me to lease one of her horses. She also came across extremely rude and abrasive. I knew immediately she was not the trainer for me, on top of the fact that she is not a cutting trainer and that's what I'm looking to get back into (it has been several years since I've ridden even though I grew up competing in the sport). A few weeks after meeting with her she sent me a message when she had her cattle in, I figured I'd take advantage and just go up and ride even though I knew she wouldn't be a good fit for me long term. I showed up to ride and again, she is just so rude. But whatever, I'm ignoring her, attempting to saddle the horse. She has me put on a martingale, something my horses never used and I haven't put on in probably about a decade, and when I asked for her help she said to me "have you never owned a horse before"? (Not in an inquisitive way, in a mocking bully way. Like, come on. Be nice! Teach.) Still I am ignoring. I go out to the pen to warm up the horse, I'm riding, she enters the arena and just starts correcting me. "Bridge your reins!" Okay... I don't typically ride that way, so I tell her that, how I'm used to riding with one hand. She literally just stares at me annoyed saying nothing. After several seconds, almost a full minute of literally starting at each other, she finally says "Well why are you here then?" (I am mind blown that this woman is speaking to me this way! Everything she says is so nasty.) So I tell her, Kathleen, last time I was here I tried to tell you about how I was trying to find a cutting trainer near Denver, but you weren't listening as you were having me do your chores for you! We somehow get passed this conversation and start the "lesson", which is literally just her SCREAMING at me across the arena! "Open up your leg!" "OPEN UP YOUR LEG!" I'm trying to tell her that I don't know what she's asking of me (hey, I'm rusty, and maybe my trainers never used that phrase...) and her response is "these are general western terms!". At this point I stop the lesson. I am done with this. I tell her "Thank you for your time but this just isn't a good fit for me. You are being so rude and condescending and I'm just done. Should I walk the horse back up?" and I hop off. She is clearly surprised and tells me to walk the horse up to the barn and give it to Ann. I leave the arena and am walking up towards the barn, she runs up to me ON HER HORSE and I'm on foot, rips the reigns out of hand and yells at me to "GET OFF MY PROPERTY!" At this point I take my phone out of my pocket and start recording. I have about 5 minutes recorded where she just BERATES ME. Calls me names, threatens to fight me. The entire time I am calm, telling her that she's just not a good fit for me. I mean, I have no idea what is wrong with this person, what her problem is, why she acted this way... I am mind blown. And the people who own the facility she is operating out of should know what an awful, unprofessional human she is! She needs therapy. She should not be allowed to run a business this way.

Horrible place run by incompetent owners! Run from this place if you can! The new owners know NOTHING about horses and treat the boarders horribly. Horses are constantly being hurt by the "help", they are extremely negligent in making sure the horses stall doors are shut at night allowing horses to get loose, the barn help is constantly changing and your horse won't get fed at times and it's a circus there with no professionalism what so ever. Not to mention some of the people that board there are psychotic! They will make your experience there a living hell. I've had horses for decades and have never in my life experienced so much negativity. There is a reason this barn has so much turnover and vacant stalls! If you care about your horse I would avoid this place!

We have had the privilege of boarding our horses at ARS for the past several months. Ron and Robin have a very nice and well maintained facility. The staff if professional and friendly. Horses are well cared for, stalls are bedded with a generous amount of shavings, feed stuffs are high quality. If something breaks (as happens around horses) it is very quickly addressed. ARS has been nothing but a great experience for us. For me, one of best features about ARS is an almost complete lack of drama. People are there to enjoy their horses, not to engage in gossip and junior high foolishness. Kathleen McPhaul, one of several trainers at the facility was the subject of a negative review for ARS on this site. If you are interested in working with Kathleen I would encourage you to look at her website and look at her nearly fourth year body of work, and don't over focus on the one review from a clearly unbalanced person. Kathleen is a very effective and accomplished trainer and instructor. She has long time customers who have become friends, and have reached goals and won competitions along the way. If you are a fit for her program, you will both have a great experience with your horse. If you need a place to enjoy your horses I hope to meet you at ARS.

I've boarded my horse at A Rising Star Equestrian for several months now. I love it here the owners and staff are very professional and friendly not only the staff are professional and friendly but the trainers as well very professional. Since I've moved here Ron and Robin have been very accommodating, I've been more relaxed and my horse has been very relaxed as well! Would highly, highly recommend!

As an added bonus to this Beautiful Well Run Facility the main barns are equipped with swamp coolers!!!! So Nice To Have This Time Of Year!!!! Thank You Ron And Robin!!!

ARS took great care of my horse, from providing excellent feed to well cleaned stalls to nice arenas to ride in. And everyone I met there was unfailingly kind and welcoming.

My horse began boarding at ARS in January 2019, and it was a dream to be welcomed by Ron and Robin. After the move to ARS, my horse was visibly more relaxed and happier--partly as a result, I think, of good lighting and stall design. (She's an indoor horse.) The physical facility is well lit, super clean, and well-maintained and the management responds quickly to requests for small repairs and changes. The managers also ensure that the hay is excellent quality, generously offered, and there are choices of grain/other feeds. In addition to the managers, regular staff are friendly and they make an effort to get to know boarders and horses. There's even a small lounge area and indoor bathroom. People are friendly, and there are trainers for every level and discipline, from new riders to dressage. I'm at ARS 3-5 times per week and my horse and I use just about everything--the indoor and outdoor arenas, the round pens, the trail course, and the cattle pen, where we do some cow work with McPhaul Performance Horses. Kathleen McPhaul has been my instructor and my horse's trainer for three-plus years. My first lesson with her was three hours long, for which she charged me a one hour lesson fee. She was clear and precise about the horse I was riding, the equipment I was using, and evaluated my riding during the lesson so that we could decide if we should work together. I leased an award-winning horse from her that I bought five months later and continue to ride in trail, ranch, reining, and some cow work. She has weekly lesson plans for me that build toward my goals. She's intuitive about animals as well as educated and experienced. My horse pricks up her ears when she sees Kathleen. Through McPhaul Performance Horses, Kathleen's employees assist with horse care, including turnout, blanketing, and training, and accompany MPP clients to shows. I have peace of mind knowing that my horse is well-looked after. Kathleen has high standards for herself, and for her students, and she delivers. In Kathleen, I see the 'best of the west': a sense of shared community, willingness to pitch in, honesty, fairness, and good humor. I am incredibly grateful to have my horse at a beautifully maintained facility and to be part of this community.

Riding at Rising Star Equestrian Center has been a wonderful experience. The trainer/instructor Eugenio is an excellent teacher, with extensive knowledge and the gift to convey that information to students. His skills, experience and encouragement have helped me become a much better rider. Maria, the manager and everyone at the stable truly love horses and take excellent care of the lesson horses and boarders. The atmosphere is warm and friendly and everyone I have met at the Center has been delightful. I have ridden at several places in the Lehigh Valley Area and this is the one that I don't mind driving an hour to ride there. It is well worth it.