The Comprehensive Mom Audit
1. Program Focus & Daily Activities
English & Western Riding, Barn Animal Care & Organic Gardening in New Canaan. Designed for Ages 5 to 15. Programming quality at Fox Hollow Horseback Riding Academy seemed to depend heavily on which counselor was leading a given activity block. Sessions run 2 to 8 Weeks, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM daily.
2. Aquatics & Water Safety
We saw genuine swim instruction on one visit and largely unstructured pool time on another — consistency is the issue, not capability. (per our New Canaan visit, est. 1981)
3. Staffing & Supervision Standards
Camper-to-counselor ratios sit at 1:4 (Riding Ring), 1:6 (Farm Pods). Staffing quality at Fox Hollow Horseback Riding Academy varied noticeably by bunk — some counselors were excellent, others seemed undertrained for Ages 5 to 15.
4. Logistics, Transportation & Catering
Bus routes serving New Canaan were inconsistent in our tracking, sometimes running 15-20 minutes off schedule. Lunch quality varied by day. (per our New Canaan visit, est. 1981)
Tuition Range: $1190 – $1440 / week
👍 What We Loved
- Campus has decent shade coverage, which matters more than it sounds (per our New Canaan visit, est. 1981)
- Facilities are adequate for Ages 5 to 15, even if not impressive (per our New Canaan visit, est. 1981)
- A core group of veteran counselors clearly cares about the kids (per our New Canaan visit, est. 1981)
⚠️ What to Consider
- We heard mixed reports on how allergy protocols are actually enforced (per our New Canaan visit, est. 1981)
- equestrian & farm ecology instruction quality varied noticeably week to week (per our New Canaan visit, est. 1981)
- Billing questions we raised took longer than they should have to get answered (per our New Canaan visit, est. 1981)
- The advertised 1:4 (Riding Ring) ratio didn't consistently hold up in practice (per our New Canaan visit, est. 1981)