About Us

About Us

“To practice equestrian art is to establish a conversation on a higher level with the horse; a dialogue of courtesy and finesse…

…Only a rider who has a good position may obtain valid results from his horse.”

Nuno Oliveira (Legendary Portuguese Dressage Master) Excerpts from Reflections on Equestrian Art.

Patty Moreland has over 25 years of experience training horses and riders. She has trained with the late Major Bella Butaky, has been a student of Jessica and Missy Ransehousen, Skip Webster, Denny Emerson, Cindy Sydnor, Lynn Leath, Buck Brannaman and Greg Eliel. Since 1980, she competed in hunter, dressage and eventing and has participated in numerous Natural Horsemanship clinics. Her focus is the rider's seat maintaining correct posture and suppleness on the horse. She will address any rider's imbalances, crookedness, and fitness so the rider can confidently ride his|her horse on the trails or in the show ring.

Always fascinated by "The School of Lightness," her native country's style of riding, in the last few years especially she has been studying the teachings of French Dressage Classicists and have applied their principles and the principles of Natural Horsemanship in her teachings. She will address any rider’s imbalances, crookedness, and fitness, so the rider can confidently ride his/her horse on the trails or in the show ring.

Vanessa Moreland is a dressage rider who has worked with several professionals including horsemanship trainers Buck Brannaman and Greg Eliel. She studied as a working student under, Jessica Ransehousen and currently rides with Irish Olympian Shea Walsh. She has earned many awards with various horses from training through third level. Vanessa teaches children, ages 4 and up, and adults. She specializes in the beginner rider. In addition to training the rider from the start, she trains horses of all ages for the show ring. Vanessa combines dressage and horsemanship to teach softness and inspire confidence in both the horse and the rider.

In the last two years, Vanessa's focus has been on the training of young horses. She attended Buck Brannaman's Colt Starting Clinic this past fall with her Hanoverian colt, Ethan.

Robert Moreland teacher and clinician, has worked with many types of horses for different disciplines. As a long term student of Buck Brannaman and Greg Eliel, he has developed the skills in starting and re-starting horses from the ground up. Robert's goals in working with both horse and rider result in softness, responsiveness, relaxation and trust. Starting out as a ranch roper Robert has also shown dressage and enjoys working with all levels of riding.

In the last year, in addition to starting colts at a Hanoverian breeding farm, he has built up his reputation as a clinician and travels to various farms.

Here at Willow Oak Farm Riding School , we teach all ages and all levels of riding. We enjoy working with all types of horses and riders, regardless of breed or discipline. We focus on each rider and each horse individually and we offer various training programs to suit your needs. We take pride in being a family run business and enjoy working as a team to help our students.

Whether you stay one month or several years with us, together, our team will help you ride your horse safely, confidently and with ease and fun.

Our Philosophy

“Understanding a horse is something of an art…….What a person has in mind to present to the horse needs to be something that’s possible for a horse to actually do. Then the person has to be able to understand it themselves, through feel, and apply it in a way that the horse can understand.”

Bill Dorrance (Legendary Equestrian Master) Excerpts from True Horsemanship through Feel

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Willow Oak Farm Riding School · 3231 Mays Chapel Road · Sanford, NC 27330 · info@willowoakfarmridingschool.com