And since riding lessons are also expensive, this Willow Glen resident sought a cooperative in San Jose, just 15 minutes away from home, to satisfy his hobby.

At the nonprofit Cevalo Riding Academy members volunteer with stable chores in exchange for horseback riding time, lessons and other perks.

Falk, who works in computer technology support, visits the stables in between contracts or on days he is job hunting or not working.

"It's unique because I had never heard of a co-op before," Falk says. "Every stable I've been to has hired hands do maintenance and feeding for you, and the cost is expensive to ride there."

There is a small membership fee—$80 per year—that helps pay for the cost of running the academy, but the idea behind the program is to "work more to pay less," says Falk, who has volunteered by feeding horses, installing arena fences and test-riding potential school horses.

Students using the facility are encouraged to learn about taking care of a horse rather than how to just ride one, Falk says.

The academy's president, Deb Adair, says children benefit from the program because they learn not only about teamwork and sportsmanship but also about the responsibilities of caring for a horse. Older children and adult students must get the horse from the stall or pasture, tie it to a rail, brush it, clean its hooves, clean the mane and tail and put the saddle and bridle on.

"It's really about the whole experience of being around a horse," Adair says.

Members are required to help out around the stables for at least two hours per month to keep expenses down, says Adair who started the academy in November with head instructor Diana Whipple. They took over the stables, which were on the brink of closing.

Willow Glen resident and Lincoln High School sophomore Charlotte Orr had been to other stables in the area but joined Cevalo Riding Academy because she had taken lessons from Whipple and says it's less expensive and it gives its members the opportunity to feel like they have horse ownership.

To help cover the cost of riding and participating on a drill team—a group of eight students who do a synchronized routine on the horses and use flags—she does various chores like cleaning out stalls and helping new horses get acquainted with the stables.

Fifteen-year-old Orr helps with the introductory classes for new students and is a counselor's assistant at the day camp program this summer. She works between 20 and 25 hours per month, she says.

With the 14-acre property located on a hill overlooking the valley, Falk says, visiting the stables is a relaxing escape from the hectic pace of Silicon Valley.

"It is a peaceful area where I can go to get away from stress instead of just going to the gym," Falk says.

"When you show up for a lesson and just get up on a horse you're missing the unique aspect of how sensitive and aware the animal really is to how you're feeling," he says. "Once I had a rough day and I was stressed out. My horse acted like she was going to bolt so I asked my instructor what was wrong with her, and she told me, 'It's not the horse; it's you. You need to relax.' "

For more information about Cevalo Riding Academy, call 408.227.3529, email info@cevaloridingacademy.org. or visit http://www.cevaloridingacademy.org.