Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Meltzer.
Hi Elizabeth, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Wrenacyn is an equestrian facility in Poolesville, Maryland, dedicated to creating a place where people can build meaningful partnerships with horses while developing confidence, compassion, communication, and horsemanship. We offer riding lessons, camps, clinics, clubs, shows, and other equestrian programming, but Wrenacyn is about much more than riding. At its heart, it is a community built around the belief that horses can have a profound impact on people’s lives.
I’m Elizabeth Meltzer, the owner and director of Wrenacyn. My background is somewhat unusual in that it combines a lifelong love of horses and teaching with an academic and coaching background. I studied Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University, earned my master’s in Health Promotion Management from American University, and coached rowing programs at American University, Georgetown University, and Lehigh University.
Wrenacyn grew out of my love of horses and teaching, and my belief that horses can teach us so much more than how to ride. They can help us build trust, confidence, communication, responsibility, and resilience. Eventually, I realized I didn’t want to keep that experience to myself. Horses had given me so much, and I wanted to create a place where I could share those benefits with as many people as possible.
I purchased the farm in September 2024 and began building the community that has become Wrenacyn today. From the beginning, I wanted it to be more than simply a place where people come for riding lessons. Our philosophy is that the health, safety, care, and happiness of both horse and rider have to come first. We don’t view horses as disposable “lesson horses”; they are partners and valued members of our community. We emphasize empathetic, correct riding, communication, horsemanship, and the horse’s physical and mental wellbeing.
A particularly important part of Wrenacyn’s growth has been our commitment to making the benefits of horses and equestrian experiences more accessible. The equestrian world can have significant financial, physical, social, and cultural barriers, and many people simply don’t have the opportunity to experience what a relationship with a horse can offer. We want to help change that.
One way we do that is by partnering with nonprofit organizations and individuals to create opportunities for people who might otherwise have limited access to horses, including people from lower-income backgrounds, people with different abilities or learning needs, and people who are navigating grief, trauma, or other difficult life experiences. Our nonprofit partner, Rooted in Unity, founded by our Assistant Director Kayla Johnson, operates programming at Wrenacyn specifically with inclusion and access in mind.
For me, the goal isn’t to suggest that horses are a cure-all or that everyone needs to become an equestrian. It’s about recognizing that horses can be a powerful conduit for connection, confidence, mindfulness, and healing, and then asking how we can responsibly make those experiences available to more people. As Kayla and I have seen, sometimes simply having a place where someone feels welcomed, respected, and seen can be incredibly meaningful.
That mission has become an integral part of who we are. Today, Wrenacyn offers a wide range of equestrian programs while continuing to build partnerships and community initiatives that broaden access to the farm. We want people to come here not only to learn how to ride, but to learn how to communicate, care for another living being, build confidence, and find a sense of belonging.
Ultimately, I think that’s what makes Wrenacyn special. Wrenacyn is more than a horse farm. It is home to my daughters and me, as well as a sanctuary where both horses and people are treated with kindness and respect. Most importantly, it is a place where the transformative relationship between horses and people can be experienced and shared with as many people as possible.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Has it been a smooth road? Yes and no. There have been incredibly rewarding moments, but there have been plenty of challenges and a lot more work than I initially anticipated.
One of the things that went better than I could have hoped was how welcomed we were in Poolesville. The town has been incredibly supportive of a new local business, and it has also been wonderful to see my children settle into their new schools and become part of such a great community. That sense of support made a huge difference during a very busy and demanding time.
I really enjoyed the process of envisioning the farm and figuring out how to make the best use of the property and resources in the most ecologically sustainable way possible. One of the most important things to me was creating our track system, which is a unique way of managing the horses’ living environment. The track allows the horses to have more access to their friends, food, movement, and freedom while encouraging them to move naturally throughout the day. Having my horses live on the track was something I felt very strongly about, and I’m proud of how that vision came together.
Another huge positive has been the people who have been part of Wrenacyn from the beginning. Having incredible colleagues like Kayla Johnson, Leah Pratt, and so many others was instrumental in getting the farm off the ground. Their knowledge, hard work, creativity, and commitment helped turn an idea into a real community.
We’ve also been fortunate to build our horse population gradually. Some horses came to us through rescue, while others were horses who needed a soft landing and a place to spend the rest of their lives. At the same time, we made significant investments in younger, higher level horses with a lot of potential. Finding the right horses to join my family and work with in our program and making sure they have the right home with us has been one of the most exciting parts of the journey.
The biggest challenge, by far, was underestimating just how much work the property needed. We knew there would be renovations, but the scope became much larger once we got into it. We’ve rehabilitated the stables, installed all new fencing over 18 acres to include our track, 6 pastures and 6 paddocks plus a quarantine area and constructed 8 run in shelters. We have completely updated the electrical systems in all buildings, installed sprinkler systems for the indoor and outdoor arenas, and reconstructed the outdoor arena entirely, along with many other projects.
So, while it certainly hasn’t been a smooth road, I think that’s part of what makes building something from the ground up so rewarding. There have been plenty of surprises and hard days, but seeing the farm take shape, watching the horses thrive, and building a community around Wrenacyn has made all of the work worthwhile.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I thin what I want Wrenacyn to be known for is pretty simple. I want our farm to inspire wonder and joy with horses and to spread kindness and respect in the world.
The horses are my family. I wake up every day excited about the possibility of someone new coming to the farm, meeting them, falling in love with them, and having their life changed by them in some small way, just as mine has been. That is what I am most proud of. We have created a place where people can experience the incredible connection that comes from spending time with horses, while also learning how to communicate, care for another living being, and become more confident in themselves.
I am also very fortunate to come from a large and incredibly supportive family that believes strongly in hard work and giving back. My parents, Alan and Amy Meltzer, both came from very modest beginnings and worked incredibly hard to build their lives. My parents started working from a very young age and built their careers through an enormous amount of hard work, persistence, and relationships. But one of the values that has remained consistent throughout my parents’ lives is that success comes with a responsibility to help other people. They have supported countless charitable organizations over the years, both financially and through their time and involvement. My siblings and I grew up seeing that giving back was not something you did when it was convenient. It was simply part of how our family operated.
That has had a huge influence on how I think about Wrenacyn. I want the farm to be successful, but I also want that success to allow us to do more for other people and for the horses. That is part of why our partnerships with nonprofit organizations and community groups are so important to me. There are a lot of wonderful places to take riding lessons, particularly in a state like Maryland with such an incredible equestrian community. I don’t think Wrenacyn needs to be the right place for everyone but for those who find us, I want it to be the most special place because of how we do things.
For me, that means doing the right thing even when it is harder or more expensive. It means putting the health, safety, and happiness of our horses first and treating them as partners rather than as tools for teaching. It means creating a workplace where our employees are treated with respect and have fair pay, reasonable hours, and opportunities to grow. It means being thoughtful about how we use our land and resources and continuing to look for ways to operate more sustainably. It means thinking about how we can maximize the number of people who leave our farm happier, more confident, more physically active, or simply feeling a little better than when they arrived.
Ultimately, I think what sets us apart is consistency. It is easy to say that you care about your horses, your employees, your clients, or your community. The harder part is making those values part of every decision you make, every single day.
Through consistency, dedication, integrity, and kindness, my team and I are committed to making Wrenacyn a pillar of excellence in equine care, ecological sustainability, and equine-based programming. If, at the end of the day, people and horses are healthier, happier, and better off because they spent time at Wrenacyn, then I feel like we are doing what we set out to do.
What were you like growing up?
My mom would tell you that I was always a great student. She would also tell you that I’m very funny, a great whistler and a very fast reader. Growing up, I was always curious, loved learning, and horses were a huge part of who I was.
My twin sister and I loved summer camp at Camp Nashoba North, now Camp Crescent Cove, in Raymond, Maine. We participated in water sports and creative activities like photography, pottery, and theater, and I always loved having the opportunity to ride Sarah Seaward’s incredible camp horses. I enjoyed being active, trying new things, and learning new skills. We also enjoyed supporting my brothers in their athletic endeavors. My brother, Max was an excellent wrestler, becoming an All American during his time at Harvard and my brother, Mark excels in almost anything he’s ever tried be it water skiing, wakeboarding, snowboarding or now cycling.
I grew up in a very competitive family and put a lot of pressure on myself to excel at everything I took on. That drive has served me well, but at times it came at the expense of my mental health.
I’ve struggled with anxiety and eating disorders. Learning to manage those challenges has been an important part of my life. Those experiences gave me a deeper understanding of how someone can look like they are doing well while struggling internally. They also taught me the importance of kindness, balance, and creating environments where people don’t feel like they have to be perfect.
That has influenced what I want Wrenacyn to be. I want it to be a place where people can work hard and challenge themselves, but also make mistakes, learn, have fun, and enjoy being around horses. You don’t have to be the best rider in the barn to belong. You just have to be willing to learn and treat the horses and people around you with kindness and respect.
Pricing:
- Private lessons-$100, Member Pricing-$85
- Elementary, Middle and High School Competition Programs Available
- Saddle Clubs/After school clubs- $275 per season
- Clinics and other special events!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wrenacyn.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wrenacyn/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61566774269299
