Shelby Van Weelden

I started in the horse world in 2004 with basic riding lessons. Having struggled to afford lessons, I became a barn rat. I spent all my free time at a barn north of Cedar Rapids. This is where I started showing at open shows, took care of horses, taught riding lessons, and met my best friends (who are still my best friends).

I bought my first horse just as I was graduating from college. He was a two year old paint gelding that I broke to ride. Due to no fault of his, I ended up in a serious riding accident and broke two vertebrae in my back. A friend offered me her old horse who I loved already if I agreed to sell my young horse to save me from any serious future riding accidents. I took her up on the offer and bought Chex, the horse who led us to Empty Pockets Ranch.

From Chex, I learned how special senior horses are and how fulfilling it is to care for a living creature who has experienced so much in their life. I took great pride in offering the best to her. But through her, I learned how much I didn’t know. She helped me find the way as I tried to care for her with a PPID diagnosis. Ultimately, Chex was put to rest in September of 2025 after years of living with PPID. But! She got to live her best retired life at Empty Pockets the last five years of her life.

I hope to offer the level of care I wanted for Chex to other horses coming in for board. I want owners to know if they have a horse who is hard to manage, we are here to tailor to their needs as much as we possibly can.

I have been involved in the horse world since 2004. I have owned horses since 2013. I have cared for horses on my own property since 2020.

My background is in open pleasure type shows, low level dressage, endurance, and competing in the 2024 Mongol Derby. I’ve dabbled in jumping, barrel racing, cattle sorting, and mounted shooting. But through all of this, I have come to realize that the most fulfilling equine endeavor I participate in is simply caring for them.

Geographic Area Serviced: Eastern Iowa

Area of Expertise: We offer track system boarding in eastern Iowa, just north of Cedar Rapids. We currently have a 1/3 mile track along a hillside through woods and open areas with various footings. We offer balanced nutrition and tested hay to ensure that the horses are getting their nutrition optimized. Through balanced nutrition, freedom of choice, increased movement, and herd living, we hope all the horses can live their best lives. We struggled to find a boarding barn that could cater to all of our late senior horse’s needs, which led us to owning our own place and track systems. We will treat your horse as if it were one of our own and provide care that is hard to find in our area. We are constantly learning and improving the property, so the best is yet to come! We look forward to helping owners with their harder-to-manage horses!

Types of Horses: Any; but especially catered to metabolic, IR/ID horses, arthritis, asthmatic, overweight, and senior horses