Stirrup Courage

06/12/2024

SO MANY AMAZING DONORS have contributed to our silent auction fundraiser for Sunday’s Christmas Open House, baskets and crafts that will make great ready-made gifts for your friends and family—so here is your preview before the event! More items will be coming in, and I will keep adding as they do, as well as adding to descriptions of what is in each package. If you see something you’d like to place a bid on but can’t be there Sunday in person, comment with a bid offer to get things started, and we will update with where bidding stands when the official silent auction begins!

05/12/2024

Check out the 2024 Year-in-Review newsletter on our website!

Keep up with all the excitement! Here you can find the most current and all previous issues of our Stirrup Courage newsletters updating our supporters on the progress of the project! If you would like to be added to our email mailing list to receive newsletter updates as soon as they come out, reque...

04/12/2024

The theme for the final week of October was “Patterns.” Flowing from the Memory theme the previous week, we talked about how many horse riding disciplines require you to remember and follow a pattern of movements in a correct order. Riders drew a series of colored beanbags at random which corresponded to obstacles around the arena, then had to try to remember and follow their unique pattern, ending with the back-up obstacle each round to signal the end of that pattern.

30/11/2024

Some of our reasons to GIVE THANKS on Thursdays this fall 😊

29/11/2024

More of the faces we are most thankful for as we come to the end of another lesson season! 🤗

28/11/2024

GIVE THANKS!! 😊❤️

28/11/2024

Final Sunday afternoon rides for October were spent discussing good friendship qualities and collecting fall “leaves” with words chosen to best describe themselves as a friend 🍁 🤗

27/11/2024

Final Saturday rides of October, criss-crossing the arena trying to remember where they saw the matching pictures of a saddle, halter, bridle, farrier, and other horse vocabulary hanging on the arena fence or opposite wall. 🤔💭

25/11/2024

Tack identification memory game for the Thursday groups in fall session #2. These boys were COMPETITIVE as always 😅😂 Buddy blowing raspberries at the competition 😜

24/11/2024

Tuesday and Wednesday fall riders took on the horse tack memory matching challenge with great enthusiasm and recognition of important vocabulary they have learned so far!

21/11/2024

Set a goal to try to get as many of my Star riders out for a trail ride experience as I can this fall while we have weather that allows it. Hunter and Alanna’s daytime homeschool lessons made it easier to catch the sunshine while we still had it for some beautiful fall days in mid-October! And spot the extra tag-along who invited herself on the hike 😹

21/11/2024

For the start of our second fall session at the end of October, Hadley and Jules tested their memory of horse tack identification in our matching game, while Brayden graduated into Beginner Level 2 and started learning to use reins for the first time!

20/11/2024

Silly Saturday afternoon crew takes on the contesting patterns, competing against the clock for their fastest walk + a little trot home across the finishline!

19/11/2024

Wyatt and Makayla both newly graduated into “Star” Level this fall, guiding their horse off lead at a walk! They did great work taking on the contesting patterns for stakes, barrels, and pole bending to get the fastest (walking 😉) times they could!

17/11/2024

Thursday boys’ classes completed their first fall session with their Friendship theme discussion of qualities that make a good friend. And Micah demonstrates awesome friendship qualities of helpfulness and responsibility in his drive to help keep our horse areas clean of any mess! 🙌

15/11/2024

Some of mid-October action demonstrated by our Tuesday and Wednesday classes! Horsie hugs, pony rides for kittens, and do you think Lauren likes learning how to trot? 😆

13/11/2024

Monday riders racing into our mid-October “Patterns” theme, learning and practicing the contesting patterns for Barrels, Pole Bending, and Stakes.

12/11/2024

Last of the riders on our October Pumpkin Challenge course! 😅For the coach who has to set it it all up, that’s a lot of different materials to drag out into the arena at once, but the smiles and laughs are worth it! 🎃