Lakeside Equestrian riding student Zoe Wagner takes her horse, Sonny, over a jump at a recent competition.

Lakeside Equestrian in Syracuse has an active summer of events planned.

Beginning July 6, the facility on Bowser Road will also host a series of summer seminars called Horsemanship Challenge led by barn manager Anna Ehmen.

Lakeside also will host two hunter/jumper shows: one Saturday, June 13, and another Saturday, Aug. 15. A dressage show is planned for Saturday, Aug. 29.

The public is invited to these demonstrations of English-style horseback riding.

Lakeside Equestrian was started by Resia Rinker, opening June 2013 under Ehmen’s management. Ehmen has since built an impressive youth program in the classical English riding disciplines of hunter/jumpers and dressage.

Rinker’s vision was for a first-class riding facility offering outstanding educational opportunities to the community. She has made significant improvements to the grounds and buildings. These include new footing in the 80-by-200-foot heated indoor arena, a 155-by-200-foot outdoor arena with two covered pavilions for spectator seating, and several miles of trails.

Ehmen is a graduate of Wawasee High School and Purdue University. She began riding at age 5, competed in hunter/jumper events, and was a member of the Purdue Equestrian Team. She worked on the East Coast as a photographer for professional horse shows and events, and studied dressage for six years in Aiken, S.C. She also has worked as a veterinary technician for an equine veterinarian, and is certified in both equine sports massage therapy and equine raindrop therapy.

Ehmen’s Horsemanship Challenge is a series of five seminars. Each is three hours long. They cover topics such as anatomy, bandaging, conditioning, pasture and stable management, horse health and nutrition, handling, shipping, and shoeing. Complete details are available on the Lakeside Equestrian website.

These classes are part of the United States Hunter Jumper Association Horsemanship Challenge. Students who choose to take the challenge quiz in November may go on to compete nationally.

Ehmen has developed a dedicated group of riding students who participate regularly in hunter/jumper shows. She has also hosted youth camps and clinics for adult riders.

Area resident Tamara Wagner noted her daughter Zoe “has taken riding instruction from Anna Ehmen for a year and a half. In this short time, Zoe has learned more than the previous three years at other instructors … (Ehren) takes time to teach her students about equine care, stable duties and the importance of having a passion for the horses.”

“Zoe and all the students in her teaching program are influenced by witnessing the hard work and dedication to the stable and horses that Anna demonstrates,” Wagner added. “Anna’s kind spirit and loving approach to teaching our daughter has been a blessing.”

Lakeside Equestrian also offers regular hunter/jumper lessons, taught by Deb Lapham, and dressage lessons by Anne Flannery of Michigan, who specializes in dressage, eventing and show jumping.

More information is available at lakesideequestrianllc.com and on Facebook.