About us
Two names, one barn
Ocean View Stables is the barn on the coastal bluffs of Daly City, fifteen minutes from downtown San Francisco. Leyden Horsemanship is what we teach there.
Booking opens on leydenhorsemanship.com, our booking site. Same barn, same team.
One barn, two names
Ocean View Stables is the barn: the herd, the arena, the pods on the bluff and the trail down to the beach. Leyden Horsemanship is the method, the Level 1 curriculum and the books.
It is one business under two names, and whichever name brought you here, you book through Leyden Horsemanship.
The method
How we teach
The method has a name, the Leyden Way, and three parts: back to nature, the scientific method, and first principles. Its pillars are feel, timing and balance, and its language is pressure and release.
It sits inside a lineage, and we name it: Tom Dorrance, Ray Hunt, Buck Brannaman. It is Western horsemanship in the vaquero tradition, and it is the only kind we teach.
A skill counts only when you can do it on your own; we call that the Zero Assistance Standard. Above it sits the rule that decides everything else: the horse comes first.
Soft is strong. Clarity is kindness. From Soft Is Strong: The Art of Horsemanship.
The people
Zachary and Kalea Leyden
Leyden Horsemanship is led by Zachary and Kalea Leyden. Kalea is co-founder, the architect of the Leyden Horsemanship process and head of instruction. Zachary, a U.S. Army veteran, is the engineer of the process: the systems and procedures behind the teaching.
The herd
Every horse has its own work
The herd lives here, on the bluff. Some horses carry guests on the trail, some teach in the arena, some are still in training, and some have retired from riding. We match each rider to a suitable horse.
Veterans ride free
If you served, your own beach ride is free. The free ride belongs to the veteran personally and does not extend to family members or anyone booking on a veteran’s behalf. Proof of service is required.
The book
Soft Is Strong
Soft Is Strong: The Art of Horsemanship, by Zachary Leyden with Kalea Leyden, is the published edition of the Level 1 program: the textbook behind the lessons.
See it for yourself
Book a beach ride, or start with a lesson. Either way, you begin on the ground.
Booking opens on Leyden Horsemanship, our booking site. Same barn, same team.