Fun Day!

Saturday, September 25th marked our youth Fun Day. Participants took part in a serious grooming session in preparation for our bareback riding and painting horses!

Hand-led bareback riding was a huge hit. First-timers got an opportunity to get balanced and comfortable while in the capable hands of our volunteers. Experienced bareback riders (and some brave first-timers) experimented with the balance exerises we often start our lessons with. Some riders were even testing their skills to the maximum when asked to close their eyes and say out loud which legs of the horse were moving and when.

We gave the horse a quick break while the participants lined up and learned some of the basic rules of the event called, "Showmanship". The young ladies learned how to present their horse to the judge from all angles and how to switch from one side of the horse to the other smoothly and gracefully.

Then it was time for some fun! The paints were laid out carefully and the participants got to work painting their horses. Lesson horse Wyatt was covered in every colour hand prints, finger prints and splatter paint. Lesson horse Jane was painted with a beautiful combination of pink, yellow, green and blue polka dots. Student horse Molly was a true masterpiece in stripes, handprints and a face mask. Student horse Promise was painted with white and light blue fairy wings, a rainbow across her hips and a big red heart on her shoulder. Some of the horses manes, tails and forelocks were carefully braided as well.

Thanks for participating everyone! We had a great time!