Press Release: Bull Valley Stables welcomes new boarder.
On January 2, 2010, Bull Valley Stables welcomes Marissa and Chris Center and their horse Windwalker. Wind Walker is a 13 year old Oldenburg gelding.
Press Release: Bull Valley Stables welcomes new boarder.
On December 24, 2009, Bull Valley Stables welcomes Holly Davis and her horse Gambini.
Press Release: Fun Show is coming!
On September 8, 2007 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, Bull Valley Stables is hosting a Fun Show. Activites will include barrels, poles, bribe your horse, the diaper race, and more. Activites will also include a performance by the award winning Midwest Renegades Equestrian Drill Team.
The cover charge of $5 covers all the games, and food. We ask that each family bring some type of food to share. Directions to Bull Valley Stables can be found here. For more information, contact, Jen Vlahos @ (815) 337-1654.
With cowboy boots and jingling spurs, Vlahos steps into new position
By Pat Stemper Vojta, December 5, 2006With cowboy boots and jingling spurs, Jenny Vlahos, 25, has stepped into her new position as manager and trainer at Bull Valley Stables.
Vlahos welcomes the people who board their horses at Bull Valley Stables, at 605 S. Valley Hill Rd., Bull Valley, to come and spend the entire day with their horses.
"I'm trying to get the barn back to being family oriented and friendly," said Vlahos. "It's a nice place to hang out and be with your horse and other people."
In the spring, Vlahos plans to host a "Fun Show" for her boarders with events such as barrel racing, flag racing and pole bending. Throughout the year, she plans to have barbecues and bonfires.
With 18 years of experience in grooming, training and caring for horses, Vlahos said she is not nervous running the stable alone.
"I've been doing this kind of thing all my life, so it's very comfortable to me," said Vlahos. Currently Vlahos only has 12 boarders, but she hopes to fill all 30 stalls. After that, she said she will be able to hire more help. But until then, it's a one-woman operation.
Vlahos starts feeding the horses at 6:30 a.m. After that, they are turned out to pasture, which gives her the opportunity to clean their stalls. She finds time in between to train the horses and possibly teach riding lessons before the chore of grading the sandy indoor and outdoor arenas.
At 4 p.m., night chores begin. Vlahos cleans the pasture outside, then feeds the horses again. She spends the rest of the evening on training. A night check is done at 8:30 p.m. and again at 11 p.m.
"There's always something to do in a barn," said Vlahos.
Vlahos said living in an apartment on the premises really helps her be able to keep a close eye on her boarders.
"If they get sick, they can't tell you," Vlahos said.
Dora Glawe, a Woodstock resident, boards her horse at the stable.
"It's a lot of work to do on your own," she said. "My horse Cisco will be here as long as he decides to live."
Vlahos said she teaches a basic lesson, whether it is Western or English saddle, that consists of learning how to sit on a horse and make it do what you want it to do and how to handle speed and sharp turns.
"Once they have the basics down, then I take the kids in the direction they want to go," Vlahos said.
She teaches children and adults ages 9 and older and added that her oldest student was an 85-year old woman.
"It's a great opportunity for kids to stay away from drugs and alcohol and come out here and do something productive," said Vlahos.
She said she considers herself, "a little bit of a veterinarian and a horse psychologist."
"I need to sort through and figure out why a horse is doing something, and I have to be able to adapt how I teach them," Vlahos said. She added that she gets the most satisfaction from teaching horses something different or fixing a problem.
The 10-acre farm offers a completely heated barn including stalls, a 70-by-150-foot indoor riding arena, wash rack and viewing area. There is a 100-by-200-foot outdoor riding arena. Boarders have access to the adjacent 80 miles of Bull Valley trails provided that they have membership in the Bull Valley Riding Club.
Vlahos was taught to ride when she was 6 by her mother Bev Vlahos.
"My dad refers to that as the beginning of the end because we were horse showing and playing in barns ever since," said Vlahos, who was 8 when she received her first horse as a Christmas present.
Her love of horses continued to grow. Vlahos earned an associate degree in business management from McHenry County College then left for Jackson, Wyo., where she worked as the head wrangler at a guest ranch. She continued her stay out West for almost five years, working at a ranch in Arizona then moving to New Mexico to exercise race horses at a local track.
Vlahos returned to Illinois to the place most familiar to her, Bull Valley Stables, where she once boarded her own horse and worked for several years.
Bull Valley Stables is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. For information, call (815) 337-1654
Press Release: New Management
Bull Valley Stables has re-opened under new management. Jennifer Vlahos is the new manager and trainer. Bull Valley Stables is conveniently located right in between Woodstock, Crystal Lake and McHenry among the rolling hills of Bull Valley, IL at 605 S. Valley Hill Rd., and offers a complete range of equestrian activities. Heated stalls and aisles in the barn, a 100 x 180' indoor riding arena, a 100 x 200' out door riding arena and access to the Bull Valley trails (with a membership in the Bull Valley Riding Club). Competent care for your horse, daily turn out and individual instruction for you or your horse are all available.
With 18 years of equine experience, Jenny is uniquely qualified for this position. Having boarded her horse at Bull Valley in the early 1990’s, she studied both English and western riding skills. She competed locally in Hunter/Jumper shows, followed by studying under one of the premier 3-Day Eventing trainers in the Mid-West. By the late 1990’s she worked at Bull Valley for four years before moving out west to work as the head wrangler at a guest ranch in Jackson, Wyoming. She has just completed an internship program where she trained under and traveled with Tommie Turvey Jr., an equine performer known world-wide. For more information call (815) 337-1654.