Bristol Show Stable
4305 E. Pinnacle Vista Dr.
Cave Creek, AZ 85331
Bristol Show Stable
4305 E. Pinnacle Vista Dr.
Cave Creek, AZ 85331
About Us
BRISTOL SHOW STABLE FACILITY
Bristol Show Stable is a top notch full service hunter/jumper facility sitting on 10 beautiful acres. Bristol's arenas include a very spacious jumping field and a lovely lit arena. Both areas are
surfaced with the Nike footing making them the best footing in town!! This facility focuses on the happiness of the horses. Bristol prides itself on having ample turnout for the horses to be out of their stalls as much as possible. We go by the philosophy that horses are meant to free feed on hay as they are grazers by nature. The horses are fed what they need, not what a barn manager feels the facility should pay for. Hay is fed three times a day. Pellets and supplements are fed mid day. Both barns have fly control systems for the summer. The barn is never closed. You are free to come visit or ride your horse any time you like.
Full Service Hunter/Jumper Training
Gretchen Lof owner/trainer of Bristol Show Stable trains riders of all levels. She has competed successfully on the national level in the hunters and shown the jumpers up to the FEI grand prix level. Gretchen loves to teach and enjoys developing young horses as well. Gretchen's assistant Michal Bradshaw is an excellent teacher as well and really enjoys keeping the horses schooled on the flat. Our program will be tailored to your needs and goals. It is a low pressure atmosphere while still having the structure necessary to get you to were you want to be.
About Owner/Trainer Gretchen Lof
Gretchen Lof started Bristol Show Stable when she came out of the junior ranks in 1994. Bristol originated in Tucson where she grew up. Gretchen had a very successful junior career growing up in an equestrian family with her step mother/trainer, Lynne Lof. Growing up in that environment she had the opportunity to ride and train many many horses that most juniors wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to ride. Essentially she has been training since her younger teens as her step mother didn't ride. Lynne did her best to have Gretchen ride and train with as many other professionals as possible growing up. She spent summers as a working student with different trainers making it possible to pull different philosophies from a broad group of equestrian professionals. She relocated to Phoenix in 2006 to work privately for a family in the valley. In 2015 she bought the facility and opened the business back up to the public. Gretchen has developed many successful junior riders taking them to national finals. She really loves to teach and feels strongly about teaching not just a frozen ineffective position but how to feel what is happening underneath you and how to move naturally with the horse. She feels that balance of your own body and controlling the balance of the horse is key to being an effective and successful rider.
About Assistant Trainer Michal Bradshaw
Michal was born into a horse family and started riding with her Dad before she could walk. She rode as a kid at the Chagrin Valley Hunt Club and showed throughout the ease until the family moved to Arizona when she was 11. At that point she got a western saddle for her pony hunter and rode western and english until high school. She then sold her horses to attend NAU. Michal met her soon to be husband there and was married after they both graduated. Quite a few years went by with no horses in sight but once the second of three children was born, she decided it was time to get back into riding. In no time at all, Michal had bought a horse and was fully immersed once again.
She rode as an adult amateur for many years before turning professional. The fact that she has ridden and shown as both an amateur and a professional gives Michal great inset and empathy when teaching and riding. She enjoys helping people of all ages to become better at whatever level of horsemanship they aspire to. She believes horses have many things to teach us both in and out of the saddle. Riding and ground training are about communicating with the horse, and the more effective you can become in that communication, the greater your effectiveness and enjoyment becomes. This, Michal believes, can carry over and enrich all areas of life.
The Farm
Bristol Show Stable is set on 10 beautiful acres. It has a very open spacious feel.
Upcoming Shows 2021
Desert International Horse Show- Weeks - 1, 2
Tucson Winter Circuit weeks- TBA
West World- TBA
Blenheim- TBA
Del Mar - TBA
Temecula Valley Horse Show- TBA
Team Bristol
Team Bristol
Team Bristol
Bristol Show Stable prides itself on having a fun, relaxed, kind atmosphere where you are free to be yourself.
Arenas
Team Bristol
Team Bristol
Bristol Show Stable has 2 beautiful spacious rings with fabulous footing!
Open space
Team Bristol
Open space
Bristol Show Stable is located in a horse neighborhood, surrounded by other ranches and acres and acres of trail riding just a couple blocks away down the street.