Mercer Island Saddle Club

This is an amazing, under-​appreciated asset for the Mercer Island community.
You don’t have to be a horse owner to enjoy this — you can take lessons, send your kid to one of the summer camps, rent or lease a part-​interest in a horse if you get more serious, or just hang out on the bleachers and watch people ride. Our child started riding here as a little girl and it’s a very safe, fun and pleasant place to spend time.
It’s run as a co-​op, meaning that horse owners are responsible for the care, exercise, and maintenance of their horse (and stall). That keeps costs down, and also gives kids who aren’t horse owners a chance to participate (exercising horses, getting part time jobs cleaning stalls, etc.). You’ll know your kid is serious when she’s standing in the rain on a winter night scooping up horse poop as part of the «deal» to keep taking riding lessons.
The only real downside of this place is there is a l-​o-​n-​g waiting list to get a stall in the barn. (Think years, not months). Through lessons, borrowing and leasing horses part time there are plenty of chances to ride… but actually securing a place to keep a horse if you own one requires lots of patience.