Welcome to Blue Skies Stables

A Hunter Jumper equestrian barn located just outside Clayton, NC (just 25 minutes from Raleigh, NC). Whether you are a beginning horse rider, advanced rider, or just looking for a horse trainer to take your horse to A and AA rated shows, Blue Skies Stables and Equestrian Center is your barn! Just opened in 2016, this new equestrian facility contains 16 oversized stalls, 35 acres, a lighted and covered 100x200 arena, a 150x250 outdoor jumping arena, classrooms for teaching and summer camps, heated and cooled owners tack lockers, and so much more! Now accepting Show Riders and Show Boarders!

Horse Barn Tour

Welcome to our visual tour of Blue Skies Stables full barn!  To the right, we have a photo slide show on top that shows you various rooms in the barn, and below that we have a walking tour of the main barn walkway!  Showcased in the photos for the perfect equine experience include:

  • 25+ acre facility
  • 16 stall barn, 12×14 matted stalls
  • 8 stalls with Run Outs available
  • Covered/Lighted 200×100 Arena
  • Outdoor 250×150 Arena
  • Heated/Cooled classroom & Viewing Area
  • Temperature controlled Owner’s locker room
  • Schooling/Student tack room
  • 2 hot/cold wash stalls w/heat lamps
  • 2 grooming stalls
  • Farrier ties, truck backs right in
  • Laundry room
  • 5 fescue pastures – over-seeded each Fall!
  • Run-In pasture shelters
  • Whole barn fly spray system
  • Clean bathroom

Boarding Info

So you’re a Hunter / Jumper and interested in boarding your horse here!  Well – make sure you take a look at our facility photos – as you’ll see we offer a beautiful open and covered jumping experience in a brand new equine facility!  At present, we do not accept pasture boards, green horses that aren’t bridle broken, cribbers or difficult or unsafe to handle horses – but for all other stall boards, we offer the following:

  • Oversized 12’x14’ rubber matted stall with ceiling fan, and 2 ceiling lights overhead for extra light when needed!
  • Open, European stall-fronts
  • Private, locked tack locker – in an owners only room
  • Premium Grain twice daily
  • Timothy/Orchard Hay (with some Alfalfa) three times daily
  • Group turn out in one of 8 pastures, with 4 having huge 16×30 run-in shelters
  • Dutch doors from the stall to covered porch, or just open for fresh air.
  • Private 14×24 run out, with half of it covered, so even if the weather is bad, they can still be outside (extra fee)
  • Blanketing once in the morning and once at night
  • Stall cleaned multiple times a day
  • Horses walked in the covered arena on rainy days when turn-out not available
  • Off-season storage bins for when blankets, etc not in use
  • A lot more!

Our stall boarding starts at $1175/month but you can add a premium stall that includes a 24×14 covered run out for just $100/month more.  We do not accept pasture boards or trailer in’s – so you will always have a facility for you to ride!  For more information, including updated rates (rates last updated 1/1/24) please email [email protected] – thank you!

About Us

Blue Skies Stables began in 2014 as a beautiful piece of land – with a long-term plan of being developed into the regions premier Hunter / Jumper equine facility.  As luck would have it, we were able to accelerate our plans to officially open our doors in 2016!

What started off as simply a little girls love of horses quickly turned into owning one, then two (sound familiar?) to why not – let’s build the barn!  And that’s where we are today – with a beautiful facility that will ensure a safe, family-friendly environment for all to ride!  Here’s the team that is making it all happen:

Jen Hubbard – Owner and operator, oversees all of the barn operations and communications on a daily basis.

Michael Hubbard – Owner and caretaker of the barn and the pastures – and has been accused of singing to the grass to make it grow and giving the horses too many treats (and has not denied either).

Loren Hazard-Daniel – Blue Skies partnered with Loren in 2018 to provide training rides for our horses as well as to work with our top students as they progress from the A to AA shows.

Katie Hines  – Trainer at Blue Skies, Katie works on the training and exercise riding of our horses, as well as working with our beginning to advanced show riders.

Amy, Nick and Parker – Our full-time barn managers that are trusted most frequently with the care of your horses!

Denise, Emily and Paige – Our evening and weekend barn managers who care for our horses and help with so many countless things!

Lessons & Camps

Throughout the year we offer lessons, training sessions, clinics and summer camps that riders of all levels can partake in.  These sessions are all managed by a professional trainer, and by partaking, you have the opportunity to join the Show Team.  If you’re a beginning rider, you normally have a lot of questions – starting with, “what if I don’t have a horse?” and other very important questions.  If you’re advanced – you probably just left this page after that question…  Please come back!  Read on below, as we’re putting together some valuable information for all levels of horse riders!

Pricing:
Ultimately, we customize our pricing based on the riding package you are looking for.  But our lesson programs range from $60 to $80 per lesson.  Our training rides for your horse are $40 per hour, and our summer camp pricing is $375 for a 5 day camp, with more specific details being available 30 days prior to the first camp.

Beginning Horse Riders:
We offer customized private lessons in which we will teach you everything you need to know BEFORE getting on a horse. You can bring your own horse, or use one of ours – but we need to make sure you know how to stop and start your horse safely while understanding what your horse is trying to tell you before we just throw you a 1,500 lb horse or pony. Safety always comes first! Then we will begin you with either a lead-line walk, where the instructor leads the horse around the ring while you ride, up to a walk on your own, a trot (faster paced walk), walking over poles (first step to jumping) and then crossbars, up to a canter (a horse’s equivalent of a jog), to some jumps followed by a gallop (horse is running). For some students it takes years to progress all the way through, and we will move at the comfort level of the rider – or most of the time, the comfort level of the nervous on-looking parent who is at this point questioning their own sanity for putting their loved one on a giant animal (we’ve all been there, and I think we all still hold our breath every jump we watch them take – that’s completely normal!).

Here are some basic items you’ll need for your first lesson if you’ve never ridden before:

  • A helmet. Helmets are mandatory of all riders at Blue Skies. They are expensive, so make some available to use if you don’t have one already.
  • Riding pants. You’ll figure out quickly what is comfortable for you, but for starters, just something that covers your legs. Saddles get hot in the summer, and your legs get brushed against the rails sometimes -so it’s best to wear long pants.
  • Saddle & Tack. If you are not bringing your own horse, which very few first-timers ever do, we will have saddle and tack provided with the schooling horse for your lesson. Saddles are expensive, and they are typically made to fit the rider and the horse – so until you’re ready for that next step, we will provide this!
  • Riding Boots – Again, not necessary to buy the most expensive pair of boots until you know if you’re going to continue onto shows (show boots are often times different types of boots than your riding boots). So just make sure you do not have any open toes shoes. It is preferred that you have a closed toe leather shoe with a one inch heel, because again, the boots are for your protection. Horses are large animals and as you lead them out to the ring, there’s always a chance of having your toes stepped on – and boots will provide you maximum protection.
  • Gloves – optional for training, but not necessary unless the temperature mandates it.
  • A GREAT ATTITUDE! Horses feed off of their rider, so no matter how your day is, just remember – you’re getting to ride a horse! Enjoy it!

So for beginners, it’s not as complicated or as big of an investment as you’d think. You need to have a helmet (ours our yours) on your head, long pants and closed toe shoes/boots and bring your best attitude. Everything else – we’ve got you covered! That said… If you want to know what you’re
getting into as your child progresses, here’s a checklist of recommended supplies if you’re planning to show, own or lease a horse.

Summer Horse Camps
Every year we have a series of summer camps that are all day for one week at a time. We have released the camp schedules for summer as we know that your summer plans fill up quickly. Non-refundable deposits are required, and know that these camps fill up quickly. But this is an incredible time for the kids to get to know all of the horses in the barn, learn how to take care of a horse, sharpen up their riding skills – and ultimately just get to be a kid! We have a beautifully designed second floor classroom complete with video monitors and recording to then view their lessons afterward.

For more information on our Summer Horse Camps, please click here!

Year Round Horse Workshops
Throughout the year we will host several workshops ranging from having a vet come in to talk about recommended horse care, to bringing in judges to have them explain what they look for, to professional riders talking about what they did and how they got where they are today. These are a great opportunity for both new and veteran riders alike, as well as for parents of riders who are still trying to figure out what they got themselves into!

Advanced Riders
Whether you’re looking to get back in the saddle again, or just looking for a friendly environment to bring your horse and skills too, our hunter jumper team is for you!  We will sit down with you and evaluate where you are at today, listen to where you want to be next year and five years down the road, and then put together a custom plan for your lessons.  We offer in-house shows for tune ups, and we travel as near and far as you want to go – whether it’s county shows, C-rated or the A circuit – our advanced equestrian program is for you.

Blue Skies Stables
305 Jordan Narron Road
Selma, NC 27576
512-222-7892

Contact Us & Directions

Blue Skies Stables is a privately owned Hunter Jumper equestrian facility just East of Clayton, NC. If coming from the Raleigh or Smithfield regions via Highway 70, take the Highway 42 East turn towards Flowers Plantation. You will go just over 2 miles past the Harris Teeter / Starbucks in Flowers Plantation and take a Left on Thanksgiving Fire Road (the fire station will be on that corner on your left). Proceed down to the 2nd street and take a Right on Jordan Narron Road. You will then proceed one mile down the road until you come upon our white pasture fences and brick entryway on the Right.