Sioux Falls stable receives national recognition for promoting Arabians to newcomers

A longtime stable on the east side of Sioux Falls has earned national recognition for its work to introduce newcomers to Arabian horses and build a community around the breed.

Rugged Cross Stables was the runner-up for the Arabian Horse Association’s Discovery Farm of the Year for 2025.

It’s owned by Tyler and Courtney Tjeerdsma and provides lessons to riders of all ages, summer camps for kids and competition training for both horses and riders.

“We serve people who have never touched a horse before to national competitors,” said Courtney Tjeerdsma, who grew up showing horses at a national level.

The stable is a familiar sight to drivers along Arrowhead Parkway just east of Veterans Parkway with its large white barns, outdoor riding arena and dozens of horses grazing in the large pastures.

Tyler Tjeerdsma opened Rugged Cross Stables almost 12 years ago as a place to board horses. After the couple met in 2018, Courtney, who grew up in Brandon and got a degree in equine science and management at the University of Kentucky, began expanding the offerings.

“I’m most proud of building the program from the ground up,” she said. “I’ve always had the passion of becoming a trainer and growing something like this, and it has come to fruition.”

Tjeerdsma and other riding instructors provide lessons using Arabian and Quarter horses to about 300 students every year. That team played a role in the Discovery Farm recognition, she said.

“I could not bring 300 people through the program, teaching them about the horse, without a great team.”

Learning to ride is just part of the lesson program. Students help bring in the lesson horses from the pasture, groom and saddle them, and learn about ground work and how to handle them. Riding lessons are provided for both English and Western styles.

“It’s everything from getting them that first touch, that first ride and helping them through their journey. … It can be as little or as often as people want,” Tjeerdsma said. “We recommend once a week.”

In the summer, Rugged Cross offers daytime camps for kids.

Rugged Cross also guides riders who want to compete. “We have a show string of 13 horses and travel all over with them,” Tjeerdsma said. Most are owned by clients, and others are owned by the stable and leased out. “Those might be for kids that got started in the program and are not ready to buy a horse. This lets them get their feet wet.”

Because the number of horses in the show program has grown so much, Rugged Cross doesn’t board as many other horses as it once did, she said.

The Tjeerdsmas also have expanded into a breeding program, starting with their first foal in 2021. This year, they are expecting seven Arabian and half-Arabian foals. Some are sold after they are weaned, some aren’t sold until they’re trained for riding, and others become part of the stable’s breeding stock.

Rugged Cross offers indoor and outdoor riding arenas. The stable has 36 stalls, a large pasture for the lesson horses and paddocks outside where the show horses get turned out.

The couple leases the facility, which once was on the edge of Sioux Falls but now is surrounded by commercial and residential developments.

“The very long-term goal is owning our own facility someday,” Tjeerdsma said. But they are happy with their location, which she said markets itself because of its visibility.

The couple plans to keep growing their programs — a fifth riding instructor just joined the staff — and they’d like to add a camp director.

Anyone interested in learning more about the services at Rugged Cross Stables can visit the website, Facebook or Instagram.