A safe and healthy community where students, staff, and animals thrive.

Fulfill your potential, realize your goals.

Fulfill your potential, realize your goals.

At Blue Sun Farm—112 peaceful acres in southwest Durham—our cherished horses and supportive instructors guide riders of all levels toward confidence, skill, and a true love of riding.

Our Leadership Team

  • BRETT BEDDARD / Barn Manager

    Brett is a lifelong equestrian with deep roots in trail riding, natural horsemanship, and owns two retired geldings. Brett’s focus in recent years has been on Equine Psychology, stable management, and care for performance and lesson horses.

  • PHOEBE MAGERS / Barn Manager

    Phoebe has been engrained in the horse world her entire life. Four years ago she fell in love with the hunter-equitation world and has chased her passion to show venues across NC and beyond where she competed successfully in derbies and qualifying for NCHJA finals.
    Taking a step back from the life in the show world she’s settled into working at Blue Sun for over a year where she has a deep understanding of the workings of the farm and caring for its horses. She is dedicated to healthy happy horses and takes the time to make sure that all the animals are treated like she would her own.
    Phoebe owns and boards Shelby, a 7 year old APHA mare. The two have been exploring all there is to horsemanship and creating a well-rounded horse with long reining, jumping, bareback bridle-less riding and everything in between.

  • VICTORIA WALLERICH / Office Manager

    Victoria keeps everything running smoothly from the front office to the barns. Originally from small town Iowa, she moved to North Carolina and quickly fell in love with the equestrian world, especially the western side of the horse world. With a background in farming and 2 years at the farm, Victoria balances administrative work with hands-on time caring for the animals and property. She’s especially proud to ride and work with Rio, a AQHA gelding, who she’s built a close partnership with! She is passionate about team development and creating a collaborative, supportive work environment. Seeing the farm continue to grow and improve is one of her favorite parts of the job.

  • JOHN COWAN / Founder

    John wears many hats at the farm—as the landowner, program director, regenerative farmer, beekeeper, equestrian enthusiast, professional photographer, and fine art collector. He’s at the center of it all. Contact: John@bluesuninternational.com

Our land and facilities

Our expansive natural trails, large indoor arena and multiple outdoor arenas offer a warm, family-friendly, and community-driven environment.