Chad Cherok has been the riding instructor at Durango Farms for a year and already he has quite a stable of young riders.

Durango Farms, owned by Nancy and Frank Zacherl of Saxonburg, has been very busy, as well as successful in competition, as Cherok has scheduled more than 20 events for the showing season.

"It's been a great first year to build up a business," said Cherok, 31 of Mars. "Nancy and her husband are great. I got lucky.

"We've got great girls. It usually takes a while to get things going, … but these kids have really gotten into it. We've been in shows all winter and they've gone and kicked butt," Cherok added.

Cherok has eight riders who compete regularly, including Ashley Ferree, Katie Zacherl, Nicki Thoma, Jackie Cypher, Shannon Clark and Gracie Kellner.

The riders have won numerous champion or reserve champion (runner-up) honors, including their last event two weekends ago in Harrisburg.

Ferree, 11, of Valencia bought a horse in February, and, in her first four competitions, was a two-time champion and two-time reserve champion.

"She's another one who has it in her," said Cherok. "Her and Nicki are going to be great riders. They're both similar, like they are sisters. One rides a hotter horse better and one rides the quicker horse better.

"I like to have them all ride different horses so they can learn more. They're all comfortable with their own horse, but I like to have them ride a different horse each week," Cherok added.

Ferree, who has been riding for three years, enjoys the atmosphere and the company of the other riders.

"I just love being around the horses and everyone here and going to the shows," said Ferree. "I got started when my mom took the dog to groom and there was a barn there."

Thoma, 14, of Saxonburg took her love of horses and turned that into riding for competition."I like showing," said Thoma. "It's so much fun. I like to go to shows and stay at hotels. I like to work hard and go to shows. And the work pays off."Thoma prefers jumper competition, which consists of running through the course clean for the first run, then to run faster in the second. In hunter events, the competitor and horse go more for show."You and the horse look more pretty," said Cherok. "It's a slow, easy pace. Most of the girls like to do the jumpers."Nancy and Frank Zacherl's daughter, Katie, 19, just finished up her freshman year at Bethany (W.Va.) College, has a 4.0 grade-point average and is a dean's list student who was a member of the school's equestrian team."That was a real low-tech type of thing," said Zacherl. "It wasn't anything fancy."Zacherl has been around horses her entire life. Her father built the stables, which now number 35 at Durango Farms."I just love the horses so much," said Zacherl. "I've learned not only riding but about life, too. Horses have so much to teach us."Zacherl is a polished rider who has also enjoyed tremendous success in competition.After taking classes at BC3 this summer, Zacherl is hoping to transfer to the University of Pittsburgh, where she will major in business."I want to focus on college and make it my first priority. I still will work with the horses. They're the air I breathe. I'll probably just commute."Speaking of college, two of Cherok's other riders will be heading off to college. Cypher will attend Slippery Rock University and Clark to Findlay (Ohio) University."I'll definitely be here everyday, whether I ride or not," said Cypher, 18, of Cabot. "I'll still go to all the shows. It's so much fun and you can learn a lot from watching others."Cypher has been riding for six years, but tries not to place too much emphasis on the stress of competition."I've competed on and off for years. It's just rewarding to ride for yourself," said Cypher. "I get nervous and they help me. It's fun to have a hobby away from school."I love going out to the competitions. Everyone has the best time. It's always fun to see everyone do well," Cypher added.Cherok likes to schedule as many events as he can, but sometimes even that isn't enough."If I schedule 10, it's probably more like 20," he notes.The competitions usually run from the winter months through August."We kind of take a break, then it all starts back up again," said Cherok. "Winter is as busy as the summer."Cherok, who grew up in Sewickley, had been in the horse sales business in Florida for 15 years before making his way back up north for good."I thought it was time to do my own thing," said Cherok. "I've known Nancy for awhile, but I was not ready to give up Florida yet. But packing up every six months gets old."With one year at Durango Farms under his belt, Cherok would love to see Durango Farms host two or three big shows - one in spring, summer and early fall.He'd also love to see the horse farm grow by leaps and bounds in the near future."I'd like to times it by three in the next year," said Cherok. "I'd like to build more stalls if we can. We definitely have a lot of room out here."