So my childhood riding instructor came out of the woodwork several months ago and we reconnected. She is a unique character who always manages to help me see things from a different perspective. She still has a few horses but is not teaching now as she does not have an appropriate place to do so. She invited my family and our friends and their children to come out and have a morning to see the horses and maybe ride a bit. We met them out in Nicasio (West Marin) on the last weekend in January and the weather was beautiful, sunny and warm. She has two horses Mollie and Kojack who are very friendly with small people and not easily startled. The four girls who range in age from almost three to just turned five were able to groom, lead around, feed and ride the horses! Claudia and her husband Jim were great with the kids. Claudia has a way of treating the kids with respect as well as teaching them the ways of caring for and respecting the animals. She always made sure that the girls felt ok with everything they did. Before they got onto the horse she would lean down and looking into their face ask the "do you want to get on the horse? You don't need to do it for anyone else. This is for you. Do you want to ride?" The girls would think for a second and nod solemnly.
She had them ride bare back so that they had an understanding of what they were doing. She thinks that a saddle separates too much the rider from the horse and that kids should start off bareback so they understand more that they are riding an animal and that the animal feels them on their back.
We had a lovely time and it was great to see the kids warm up to the big creatures. Grace had a natural way with them that was pleasant to see. Darragh, who was too timid at first to ride, chose to ride in the end. Her favorite part was feeding them alfalfa though. Here are some pictures from the day.
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