Double Rainbow Farm

01/05/2025

Mark your calendars 🎉

01/01/2025

New year, great lessons! Happy New Year to all! 🥂💥🎊

12/23/2024

A few of my top tips for parents of riders. ☺️

2025 Mental skills workshops for riders, teams, barns, organizations, parents and trainers all booking now. Please be in touch, I would love to help you create success and build teamwork! 💫✨

www.TonyaJohnston.com

12/23/2024

It was a merry and bright day for the Double Rainbow Farm Christmas Party! As usual, the Pirate Gift Exchange was ho-ho-hilarious with many steals and lots of laughs. Festive friends and family made for a jolly old time! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! 🐴🎄🎅🏻🎁☃️🦄

12/21/2024

Santa Claus came to town! 🎅🏻🎄🎁

12/21/2024

Santa! We know him! 🎅🏻😉🎄

Santa Day is tomorrow Saturday, December 21, 2024.

Santa will start his journey throughout the fire district at 8:00 am on the fire engine. Listen for the sirens and air horns announcing his arrival in your neighborhood and on your street. It will take most of the day to ensure everyone has an opportunity to see Santa.

12/08/2024

Each day be a little better than you were the day before. What is your learning plan? We are happy to help you reach your goals (even the ones that seem hard to reach).

The U.S. Hunter Jumper Association is pleased to announce the 40 Credential Candidates who have earned their USHJA Instructor Credential in the program's second year.

11/30/2024

Join us for the Double Rainbow Christmas Party 2024! 🎄

Wear your UGLIEST Christmas sweater ~ the WORST sweater will WIN A PRIZE!

If you would like to participate in our PIRATE GIFT EXCHANGE, bring a gift (UNDER $25)!

Bring a dish to share!

11/30/2024

11/27/2024

Gymnastic Lines---A discussion

One definition---there are no doubt others---“A gymnastic line is a series of fences set at predetermined distances to attempt to obtain predetermined results.”

For example, you might start with something as basic as trotting poles, roughly 4 ½ feet apart, A trotting bounce will be around 9-10 feet for an average horse. A trotting one stride will be 18-19 feet for an average horse, a two stride might be 29-33 feet.

So you might set a bounce to a one stride to a one stride to a two stride, and the distances might be 9-18-19-31, or something like that. You have to watch what is happening and adjust accordingly.
The biggest problem with using gymnastic lines is that setting them up and adjusting them is a LOT of work, constant measuring, hauling standards and rails, changing, resetting, and so forth.

The way someone gets confident with doing all of this? You have to LIVE in a jumping arena. You must know distances. You must have an accurate stride. You must be watchful. You can totally mess up a horse if you get it wrong---You can even cause a wreck. So if you want to become a good fence setter, you must make a commitment, and if you are not willing to become educated, leave it to those who know more than you.

A slightly shorter interior distance might get a horse to land, rock back, and get his front end up faster, whereas a longer distance doesn’t challenge the use of his his knees as much. You just have to live it to learn it, A few will, but many won’t. that simple.

11/25/2024

If you give a kid a pony...

If you give a kid a pony, they will need a saddle to go with it...

You’ll buy them the best saddle you can afford and then they will probably want a bridle and a saddle pad and some boots too…

Then they will probably spend hours begging you to go to the barn even though there are other things that you need to do. They will insist and their insistence will win.

And when they get their first show shirt, they’ll need a belt and spurs and a hat… And a TEAM, a Barn Family… And then, life as you know it is over.

No more lazy weekends or holidays for you, my friend. You will see more sunrises than you ever thought possible. Every spare minute will be spent hauling kids and dogs and boots and tack all over tarnation for hours to practice for their sport. The sport that will drive their very passion.

And your house will be a mess. And your car will be dirty. All because you gave a kid a pony…

Your weekends will be spent freezing to death or burning up as you hang out in the barn or arena. And their weekends will be spent gaining confidence and friends and learning new skills that will stick with them for the rest of their lives. They’ll be having fun and getting dirty… So dirty that you will be doing laundry in a whole new way - possibly at times involving a pressure washer.

And you’ll be there the day they learn to lope, the day they win their first ribbon, win their first class, get their first Circuit Championship… And you will be SO proud. The other parents will Congratulate you… But you know, it’s the hardwork and determination that they have invested into this pony that deserves the congratulations. As a team, they have done this…

And right before your eyes, your little one will be transformed from a small fry who be bopped along on that little pony with their little bum bouncing out of the saddle into a little horseman. And you will be proud… So proud.

When you give a kid a pony, you give them more than just a four legged furry friend. You give them a sport, a talent, hopes, dreams, and friends - friends who become family, a place to learn about life, room to grow as a person where they can push themselves to their very limits, and bravery, and courage, and memories… Oh the memories that will last a lifetime. And a LIFE. They will have ALL THESE THINGS simply because you gave a kid a pony…

Because you gave a kid a pony, you too will develop new lifelong friendships, developed solely from the same passion for the sport and the love of your barn family and team. You will root together. And cry together. And laugh together. All because you gave a kid a pony…

Then one day - years from now… They will be in their room and a picture of that pony will catch their eye. When they look at it they at it they will know instantly that when you gave that kid a pony you gave them a childhood that they will never forget. They will realize that everything YOU gave up along the way… was worth it.

All because you gave a kid a pony…

~ Anna Ingram Knowles

📸: .the.equestrian on Instagram

11/23/2024

Just start - horses will give you wings!

🧡🧡🧡

2025 - let’s goooooo!

www.TonyaJohnston.com

11/22/2024

Looking for the perfect gift for your horse lover? Riding lessons can be a dream come true and a gift that lasts a lifetime! We have limited openings for the winter quarter for new riding and horsemanship students. We can't wait to see you at the barn!