The path to success is paved in various ways. Some equestrians choose to go straight from a junior career to the professional ranks or as assistants to top trainers. Jim Hagman chose a different route by building a solid business foundation through his facility as well as a riding school.

And after almost two decades of hard work, Hagman’s humble beginnings evolved into the reputable facility and show barn known as Elvenstar. Located just north of Los Angeles, Calif., Hagman’s facility is now renowned for its successful students garnering championships on both coasts.

Family ties brought horses and Hagman together. Galloping through the hills of Thousand Oaks, Calif., on his family’s ranch stock, Hagman would ride behind his father in the two-point position jumping fallen oak trees.

“My father and my uncle were both great horsemen. They grew up on a cattle ranch in South Dakota. That’s where I learned solid basics in a natural environment riding ranch horses,” he said.

Hagman’s mother, who had a Virginia horse background, recognized his passion for English riding and by age 10 he was taking lessons at Foxfield, a riding academy in Westlake Village, Calif.

“We had an amazing group of horses. They could do anything, and they did it well,” he said. “Our family rode Western stock horses, gymkhana and show jumpers. I was lucky to learn on truly talented horses. Looking back at pictures, I still note how beautifully they jumped.”

His father took him to the hunter-jumper shows, where various trainers offered to work with him. Although he showed throughout his junior years, they always kept the horses at home and Hagman was responsible for mucking, feeding as well as grooming and braiding at the shows. This balance of ranch and show experience molded the horseman that built Elvenstar.

After completing college in the 1980s, Hagman started Elvenstar from the brush-and cactus-covered ground up.

With the help of his siblings and parents, the Hagman family planted and laid irrigation for more than 900 trees. Discovering his talents for masonry, Hagman built arenas surrounded by walls made from thousands of rocks found on the property. As the facility took shape, Hagman taught lessons with one school horse and one pony.

His vision for Elvenstar was to develop a riding academy offering instruction at all levels from the first-time rider to those who wished to compete in the East Coast medal finals.

Hagman knew he couldn’t stop with just creating a beautiful facility and growing a lesson program, so he donned the hat of a businessman as well.

“I realized that it wasn’t just about building my name, but about building the Elvenstar brand,” he said. “Elvenstar is a place for horse people–a recreational equestrian facility. If you had a horse-crazy child, you’d think Elvenstar. So I marketed. I spent a bunch of money, more than I paid myself, on advertising. I featured the summer day camp in local papers and magazines. I spent five years heavily building the brand.”

The Team

Hagman is adamant about offering a flexible framework that welcomes all riders–any level, interest or goal. Making this a reality takes a team of more than 30 people. With up to 160 horses boarded on the property, Elvenstar is home to many a horse lover’s dreams.

“James has so much enthusiasm it’s contagious. We try to manage things well enough so he can just ride and teach. He loves to teach,” said Meaghan Mallory, Hagman’s administrative assistant.

Mallory is part of the office staff, which consists entirely of past and present Elvenstar student mothers.

“I tried for years to bring in outside business people. I even hired a [person with an] MBA. None of them could grasp our business as well as our talented pool of moms. These women are business professionals who have chosen Elvenstar as their career. I could never pay them enough for their enthusiasm and loyalty,” Hagman said with a smile.

Andrea Young came to Elvenstar as a student many years ago and never left. She helped build the riding school into the multi-level program it is today. Young oversees 60 school horses and ponies, 900 monthly lessons, up to 150 summer camp attendees and a staff of eight instructors, numerous apprentices and grooms.

Additionally, Young handles special activities that include Scout Troops, birthday parties and onsite horse shows as well as school horse leases.

Hagman’s program encourages its success. First, each instructor is an entrepreneur. She creates a clientele that matches her special skills and develops her own role as part of the Elvenstar team. With the variety of instructors, each rider can find an appropriate teacher.

Second, the selection of classes offers something for every horse-crazy person, from a reasonably priced evaluation lesson to a Mommy & Me class for the youngest, where parent and child work together. Once a child is 4 years old, she can move right into Tiny Tots, then beginner equitation all the way through advanced jumping.

“I love seeing all these people happy to be here, like that mom with her 9-year-old daughter walking up to the riding school for her lesson?every top professional was once that child,” noted Hagman. “We have an open-door policy here. You don’t have to fit into a structure, the structure embraces you.”

Never Changing Goals

Whether a Tiny Tot or a competitive junior rider, the goals at Elvenstar are steadfast–to produce riders with a solid base in classical horsemanship who grow to learn and respect the extraordinary rewards of an equine relationship.

“It’s all about attitude,” said Hagman, “a friendly, helpful ‘horseducational’ attitude.”

In the training barn at Elvenstar, there are 50 horses, four trainers and multiple grooms. Even with groom service, in order to develop true horsemen the staff at Elvenstar encourages all riders to care for their horses. The staff promotes knowing your horse from top to bottom to add a level of understanding and trust to a horse and rider combination.

Kay Altheuser runs the extensive horse lease program as well as the training barn. With Elvenstar-owned short stirrup to 3-foot equitation horses available for lease, a rider can learn and grow before investing in a horse.

Altheuser, along with staff instructor Sandy Marks, also takes clients to the Los Angeles Horse Show Association (U.S. Equestrian Federation-recognized) one-day horse shows, encompassing 30-plus shows a year.

Raising their riders through the one-day circuit is less stressful on the pocketbook as well as on the competitor. And Hagman believes it’s more educational too. With classes from short stirrup to the 3’6″ medals, a student can practice all week at home and then compete in five or six classes in a single day.

Many of Elvenstar’s top riders grew up at one-day shows, including Katie Gardner. In her final junior year in 2002, Gardner swept the West Coast medal finals with wins in the BET/USET Talent Search West and the ASPCA Maclay West Regional. She also made her mark on the East Coast with second place in the USA Equestrian (now USEF) Medal at the Pennsylvania National and third in the Maclay Finals (D.C.). She grew up in the Elvenstar Riding Program, taking her first lessons at age 6.

Elvenstar students have also won or placed second three times in the State Line Tack National Children’s Medal (now Monarch International).

Elvenstar student Elsa Horrigan is now one of their star junior riders.

“She came to us on a shaggy pony nine years ago,” said Dan Silverstone, associate trainer. “She rode great at [the East Coast fall indoor shows] last year. She won a junior hunter class in New York [at the Metropolitan National] and placed sixth in the WIEC Medal Finals [D.C.]. She prepared her hunter all through indoors, including all the 2 a.m. schooling sessions. We never sat on him. Elsa is always at the back gate ready to help the kids. Not only does her whole family ride with us, she’s part of the Elvenstar family.”

Along with Horrigan’s achievements last fall, Morgan Taylor finished fifth in the ASPCA Maclay Finals and Vanessa Holsberry, from Sherwood, Ore., spent the summer showing with Elvenstar and went home to win the ASPCA Northwest Regional Final and finished in the top 25 in the Maclay Final.

Mentoring

Hagman credits many top professionals who have helped him along the way, including Christina Schlusemeyer, Kip Rosenthal, Frank Madden and Karen Healey Bauer. The team at Elvenstar strongly believes in sending their students to lessons and shows with other professionals.

“In the early days Frank and Kip both coached our kids in the East Coast for summer circuits. The experience made them better riders. Plus Christina always seems to know when I need a pep talk–she’s so energetic and a very wise horsewoman. Karen really helped us with Katie and Elsa–she’s a constant source of inspiration. She raised the sport of equitation in California to a whole new level.”

As their victories accumulate, Hagman’s team is now doing the mentoring. Not only is the opportunity to work with a peer’s student a huge compliment, but to see the joy on the face of a young professional when they achieve a top 10 ribbon in a big equitation final for the first time is priceless.

“We remember so well what that felt like. I have been very lucky with the great people who have helped me along the way. We enjoy the chance to help others succeed, since so many people have helped us in our success,” said Hagman.

Hagman considers the riding school the No. 1 priority at Elvenstar. “All of the instructors at every level teach the same basics of horsemanship–we’re consistent. The philosophy of equitation is that it’s the foundation of excellent riding. Learning to ride correctly step by step takes a thorough teaching system,” Hagman noted.

“Horsemanship is a physical language. Everyone learns in a different way so you must have different methods of explaining the basics of communication to your students. I think we do this very well,” he added.