About June Pedersen and
Castle Ridge Keep 
Celebrating 20 years of business
8109 W. Hillside
Crystal Lake, Il 60012

email: damsels@castleridgekeep.com
Call:   815-405-9424

June Pedersen’s reputation as a healer of damaged horses is second to none. She has presented programs and workshops for horse groups throughout the Upper Midwest. June works as an off site trainer and consultant for the Hooved Animal Humane Society.  She has claimed many successes proving that abused and neglected horses respond favorably to June’s slow and gentle training methods. 

Ms. Pedersen also has an eye and solutions for horses with arthritis, structure problems and old or new injuries.  They are all part of the rehabilitation and therapeutic program she offers at Castle Ridge Keep, which is a training, boarding, rehabilitating, therapeutic and breeding facility.

Ms. Pedersen has over 40 years of professional horse training experience. June began training ponies professionally at age twelve! She has a BS degree in Animal Science with a strong emphasis on nutrition and biomechanics. Through the years June has developed a training program she calls the European Longevity Method (ELM). This training method is based on European principles, but includes a watchful eye on the symmetrical structure of both horse and rider.

To reduce resistance in the horse June works toward establishing clear communication between the horse and the rider. By reducing resistance, horses are sounder, healthier and happier which leading to a very long and productive life partnership between horse and their human.

ELM is not confined to any one breed of horse or discipline. June has eclectic interests, and has trained everything from mini’s to draft horses, from dressage to reining. Her primary disciplines are dressage, eventing, and driving. She has shown successfully at rated dressage shows in Training through Second level. She events at Novice level, and has competed in combined driving at Preliminary level. In addition, she has won carriage horse classes, Class A trail classes, and her students compete in a wide variety of disciplines, including saddleseat equitation, hunt seat equitation, western seat equitation, and pleasure driving, as well as dressage, eventing, and combined driving.

June’s senior Morgan stallion, Chapel Hill Elijah AMHA # 74837 / USDF # 1001102, is a many-times carriage champion throughout the Midwest, and a well-established sport horse sire. Her Morgan / Clydesdale stallion, Dancastle First Knight, has competed successfully at dressage and eventing, and is developing a reputation of his own as a sire of sound, intelligent, easily trained sport horses.

Castle Ridge Keep also stands several other stallions, all producing quality get that train easily.