About Us
At VS Equine, we offer a comprehensive training program which emphasizes safe and enjoyable trail riding and sound horsemanship from the ground up.
Meet Ruth
Ruth Van Sweden-Altes has been riding throughout her lifetime and began training in 1988. Ruth is originally from New Mexico but moved her training and lesson business to California in 1996. During her career she has competed at the state, regional, and national level. She has ridden and trained horses and riders to 12 World Championships and 6 Reserve World Championships at Quarter Horse, Palomino, Buckskin and Morgan World Shows. She and her students have shown successfully in Reining, Working Cowhorse, Trail, Western Riding, Hunter Hack, Working Hunter, and Jumping.
Ruth has been teaching western riding clinics in Europe since 1995 and has served as a horse show judge in Texas, New Mexico and California. Ruth holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from New Mexico State University, where she also had a strong veterinary science background. She managed a Quarter Horse breeding program for fifteen years. Ruth has offered diverse and varied training programs in both English and Western disciplines and has run many youth summer horsemanship camps. She has carried her knowledge and experience out into the wilderness and on the trails, leading packing, outfitting, and trail riding excursions since 1992.
Ruth was also the official trainer for the San Francisco Mounted Police Unit.
She is married to Matt Altes and has two boys Colton and Wyatt who also really enjoy riding.
Calm. Cool. Collected.
True horsemanship begins with learning how to read and understand your horse, while also managing your own energy, timing, and response. Horses mirror the human, and lasting progress only happens when both sides of the partnership stay calm, cool, and collected.
One of the most challenging yet important skills I teach is helping riders accurately interpret their horse’s communication and respond in a way that builds clarity and confidence for both horse and rider.
My training is rooted in practical horsemanship principles that work across disciplines, skill levels, ages, and breeds. Whether you ride Western or English, compete nationally or locally, pack into the backcountry, or are starting a young or previously untouched horse, the foundation remains the same. I’ve worked with countless breeds in real-world environments where clear thinking, reliability, and adaptability matter.
With experience gentling and training wild Mustangs, teaching clinics internationally, and serving as the official trainer for the San Francisco Mounted Police Unit, I have personally ridden and trained horses and riders to 12 World Championships and 6 Reserve World Championships at Quarter Horse, Palomino, Buckskin, and Morgan World Shows. My showing experience spans Reining, Working Cow Horse, Trail, Western Riding, Hunter Hack, Working Hunter, and Jumping — across multiple disciplines and breeds. I’ve also spent countless miles riding trails in the backcountry and wilderness, giving me real-world experience in every environment a horse and rider might encounter.
I believe a true partnership is simple: a calm horse and a calm rider, a cool, thinking horse and a cool, confident rider — working together as a collected team you can rely on.
I don’t just train horses; I also teach people. My goal is to give riders a complete toolbox so they can confidently handle whatever situations arise, because when both horse and human understand each other, success becomes repeatable.
