New Beginnings

One Sunday in March, I was sitting on my couch watching TV. As I sat there, I kept thinking that there must be more to life than this. There must be something more I can do with my time.

Up to this moment all I had been doing with myself was waking up, going to work, working, coming home, maybe hitting a yoga class but maybe not, and watching TV. Outside of Yoga, I was leading a pretty sad life.

There I was on the couch, thinking and on the verge of a life changing decision. I can't remember how this thought entered my mind but suddenly I was thinking about how great it was to ride a horse. How beautiful horses were. How much fun I had as a teenager at the barn. I HAD to grasp onto the small feeling of happiness that I felt with these simple thoughts.

I turned to my husband and said, "I'd like to try horseback riding, again." These words combined with the act of phoning a barn in North Markham sealed my fate. I was going to ride again!

In addition to the barn in North Markham, I also found two barns in Stouffville to try out. Each barn was very different from the other. At the first barn, I rode Dodge, an elderly grey horse. Dodge was a great horse for a returning rider. He cantered with very little ask. He maintained his trot without much convincing. I really enjoyed him. The lesson though was too much of a beginner lesson for me and there weren't enough options in the week to take other lessons.

The next day, I went for a ride at the second barn I had on my list to try. Not the best idea to ride 2 days in a row since my body was tired from riding the night before. I did like the level of instruction at this barn. The coach gave me ideas for things to improve but did not overwhelm me with things to improve. Also the atmosphere was very friendly and there were a large number of lesson options. At this barn, I rode a white horse named Gwen. Unlike Dodge, Gwen made me work for every movement. I had a difficult time trying to get her to canter. She eventually cantered but not for long. At the end of the lesson, I was extremely exhausted. I did want to come back and try another lesson though so I signed up to come back the next Friday.

The last barn I tried was a very fancy barn. There were a few lesson options that worked in my schedule and I really liked the facilities. Here, I rode Duncan. Duncan was a handsome bay gelding who pretty much did what I wanted him to do despite my weak muscles. The coach at this barn gave me a tonne of instruction. It was hard to follow everything she said but I tried. At the end of the lesson, I signed up for another class.

After a few weeks of trying out the 2nd and 3rd barns, I decided on the second barn, Churchill Chimes. I liked the community feel, the more laid back instruction, the coach's stories about each of her horses, and most importantly, I loved the horses!