Built by a Family.
Driven by the Horse.
A family that has always loved animals, a sport that gave us everything, and the people who taught us along the way — the story behind SkyeKingz Equestrian and the Scottsdale Equine Athletic & Recovery Center.
Our story began in 2017 — not with a business plan, but with a young girl and her first riding lessons.
That girl was Skyelyn, and it all started with Cutler: the first horse our family ever bought, and the one we learned to love this sport through. By 2019, Skyelyn was stepping into the competition ring — and winning.
The truth is, animals were always the center of this family long before horses were. We are the household that fosters the stray, sits up through the night with the sick one, and knows every creature on the place by name. Horses simply gave that love a place to grow — and a sport to grow into.
What began as one child's passion became the whole family's. In 2020, the family put down roots in Scottsdale, purchasing the property that is home to everything we do today. At its head is Jim Richards — the family's father and the facility's proprietor — who built a place where his daughters' ambitions, and the horses they love, could take flight.
The name tells the rest. SkyeKingz is Skyelyn and her younger sister, Kingsley — “Kingz” — the two riders at the very heart of it all. Today Skyelyn leads the training program, and Kingsley, who trains under her, competes as a junior rider on the international stage. From one horse and one lesson to an international competition program with a world-class rehabilitation center, the throughline has never changed: a family, doing right by the horses they love.
The fullest expression of the direction we've always been on.
We've long been known for our elite care and our showjumping training. But caring for a sporthorse means caring for its whole athletic life — the climb to peak, the hardships of competition, and the recovery when something goes wrong.
We believe as riders, it's our responsibility to take care of our equine partners like they take care of us in the arena. Now, we can- whether their at full capacity, or recovering. Through the Center, we've opened that capability to English and Western performance horses alike. It's the same standard we've always held, extended to horses at every stage of their careers.
This isn't a new direction. It's the fullest expression of the one we've always been on.
The horse is the focus.
Everything here begins and ends with the animal. Every decision we make — how a horse is trained, cared for, rehabilitated, conditioned, or marketed — comes back to a single question: what is best for the horse? It shapes our culture, our staffing, our schedule, and our standards. It is what our family started with, and it is the one thing we will never trade away for a ribbon.
We did not get here alone.
We came to this sport with an animal science background and a lifetime of husbandry behind us, and we've built what we have through the people around us: the trainers who sharpened our eye for the ring, the veterinarians who answered the phone at midnight, the farriers and grooms and barn managers who deepened what we already knew, and the competitors who became friends across rings in Arizona, Colorado, California, Oregon, Canada, Europe, and beyond.
This industry gave our daughters a sport, our family a purpose, and all of us a community we never expected to find. We are deeply grateful for it — and we try to run this place the way the best people in it treated us: honestly, generously, and with the horse always first.
Every relationship we've built along the way is part of what SkyeKingz is.
Jim Richards
Proprietor
Graduated with an Animal Science Degree from California Polytechnic State University, followed
by a pursuit of his Master’s Degree in Agribusiness at Arizona State University. Jim owns and
operates several businesses in partnership with private family offices.
Skyelyn Jade
Head Trainer
Skyelyn has competed through the Regional Grand Prix level with international experience spanning Canada and Europe. She coaches with the perspective of a rider who's done the work at the top — and the belief that hard work beats raw talent every day of the week. It's a philosophy she's lived off the horse, too: she graduated from an International Baccalaureate program with a 4.6 GPA, bringing that same discipline to the barn. Her standard here is simple: show up for yourself on the days you least want to — every champion is a contender who refuses to give up.
Kingsley “Kingz”
Junior Rider
The other half of the SkyeKingz name, Kingsley is Skyelyn's younger sister and one of the family's competitive riders. She trains under Skyelyn and competes as a junior on the international stage while riding in support of the team — a rising talent carrying the family's standard into the ring.
Dr. Kent Fowler
JAdvisor, Scottsdale Equine Athletic & Recovery Center
Be A Part of our Culture
Whether you're looking for a rehabilitation and conditioning partner, a training home, or your next horse, we'd love to hear from you. Reach out and connect with the family and team behind it all.
SkyeKingz Equestrian
A family-owned facility in the Sonoran Foothills of Scottsdale, Arizona — AquaTred recovery for every discipline, and top-tier showjumping training.
© 2026 SkyeKingz Equestrian · Scottsdale Equine Athletic & Recovery Center · 29251 N Hayden Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85266